"My Dear Wife..." Letters from a Civil War Soldier

Transcript

Fort Saint Leron, Camp Kenyon, Department
of the Gulf of New Orleans, La. Feby 15, 1864

My Dear Wife,
I now take pen in hand to congratulate you with these few lines to, to let you know that I am well at present, hoping these few lines will find you the same. We left Dutchs Island, Jany 22nd, and arrived at New Orleans, Feby 3rd, 10 o’clock in the morning, having a very pleasant passage on board the steamer Daniel Webster from New York.

We have a plenty of ground lizards here. They are as thick here as worms are in the summertime when we go afishing. They run up the men’s bootlegs and get up the trees and they look like so many chickmonks.

If I should ever live to come home, I will be so frenchy that you will be hardly able to understand me as I had to ladies call to see me today. They came in out of the rain, as it rained very hard. There are so manyCreole women here we had a class meeting here yesterday morning, Sunday, the 14th, by John Thomas(1), Jacob Smith(2) and myself and we had a glorious time. Brother Jacob got all off, worse than he was once at Rye Neck and it made me think of home. Jacob, Uncle Alfred(3) and all of the rest of the boys from this way send you an abundance of love.

The commissioned officers cannot get a pass or furlough no sooner than I can and they are white.

Sissy wanted me to see if there were any new hymns out here and if there were, to send her a copy of one and this is it:

Good morning, Brother Pilgrim,
I have got Jesus in my soul
I have got Jesus in my soul
For this land belongs to me.
I will give it to thee for your pilgrim’s dress.
Pray tell to me your name and from whence you came
For I have got Jesus in my soul.
(to be repeated 2 times)

Pray tell me what is that upon your head
That shines so fair and bright
Likewise that shining instrument
You hold in your right hand.

Chorus:
I have got Jesus in my soul.
I’ve got Jesus in my soul.

My captain is gone before his face.
You’ll see [him] no more, and with this bright sword
I mean to fight until I take the field.
Your offers and your pilgrim’s dress I do disdain.
A crown of glory I shortly shall obtain.
With my breast plate and my shield,
I mean to take the field.

Chorus:
I’ve got Jesus in my soul.

This was the song of old pilgrim and (ahholy) on whilst conversing together. I have some more very pretty hymns to send to you. We have gotten so now since we have been here, we have prayer meetings evenings. We have the twofold enemy to fight against. We have the enemy of soul and the enemy of flesh to fight against.

God is about to do the work that has been prayed years and years before we thought about praying, for God has seen and answered prayer. He is about to pluck out root and branch in the south and I see in some of thestates he has been to work already. In the City of New Orleans, I went ashore for some soft bread for the men. I saw that God has been to work there and had moved the old slaveholders out and colored people were keeping stores themselves and I saw that they were men and women capable of doing it. The time won’t be long I hope before we can see [one] another once more on our own soil. All the colored people down here welcome us here with glad hands.

I have got so far off I don’t know how it will be about a furlough but it says in the regulations that a soldier is entitled to one in six months. But when I do come home, I will only have 10 days to stay as it will take 10 days to go and 10 to come. I sent my watch home but I forgot to mention it in the last letter.

I send you 120,000 and Sissy 100,000 [kisses] and let the little thing go, Sissy, please to have your likeness taken on a card de visite, and send it to me by your next letter; as you don’t know how much I think of you. I would be very much obliged to you for it as it would do me a good deal of good to look at that, being that I cannot see you.

Direct your letters as it [is] headed on the [top], to Sergeant Tierce.