Eastport Miss 13^th Jan            1865

 

                                    Dear Brother

                                                            It is with pleasure I seat myself to write you a few lines by way of amusent it is now 4 oclock AM I have been writeing since 12 midnight because I had nothing else to do we have got settled I expect for a month or two and my men have built a log house about 10 by 16 there is 6 of us sleep in it and nine eat in it we have got a fire place and a table we have not got our chairs made yet we are at a little town called Eastport where nobody lives and the houses are all torn down it is a nice town I tell you we expect to remain there two or three month we are haveing nice weather now but we have been haveing rather disagreeable weather for some time past the sky look like snow now I am on guard to night I will have to go and [?]cart up some wood pretty soon for the wood pile is getting low and we want some to get breakfeast with I hear some one achoping wood now down in the woods There is plenty of Johnny rebs all around us here but we are not a fraid of them because we can whip them any time I wish you could see our house we covered it with our tents made the the fire place out of brick that we took out of a chimney where we tore a house down I am going into the country/ to day providence permiting you will have lay this paper on something dark when you read it becase it is thin and the ink shous through alittle but it is the thickest I could get that would not take up any more room accoding to the sise of the sheet I have not had any letters since I left Nashville and that was the 15^th of last year Our mess throwed in $1.00 a piece yesterday for a mess fund to buy stuff with from the commissary where we can buy at a tollerable reasonable rate by getting a order from a commissioned officer and he We get Coffee at 70 cts per pound flour 20 pound per dollar sugar I got 26 pound for $3.50 the last I got but they sell it 22 cts per pound candles 40 cts per pound Dried apples 9 pounds per dollar sour crout when they have it 40 cts per gallon and pickles the same apples we get here green 3 for 25 cts that is small ones haint that cheap butter $1.00 per poun eggs 80 cts per dosen Daylight is fast approaching and I will have to stop about now for this time Hank writes that there has another day dawned up there how is it a day of 24 hours Soda is worth $1.00 per pound here in the wilderness

 

15^th Jan I received your welcome letter this after noon and was glad to hear from you I am well at present I wrote you aletter to you a few days since given you a full account of the battle as far as I knew

 

I have heard of Hattie’s marriage and it does not greive me much I am sorry to hear of your misfortune in loosing your purss I think father would have done better to kept at his picture buissness for if he does not mind his buiss that man Bigler will swindle him out of 3 or $4,000 we have got our house done and gone to keeping house there is ten of us and our Lieut board with us and I think we will live gay as a peach after while O yes John I was out with the teams for forage to day and I saw some rebs closer than was comfertable I had a bundle of fodder on my horse intending it for myself a bed and it got loose and I stoped to tie it up I stoped right where the road forked [small picture of forked road with “rebs” and a line of dots on one road and two dots at the fork] and the rebs came down the road as indicated by the dots and I was in the forks as indicated by the two dots and the Johnny rebs came chargeing right there and got within about 15 feet before I made my move to leave my horse was hitched to a bush and it was a poor time to unhitch and mount the leader of the band called to me to surrender says I can^t see it and jumped across the lower road and into the brush they fired at me but did not touch me and brought up safely in camp but they captured our wagon and two men/ that is I suppose they captured the men they were seen among the rebs the wagon was burned the boys all thought I was captured they saw me there fixing my fodder and knew how the rebs made this appearance where I was Give my best respects to Lew and all inquiring friends I close by wishing you a kind good night I remain as ever your brother

                                                                                                Jefferson S. Loveridge

 

P. S. direct your letters Battery “G” 2^nd Ill 3^rd Brig 2^nd Div to J Smiths Com^d

                                                                                                Eastport Miss

 

                                                                                                J. S. Loveridge

                                                                                                Batty G 2^nd Ills Ret

                                                                                                3^d Brig 2^nd Div 16 com

A.J. Smiths

Eastport

     Miss

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