New Orleans La. Feb 8th 1863Dear Sister,

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After so long a time I take my pen to answer your kind letter of the 8th which came to hand in due time- and was glad to hear of your health your prosperities &c; I am also thankful that your letter found me enjoying good health as your desires expressed it might. My health is first rate except my hand and that isent much any way. our brigade was ordered of on a long march and all that wasent able to do duty were sent to the general hospital here in the City. We are having a first rate good time here - have plenty good food- a good clean comfortable bed - good room fire &c. I should have much rather gone with my company and they will

see of the country and perhaps had another sight at the rebels - but I probable should seen some hard times and perhaps heard more cold iron & lead if head gone; but on the whole am verry well of where I am and will be better to lay by til my hand gits healed up; it is doing well now runs some & isent much sore; the sore is about an inch long and 3/4 of an inch wide - looks verry much as though a rifle ball had come pretty clost to it.

To day is the Saboth - it seames the most like the Saboth of any day I have seen for a long time; it is so stil and quiet it rearly seams good not to hear the bustle of the camp that we generally hear on Sunday.

Last eavening I attended a prayer meeting in one part of the hospital; we had a verry good meeting and is the first one have had a chance to attend for a long time; to day at half past

two O’clock there is going to be preach- ing in the same room - and another one this eavening.

I suppose by this time that the fine warm weather that you had new years is chan- ged to cold stormy bleak weather; we had verry nice pleasant weather them days; it was warm as September in VT. there hasent been but few days here but what has been warm enough to go in our shirt sleaves.

Let me see if I can show you a little where I am to day. This hospital is just out of the City on the west sid of it. I am in a room 2d story fronting the City - siting on my bed (or more like a lounge) looking out of the window on to the City which last May was sunk in degre- dation misery and near starvation, full of seces, murderers and all kinds of wickedness; but now the is under the best disipline and order it had been for many years. I wish you could

look out of the window with me a moment and take a little view of the City but what would bee much more pleasant would be a fiew of the City of New York which is as much a head of this as this is a head of a slab City; but this might interest you some sine you have never been in a large City; and it would be some what interesting to look over our hospital - here you will see some with a hand slung up - some on their crutches - some with a cane; some laid up with the rumatis - some pale and poor as though recovering from a long sickness- others confined to their bed- and in fact all kinds of disease and cripples. on the whole it is rather a place of pity than a place of scenery.

I wrote to Lyman the 6th that I thought I should go into the City yesterday but did not go; think of going tomorrow. I shall wait til after tomorrow before I finish this letter

J. F. Gale