Justus F. Gale to Brother
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Mr Charles. J. Gale
ElmoreVermont
8th Reg. Vt. Vols. Co. AAlgeers LaJuly 4th 1862My own Dear Brother
It is with great pleasure I take my pen to talk with you; if it was not for this written language we could not hear from each other while we are at so great a distance from each other; I received a kind and welcome letter from you and Sis of the 28 of may and was glad to hear from you; I am sorry that you and Almeda & some of the rest have had such bad luck but I hope that ere this rea ches your hand that you will bee well and smart; I received a letter from Lyman & Mira dated June 8th which came to hand July 2d I am looking for more the next
Brother Udal is well
mail; I have been for some 10 days or more up to Bayou des Allemandes about 30 ms
from here guarding a bridge there but as I have been some unwell for a few days with
the dierea I got the Capt. to let me come down here and bee fixed up a few days. I
went and see the Sergeon this morn ing and he gave me a portion of caster oil. I feel
some better but think I shal rest a few days before I do much duty; perhaps Charley
you would like to have a little discription of the 4th of July that we are having
here; last night Wesley Johny Chayer (the man we bought old brindle cow of) &
myself slept in an old freight car which was just as good a place to sleep as it
would bee to spread our blanket down on the solid barn floor and slept til morn we
got up then and went to the
Sergeon and then bought a pint of milk and
had some wheat bre ad & milk for breakfast; then we walked about camp a little
laid in the car &c til dinner then we had a few stewed beans looked out of the
car door and see it rain for a few minutes verry pleasantly and now I am writing you
a few lines; I presume this comes a little short of what you wil have on some
accounts but I guess I had the best musketoe bar last night; I think my brea kfast
& dinner come some short of the meals I had one year ago to day but I shal make
it up if live to get back to Vermont; Wesley has been a little down to the heel for a
few days with a kind of jaundice complaint he is getting better. Johny has had the
bad luck to shoot off
the end of his thumb and fore finger by his gun
discharging accidentally; they are doing well all the rest of the Elmore boys are
well I believe. we have had several fine showers here of late; there is plenty of
watter and mush mellons here that we can buy if we want: corn is getting ripe and
some is harvested. there isent much news to write our regiment is doing but little or
nothing is seems toward closing the war since the time we left Hyde Park there has
been a regular spectulation among the officers at least it looks like it: the boys
are ready to go ahead and fight if nesicary but are held in check by high officers; I
am glad to hear that you have got along so well with the work this spring I hope that
you will
write all the news that is going on up theire for I want to hear it all
have good luck til I shal get back home. I should like to take a peep at your little pony and the other young stalk. you must keep a little lookout about them sheep to Mr Bryants I should think you would do wel this fall to keep all the sheep you have but you must do as you all think best. tel Almeda I am verry much obliged to her for the nice little [rosey] she sent me I wish I had some thing to send her; In the letter I sent Almira dated July 2d I wrote that I dident know but I should send a few dollars in that letter but I dident get it changed so as to send it; I dident know but you would wory about for fear I sent it and it got lost but I havent sent it yet. Charley some time when it rains
be sure and write often all of you. I am sorry to hear of the death of Charles Brown
hard you take your cup and catch some rainwater from the eaves and drink it and then you wil know what kind of watter our best is. most of the watter we get is river watter as muddy as any stream that runs from your hoed field after a smart shower; the watter here is verry poor but when we get back to Vermont we shal apprise our cool springs all the better. I cant think of much more to write to day
July 6th
How do you find your self this morning I must wait for a long time to get an ans- wer; I feel better than I did when I commenced this letter. I have got my direa checked and I feel verry well only I am some weak the same as I should be if I was at home; I received a fine letter from Samantha yesterday and some news and nice verses from A and some nice
remember me to Father Mother and all the rest
nice little bits of Herberts new dress all of which I am verry thankful. I had hardly dare send what I have wrote before I got Samanthas letter for I see by what she writes that you are almost a looking among the tombs for me now but I havent got theire yet; but I hear that our friends at home are dropping away. I have wrote just as bad as what I am and some worse than most think I am. S wrote that she wished she could see me she would find out pretty quick that I am tough ragged & sassy; I have been on duty every day but one since we came to ship Island til I came down here the other day; tel S if she dont beleive this I wil try & write some more the next time; tel her I weigh in the same notch I did when I enlisted. If we should stop down here a great while longer I shal get so ugly nasty & odd that you cant live with me so I think you had not better bee in a hurry to have me get home. now about how black we are when we was on the Island we was black as a thunder cloud that Seth Omsted used to see coming down the road by McClentics but since we came here we have lost part of our collor well enough of this for now; I suppose it is Sabbath day I should hardly know it if dident keep track of the day of the week. I can hear the City bell a ringing to call the meeting folks together and that is about all that see or hear that looks like Sunday. I havent heard but one serman I think since we came to this City to day some of the companys are signing the pay roll for our next two months pay. I dont think of much more to write this time theire is another mail steamer that came up last night I hope there is another letter for me I shal write again soon so as to keep a letter a trotting all of the time. give my love to L Mira & little Herbert give my love to brother Chases family and all enquiring friends.
dont wory about me for I am doing well
yours respectfullyJ. F. Gale
(follow the track along to the next page) I shal enclose in this a treasury note of five dollars; perhaps you wil want it to help pay for work in haying