Letter from: Lafourche Bayou, Louisiana (Document)

Letter from: Lafourche Bayou, Louisiana

Bishop, Joseph D., 1825-1863

2 leafs, bi-fold, pencil on paper

Bishop writes of the regiment being spread out and of his reaction to affairs at home. This letter contains the phrase noble sentiments of the soul. He reports on another attempt to take Vicksburg and that there had been some malfeasance among the company while on guard duty and worried that the consequence could be a transfer to Vicksburg. At one point there were to his approximation 1500 liberated former enslaved persons in camp.

1863-02-11

United States. Army. Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 23rd (1862-1863)

ms071_01_06_1863_02_11

Gift of Carol Lieto

Dearest Wife,
Lafourch [Lafourche] Bayou [LA]
February 11 th 1863

Today is a rainy day and I cannot do much but stay inside and keep as comfortable as possible. My dear I was glad to get your letter yesterday and glad to hear that you were all well with the exception of the natural infirmity of your sex. I hope you came out of it all right. My dear I think your sex are to be pitied for that and other infirmities that you are entailed with but you seem to bear it without much grumbling.

My dear we are all broken up as a regiment and the different companies are scattered along the road doing guard duty. Co Bis stationed at this place. the Col has his head quarters at this station also. this movement has separated the musicians for the present as each Co takes its Drummer and fifer but I donot have the trouble of taking care of them. perhaps this will not last long.

about your moving it makes me indignant every time I think of Clark Hoyt and I have been tempted to write him a letter stating to him what I thought of him. I have a good mind to have you stay there until I come home. when you move if you do I want you to take off all the locks and bolts that I had put on the Doors and take them with you when you move. as it regards the paint things if you could find some place to store them until I come back. I sometimes think that I will get some of the Boys together and give Clark Hoyt a good licking when we get back but I donot think that it would be christian to do so.

My dear the time of the enlistment runs on and if we live our time out we shall not regret our enlistment. I think that some of the Boys are improved by the soldiers life and some are hardened but I think on the whole that the life is calculated to call out the noble sentiments of the soul.

there are a great many negroes here but not as many as there has been at one time there was 1500 but some have gone back to work and some have enlisted and some have died &c &c it is difficult to tell what the ultimate condition of them will be. the war news in this part of the country is not encouraging although they are going to try again to take Vicksburgh. I hope they will be successful but I donot expect it because we donot seem to succeed for some reason or other.

My dear continue to do your duty and I hope we shall not be seperated for a great while it may seem lonesome to you without me which I hope it does as I should be sorry to think that you would rather have me away than at your side. My dear I am in hopes that our separation may result in state of feeling which may enable us to live harmoniously together at all times let us my dear endeavor to study the happiness of each other as much as possible and willingly practice that self denial that will enable us to throw aside our own preferences for the wishes of each other. My dear wife it is after Tattoo at night and the tree Toads are chirping. there is no frost in the ground in this climate and the weather is quite warm. I am afraid that we shall have trouble with some of our men as some of them or one of them has been engaged in stealing some of the piping and other things about the sugar mills and a complaint has been made to our colonel today. we or some in our squad have heard who the principal man engaged in this business is but we do not feel at liberty to mention who the person is as we think that it will leak out of itself. we have had a good name as a regiment but I am afraid that this matter will injure our reputation and may injure our prospects for continuing in this position of Guard duty. the regiments have been before us have had to go to Vicksburgh to fight because they could not be trusted to guard this property. and we are in hopes that nothing may transpire to cause us to leave this post until out time expires. there is a fair prospect that we shall stay in this place until our time expires. if we do our duty. My dear I am glad that my principles are such that I have been enabled to resist the temptation to enrich myself dishonestly. in fact I have never had as inclination to take that which did not belong to me.

the time is now half past 5 in the morning and as I do not feel sleepy I get up almost every morning at 5 o'clock. I have to be up at½ past 6 now but it used to be at 6 but I have got into the habit of waking up at 5 o'clock and I cannot seem to sleep after that it is so damp and chilly to one, the dew is very heavy here at night. I suppose you are in the arms of morpheus about this time taking your morning nap unless the children awaken you early. the musketoes [ mosquitos] are quite thick here now and while I am writing now they are flying around.

My dear Wife it seems to be established that our time is out by the 16 of June and we think that they will start us for home by the 1st of June. My Drum Corps is all broken up as long as the Regiment is divided up but I think the Colonel will order them together by and bye for practice.

It struck me as strange that Isabella did not come to see you but I know that they donot make a practice of coming to see us as often as they do the other members of the Family. I will try and write to Amos and I should have done so before this but that I cannot bear to write unless I write to you.

My dear my tent mates are all asleep around me some of them have been on guard in the night and they are sleeping at the rate of 10 knots an hour. I have filled 2 sheets almost in this letter my dear and I hope the content will prove interesting to you at any rate my dear remember that I love you and respect you and that my great desire is to be with you I donot wish to have you think that I am sick of soldiering because I like it better than I did when I first went. well my dearest wife accept my love and kind wishes for your health and the childrens and believe me

to be your loving husband

J. D. Bishop