Duvalls Bluff Ark May 8th 1865
    	Dear Folks at home
			   I received
your letter mailed May 1 this morning.
Being on duty to day at the guard
house.. I will write from here with a
pensill. from here.
Below is a plan of the Guard House &
yard. [drawing mentioned appears here] The House is
made of 		         logs set
perpendic-		         ular, there
are 15 or 20		         cases in now
one of a	                     negro that shot
one of Co E's men. The boys are trying
to work some way to shoot him, a pistol
was smuggled in this morning to one
of the prisoners, a Kansas boy, to shoot
him with in the night. The Lieu found
it out and took it away. Most of the
union soldiers in for crimes are Kansas
boys. they are the hardest cases I ever saw
Shooting of men at night is quite

common. here now. a number of
officers have been shot since I have
been here we came down.
When on duty at the Guard House
we are only allowed to be away
time enough to go to our meals.
When on other duty in town we can
stay at camp when not standing
our tricks.
I am a little stronger but too week
to do duty easily yet, I have a little
diarrhea yet but not enough to
hurt me much, I prefer to keep my
			   to have
bowells open, rather than ^ the other
extreme, which is prevelent here.
the boys have one or the other nearly
all the, and that on the same diet
I think it must be caused by the
liver, I do not expect to get strong
till I get home, Even the old soldiers
Pie

	[Written on the top of Scan 2]

4 P.M. My Seond 2 hour [treck?] is over. I
have two more to stand to night
Does the price of land in 3 Oaks

	[Written on the left side of Scan 2]

fall with gold? Do you keep hens? I want some chicken

are weak. their flesh being soft
like a ladies, they cannot do near
as much work as they could with
The regular food of the soldiers consists
of bread coffee and meat, sometimes
a little been soup and tea I eat
the bread. and sometimes nibble the
meat a little. the coffee and tea
I cannot use. I keep sauce on
hand nearly all the time, and
sometimes try to cook a little but it
don't taste good like Mothers, cooking 
in a frying pan in a fire place, it burns
around the edges and tastes of [that?]
the last butter I got, was bitter 
and made me sick I have had
no appetite for butter since, and
gave it away, The war will not
last much longer, I saw by the
Tribune of the 4th that they had
ordered 600,000 blank discharge
papers printed I hope they will

Send some of them around
this way. I have the impression 
we shall get home before the 4th 
of July You write Father is
putting in watermelons and
other vegtibles, on the side hill. [Good
They will suffer some when I get
home and don't you catch all the
fish either, I want to catch some
I will help you weed your
onions till I get strong, then I
must go into business somewhare
I cleaned one watch last week it
nearly made my eyes sore. 
I wish you would send a few
2 cts stamps to send papers home.
Saturday night I recived Six
papers nearly all that came to the
company the boys read them a
good deal
It is nearly time to go on my 
"trick" as they call it From
			         Fred