Steamer "Morning Sight"Near Vicksburg Mass.July 1st 1862Dear Father

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Can I have a Battery if I come to Vt.

I am very anxious to get out of this Depart. & to get into the Artillery service. Can you give me the captaincy? or shall I have to take recruiting papers & run any chances of being elected? It is so much better to have a command by yourself & to have one interference. the Artillery is a branch by itself & the best branch of the service, of I have always been convinced of this, but never so much so as while in command at Fort Pike, there I had Heavy Artillery altogether. but with a battery fully equipped & named a person

ought to be well satisfied if I could b offered a Lt. Colency so that I could say that I had been offered a higher position it would help me to get any resignation accepted I think, of course I should not accept the position after I arrived home but take the battery. things are managed on such a "Fire & Pillage" style here that I am anxious to get out of the Depart. but the fact is I have been in the Infantry service long enough & it is for my interest to get an idea of Artillery I think it a very polite move.

The bombardments going on slowly. the rebels yesterday came in a force of about 3,000 to attack a portion of our mortar fleet that lies next to a piece of woods. thinking I suppose it would be

an easy matter to board the Mortar boats, but they were considerably surprised when they apeared from their [        ] (each boat having one) with cannister, with broadsides of "Shapnel" from one or two gunboats, at all event their loss was heavy & they beat a hasty retreat discribing "some grand & lofty tumbling" in their haste. I hope we shall soon be in Vicksburg. of our movements, there is nothing else occured since I last wrotewe arrived. the mail closes immediately, will write by next mail. Much love to all at home

Your Aff. SonWm C Holbrook