Acton Memorial Library Civil War Archives | The Civil War Letters of Aaron Jones Fletcher

The Civil War Letters of Aaron Jones Fletcher

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Letter dated October 30, 1863 from William B. Reed (Co. E, 26th Mass. Inf.), Opelousas, La., to Aaron Jones Fletcher

Opelousas LA October 30th 1863

Friend Joney
I guess that you
begin to think that I have forgoten my
promis to you for I have delayed to write
to you so long that I am almost ashamed
to begin and the first thing that I shall
have to do will be to say that I am natural
at get tiped out of bed and locked up for
not paying my house rent which I shall
not do untill you get it shingled so that
it will not leak and brake my of my rest
nights. I suppose that you would like to
hear something about our travels through
this part of the country but I dont know
as I can tell you much about it only that
we have stood the march so far as well as
any other regiment and are ready to go ahead
the rest of the way and fight the rebels anytime

[p.2]
when they will stop for us which they have not
done yet but they will skulk around in the
woods and kill off our men from behind
the trees and fences they are such cowards that
they do not dare to come out and fight us
in a fair field and when we move up
they will leave as fast as there horses will
cary them. they threw a few shells over our
heads one day ten miles below here but they
did not do any damage to any one and when
our batrey opened on them they left in a
hury and did not trouble us any more since.
we have got about 40 men on Provost duty
here out of our regiment and about as
many more out of other regiments and are
quartered in the court house and some of
the felows are on guard to some of the houses
to keep the soldiers from stealing there
things from them we have got some prisonars
in the court house and we have a small gaile [jail]
here and one poor fellow we have got
locked up has bin court marshalled and

[p.3]
got his sentence read to him today to be
shot dead tomorrow at twelve o clock for strikeing
his captain and threatening to kill him if he
ever got a chance to do so. but he takes it
very cool and does not seem to mind much
about it. how do you get along this
fall I suppose that you are pretty buisy
how do you like your new doctor I should
like to be around there now and have a
glass of lemon punch about this time
the boys in camp find it quite cold in those
little tents some of these windy and rainy
nights but they get three or fore bare tents
together and by so doing sleep pretty
warm. I have bin in the court house ever
since we hae bin here and we have had a
good fire and so we have not felt it much
John Fletcher is copral here with us and
sends his respects to you and charley
by the way I am much obliged to you for
your kindness to me about that bottle with
the skull and crossbones on it for I had

[p.4]
the pleasure of a smell at the cork a
couple of times and it went to just
the right spot and if we get together
once more where there is a chance we will
have a smell at something as good if it is
to be found Jonsey Haynes is well and wants
to know if you have had any icecram
since we left they boys are the most of them
well and I am smart as ever and hope that
this will find the same give my respects
to Charley and tell him to write a few lines to
me when he has time please write as soon
as you get this I do not think of any
more to write this time so I will close hopeing
that you will forgive my neglagance in not
writeing before I will say good bye
from your friend
William B Reed

to A J Fletcher