Bishop appreciates his wife's affection. His tent-mate Edward Comstock died and will be sent home to Danbury. He regrets any negative dealings with Mr. Knapp regarding the Bishop's family's search for a new home. The weather is hot and he laments that his service will likely continue until August. Poor health is complained of.
Lafourch Crossing La.
March 28th 1863
My dear Wife
Your letters of the 5th and 8th came safe to hand yesterday. I found them to be affectionate and good letters my dear Wife and if it were possible they made me love you more. I feel myself darling perfectly satisfied with you and I feel very thankful to my maker that he gives me your love, only keep expressing yourself in terms of fondness and it will give my heart the food that it craves. I have long felt a desire to possess your earnest love and respect as my peculiarities led me to be unappreciated by the world but I am conscious that I did not always take this right means but now my dear wife you seem to understand me and it makes me happy.
This morning we have marched to the cars from the Hospital with the Body of Edward Comstock one of my tent mates who only been complaining about a week, his disease was a kind of paralysis which gradually took him off. the company took a vote to have him embalmed and enclosed in a metallic coffin and sent home to his friends in Danbury. he has a Wife and one child and father and mother at the Bogs. of course it will be a sad blow to his friends to hear of his death but it will be a Tower of Satisfaction to them to have his Body sent home. in the midst of life we are in death.
My dear Wife I have written to Mr. Knapp to tell him that I have no feeling of animosity against him and that I should have accepted his offer if I had been home. I do not wish to hold malice against him as I consider that vengeance belongs to the Lord and I am satisfied that Mr. Knapp thinks he did wrong in turning us out of his House. if you should not get a house before the 1st of April you can accept of one of his houses until I can find one if I come home.
I am glad to hear that Amos is much better and I am in hopes that he will be restored to health. give him my respects and tell him that I should be pleased to receive letters from him if he is able to write.
how is Mother now and how are Fannies folks do they make any inquires after me. give my Respects to them all and tell our children that their father thinks of them often and wishes to see them very much. tell Edward that he must be a good boy and help his mother to take care of the Family while I am away so that I can hear a good report of him when I come home.
My dear Wife you would be amused to hear the rumours that are constantly floating around a camp and some of the arguments that take place in a camp are perfectly rediculous. the Negro causes a great deal of discussion. for my part I think the Negro is not on a social equality with the white man.
my dear I hardly know what to write about that will interest you except that I am filled with happiness because I know that I love you fondly and I know that you love me fondly. i believe you when you tell me my dear little wife that you love me and that you will be glad to have me come home again. I shall be glad when the time comes that I can honorably turn homeward and pray the lord that I shall be spared to take you once more to my heart and feel your dear anns around me.
my darling words are inadequate to express the desire that I feel to once more be at home and be at peace in my family. not that I am any more sick of the service than I was when I entered it but I am thoroughly satisfied that my health is not good enough to stand the hardships of active service but I am in hopes that I shall be able to stand it for the remainder of my time. if I was strong that is if my nervous system was strong I think I should try to get a position in the army that would pay me pretty well but I have become satisfied that I had better let those that do not know any better try the service. the service to a private my dear is just like a prison and it depends altogether on the disposition of the officers whether you are to enjoy the privileges of a freeman or whether you are to be made to feel that you are nothing but a private. and I have made up my mind that I will never again voluntarily enter the service as a private or musician for a company. but my dear there has been enough written on the subject
The weather is extremely hot this morning and I am perspiring while I am writing in the front of the tent. we have had a good deal of wet weather lately and I think we shall have a wet season because we had a very wet and cold equinotial storm.
there is some talking this morning that we are to be put into active service but we cannot tell anything about it because there are rumours constantly floating around that do not have any foundation. we have discussions almost every day about our time. some think that we shall be kept until August and some think that we shall be allowed to go home in June. the Trees are in bloom now on our camp ground
well my darling I have written you a long letter a kind of disultory one, perhaps it will be of some interest to you. I hope that it will repay you for the trouble of reading it. there is no war news of any account. I received the N.Y. times paper with the letters yesterday for which I am obliged.
well my dear little wife remember that I tell you that you are very dear to me as my wife and that I take great pleasure in being called by affectionate terms by you and that I set great store by your letters so do not neglect to write at least twice a week if it is possible and trust in providence that he will take care of us. so good bye my dear, darling, loving wife.
affectionately J. D. Bishop
