In Front of Vicksburg Miss June 5^the 1863

 

My Dear Malvina

                                    I received yours of May 21^st yesterday. I was very glad to hear you wer all well and I hope you will all remain well untill I return Home again it has caused me considerable uneasyness to hear of it being so sickly about Bluffton well we are still yet pounding away at the Rebels here in Vicksburg they holde out well but we are holding them to the works and we shoot wagon loads of Amunition at them evry day sundays not excepted our Regiment has been six days in the Rifle Pitts altogether we go in them evry two days and remain in them two days while in them we have all the shooting we want we have had but three men Wounded in the six days in our Regiment I take up a gun and pass off the time in shooting at the Devils the Cannon Balls and Bullets are whistling over our Heads from morning untill dark we do a great deal better shooting than the Rebels some of there men have deserted to us and they say we kill a great maney of them we have killed some of them a thousand yards off from us so they say we can see there ambulances runing frequently during the day carrying off there dead and wounded it is to be hoped we will soon get in the City the weather during the day is very warm but cool nights I fear we will have a great amount of sickness in about a monthe for we are so very mutch exposed laying around like dogs in the open air we are so close to the City that we can hear the Town Clock strike of nights the Deserters say they are almost starving and will be compelled to surrender in a verry short time there only hopes are that there friends will / fetch in a heavy force to our reare and drive us away if the do bring in a heavy force to our reare there will be some awfull fighting for we are not going to be drove away after sutch harde work in geting here but we at present do not aprehend any troubale on that score there will be great rejoiceing among the soldiers when we get the infernal den of scoundrels and then the Rebels will be about used up. as I write this I am setting at the foot or Bottom of a large Hill and one of our large Cannon are fiering from the Top over my head at the Rebels we have becom so acustomed to heare them that we do not care for there noise than you would at Home for a pop gun but I hope the time will soon come when I will heare the noise of war no more I have seen enough of war to do me as long as I live. my health is prety good at present but I am falling away and geting poor over sutch hard work as we have been doing of late it has just been about as hard on me if not more than Burning Brick night and day when at Home for the last month I begin to feel the effects of it very mutch also loosing so mutch of nights. Malvina I hope soon to hear from you write me a good long letter write me all the news about what is going on in Bluffton and vicinity and perticularly about our little ons dear little ons how I like to heare from them you will do me a great favor by writing me good large letters. I take great delight writing to you when ever I can do so maney of a time I set down and write to you when I ame tiard and hungry my heart is with you and my thoughts are of Home. olde Billy is well tell John his brother and the Boys are all / getting a long vary well that are with us as soon as I get time I am going to write Mr Clark I know nothing about the perticulars of his sons Death as he died before I got back to the Regiment I was very mutch hurt to heare of his Death and I feel very sorry for his Father and Mother and also for Uncle Adam Miller and his wife for on the Bloody Feild of Bakers Creek or Champion Hills they lost a noble Boy on that day there was made maney of a widow and orphan childe Oh how my heart aches when I reflect back of that awfull day of the dead and dieing as they lay on the Battle ground and I feel thankfull to God that I was permited to live through that awfull Carnage we lost two noble fellows killed at the commencement of the fight. W Henly and Seargeant David Larimore of our Company and several others are Cripled for life and probaly one or two may yet die on account of being wounded so Fataly I think I will have an opportunity of sending this letter to Huntington by a citizen of that place if so you will get it in a few days No more at this time, from your most

devoted Husband

                                                                        Samuel J Keller

            Mrs Malvina E Keller

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