Envelope

Mr Jonas. Gale
Elmore LamoileCounty Vt

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New Orleans8th Vt. Vols. Co. AJune 6th 1862Dear Father,

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I wil write you a few lines this forenoon to let you know that I am wel & hope that these lines wil find you enjoying the same blessings. I have been neglecting writing for some time in hopes to get another letter from home but as I got no letter yesterday when the mail was distributed to our Co. I wil wait no longer.

I have been to work at cooking for two weeks or more: our first cook Mr Beard has been unable to work much and so I have been helping Charley Cooper about cooking; I like the bisness verry

well although it is harder work than soldiers common duty but I dont care for that; our living here is the best that we have had since we left Vermont; we have fresh beef occasionally and soft bread ever other day; Chas. and I fried fresh beef steak this morning from day light til 7 oclock; there is a lot of cattle delivered to our regiment that the [1st] Indiana regiment took from the rebbels so we shal be likely to have fresh meat some; our reg. has moved accrosst the river into Agiers this is a sma- ll place or part of the city. our quarters are in the depot and a few cars that stand there empty our cooking establishment is under some nice shade trees which make it verry comfortable these warm days; we havent had verry hot

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weather here yet: they say here that it is verry cool here this season I have had no letter from any of you since the one dated May third; and have had only one from Lyman since I left New York. Wesly got one yesterday dated May 13th the Elmore boys are all able to do duty; there is some prospect of our leaving here soon but may not: I had as lives to stop here as to move again unless we can go a good ways north; we havent seen any pay yet and I dont care but little if we dont at present; I wish I could tel you of something that our regiment had done but I cant think nor dont know of any thing they have done yet worth spending my ink to write about; our officers keep us shut up tight and

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are hardly alowed to go the out side of the guard and if we do we are forbid to take any thing that would ad com- fort to us or any body else. but they cant keep their eyes on the whole of us at once; there are some men in our reg. that wil get but few favors from us if we live to get out from under them; one dozen of the indiana regt. wil do more that all our regt. in the way we are managed. I must close my writing; please write often and I wil try and do the same. this from your son

direct to New Orleans

J. F. Gale

Jonas Gale