Beaufort, SC Dec 23rd 1862
Dear Cousin Roxie,
Your very welcome letter was received nearly three weeks ago and I am ashamed that I have not answered it before, but I have had so much writing to do for the Company that I could find no time to do my own writing & now I have only commenced this while waiting for Captain to go up to his tent after some blanks for me to fill out. Since I wrote you last, we have moved our camp about half a mile to a large square near the center of the village. There were so many trees in our old camp that it made it very damp this winter, and the Dr ordered us to move. We are now more pleasantly situated for this weather than we should been on the old camp Ground. Your letter found me, as the last one did, on picket. I had been out hunting all day and on returning about sunset I found your letter and a paper containing some peach leather, together with some fifteen or twenty papers from home awaiting my return. I had a nice time reading them, the peach leather was very nice indeed and was quite a treat for me. We fared quite hard on picket this time, our relations were short and we had to pick up what we could. We bought some Sweet Potatoes of the Negroes and hunted most of the time but game is pretty scarce and we didn't have very good success. I came into Beaufort the day before the Regt did and got some rations and had them cooked before the Company got here. I found a box for me [at] Adams & Co's Express Office that Lizzie sent to me about three months ago, it had been to Washington, Fortress Monroe and all around. The eatables it contained were very acceptable and I assure you I took good care of part of them. I drew the rations for the company and when they came in I had some beef boiled for them and three large kettles of Coffee. So, if they didn't have any breakfast to start on I had a good supper for them when they got here. Capt is coming, so I will finish this some other time.
Thursday Jan 1st 1862
I wish you all a Happy New Year. This is the first opportunity I have had of writing for myself since I left this. I had got my Returns, Reports, Muster Rolls, & c all made out in good shape and not a mistake or scratch in the whole of them when the adjutant sent over to have them made out in a different form and I had to make them all out again. I'll bet a sixpence I was mad some, but that didn't do me any good so I went at them again and have just got through with the last Muster Roll. I sat up till 12 O'Clock night before last and all night last night to get them done. We are to be mustered at 11 Oclock and as I have about two hours before that time, I will improve it by finishing this letter. Christmas was spent by the Soldiers on this island in all manner of sports, racing, jumping, playing ball, wheelbarrow racing, & c, and all seemed to enjoy themselves. I went down town in the morning and got the bread for our Co and done some shopping and then came back and went to writing. I didn't join in any of the sports. About 4 O'Clock I went down to a Negro Shout and of all the hubbubs I ever heard in my life that capped the climax. The Niggers were all shouting, singing, dancing, clapping hands, and I thought each one was trying to make more noise than his neighbor, but they consider it a kind of worship and seemed to enter into it with their whole soul. In the evening I attended a concert given by a band of colored minstrels, three of the performers being from our company. I was furnished with a complimentary ticket. The performance was first rate and I enjoyed it very much. I should really like to see that "little boy with a Kossuth hat on" I think there must have been quite a change since that picture was taken. I think just as your father does we have been down here enough to have annihilated all the rebels in the South, but we never had over 10,000 effective men in this Department and every new Genl we get will take a handful and make a "successful reconnoisanc and lose two or three hundred men until at present we haven't over 6,000 effective men and they are scattered along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia for over 100 miles and are opposed by over 50,000 men, if it wasn't for our gunboats they would thrash us like fun, but they are afraid of them and prefer to keep their distance. I shall write to Cousin Will as soon as I can get time. I should really like some of that female help but I should hardly know how to behave in their presence for I havn't spoken to a white female in sixteen months. I think however that I could do a tall piece of talking with the aid of a pretty bunch of Crinolines
Tell your mother that "Lizzie's Archie" is one of the nicest young men that Connecticut affords, a regular go-ahead, enterprising Yankee, and he would be in the field fighting for his country were it not for a lame foot. As for the "Yankee girl" I left behind me "I left them all and none in particular, the chief among ten thousand and one altogether lovely hasn't made her appearance to me yet. My heart is as whole as it ever was and I am going to keep it so for awhile. I am not going to "jump in the dark." I intend to look twice at least, before I leap. Don't you think I am sensible? The sick here generally have very good care if they go to the Hospitals, but I have always grunted it out on my own hook as I prefer to keep the Drs trash away from me if possible. I always thought that the more medicine a person took, the more he might and have acted accordingly and let nature work her own cures. I think that is the reason I have not been sick more. We have black tea issued to us. We draw one half rations of Coffee and one half Tea. It isn't as good as we would get at home, but it goes very well for a change. I am glad to hear that Cousin Will escaped form the battles unhurt. I can't say that I want to go into any such fight, for those shot and shell don't sound pretty at all whistling around a person's head and then the rebs shoot so plagueg [plaguing] careless, they are just as apt to hit a fellow as not, but if my duty ever calls me there I shall go and if I ever take any secesh pills they won't hit me in the back. Tell coz Mary that I hope she has entrusted his everlasting love, with some soldier. if she hasn't I shall not give my consent. I have just been out to muster and written the name of every man in the Co five times and now I'll finish this before I get another job on my hands. Perhaps you would like to know what sort of a house I have to live in so I will give you a description of it. We have one of the small "A" tents 7 by 8 feet square for two of us. We dug a hole just the size of the tent about 3 feet deep and boarded it up all around, built a nice fireplace in one corner, laid a good floor and put our tent upover it. We built a bunk on one side so that we can slide it in in the daytime and only take up about 18 inches of room. Under one end is a cupboard where we keep our dishes & c, and under the other end our woodhouse. I got a large writing desk formerly the property of some secesh and a piece of carpet for the floor and two chairs and if you could just step in here for a few minutes you would say we have as snug and cozy a house as we could wish for. I wouldn't exchange places with any person in town. Our Officers have got up several prized to be contended for by the men this afternoon[.] I will give you the details this evening.
9 O'Clock pm
The Sports commenced at 10 O'Clock. 1st was Firing at a Target 3 feet in diameter distance 300 yards. 3 men from each Co to contend. The 2nd prize $5 was awarded to one of our Co. 2nd pistol firing by the commissioned Officers. The one making the poorest shot to forfeit $5. 3rd One man from each Co to be blindfolded and walk 30 yards to a target and bore a hole in it with an augur [auger]. Only one man hit the target. 4th A race of 150 [650?] yards 3 men from each Co to run against time. 5th A wheelbarrow race. 1 man form each Co to be blindfolded and wheel a wheelbarrow 100 yards to the one coming nearest a given spot a prize of $5. It was fun to see them go[.] some of them went around in a circle and brought up near where they started from. 6th A sack race 2 men from each Co to run 30 yards and back to the starting point. They were encased in a large sack tied around their necks and had to hop along a foot or so at a time. It was sport to see 20 large bags hopping around some of them would fall down & tumble around and try to get up but it was no use to try for they couldn't get up till the bag was untied. 7th [illegible]. 5 men from each Co[.] 8th climbing a greased pole to get $5 placed on top of it. 9th Catching a greased pig. 10th A quarter of a dollar was placed in a tub of flour and a Negro with his hands tied behind him to get it out with his teeth. You can imagine he was a gay looking dark when he got it out. 11th Butting match. A crowd of contrabands to butt against each other and the one butting out the rest to have a prize of $2.50. They went at it in earnest and if some them don't have sore heads tomorrow morning, I'll miss my guess. 12th German Turning by the Germans of the Regt and to end of [off] we had a burlesque Dress Parade & Review got up by the enlisted men. We were dressed in all the fantasticals you can imagine and if you could have seen the immense Dutchman on the left of Co "K" you would hardly have taken him for Cousin Gus. Everything passed off pleasantly & we had fun enough to last us a year. Genl Brennan was present and seemed to enjoy the sport as much as any of us.
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I think I have written enough to make up for last time but I will try and do
better next time
Gus
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I have just returned form the Minstrels thus ends New Years Day in Beaufort SC Hoping that ere another New Years day I shall be permitted to visit my Buckeye friends and remain with much love to you all, your affectionate Coz Gus.
