Jacksonville Florida June 21^st 1864

 

Dear Hannah

                        Yours of June 5^th was very gladly recieved by last nights mail along with "Hoyles Game Book" which you were kind enough to send me. By the way you wished me to tell you how much those undersleeves and collar cost well I paid three dollars for them here but I never bought such things before so I did not know anything about them but could find nothing else that I thought you would like so I got them. There is no such thing as news here if there is I never hear anything about them. I got a letter from Lem Foss one from Warren Hall (two sheets of foolscap and closely written at that) and one / from sister Mary E. Hough and also a photograph of her and her husband also. By the way you did not say any thing about those photographs of you that you was going to send to me please to send them as soon as convenient to you as I want very much to see how my darling looks as it has been so long since I have seen her. Well I have just been playing a game of Cribbage with Capt Spaulding. By the way the Regiment is going to farming on quite a large scale and they have orders from the General Commanding to clear up and plant two acres to a company for garden [?] and the like outside of the Picket lines and they began the clearing up this afternoon under the supervision of Capt Brener of Co A. and they have got the twenty acres pretty well cleared of. I dont know / what I shall do if they set me out there to oversee the farming for I never admired farming very much because it was too hard work to suit me. Well I hear that I am relieved from Provost Guard duty at last and I really hope it is so for I had rather go on picket than down there on Provost Guard. There is to be an expedition start out tomorrow morning at daybreak. There is to be two companies go. Companies I & B and Lieut Ferguson is going with Co I. By the way if you find any list of the killed and wounded in the 13^th New Hampshire please send it to me as I cant find any such thing as that in any of the papers that I can see here and I want to know how they are getting along. I wrote to Ed Leslie about six weeks ago and have recieved no answer yet although I have been expecting one by every mail. I have not recieved a letter from Ebben Adams / for a long time and I begin to think that his time is pretty well taken up with that particular fair one in L—that he told me about in his last letter which by the way was when I was at Camp Stanton Maryland. Well what has become of Helen Durgin I have not heard a word from her for the last six months. And I wonder who it was that John Drew married for I have a great curiosity to find out. I have not heard a word from John Lasker or Elvira for a long time (you know that they are especial friends of mine) and I wonder if Elvira is as fat as she used to be. And Mr Hayes must either be dead or a great deal better as you have said nothing about him for a long time. Well the mosquitoes are awful thick here and I dont know how I should manage to sleep if I had not got a mosquito bar rigged up over my bed. I go to work and smoke them till they will keep still and in an hour they will be buzzing round me as busy as ever and then I have to go to work and smoke them again. Well it is now getting to be about twelve oclock and I am getting rather sleepy so I shall have to leave off writing and bid you good night once

 

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with the wish that I could be there to steal a kiss and at any rate sending you one with love for my darling I remain as ever your loving husband Joseph H. Prime

 

write soon

 

write soon and remember we dont get any mail only once in eight days

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