In Camp at Devals Bluff Ark

Friday December 9 1864

 

My Dear Parents and Brothers

I take this presant time to let you no that i am well and hearty and I hope that thease few lines may find you the same Mary wrote to me that Mother had another stroke of the palsey I hope that she is better by this time; in the first plase i must beg your pardon fore not writing any sooner I will try and be more punctual in the future But i was detailed to help to build the hospital whe put up tow larg log houses fore the sick and one fore the Doctors and one fore the stuard and clerk and prescription house Bill can tell you what the prescription house is and whe built a house fore the nurses and a large cook house and eating house it is 18 by 30 feet with 3 apartments whe have got the best hospital of any / Regiment at this plase and whe have got good quarters the most of us have got log houses whe have a good log house to stay in it is 12 by 16 with a fire plase in it and good bunks to sleap in thaire is 7 of us in at the presant time Ed Mcnitt is left our squad he is cooking fore the Officers and has a good time of it and has nothing to doo but the cooking part whe have got good times at the presant not mutch guard duty to do and no fighting at the presant only some times whe go out on a scout and have a littel brush with the bushwhackers but that onley serves fore pass time to us But last summer whe done a smart chase of marching and a littel fighting but whe have got the rebs well cleaned out But whe had buisey times last fall to cut of old prises retreating / Army thay broke up in small parties and tried to get through our lines in that way But whe got the most of them that undertook to get through the lines in our reach fore whe kept picking them up in every hole and corner one night whe got about 80 of them and thair was onley 1 gun fired and then one of the rebs tried to run of and whe halted him but he would not stop so one of the Boys stoped him with one of Old Abes pills and that was all the shooting that was done whe sliped up on them about midnight while thay wheare asleap in their camp and some wheare asleap in houses so whe captured them without mutch troubel in this way whe got a great many of them But the 3 Michigan Cavelry got the most of them fore thay could do more of scouting than whe could fore thay wheare mounted and could get after them better /

 

well Boys how do you get along with the Coperheads i would like to no wether you fight them yet ore not i want you to hold your ro with them and crow over them fore thay got whiped out on the Election

 

well Boys i dont want you to run from them but show your grit and tell them to kiss your foot and tell them to and help Jeff Davis to fight us fore he neads help. pap i want you to send me some extract of dndelion and tell Bill to send me 4 boxes of them pills thay are Radaway Regulators the Boys want some of them and i can get 75^cts a box fore them and i will pay him when i get my pay Send them as soon as you get this write soon again Excuse my bad writing       from your Son

J. G. Albright to his parents

and Brothers               W^m Albright

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