No 7

Vicksburg, Miss. Fri. July 10^th, 1863.

 

            My Dear Wife,

                                    I have just been relieved from guard this morning and am seated for the purpose of answering the letter I rec'd from you last night, which is the first that I have had from you since I left home. It seems from the reading of it that it was at least the second you had written me after I left and that you had rec'd one from me and was looking for another the next mail.

 

            From this on I will try and not forget to No. my letters and hope you will do the same. You suggested this plan a great many times and it has always been my fault that it was not followed up; but as I said above, I will try and not forget it any more. 

 

If I wrote you but one letter while I was in Schofield Barracks (and that is all I am now certain of) this is the 7^th—the 1^st mailed while I was in the Barracks, the 2^d at Cairo, the 3^d and 4^th at Memphis, the 5^th at Helena, the 6^th soon after I arrived here and the one I am now pening the 7^th. I am sorry to hear little Olie was so bad with the whooping cough. She is so young, I did not think it would hurt her much

 

            It must be a great deal of additional care and labor on you to take care of her now.

 

            We have been on duty every day and every alternate night since I have been here, ie, we go on guard for twenty four hours then are relieved from guard by being detailed to fill up rifle pits and tear down forts / that our boys made while besiegeing the City. I do not know whether I will have to use the shovel to-day or not but I am in an awful hurry to get this letter done for fear I will be called upon. There were seven locomotives and a great many cars in Vicksburg when we took the place and we have repaired the R.R. out as far as our army is on the other side of Big Black and these engines are made very useful in supplying that part of our army.

 

Nearly all the prisoners captured here have been paroled and some of them have gone out into parole camp and some of them have crossed the River on rafts at night, they say, for the purpose of going home to stay. Most of the prisoners I have talked with here are very badly whipped and give it as / their opinion that the Confederacy is about "played out". We have just rec'd orders to go down to Port Hudson. we are to start at 3 o'clock tomorrow morning. I guess we will not have to tear down fortifications to-day on account of us being under marching orders.

 

Our men are nearly all sick: out of forty two men Co. K. has but eight left for duty. Charley has not been doing duty since I have been here and Frank was taken with the fever and ague last Tues. and has had it every day since. Cooney is on the sick list this morning. Of our neighborhood boys, Strong, Dave and myself are well and I do not think there is very much ailing Cooney.

 

            Tell Jim that David

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