Winter st barracks st louis Mo
			May [9th?] 1864
Dear wife
		it is with pleasure
that i now seat myself to pen a fiew
lines to you. we are all well at present
and i hope when this reaches you it will find 
you all enjoying good health there. there was
agoing to be a rebel spy executed to day but
he got his time extended for a short time i expect
we will have a chance to see him hang he
has a wife here in this place and one or two
children they come to the prison to see him
every fiew days but he is kept in chains
all the time he is a very smart man
he has been writing for day and night
ever since he heard his sentence and that
has not been but about one week i
suppose he is writing his confession the guard

was doubled around the prison last night
to prevent a riot for he has a great 
many friends in this city and he is a
roman catholic and they are around there
all the time to see him, there was
                                was
four of our soldiers ^ taken from the prison
to go to port deleware during the war four
of our regiment went to guard them there
                    our
and some of ^ regiment have gone to
vicksburg to take some prisoners there
i recieved your photograph which i think
is a very good one and i thought i
would keep it for a while but if you 
want me to send it back i will send it
i did not expect that key would come through
for it made the paper so heavy but it is
all right now, one of the boys was just
cleaning his gun and it went off but the
ball sent up through the roof and it did
not hurt any one i was on guard last
night and have been asleep nearly all day

and the orderly has just come in to
get the men out to drill and as quick
as i saw him i layed down and
was very sound asleep so now i will
finish this letter you spoke about coming
down here i should like to have you
come here, but it is not a decent place
for any women to be for the boys does
not know how to use a decent woman i
am glad you have given up the notion
of going away this summer, it has been
about one week since i have had any
letters from you and i began to think
you was sick or something else and
i did not know what the matter,
the weather is very hot here now
and things looks green and nice i was
down to the [levee?] yesterday and i
could look over in illinois and the
woods are all leaved out there, and
there are here what trees there is in 

the city, now i must go to supper
and i will finish this after supper
now i will try and finish my letter
Jimmy is on guard to day at the [myrtle?]
st prison, i will send another paper
with this letter there is some signs
of us getting our pay before long now for
we have signed the pay rolls and as quick
as the paymaster comes, we will get our
pay there is two of our boys that have
got furloughs and are agoing to start for home
tomorrow morning oh how i wish it was
me but if we stay here this summer i
think we will get a chance to come home
for a short time, when we get our pay
i will get some frames and glass for
that company record i want you to send me
the size of it so i can get glass the the right
size i have not sent for that book yet but i will,
for i cannot find it here now i will close
for this time write soon give my respects
to all the folks no more at present
but remain your loving husband
				William Eaegle

E.A. Eaegle.