In camp on bayo Chakeliah 10 P.M. May the 18th 1864 My Dearest Lizabeth with some inconvienance & a degree of haste I shall indever to address you it has bin sometime since I atempted such the river below Alexandria has bin blockaded for a long time & the rebels capturd 2 of our boats & got two mails that we no of one coming from home & one going to home burnt the boats & sunk them & so the other day we started & fought our way thru the rebels did not make much of a stand til we got to Marksville 30 milds from Alexandria & thare the 16th after a litle fighting on the evening befour they made a stand in the open peraid at the edge of the timber the 3rd brigade of Cavelry & 1st marcht up & had to fall back throde out pickets & went in camp & wated for the infantry so on the morning of the 16th we all marcht out the 3rd & 1st brig leading the way the rebels met us & soon skirmishing comenst the cavelry formd & drove them on & on to the edge of the timber & we moved on & all was silent directly we got up as close as the rebels wanted us & they opend on us with 15 peases of Artilery all at once with grape & canester the hole air was full of flying iron & led & shells & canon balls but it did not hurt much for it lookt like that it hit evry whare else but whare we was thare was 4 canon balls that struk the ground in front of our company & jumpt it one of them did not jump hie anough & hit a bugel on one of our boys sadels but soon our artilery opend on them & we give way to the flanks & let the infantry in & they marcht on as tho nothing had hapend but they did not get to sho thare hand til the rebels got up & left on duble quick our men pored it in to them as they left they turnd off an other road & we come on we got here of the 17th found our gun boats here & we have stopt & throde a pontoon bridge across this bayou & are going to cross & I recon go on to the Mississippi river some 19 milds from here whare I gess we will recrute & rest a while as we come on down I hear whare the rebels had burnt our boats & tore & scaterd our mail in evry direction they broke open all of them we found some that was directed to Co A but they went rong one to Lieutenant Meadors I recon if the Northern Ladys had known that the rebels would have read thare letter they would not like it much we left some of them at Marksville that will not read any more of our letters I ust to think that I did not want to kill any of them but now I had as soon shoot at one of them as as hogy[?] & I am not going to try to miss them a purpose our loss in the fight on the 16 was not more than ten rebel loss unknown 87 won the rebels come up to day away back some 8 milds in the rear & I herd this evening that our men whipt them good fashen thay have tride to do something ever since we left Grandecore & they have allways got the worst of it we have whipt them evry time they are not coming tho now in much forse & when we turn on them they get back they get all around us at Alexandria & our gun boats was above the shoals & we could not keep them from the river & they sent word in to us that we belonged to them but I rather think that we was very unruly children May the 19th 1864 this is a beautiful morning we are sadeld up thare is a grate many things that maks my hart ache to sea one grate thing is burning evry thing the Army comenst burning at Alexandria that place was burnd to the ground & all along to this place women & children turnd out of dores & I have sean them cry for protection & not lisend to you know nothing about this war I cannot help but say Lord have mercy on a woman & her children eaven if her husband is in the army we have not got any mail for a long time I would like to here from you now & I hope it wil not be long til we wil get a mail I do not know whare we wil go but we may go to Neworleans or Batenrouge one of the other I am well & harty hoping that this may find you well I have a letter that has been written a long time but I wil send it as it does not mater with it about being late camp near Fort Smith May the 19/64 12 milds from the Mouth of Red river Remember me when this you sea tho many milds apart we be I still remain yours truly til deth Give my respects to all & save all my love for your self M A Hooker to Elizabeth Jane Hooker Patrick J. Anderson http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=patanderson 9654 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, Maryland 20723