No 1

                                                                                                            Baton Rouge Sep.10^th

 

Dear Mother &c

                                    I will now write you a few lines although there is no great news to write about. we are all what there is left of us pretty well and I hope this will find you enjouing the same blessing. I am sorry to say our company still grows smaller one more we have had to give up. George he is the last one we have had die. I suppose you have heard of his death before this. by some of the others letters. he died the 7^th I went over to see him Frank and I the day that he died, but we were a little to late, they told us when we got there that he had been dead about an hour and a half his body had been carried away so that we could not see him. Eli saw him the day before he died. I guess he did not think much of ever getting home towards the/last of his sickness by what Eli says. I have had two or three letters from you lately, two were back letters. you say you hope I will get all of your letters but dont think I do. I hope I shall get them all and I guess I do. but I do not think you get all of my letters. you say you have not heard whether I have got fathers pictures or not. I have mentioned about it two or three times. It is a good plan as you say to No. our letters again and then we shall know when we get all of our letters. I have had two or three papers lately and I hope you will send more. The last two nights we have had some excitment night before last there was two of our cavalry picket killed near hear and two taken prisoners. the news soon spread and so they would not have taken us by surprise if there had been an attact. yesterday there was a scouting party went out and picked up 5 prisoners about 25 miles from here. they carried them to the commander of the post and then we took them to prison/one of them has been a Captain and they say he was raising another Company for the Confederates. last night we expected an attact again. we were waked up in the night and had cartrages given out to us those that had not got forty rounds and we had orders where to go in case we were attacted but all passed of without being molested today I have been to court as usual, and all is quiet as ever. This is about all the news I have got to write, we expect another mail evry day when we git it if it is not many weeks off I will write again the last letter I had from you was dated Aug 16^th No 1

                                                                                    Yours &c

                                                                                                Lewis Josselyn

 

P.S. Friday morn. the Judge was serenaded last night by a party of men. he sleeps in the same house that we do, so that we got/benefit of the music as well as he it was quite a treat to us. we have not heard such singing for a long time before. last night passed of without any excitement about the rebs attacting us

                                                                                                            L Josselyn

 

This is a flower I picked and put into my testament at Donaldsonville. it came out of a grave yard

 

[envelope: Postmark New Orleans Sep 12 1863/40^th/Mr Cyrus Josselyn/West hanover/Mass/Georges Death]

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