May 5^th 1863

 

Dear Father and Mother

                                    I received a letter from you about a week ago but have not had time to answer it till now I am well but allmost tired out with marching and fighting the last time I wrote to you we were encamped at perkinses plantation we left this camp on the 29 of april on some transports that ran the blockade and went down the river to a place called grand gulf at the mouth of black river there is some high bluffs there and the rebs had fortified them there was 5 or 6 of our gunboats went along with us and they shelled the batteries for a long time Silencing all but 3 of there guns these they could not silence we landed above the gulf on the other side of the river and went across the / point and belowe the batteries our transports waited till night and ran by the battery and the next day we got aboard and went down the river 5 miles and crosed to the Mississippi side then we marched back into the country to wards port gibson marching very slow so as not to be surprised by the rebs we marched all day and most of the night about 3 in the morning our advance division came upon the rebel pickets driving them in and a few of them early in the morning of the 1 of May began a battle that will be remembered for a long time the rebs attacted us on the right and left about the same time our division was ordered up on the left the rebs had one battery on the left but our guns got into position and dismounted them in a little while we moved up with our regt and fought them all day / just at night the rebs were reinforsed and were going to charge on us just then another division came to our support and we drove them and took quite a lot of prisoners

 

our loss was heavy but I do not know how many the loss of our regt was 75 killed and wounded none of the boys that you are acquanted with were hurt the rebs allow there loss to be 2000 and say they were badly whiped we have followed them as fast as our heavy loads would let us but dont catch up with them we are not far from the railroad that goes from Vicksb to Jackson and if we get that road we will cut off there communication with the east and there supplies to you must excuse me for not writing more this time but I have not time to write tell Belle I will write to her as soon as I can

write soon from                                                                                  Newell J Fuller /

 

give my love to Granma

and all the rest

dont get scart and think I will never come home I have not quite 2 months to stay now

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