No 15                                                                          Provost Marshal’s Office,

                                                                                    Baton Rouge, La., Jan 1^st 1864.

            [ink blot]

 

Dear Mother &c.

                                    Today being extremely cold and not much troubled with callers on account of it. I thought I would write a word or two for I have got a pretty good chance today, the judge is a way to New Orleans, and the Provost Marshal will not be in till three oclock. I tried to find some paper here that had not got the heading that this has, but I could not find any there was none plain. but this is just as well though, today is the coldest day we have had since last/winter. I wont say as I set out to write it, this year, for today is the first day of the year. there has been a great change in the weather since day before yesterday. we had a  very rainy day that day, and at night a hard thunder tempest, it cleared of last night and was as cold as Greenland. we did not have a themometer to look how many degrees below zero it went. but I think it must have been cold enough to have gone below. we have been in this state just a year today. we landed at Carrolton from Ship Island the first day of January last. I am glad to say I am not as I was that day. then I had to be taken of of the steamer on a stretcher and be carried away. but today I am tough and hearty I was/weighed a few days ago and weighed 140 lb. I guess I weigh two or three pounds more now if I have gained as fast as I have lately, and I guess I have, for I eat like a leather judgment. to just give you a little inkling of what an apetite I have got, I will mention my dinner yesterday. I ate a pound of beef and six large potatoes and a big ration of bread. you know I used to eat when I was at home more than all of the rest of the family, but now I can eat as much again. you thought I looked lean in my picture, when I had it taken I weighed more than I ever did in my life. now I think you would think I looked about as I used to, and I weigh 20 pounds more than my common weight at home/was. 143 or four now, what do you think of that as Unkle Ward says. A company of the 3^rd Mass Cav. went back to Port Hudson this morning. they came down yesterday. they said they were not comeing down again for they go to N. O. in a few days. they are going into a camp of instruction there. they are to be relieved by some Illinois Cav. I am thinking we shall have more trouble with them, when they come down, than we have had with the Mass. Cav., evry now an then as usual the story is afloat that our regt. is to be made Cav. of. this morning I heard some one here had seen Gen. Banke’s. order for us to take the place of the Wis. Cav., and they to go to Texas. last night when a squad of our men were out on patrole they arrested some soldiers and some fowl that they had stolen, and we were looking for a good dinner of the foul today. but the Lieut consarne him had to take all he wanted and give the rest to some of his citizon friends. the excitement about reenlisting has all died out. That character I headed my letter with is my seal

                                                                                                                        L Josselyn

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