April 21^st. 1863

 

Dear Father and Mother

                                    I received two letters from you last night was glad to hear you was all well I am well as usual

 

since I wrote you last we have been on the move most of the time we did not leave the day I finished my last as I expected we would we stayed till the next morning and then we marched about fifteen miles further back into the country it was an awful hard march the mud was almost knee deep in some places that night we slept in a shed our tents having not arrived the next day our teems came up and we pitched our tents on a nuce grassy field we had no meat and so we killed some hogs and beef cattle that were running around there we stayed in this pace two days and were ordered to pull up and move we went about a mile and pitched / tents in a cotton field we stay here over night and till noon the next day then we were ordered to strike tents and move agane I did not go with the regiment on the account of being detaled to help the doctor the regt moved over a bayou and down a levy about five miles and camped on the levy that being the only place to be found that was not under watter I joined the company hear just in time to go with them on a scout we wer ordered to leave our knapsacks and evry thing but gun and cartrige box we loaded our guns and started we went about 5 miles and foun the rebel camp but they had skedadled our cavalry went on amile or two farther and fund them on the other side of the bayou with some artillery so we wated encamped and are going to wait for our artillery t come up then if they dont get out of this we will give them enough of it we have 11 gun boats to help us these gunboats with two transports ran the blocade at Vicksburg / the other night there was two more transports started to come down but one of them got scart and went back the other was shot to pieces and Sunk there was none of the men killed on any of the boats but one got his leg shot off and 12 more were slightly wounded

 

I do not know where we will go to from this place some think we will go up Black river others say we are going to fort hudson but no one knows where we will go

 

you wanted to know if I got the papers that you sent to me I have got all of them and I am much obliged to you for them I thought that I mentioned the stamps in some of my letters I ment to if I did not I got the stamps you sent the other day and I am a thousand times obliged to you for them I was a fraid that I should get out of them

 

you all mentioned sending me  box I do not want you to send any for I would not get it and if you sent a box it / would not get here befaf before my time would be out I have not very long to stay now you know but I think I shall see hard times before long we are now 25 miles below vicksburg on the Mississippi river

 

Mr Atkinson is well as usual Wheeler is also Fosket is not very well I do not know any thing about Archer or Herrington the last I heard of them they wer in the Hospital I cant think of any more to write so good by

 

            from your Son

                                                                                    N. J. Fuller

 

Sister Cordelia

                        you wanted me to write to you I would like to have you see the nice yard and flower garden that is clost to our camp there is some of the nicest roses there I ever see you must be a good girl and kep a piece of sugar for me

 

                                                give my love to gran Granma

                                                            from your brother       Newell

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