Ceder point ALA

august 29^th 1864

 

Dear Brother

                                                                                                                        I take this oportunity to write you a few lines to let you know where and what we are doing. wel we fight mosketoes the most of our time. we started Morganzia the 20 at night came to New Orleans the next day and went on board the Catawba and started for mobile Bay the 22 we arived in site of fort morgan about 9 in the morning of the 23 and anchered with part of the Blockade fleet while there we got the news that fort morgan had surrendered that morning at 7 oclock after a heavy bombardment they gave up possesion at 2 and we went in to the harber with the flag at 2 / the salute was fired by every gunboat in the harber or Bay we anchered near the fort so we saw the prisiners when they was marched out in line there was about 500 I hurd the reb offisers come along side of us on an other steam boat they looked well I did not see General Page. they he was taken of in irons for spiking some of the guns after the surrender that night we was landed about 4 miles above the fort and Salvester retan & I went down to the fort but could not go in side of it but went around on the out side and saw severel of the guns Some was dismounted it was a rough looking plaice at least the fort is a double Brick one and mounted 130 guns in all the guard said most all was spiked I saw a brich loading cannon I believed they caled it an Elsworth gun it was a splendid gun the rebs took away a screw out of the brich so it was disabled for us untill that was fixed / ther was two rows of guns on three sides and thear next to the channel mostley 32 lbs ders the morter shells tore up the ground around the fort and on it badley the light house stood near one corner and it was knocked most all to peises. our men had rifle pits within about 60 or 70 paises of the fort and a battery planted in a short range the fort is on an Iland of white sand there is some timber pich pine mostley or small bushes and back of the fort it was full of hills and little holes where our men had made for sharp shooters some of the rebes said that some times they thought that they had a good chance at one of our men but by the time he got his gun to a aim the damd Yankee was out of site in the sand he would take a shovel and with one or two strokes he would a hole and bank large enough to hide behind and then he would work it larger at his lasure and so they worked it a ball wont penetrate in the sand 

 

the Island where was want onely about 80 rods wide and swampy in the midle we got very good fresh water by diging as deep as the sea or bay there is lots of oysters in the bay and we got lots of them on the 25 the regt or brigade moved across the bay to this point near fort Powel at the end of the shell road from mobile and it is a miserable plaice too it is all swampy onely the road about 12 feet wide made of the oyster shells the weeds and grass is nearley as high as our heads & the mosketoes are like a swarm of bees night and day. there is a small fort throwed up here calculated to mount 5 guns our men found a nice 12 lbder in the weeds near there the cason and caridge all it was dismounted but they mounted it and got in position in the fort we have thrown up a brest work clear across the point by the fort. the point is 5 or 6 miles long before we came to the / main land Co A & F was out on picket night before last and all strung along in the road for about half a mile we could see some lights in the woods a head of us and men onse in a while supposed to be rebes pickets the water here is all brakish the shells dont purefy it as well as sand there is some talk of moving up to the woods to get better water soon we dont hear eney thing from mobile the telegraph wire is broke so I dont know what they are at up town it is some 15 or 20 miles from here they say Capt says the mail closes in afew minits so I must too we are all well and hope to see mobile soon

 

write soon                                           from your Brother

                                                            Wilson Nevyus

                                                            Co A 161 N.Y.Vol

                                                                        New Orleans

                                                                                    La

I have jist hurd some firing

up towards the

city for the

first they

are going in

rite sharp

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