Fort Vance Texas.. Feb 1 1864
Dear friends: I have not received a letter from you for near three weeks. no doubt there are some on the way.. but many times the male gets miscarried then one letter that often come to our Regt that belong to Regts in the Eastern Army.. therefore its a long time before the owner gets them.. no doubt some of my letters have been miscarried for often I get your letters first that are written last. We are still in Texas but not in the same camp that we were when I last wrote.. the 20th of Jan we were (the 1″ Brigade) ordered out on a Six day expedition with three days rations in our haversacks..we left camp about noon the 20″ we marched along the coast of the Gulf about fifty miles in the direction where the Penincely connectys with the main land we were then within 13 miles of a Rebel fort which is at the entrance of the Penincely.. we did not come in contact with any Rebs thus far. we turned about marched to within 7 miles of our former camp where our Regt were order to camp for the preasent So you see our Regt is 7 miles in the advance of our Division the 4″ Di. is the only one on the Penincely now.. We are erecting a small Fort here for the protections of the Regt. we have named it after our Colonel (Vance) we have a nice location for a fort. it is on a piece of ground some considerable higher than the most of the penincely.. has a good command of the Penincely.. it does not take long to build breastworks in this country. it is all sand. it digs easy and is the best kind of preventative again bullets..the Pickets fired their guns off in to the samd and battered them as flat as if they had been shot against a rock.. I have not seen any dirt (that is like the ground in Ohio) since I have been in Texas. all sand. While on our expedition up the Penincely we pased Several houses occupied by famelies that said they were union. that the men had been conscripted in the Rebel army. they seemed to be glad that we had come into this part of the country and hopeed we would have good success. One noon we stoped in front of a house to eat dinner and the woman of the house came out and begged all coffee and hard tack to spare. she said it was the first coffee she had seen since the war commenced.. there have three deserted the Rebels and come in & give them selves up Since we have been here in this camp.. they said there were others that would come in as soon as they got a chaunce.. a part of the boys of our Co that were taken Prisoners have been exchanged and are now with the Co.. William Flagg is one of them.. they state that the Rebs are in a very bad situation to hold out much longer.. the most they have to live on is corn meal.. fresh beef & molasses. the boys said they fared pretty hard while with the Rebs but they done as well as they could by them. they fared the same themselves. Capt. Kimball was exchanged and has got a lieve of absence to go home perhaps you will see him.. My health is very good & has been since I have been in Texas. the health of the Regt is pretty good.. we are having a Series of Meetings here in the Regt. We have Chad???? Scott & Cap Coulter to take turns in preaching to us. there have quite a number experienced Religion. others are seeking.. those in the Regt professing to know God through the (continued across the top of first page) Pardon of their sins and those seeking to find peace with God, have formed them selves in a band called the Christian band. there have about fifty joined in the last week. Also in other Regt throughout the 13″ Cops they are haveing revivals and numbers are becoming concious of their wickedness and turning to God. God is working a great work. I have no more to write at preasent. write soon and oblige. Lu Carhart.