Vicksburg Mississippi July 11th 1863 

Well I commenced writing you a letter yesterday 

but did not get through with it; Since the capture 

of Vicksburg our Army Corps has been in possession 

of the place; and we have kept the prisoners Corelled 

inside the outer lines of their old works, and 

have been allowed to run loose So that they kept 

inside the lines the Rebs and Yankees mixed 

up together and as a general thing talked as 

friendly as if they had always been good friends 

I am pleased to see [illegible] our men treat the prisoners 

So well; for it will have a good effect on them in 

future in our favor many of them say they have 

been deceived into the war if what we tell them 

   be true; and they think the yankees are not 

Such a hard lot after all; the number 

taken here as near as I can learn is thirty one 

Thousand and Eight hundred; they have all 

been paroled, [crossed out] [and] Except some that have taken 

the oath of Allegiance and wishes to Remain with 

Uncle Sam; To day we guarded about half of 

the paroled prisoners through the lines and let 

them go towards Jackson; we will probably 

pass the Remainder through our lines to morrow 

Vicksburg was [illegible] getting to be quite a hot place 

for the Rebs before they Surrendered; the City is badly 

torn to peices with our Artillery and our Rifle 

Balls was thrown in all parts of City both citizens 

and Soldiers were compelled to live in holes in the 

ground to protect themselves from our fire 
 Over a thousand mules and horses was killed 

during the Siege they were Killed both by our 

Artillery and Infantry; the Rebel, Gen, Greene 

was Killed by one of our Infield Rifles at a 

distance of over a mile ; I have not been to the 30th 

Regt lately but it is here; Jim Wells is driving Team 

and was well when I last heard from him also 

[2 words illegible] O.C.Richardson and [illegible] W. Curry 

O.C. Richardson felt verry bad about the death of 

James Ditto, and told me that he never Regretted 

anything in his life So mutch as he did to report his 

death to his father; all the Company while talking 

of his death seemed as mutch affected as if he 

had been a near relative; they all give him great 

praise as a brave Soldier & that he was brave even 

to Rashness; and I have no doubt that too 

mutch daring was the cause of his death; I Saw 

him the Evening before he was Killed ; as our Regt 

was marching out on the Skirmish line he rode a 

long and talked to me for Sometime he told me 

that his battery was out of Amunition and that 

he had been out Skirmishing that day with a Rifle 

I Cautioned him to be verry careful while engaged 

in Such Business and advised him not to go out 

any more as it was dangerous and also that 

Skirmishing was not his Business; but he replied 

that he liked the fun, and I doubt not that he did 

I heartily cympothise with his parents in their Bereavement 

but I can console them that he fills the grave of a brave soldier 

And his loss is most deeply felt by those who knew him best 

I will have to get more paper		T.J.Davis