Fort Pickering Memphis Tenn
March 15, A. D. 63
Dear Brother and Sister it is with pleasure that I have this pleasant Sabath morning to drop you a few lines to let you know that I am well at present and I hope when this comes to hand they will find you all well and doing the same and Andy while I sit here in my tent I can look out and view the peach trees in full bloom and I see the steam boates plowing through the deep waters of the great Mississippi River and the boates loaded with the soldiers a going to Vicksburg and we can hear a good deal of news here now days and I have just came in from inspection and I know I will write some more and we have a good deal of guard duty and garrison duty to do here at this time and there is a boat load of soldiers now at the warf and they are in good heart and I have had Sam Bender to see me last week and he was like he use to be and he is full of fun as ever and I had a good long talk with him about old times... and we are in hopes that we will git to come home till harvest and Andy I wish you would send me some money if you please for Uncle Sam hante paid me yet and I donte think he will until May and if you will lend me five or ten dollars I will be abliged to you and as soon as I git my money I will send it to you again so no more but write soon
Wm Shields wanted to
Yours as ever until deth G. W. Fogerty
Andy and Elmira I send my love to you and best respects to you all
Well Andy I will write some more for Wm Shields did want to write some to you and I said something about you sending me some money and I donte know whether you can read it or not and if you will lend me 5 or 10 dollars in a letter I will return it as soon as I git my money from Uncle Sam He is owing me about 80 dollars at this time and it may be that he wont pay us till the war is over and you said something about the Republican does show us one side of the picture and keep the other dark that is so for they do blanc a good deal about these things and they think that we know nothing here in the army they cant keep it all from us we do hear a good deal and you tell them to keep ___ for there is ___ on and if they donte believe it tell them to wait until the soldiers comes home and then they will find out about it well Andy there is a old man here that came down here for a man that died that did belong to our company by the name of Johnson and is a going to take him home and his Father had come down here to see his two sons that did belong to our co. and he was taken sick and was sick about 2 weeks and then died and I am going to send 5 letters with the man that is here so that they will go there soon so I must come to a close for this time so no more at present but still remaining your brother until deth
From G. W. Fogerty to A. J. Fogerty write soon and often
To A. J. Fogerty
Laketon PO
Wabash Co Ind
Soldiers Letter 89th Regiment
In Haste
Vicksburg Miss May 30/64
Dear Brother it is with the gratest of Pleasure that I Have to inform you that I am in tolerable like Health at present and I Do Hope that when this Few lines will come to your Hands that they will Find you all well and Harty this is a Pleasant morning and is going to be very warm to Day and we are Laying in a planted Field and it is very Dusty and disagreeable and the Helth of the Boys is Not So well as it has Bin for Some time Past we Had very good Health while we was Down on Red River and we Had a Hard time two and I wold have answered your Letter two weeks ago if we wasn't on the was up Hare and I thought that I wold waite till I came up the River and I wold answer (?) all of the letters that I Have our Hands to answer (?) and I will tell you Something of our Expidition on Red River we Left Heare on the 10th of March and I think we Landed on Chap liare (?) Biou on the 12th and the 14th we made a Charge on a Fort and Captured it and 10 Pibes (?) of artilery and I think 286 Prisners and then the Next day we got on the Boats and went up to Alexandria and we Camped ther a Few Days and on the 20th we was ordered to git Redy to march and we got Redy and started and marched 21 miles and it Rained all Day and all knight and our men got the Starte of the Rebs and Captured them and 6 guns and 300 prisiners and then we Came Back to Alexandria and Camped till Banks Came through From New Orleans and then we Started For Shirives Porte and we Had Severl Chinnys (?) with the Rebs and one the 8th of April and the Rebs got the Starte of old Bank and they Chased him Back and Captured severl Pibes of artilery and Parte of His wagon train and Nearley all His whiskey and wine and the Rebs Chased Him 16 miles and General A. L. Smith army was in the Reare of Banks and we Met the Rebs at Plesant Hills and Smith Formed His Lines of Battle and the Rebs Cep boming and Shelling and Charging one after and then they came in Site of Us and then our artilery opened out on them and they Cep Coming and then we was ordered to make a Charge and you Had Better think that the Rebs Left the Field in a Hary them that was able to Run and a good Deale of them woldent Line and wold Sooner Be Captured and I think we got about 500 Prisoners and if it Hadent to Bin For old Banks we cold captured the Hole of them and after we whiped them and Chased over 5 miles and then the old Scamp orderd Smith to Retreat and Leve the Field and Leve the Death and Some of the wounded on the Field and we Staid in the woods till 3 a clock the Next Morning and I Cold Heare the wounded a Calling for Help all the time and if a man cold Be tetched to Eny Feelings it was then and Banks orte to Be Shoot For theat Very Caper and if it wasent For Him we cold a maid a good thing of it and I will Haft to quit For this time for my paper is to shorte or I wold fill to Sheets like this and more two an So I will Come to a close For this time So No more to say (?) and Still Remaine your Brother until Death.
J. W. Fogerty
To A. J. and E. Fogerty
So Good By for this time and wright as soon as you can
This is a letter written to Andrew Jackson Fogerty? from an unknown nephew, Thomas E. Fogerty:
Thawville, Ills
1/30/89
Dear Uncle
I seat myself to drop you a few lines in reply to yours that came to hand yesterday. I was thunderstruck. I thought you had clean forgot us. We are all well but myself. I have been sick since the 15 of Nov. I am not going very fast. I have the liver comfilamt(?). I have been down bed fast some of the time. I am able to be up now though I am very weak yet. Got a letter from father yesterday and he said they were all well. I have not seen any of them since last summer. The old Boss is doing well. Good crops every year. He feels pretty sassy. I tell you I have been doing very well until this winter. I get $45.00 per month. Will commence work as soon as I get able. I don't do anything but run engines. I had a chance for $75.00 per month in Peoria Water Works when I got sick. I run tile factory machinery. Have a good easy job. No heavy work to do. Jak (?) is somewhere north of you. He is on the RR firing. His P.O. is Kingsley Plymouth Co, Iowa. He has been there almost 2 years. A Mary is in Dallas, Tex. She don't like it there. It is too warm she says. So they are coming back north as soon as they can sell out. Well Uncle, I will send you one of my photographs. It is a picture of my family I had taken last 4th of July. They look just as we did then. They are all natural but me. I weighed when it was taken about 175 but I weigh now 135 to 140. So you see I am some thin. It is the first time I ever was sick to amount to anything. My boys are getting big enough to run a team. Charlie is 11 years. Burt is 9. My youngest is past 4. I want to get out on a farm in a year or two. Do you still work at your trade yet or do you farm? Farming has paid pretty well in this country for the last 3 or 4 years. The farmers are all putting in lots of drain tile in this country now so we have not got so much mud to contend with as we had when you were here. We made about 500,000 tile in the factory that I work in last year. They are about all sold out. Now we expect to make twice as many this year. Are putting in more machinery this spring. I suppose you don't need tile in your country. Well Uncle you spoke about Jack Rabbits. They are a bug I never saw. Send me the ears and tail of one. I would like to have them for curiosity. We have no game here but chickens and small rabbits.
T.E. Fogarty
Write soon and don't forget it
Tom
