Vixburgh Miss

Vicksburg                                                      

June 20^th 64

 

Dear Brother

                                                                                                                        I thought I would write you a few lines to let you know where we are & what we are at I am well & seting under a tree on a side hill & it is hills all around. Well you wonder how it hapenes that we are at Vixburgh Well you see that Col Kinsey took a very active part with Col Bailey a building that dam at Alexandria & of corse you have seen how that Bailey acts as Brigadere well Col received orders last wednesday to report on his Staff & he started in the morning well on Friday the Magor received orders to report here with the regt amediateley & the report was that the 6 mich regt / & 4^th Wis regt was coming with us & we was going to form a Engineer Brigade but I have not seen eney thing the other regts. We packed our things & started at 7 Saturday morning went a board the river boat Col. Cowless got everything on & started up the river at 9 reached red river at 1 stoped at one of the gunboats & got some Ice there was 4 gunboats a ram & 1 moniter there or near there besides being there was a gunboat every now & then all along the river We reached Natches about 11 at night stoped about 1 hour I could not see much of the town from the boat so I went to sleep yesterday we saw severel nice plantaions one that one of the hands on the boat said used to belong to the rebel Gen Joe Johnson there was a nice large big square house but / all of the Nigars houses was all burnt it was a bout 20 miles below here on the La. side. we saw no rebes at all they had bin at one plaice a few days before & burnt a house & severel cotton gins we reached here a bout 6 oclock last night but staid on the boat all night & this morning we came back here the Col took Co H for provosed guards at his head quarters Our camp is on a side hill alittle below town & back & we may look eney way & we can see holes in the banks where the rebels used to live they are thicker than woodchucks holes up north. there dont seam to be a great meney Soldiers here now & mostley blacks. this plaice is not as large as I supposed I dont think is as large as penn yan & it is the most uneven country around here I ever saw Some of the houses are on high knobs & / others right by thear sides or all most under them I saw severel brick buildings that had felt the efects of the war & the ground is covered with pieces of shels & bullets

 

well pete tell Geo Prentiss that he must take care of him self & not let the girtls hurt his shoaldier. Lieut Fairchilde came up with us & has command of Co A again & will be untill Gibson or the Capt comes back again well Pete you can tell the folks that the boys are all well & in good spirits We dont know what we are agoing at but are readey for eney thing Some say we are agoing to work on the rail road repairing it to Jackson but I am not Boss so I dont know yet pete sposen you send me a paper with some threed & neadles on the in side & Direct to Co A 161 regt

 

                                                                        Vicksburg Miss

PS via Cairo                                                                W. N.

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