Gunboat Choctaw
Mouth of Red River
Aug. 7th/ [18]63

Gunboat Choctaw [sic – appears twice]

Dear Father & Mother,

I received your[s] of the 24th of July yesterday. We are still blockading the mouth of the Red River. How long we will remain here is more than I can say. I have written and directed my letters, usually with a lead pencil, and I suppose some of them not gone safely. The Flag Ship Hospital and some other gunboats have gone to New Orleans lately.

We sent a number of sick men to the hospital boat, Red Rover Hospital Shipbut we have a number of sick left. We have buried four men since the 21st of July, one of which was my friend Algernon Stout. I wish you would go to his parents and inform them of his death. They live on 9th Street somewhere near Mr. Briggs. He died on the 30th of July. He was taken sick about two weeks previous with a fever and dizziness, also the diarrhea. He was out of his head a great part of the time during his sickness and continued so until he died. While I was sick and not expected to live by many, he waited upon me like a brother, but he was taken sick and I was left without a friend. It pleased God, however, to spare my life. But he, like many other poor fellows who left their homes to fight for their country, has made his grave on the banks of the Mississippi.

There is nothing of any importance taking place out this way, but it seems to me, from what I read in the papers, great events will soon transpire in Sometimes the boat stops at a ... Digital ID: 1157875. New York Public LibraryVirginia and other parts of the South. This blockading is a rather dull business, lying in one spot all the time, no excitement or anything of the kind, but there is one thing over and over again to be done. We coaled up the other day, but our men had little to do as we got a lot of contrabands from shore who coaled the ship in “less than no time”. There is a collection of huts opposite our boat which seems to be a sort of rendezvous for contrabands. We have cleaned the place out several times by sending them down to Port Hudson, but the next day there seems to be as many as ever again.

I saw an alligator yesterday which I suppose must have come out of the Red River as this stream is said to be Pike-headed alligator (alligat... Digital ID: 815181. New York Public Library greatly infested with them. Many persons have come down to the bank of the river and signalized our boat asking that they might be granted passes to be sent North, but they have always went away empty handed as our captain has no power to grant their requests. But I must close this letter by saying that “I’m safe and well” and hope you will give yourself no further uneasiness about me. Give my love to all at home, also to Mrs. Love and Mary.

Your affectionate son,

Daniel

Footnotes

Muller, , F. USS Red Rover. Sepia Wash, 1900. NH55837. U.S. Naval Historical Center. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h55000/h55837.jpg.

Sometimes the boat stops at a coaling station. Drawing. Digital Image ID 115875. New York Public Library Digital Gallery. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1157875 .

Thompson, L. Beatrice. Pike-headed alligator (alligator mississipiensis). Drawing, 1902. Digital Image ID 815181. New York Public Library Digital Gallery. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?81518