This letter was written by Lewis Josselyn of Co. K, 38th Massachusetts Infantry. Lewis was a shoemaker like his father when he enlisted at the age of 20 to serve three years. He was mustered out of the service on 30 June 1865 at Savannah, Georgia.

In the 1860 U.S. Census, 17 year-old Lewis was still residing at the home of his parents, Cyrus Barker Josselyn (1814-1898) and Elizabeth Barker Bates (1811-1885) in Hanover, Plymouth county, Massachusetts.

Lewis wrote this letter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while the 38th Massachusetts was attached to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 19th Army Corps, Department of the Gulf. A few weeks later, the 38th participated on the ill-fated Red River Campaign.

See also:
Lewis Josselyn, Co. K, 38th Massachusetts (letter dated 11 December 1863)
Lewis Josselyn, Co. K, 38th Massachusetts (letter dated 16 February 1864)

Transcription

Baton Rouge [Louisiana]
March 9 [1864]

Dear Mother, &c. 

We had a terrible thunder shower last night. Sometimes it would sound as if forty thousand cannon were fired off at once, it was so hard. It has not cleared off yet and is now very dark and rainy. I tell you what, it don’t know how to rain in Massachusetts as it does here. When it is a mind to, it comes down in perfect floods. One would think the bottom of the washbowl had come out and all was coming down on us at once.

I got another letter from you this morning and one last week. I did not write an answer to that one for I had just put a letter in the office for you this morning. I did not expect one again this morning, but I was going to write today or tomorrow whether I had one or not. I am glad that Edith and all of you are better again and I wish I could write the same. I for one am as well as can be, but Eli he gets along rather poorly. He has been quite unwell since I wrote last. The first of it, he thought it was the medicine he was taking for his diarrhea that made him feel so bad, and it might have been that. Anyway, he is far from well. Lime is some better of his sore throat than when I wrote before, but it is not well yet. Mark, I guess, feels quite smart now. I don’t ever think to ask him how he is for he is round carrying on as much as he ever is, if not more. You know he was always more quiet than Lime was.

Last night Butt and I went to a show that is now here for a few nights. It was a Polyorama (they call it) of the war from New York. It was paintings the same as a panorama or I could not see any difference in it. It was the best show of the kind that I ever saw. The paintings were as natural as life. One of the pieces was a fight between the Monitor and Merrimack. It first showed the Cumberland (the one that Hugh was in) and Congress in the Hampton Roads rocking in the water. The waves looked as if it was the sea itself. Then in steamed the Merrimack, going up to the Congress as if to run into and sink her, but the Congress then was aground and she dare not venture up to her, so she turns upon the Cumberland and runs into her, and then runs back and tries it again, this time making a hole in the Cumberland, and she sinks, with her colors still flying at the mast.

The Monitor now comes in, and engages the Merrimack. She finally finds the Yankee cheese box too much for her and she has to retreat. As she does so, she fires a shell at the Congress and sets it on fire and is destroyed. This was done the best of anything of the kind I ever saw. I go to the Theatre every few nights. They now have it closed to us and our boys go as guard. I could go every night if I wanted to, but I don’t want to go every night unless they are going to play something pretty good—better than it generally is, for it is a poor theatre.

Yesterday there was quite a fight outside between the rebs and our cavalry. For several days the rebs have been hanging round our cavalry pickets and our cavalry have been out a number of times but could not find them. Day before yesterday they were at the Plantation on which two of our company are stopping as guards and took a mule and a horse, They did not go to the house where they boys are or they would have been taken prisoners, They scared the niggers most to death. There was about twenty-five of them.

Yesterday a Lieutenant and a small squad of cavalry went out and they came on about fifty rebs. The rebs were hid in the bushes and fired on our cavalry, killing the Lieutenant and wounding one. They then sent a messenger right in and the rest of the cavalry went out and two regiments of infantry and some of a battery with muskets instead of cannon. The cavalry caught up with the rebs and took quite a lot of them prisoners and killed a lot, so some say, but there is so many stories aging, I can’t get the truth of it yet. I know they took two for they were brought to the judge’s office and I took them to jail. One of them was complaining all the way up there. He said one of the cavalry struck him on the back with his revolver. I thought it was mighty lucky for him that he did not get a bullet through him instead of a blow. They bother our pickets a good deal by coming up and shooting at them every little while. Our folks had ought to use them a little harder than they do when they catch them for it is not considered fair upon each other’s pickets.

Three days ago our regiment and another went out eight miles to see what they could find. They returned the same day without seeing a reb. It was quite a little tramp for the boys, they not being used ti it lately. I was glad we did not gave to go.

Day before yesterday there was an eating saloon keeper killed here by a soldier. They had a little fuss about something when the soldier drew his revolver and shot him dead. The soldier escaped and has not been found yet. I wsa past the saloon yesterday and the corpse lay in there with four candles lit around him—two at his head and two at his feet as the Catholics always do. It looked kind of queer to see a corpse that way.

George [B.] Oldham has been up to see us since I wrote last but he has now gone back again to New Orleans and from there he is going up round through the Tesche country (we call it where we marched last summer) recruiting for his [USCT] regiment for he has got to get a certain number of men before he can be mustered as an officer. He had on a new suite of clothes—an officer’s suit, and he makes a splendid looking officer.

I wrote you that Lime talked of applying for a commission. He says he does not want the folks to know anything about it so you need not say anything to anyone about it if you have not. He may have given up the notion now.

I wrote you to send some postage stamps some while ago but soon after that I had a chance to buy some do I got a lot—enough to last me a long time. You need not send me anymore unless I write for you to. I hope they will conclude to have a railroad run through Hanover and down round our way as you say there is some talk of, but I am afraid it will turn out more talk than cider for I don’t believe they could make it pay. It would be a mighty fine thing if I could when I come home ride as near home as the old forge in the cars.

We have just had another thunder shower but it was not so hard a one as we had last night. I guess it will now clear off. Everything here now begins to look like spring. All the trees are leafing out and the peach trees have all bloomed and blown off, and I noticed today on a fig tree that had leafed out some small figs.

That man I wrote to you about who is sentenced to be shot is still in the jail, but I don’t hear anything about him now. You ask me if I remember Mr. Morris. I do but he don’t probably me anymore than that I was one of those that were sick in the hospital while he was one of the nurses there. It would be curious if he did for he belonged to a different company and there was a good many in the hospital at the time I was. You say Barker talks of going to Abington again to work. I should think it would be rather lonesome for him to work alone in the shop after he has had company so long. I hope he will be lucky enough to get drafted on this call or any other for I think after this call is filled up, that there will be troops enough in the field to wipe this cursed rebellion out. I sincerely hope so. I believe the rebs will get fits before this summer is out. Someone of our company got up a petition to send to Gov. Andrews to have our 2nd Lieutenant made a 1st Lieutenant rather than have him resign as he talks of doing. Most of the boys signed it and so did I for we all like him as a lieutenant and we would like to have him stay but when he was made a lieutenant, all of the boys would have been pleased enough for him to resign and would have paid something if they could get clear of him that way.

Yours till death, — Lewis