This letter was written by Daniel N. Roberts (1836-1906), the son of Morehouse Roberts (1790-1847) and Susannah Newman (1806-1898) of Sunbury, Delaware county, Ohio. Daniel was 25 years old when he enlisted as a private in Co. D, 20th Ohio Infantry on 3 October 1861. Her remained in the service for three years, mustering out on 17 October 1864.

In his letter, Dan writes considerably about his brother Giles Hartley Roberts (1845-1908). Giles enlisted at the age of 18 in Co. G, 96th Ohio Vol. Infantry (OVI) in August 1862. He was transferred to Co. D of the 17th Veteran Reserve Corps in January 1864. He also mentions brothers Lord Byron Roberts (1827-1889), Edward Henry Roberts (1841-1912) who also served in the 20th OVI, John L. Roberts (b. 1838) in the 18th Illinois Infantry, and Benjamin Franklin Roberts who served in the 18th Illinois Infantry and later in the 15th Illinois Cavalry.

After the war, Dan settled in Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois, and was married in 1870 to Julia Branin (1845-1923).

Transcription

Vicksburg [Mississippi]
September 7, 1863

Dear Brother,

I received yours of the 14th and was very glad to hear from you once more but was sorry to hear that your children had such sore eyes. My health is very good now. Ed has gone home on a sick furlough. He left here the 23rd of August. He was getting better all the time. Most all the boys that had been sick or was not well got a sick furlough. I have not heard from him since he left here. Sanders and John Mayfield got a furlough too. Tip has not got back yet. He has been gone over a month.

I have not had a letter from home for a long time. I got one from Giles last night. His health is very poor yet. He has the chills yet. Giles is talking about going to his regiment. He says he can’t get his discharge. He thinks if he was to his regiment, he would get it. The 96th [Ohio Infantry] has gone to New Orleans. Giles is now at Schofield Barracks Hospital, Mo. I wish you or Byron would go and get him home. He would get his discharge. I think you had better write to him and see what he says about it. I do wish he had his discharge and at home for Mother worries the most of her time about him.

I heard from John about a month ago. He was at Helena then. He said they had marching orders then. He thought they would go up White River. John was not very well then. He had been quite sick but was getting a great deal better then.

I had a letter from Ben about the same time I got one from John. Ben was well. He was at Corinth, Mississippi, then.

Well, George, we just got back last Thursday night from a long march. We was gone fifteen days. We went to Monroe, Louisiana. We got on the boats here and went up the river sixty miles. We got off the boats then and it was 75 miles to Monroe. We had to walk. The weather being very warm, it made a very hard march. We suffered a great deal for water.

The rebs had quite a large force of cavalry at Oak Ridge, about fifty miles from the river. They heard it was Johnny A. Logan’s rats ¹ that was after them [so] they pulled up stakes and the way they went for Monroe. We followed them [and] we expected to have a fight when we got there but they did not stop there. They left a good many sick there in the hospital. George, it was the lonesomest country that I was ever in—nothing but woods and swamps and any number of rattlesnakes. I saw one killed seven feet long. It had 13 rattlers on. There was a boy bit by one of them. He did not live one hour after he was bit.

Well, George, I must now close by asking you to write soon.

Your brother, — Dan

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¹ John Alexander Logan (1826-1886), nicknamed “Black Jack” was at the height of his popularity at the time this letter was written, having lead his division with distinction in campaign to capture Vicksburg, most notably in the assault following the explosion of a mine. I have not been able to find any other references to Logan’s men being called “rats.”