Camp of 46^th Reg^t P.V.V.

                                                                                                            Savannah Jan 12^th/65

 

Dear Bro Dave

                        Your one welcome letter of Dec 27^th was received last evening. I had almost despaired of getting a letter for we have had communications for almost a month and this is my first letter. I wrote to you by the first mail which left here that was on the 18^th of Dec but I suppose it had not been received by you when you wrote this. We entered Savannah on the 21^st Dec and encamped on the banks of the River, where we now are one mile from the City. we can go to town whenever we please and have plenty of chance to enjoy ourselves / which you may be sure we do after our long trip from Atlanta The Harbor is full of vessels, most of them running between here an Hilton Head but very few have arrived from the North as yet so that we have not had much news from your part of the country You want me to give you a description of our march and of what we saw I gave Henry a short sketch of it and can duly tell you that I have seen Slaving in all its worst forms some Plantations that we were on kept 300 Negroes and from that up to 1100. on some of the Plantations they are treated very well, but on others they are worse off than the Hogs themselves

 

for ourselves we had a pretty hard tramp but we had plenty of fun / and as orders were to forage off the Country we lived very well for every Corps being on different roads we had every chance and anything eatable that came in our way had to suffer.

 

We find the Citizens of Savannah quiet and well disposed. they take to the present state of affairs as a matter of course. they were a little afraid of us for a few days at first but now they are opening their stores and places of business and things are moving along as usual. Mostly all their goods are of English or Yankee make having run the blockade. A blockade runner came up to town a few evenings after we got in and was surprised to find herself amongst the yankees

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