Vicksburg Miss.

                                                                                                            July the 9^th 1864

 

Dear Mother & Richard

                                                I Rec^d your kind letter this four noon which give me much pleashure to here from you. I wrote to you the 20^th of June when I got here and I have not much news to write you at presant. the Carpenters & Black Smiths and Engineers have ben detailed out of our Reg^t to work down town on goverment works and the rest of our Reg^t are stationed about a mile from Town. they say that we are asined to the Engineer Corps and we will have / to repair Rail Roads build Bridges and such like

 

I like the country up here very much but it is aful Broken land up here around Vicksburg &c. Uncle Sam owes us six months pay and I wist he would pay us some

 

they say that Soldiers pay is raised which takes afect the first of May last if that is the case my pay will be $20.00 ensted of $17. Pur month

 

Ezra Chaffa died nite Night before last he went to bead as well as usel he was up in the night some time and the man that sleept / with him taked with him to they fell asleep and in the morning when his Tent mait went to wake him up he was dead. So he mus have died very esey as the man that laid by the side of him did not know that he was dead. I wrote a letter to his wife yestarday informing hir of his death

 

Mother I ame glad to here that your health is some better agen but I beleve Richards is not much better. My health is very good at presant thank God for his kindness to me

 

the weather is very warm / here now but we do not have any thing to do at presant but guard our own camp & drill one hour in the day. I do not thing we will have much more fiting to do whil we stay in the service as our business will be something else

 

Mother I cane not think of any thing more at presant to write to you I will close by saing that I wished to be Remembered to all my enquring Friends

 

                                                            Respectfully Yours

                                                From Your Son

                                                                        W^m. M. Bell

 

(Direct) Co. E. 161^st Reg^t N. Y. Vol

            Vicksburg, Miss.

            (Via Cairo)

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