March 20th, 1863

Dear and gentle family back home,

Here I am with mercy – a saved object to send you my affairs once more. I sent David /Owen, a brother/ a letter informing him of my intention to write this letter the day after. But look at the span of time between the two. I had to go with a section of the Company to work on the canal the morning after. You can learn from this how little we know beforehand. The first thing I have to ask is can you not live together always – those who are left at home. I was so happy to learn that John is living at home this winter. I am not by now without a little realisation of the value of home, and how much I would sacrifice, and all the feelings that would fill me too often when there, to have the same conveniences once again. This has been on my mind more than anything for the past 6 weeks. So I thought it could have been more of an advantage for you to be together despite everything. And if I were so lucky to be able to come home there would be enough work for us all, I am sure. But things seem very dark for our freedom now. But the One who commanded light to shine from the darkness is the same as when creating the world. It is good for me to consider that it is God who reigns and governs in man’s kingdom. I have received two letters from you since I last wrote, one from Owen /Owen, brother/ and one from Ann /Owen, sister/, and every letter I receive revives me. I am very obligated to David especially because of his faithfulness and punctuality in sending the first money I received, in Wm. Roberts’ letter. I don’t know what I would have done if I had not received it. I had the $5 in Richard’s letter last week and I think that the best thing for me is to keep it, because it was only last Monday that we were first paid after leaving Madison. They paid us until the first of January 1863, but there was only $30 dollars, more to come. I have allotted $10 a month in getting here. So it would be better for me to have some with me than to be without anything as before. David wanted to send a box of small items. It would be nice to have some cheese and a little butter and some dried beef and some ham. If it would be possible to preserve the beef, and cheese would be the safest to send. I do not want you to bother sending things like cakes. A bit of black and red pepper and mustard would be nice, and things of that nature would suit us best. It would be good to have a good pair of scissors to cut hair and some sort of a large thimble, also a good, long, coarse comb, as some things are very hard to get hold of without a great charge. We need writing paper and, just as much, envelopes to go with it. I reckon also that it would be a good plan if someone would send some labels to say for whom things are. Because everyone is for himself here. If some do not want to send, then you do not have to send me a big box. And I do not know whether you can send one at all in fact. Well, I have an abundance of things like this maybe this time. We have moved our camping ground to around 24 twenty /sic/ higher up the river and I think that it is a much better place, as our history in Wales has shown. I have recovered well by now. When I wrote to you last I never thought I would recover half as well as I have. I am by now very well and strong. William Jones is not very strong and he has been feeling very weak. But he has followed the Company nearly all the time. Wm. Edwards has kept going quite strongly until recently, but now he feels rather ill. Wm. Roberts has fallen quite ill now and I do not know what to think of him – will he get stronger soon, or is he quite ill? Hugh Williams has kept going very well all the time. But now he is poorly as well and quite ill. How the strongest falls. But now we must come to the Name that is not counted by now among the living and he is John D. Williams. He died at the Regimental hospital on March 18th at a quarter to 10 in the night. He had been ill on the 10th of January, 1863 when we had been out in the swamp for 5 days without shelter at all over our heads. It rained quite heavily one night and ever since that he was unable to do a thing. The measles caught him while going up the river to Arkansas Post. The measles got better quite easily, but he remained quite weak. He went with the formations that were on their way to the hospital in Memphis when we moved our camping ground, but they failed to get a steamer that day they were with the Regiment waiting for a pass to go up the river. So our friend John’s career was terminated and we had nothing to do but lay him in a bed of earth to wait, I believe, for a better resurrection. Now I must conclude. Remember my first request out of everything – the boys must not be drafted. It would be much better to pay $900 Dollars on half than to come under the claws of the rascal scab Officers that our present government has. It is worse than working on mud bricks for Pharaoh. But inasmuch as I believe that we are defending the Principles of Freedom I would never consider desertion. Please accept my kindest regards to the whole family. I must conclude. Accept this kindly this time,

From Edward

P.S. Do not send any clothes for me unless it is an “overall”.

Edward Owen