Morganza Louisiana June the 5th/64 My Dear Elizabeth Jane Hooker after a long scout of 7 days & nights I have got back to this place I received a letter from you while I was gon I think the date was May the 14th it found me well as also this leaves me & I hope that it may find you well We had a big time we started out south west went nearly to chaffalea bayou & turnd away to the river 15 or 20 milds below Port Hudson & came up the river to camp but stopt to chase the rebels evry time we could here of them we had severl litle scurmishes with them & one morning we got the rebels brakfast & eat it & pusht on after them the nigars was just redy to hand it out to them when we dasht in & took possesion of the hole thing it come very handy for we had not had our brakfast we pusht on after them & routed them out of the nest & took about $3,000 dollars worth of store goods such as hats pants shirts & drawers I got 4 pare of drawers my self wine & rum & whisky lots of it we allso capturd 35 horses & muels we got what we could eat such as pork beaf corn bread biscuit bacon & milk & buter after we get all we could we came back we lost one kild & 4 wounded & we capturd 20 prisners & kild 5 of them that we no of & 2 ofersers one Captain Major Badger of the 1st Louisiana was wounded slitly I hope tho that he will soon be abel to go as he is a good Ofercer you said that you thought that I mout have writen to Eliza all about Henrys deth I would apoligize if thare had not bin others to have don the same thing whom I depended on I was scouting evry day & fighting evry day & when Peter Leak left I told him to write for the boys & let the folks at home know how they was but he got a furlo unexpected by us & also by him self but he is at home now & can tel all about the fight that Henry was kild in not with standing as soon as I get don I will write to her & tel her all that I know about his deth I was a litle suprisd to no how much Gates charged for coming to sea the baby if I was to gess I would gess that his presence did about as much good as a drumer does is the servis & that is nun but we must not grumble at charges for that is what keeps them up & we all have to live this is a beter contry than we have for to mak corn the wether has bin rainey now for a weak & corn is silking steam boats is plowing the Missippi & business is going on briskly the rebel Army is not any ways close to us & all is quiet My horse is all rite & he is a splended horse I ride him all day & turn him loose at night & let him pick round camp = the boys is all well but Marten & I do not know where he is but I gess he is at N. orleans Oscar Mart & myself was at a house last night garding it & got a nice super & lep in the Hall that is something extrie for us yankees as the rebels call us we rode in to a pen to water our horses yesterday & Major Lands horse lade down with him & coverd him up in mud & water raising a big laughf in the 87th we went in to an old stabel the other night to get corn & got coverd with flees & when we lade down to try to sleep you would have laughft to have sean us kicking & jumping & shaking blankets & striping off our clothes but if we have to stay down here with dogs we may expect to have flees on us if we get out of our plases & stop to long & get back to the rear thare is a litle squad that makes us get down & walk about 4 milds & you may know that I am not fond of walking & so I do not go back thare if I stop I take good care to not get to far back You said friday evening 4 o clk P.M. May the 13 I wonder what Mack is doing I can tel you I was about 8 milds this side of Alexandria La. stopt at the side of the road to wate for the infantry to come up & as I am teling I wil not omit to tel you what I was doing all tho it was not rite; I was reading a very interesting book that I had picked up in the road it was a novel but about now I am sweting like a nigar at a Lection & thare is some of them old flies on me yet & they seam to me to be a rival for the litle raksals is trying to keep me from writing to my dearest the wether is cloudy & looks like rain = Sam is writing & Mart is reading a litle book that we got on a scout & Oscar is writing a letter & Lee is gon to get some grub for the regt = & now as I have to write severl letters I must close for the present hoping to here from you soon I still remain your true Husband til deth shal part us you must escuse my bad writing & I wil squease you, oh as excuse yours give my love to all inquiring frends & save all the best for your self tel george that I am going to send him a litle book but he must learn to read 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