Cape Fear Saturday Feb 4th 1865
Dear wife
I will drop you a fiew lines to let
you know that I am well and Hope this will find
you all the same we got a mail yesterday But there
was nothing for me it was ownly a one days mail
there was a steamer coming Here from fortress
monroe and they Braught that days mail with
them But there wasent annything for me Bill
Jones got a letter from His wife wrote on the 19th
of January with a likeness in it and John Linn
got one from His Brother Jim wrote on the 20th
Bill Joneses wife Said Red Caton and Jack
was Home on a furlough I dont see How they could
get a furlough But there Regiment sees good
times to what we do they are ownly Sunday
Soldiers compared to us all that Regiment Has
Ever done is to Build winter quarters and lay
and sleep in them Bills wife Said Red told Her we
was very Louzy and dirty that is the Truth
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But if they would see us now I guess they would
think we was dirty for all the wood down Here
is yellow pine and its as fat as anny fat pine
I Ever Saw we do all our cooking with that kind
of wood and it smokes like a tar kill and
makes us as Black as anny nigger you Ever
Saw we cant keep clean nor Half clean for the
whole camp is Burning pine knots and it Smokes
Everything for forty miles around or less But
we are a little cleaner than we was the night
after fort fisher surrenderd I wish to god you
could seen us that night I dont suppose
you would knowed me that night if you had
stood alongside of me for we dident wash
for a week Before we got off the Boat there
was a storm at sea and the Boys was all
sick and spewing all over the Boat and tosted
from one side to the other and when we landed
we was a Hard looking set of Human Beings
we landed on friday and all Said we woldent
wash until fort fisher was captured and
we dident the fort surrenderd on Sunday
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night about ten oclock and then you can judge
what kind of a looking set we was for fighting
all the afternoon and the forepart of the night
and the powder smoke just set us our I dont
wonder the johnes was afraid of us for we
was Enough to scare the old fellow Himself
I see the Rebble papers say they Repulsed us
all day and we stole in uppon them in the
night when they was a sleep and took the fort
But they are liars they dident Repuls us at all
nor they dident go to Sleep But they faught
away until we killed wounded and captured
the whole party of them they they Had to give
up the goast we went to take the fort and dident
calculate to Be Repulsed when we was Here on
Chrismus day there was But two Hundred men
in the fort and we could captured it just as well
as not old Butler said it couldent Be taken
But we wanted to show Him that it could Be
taken and there was nearly three thousand men
in it when it was taken general terry Sayes
the wourld never Saw Such fighting
[page 4]
for officers and men all worked togather
and worked Hard the Ballance of our Regt Haint
arived yet But we Expect them in a day ortwo
then I guess we will get a mail I feel anxious
to Hear from Home I wish when you send the
next letter you would get me a fine comb
and send to me my comb is played out
the teeth is all Broke out of it you must
send some paper and Envelops too
for its imposible to get paper Here if you
see the katin Boys they can tell you about How
the thing goes with us down Here for there
Regt layed ownly about three quarters of a mile
from ours on chapins farm and some of them
was up to our Regt nearly Every day the Rebs
Had two Roes of torpedoes planted all around
fort fisher calculating to Blow us all up
[???????????] [the fort?] but the two [1]
men that was to do it Both got killed Before
they could acomplish there object there was
wires layed from the fort to the torpedoes
and they calculated to set them off By a
galvanic Batterry I will Send a peace of the
wire in this letter But I must Close
Write often I may get them after awhile
From Harrison Nesbitt