Gunboat Cincinnati
Mississippi River
Mouth of Yazoo
Feb. 21st/ [18]63

Dear Father & Mother,

Your letter of the 2nd inst. came to hand yesterday. I have written two letters since I have received the paper etc. which I supposed you have received and answered by the time this reaches you. I was very glad to find enclosed your letter 18 stamps. Johnnie Fox and Leopold Snyder are both well. I have a slight touch of the diarrhea but that’s nothing in this part of the world. If I return home feeling as well as I do now, I shall be perfectly satisfied. There are some, however, that are very sick with it. There is one great trouble with men here; when they get sick (that’s a great proportion of them) they give up too quick, get disheartened and home sick, then take to their hammocks and lie down and die. There is one article of food which I wish was served out on this boat; that is cheese. I know there would be few sick with the diarrhea if such was the case. (A thunder storm has just passed over, it is so dark I can hardly see and is raining like sixty). You need not give yourself any trouble about me. I am perfectly well and haven’t been a day sick but two or three on the Dolsen when I had that cold, since I have been in the service.

I am sorry that you have been unable to arrange matters with the Church but I would not deem it advisable for you to return after what passed between you and Mr. Lyttle. I do not think that it would be well for you to give them your note. I am sorry that I am unable to do anything to help you instead of calling for papers and stamps every now and then. If Uncle Sam was as good at paying the soldiers and sailors as he is in appropriating money for the emancipation of negroes, I would probably be able to do so by this time. I read about the burning of our Church in one of the papers sent me, also in Jenny’s letter.

Little of nothing has taken place since I last wrote. We have been lying in the Mouth of the Yazoo up to last night when some “big scare” was got by firing being heard in the direction of Vicksburg and we were ordered under way immediately. This was about 12 o.c. and us poor fellows who were snoozing soundly had to jump from our hammocks and help to raise the anchor. We did not go very far down the river when we again cast anchor. We are now lying about a few rods from the mouth of the Yazoo.

For three or four day[s] past our crew has been rigging up an old scow Sham Monitor in the shape of a monitor. She has a turret and wheelhouse also port holes, also smoke stacks and steam pipes, and mounted wooden logs painted black for guns. This “animal” is to be towed as near as possible to Vicksburg and then allowed to float. A large fire of green wood is to be made in order to make a big smoke and deceive the rebels as much as possible. The object is, I believe, to discover whether there is [sic] any water batteries in front of Vicksburg or not.

We have had considerable rain for some time past. Yesterday was a beautiful day, but today is wet and rainy. I suppose we will have this kind of weather till the later part of March. I expected when we left Cairo that we would have had a battle at Vicksburg and either have whipped the rebels or got whipped by this time. I don’t think much of Admiral Porter. I wish “Old Foote” was here. I know he’d push things a little faster. I wonder what Farragut and Banks are doing down at Port Hudson.

I have not written for some time to Mrs. Lander as I know they have received my letters. I am waiting for an answer. Direct your letter as before and I have no doubt but that they will come safely. We have a mail every time a boat comes down that can be trusted with one. The most of our transports incoming down the river are liable to be fired at and captured by rebel guerrillas, but the gunboats of the mosquitoe fleet and a few others are going back and forth to and from Cairo. In this way we have a chance to send and receive letters.

Your affectionate son,

Daniel