#9

                                                                                    Port Hudson Oct 28^th 1863.

 

                                                                                                            Dear Sister

I have not had aney letter for sevral weeks so I thot I would sit down and write one to you. as it hapens I have nothing to do just now it has ben very cold here for some time along but not near so to what it is thare at home. our tents ware so poore that they ware not fit to stay in so we have moved into a shanty and we have got things aranged quite comfortable we do not have aney thing hardly to do this morning we had a school in heavy Arty the noncommishond officers. here after we will haft to drill evry day and I expect we will haft to move inside of the new fort a lot of siege guns have come and they say they are for our regiment. Last week I went out on / a forageing expedition on the other side of the river thare ware altogather about a hundred men of our regiment under Col Bacon by the time we got out twalve miles we prety neare all had horses to ride I was not very stout when we started and was prety near tired out when we got to a plase cald waterloo thare I saw a man comeing about a mile up the road so I concluded I would have his horse so I sat down by the road side and waited till he came up and I made him dismount and let me have his horse. after we had cooked a good supper of Turkeys Chickens and Mutton all the horsemen ware sent out to drive in what cattle they could find we rode from foure till ten Oclock we took what teams that we could find by the planters to bring in what sweat potatoes and Poltry we could get or carey We brought in about betwene a hundred and two hundred head of Cattle and the same of Sheape sheep. It’s a plesant Country / and the folks seem to have plenty of evry thing but I have not got over the soreness yet which I got a rideing a horse beaing not used to rideing it made my rump aufull sore. the talk is our Col will get permishion to go agan which I hope is true. I think that that trip done me some good. A little excitement now and then is what a Soldier wants in order to keep up life. We havent aney more picket gard to furnish nor work on the breast works an order came up from Jen Banks to Jen Andrews to have it stoped he must have hurd of it some way so he sent up an order that we should not work at fatigue duty aney longer but that we should drill. Charely Plummer has got to be 5^th Sargeant Weed 7^th Corpral and I 5^th Corpral. Most of the Ganges boys h are now noncommishond Officers. and the Company has got so small thare nearly as maney Officers as there are privates wheather we will be filled up or not I dont know some say we will /

 

I hope we will go north in the spring then it wont be quite so harde for us the next spring winter. I wish I could send home a box of Oranges but they tell me they will freese goaing thare and spoil after beaing frozen we can buy them very cheape down to the Citty New Orleans. I cannot think of aney thing more to rite this time besides my sheet is nearly filled I would not have much room even if I did

 

give my respects to all inquireing friends and write soon and often I remain

ever your affectionate brother.

 

                                                                        John B Bartell

To Augusta G Bartell.                                                Co G Mich heavy

                                                                                    Arty Reg

                                                                                                Port Hudson

                                                                                                            La

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