Helena Arkansas May 22nd 1865 My Dearest Elizabeth this morning is warm and I feal lazy & stupid tho I am as well as I have ever been & hope this may find you well. I am confident that I will not write much for my fealings proves that tho it has been 5 or 6 days since I have writen on account of being on a scout down the river. Shurly I will be acquainted with the Mississippi River for I have traveled it over & over. Capt Anderson ( Major now) with 75 men went down to Friar's Point 15 milds below here and stade 4 days & nights to try to get Capt Stanly or a band of Gurrillers that was in that portion of the state of (Miss) but the Citizens saved us of the truble by capturing him and his men and shooting them. The citizens are worse than the yanks after the Gurrillas now for they have no mercy at all. Out of 15 they only took 2 prisoner and they was going to hang one of them but they sent them to us saying that if we did not well then they would. We went out from Friar's Point and out 6 milds we met some of them with guns and they told us that we need not go for they had cleand them out. Stanly was a notorious carectar and if you remember he killed 3 of the 87 some 2 months ago. While on a scout over there a citizen told me that they caught Stanly an took him up stares to gaurd him and he beged them not to kill him. They told him to pray if he wishd and he got down on his knees and tride to pray but could not and then he made a brake for the window and jumpt through it and he was shot 3 times befour he struck the ground and after he struck the ground they emted 3 duble barill shot guns in to him. They had 6 of his men and they made a brak to get away and they shot 4 of them and give us the other two. They are in jail now. The wether is warm the river is falling a litle. I am now detailed to go on duty. I went to ¦¦¦ some sinks Our duty is not hard atall I have not been on picket for a month we are laying around waiting on uncle sam to muster us out or keep us in one or the other. All the Rebels East of Red River has surenderd and are to come in here tomorrow or next day and deliver up there arms it is thought that they are 700 strong. There is big talk this morning of going home all is lively and one says that one sombody said that the company Sergent said that he herd the Chaplain say that he herd the post master say that the orders to muster the 87 out was then & thare in the office and there is an order in the "Commonwealth Commercial" for all troops in Grant's & Sherman's Army whoes terms of service expires prior to October 1865 is to be mustered out rite off but not the troops in the dept of Mo & Ark Commanded by General Pope. And you ought to here what a talk this gets up. Some will have it the way he wants it ever day. I must now close hoping that camp talk may be true this time and if so I will be home soon. I am as ever yours truly McAllister A. Hooker Co A 87 Ills. Vols Inft. Patrick J. Anderson http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=patanderson 9654 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, Maryland 20723