Ship Island March the 23, 1862

Dear Sister
I receved your letter dated Feb the 17
last Thursday and wase glad to hear from
you all once more and to hear that you
wer all enjoying good helth I have receved
ten letters since I have been here seven frome
home or just the same as home you all
wrote in them I dont know what else you
call it I dont recolect as Isabell hase
wrote to me yet and I dont know
now serting whether she hase or not I
have writen to her I have wrote to Henry some
five or six times and have receved one
frome him and have sent five or six
papers frome some of you I haint much
news to tell you only I am well and you mint
know that without my telling you Eli is
got about well now he is so he stays in
his tent he drills part of the time Lym[a]n
is tough as ever and all of the rest of the boys
frome that way tell Father if he did not get
my letter that the[y] [1] will bee some money up
that way before long for him to see to I have
sent about thirty five dollars and Eli the same
Lyman sent his by the express to him
[page 2]
he wants him to send cary it to his wife and she
will pay him for his trouble  I wrote a letter to
Father some time ago and told him all about
it but I did not know but that the letter mint
get lost so I thought I would put it into this to
I have got up a step as to latily promoted some
I gess. it aint every one that works in a cook
house  now I tell you: as this child does
I am shure of anuff to eat eny how now
we have lived well for a good while only once in
a while we are rather short a day or to but thay
cant fool me I work in the cook house and if
eny body gets eny thing to eat I think I shall
I look after No one  well we expect to leave
this place soon probly before this letter will reach
you but whare we shall go I dont know
some say to a fort some to Texas  it is a matter
of indiference to me whare we go  Gen Butler
landed here this morning the was thirteen guns
fired thirteen in a salute a Major General
is entitled to the thirty first Mass Regt lies
out in the harbor on board of the Steamer Mississippi
the Packards are on it and we cant get a chance to see
them. I dont know as thay are agoing to land
but I hope they will for it would seem good to see
some body we are aquainted with the is a good lot of
Soldiers here now and they keep a comming every
littl while  the will bee some fun around here
before long I gess we have been a driling
[page 3]
on the big guns in the fort and that looks
as though we were agoing into a fort some
whare  the gunboats went out last night
and some before one or to today and so on  thay
are agoing to give um some somewhare and
if they take a fort we shall have to go and
hold it  when you get this write and direct the
same as you always do to Ship Island and
thay will follow us all over the United States
if we go  the boys have been busy since they wase
paid of[f] trading watches pistols nives. ec: Eli hase
been prety busy trading  I haint traded much
for I sent my money home and did not have eny
to begin with but I have traded to or three times
pistols and foe [2] nives the hase a funeral
posesian just gone past here  the hase a good many
died since they have been here but not more than
the would to home out of so many I gess  the about
thirteen thousand Soldiers here  Betsy wants
me to write to her but you tell her that
not to think to hard of me for she hase got a man
to here to write to her alone  he haint wrote eny body
else sinc he hase been here and I have to write to
to every body  I haint time now to write to her
eny how  I [hed?] if had I would Eli wrote this morning
and I wase calkulating to write in his letter but
had got it seald up before I new it  I want to hav
you all write to me  all of you because the
the is a lot of you and only me alone and you will
[page 4]
all read my letters you wrote Nancy you wrote
me last and so I am agoing to send this to you
I am getting black as nigger and so are all the
rest  it is the coldest wether now I have seen since
last November  I[t] would bee qu[i]te a site to you to
see our camp groung [3] of to to the right of us is seven
regiments to the right left is three Regts and artilery
and every thing else you can think of  busy times
here now  Well Nancy I have got about wrote
out for this time  if I get a chance to write
again you may besure you will hear frome me some
of you
                          give my best to Sumner and
                      and the rest of the folks\that
                          So good by This Frome your
                                Brother Jairus T Hammond
 
PS I am agoing to make you pay the postag
on this letter  I have got some stamps that Father
and julia sent me but I want them for some
body else  when you write tell me how much
the postage on the letters are how much you
have to pay for them .ec:    :
                         good by. Nancy Jairus
         tell Julia & Jane to write