Jonas H. Roe June 29, 1864

[inverted] P.S. Please write every week

		Vicksburg Miss.
Dear Celina	Dear Celina	June 29th 1864

          I am thankful for another privillage of conversing with you at this time I received yesterday a Letter from you dated the 21st of June. I received it with a greatful heart. It is truly delightful to receive Letters from our dearest Relatives and especially is it so if they bring us the joyful news that they were in the enjoyment of good health. You stated that you received a Package from me Containing my Voucher for my Horse and Horse Equipment and also my Commission. You expressed yourself as though you did not understand it fully + wished me to elucidate or explain it. At the time John Allen went home I first thought that I would send the Voucher Home by him but when he started I gave up the notion of sending it But when I received my Commission I had that to send home so I thought I would send home the Voucher also + as I was in a hurry having no time to write I sent it in the or with the same Letter that I had proposed to send by John Allen to you You also wanted me to explain the reasons why I did not receive but Sixty eight Dollars for four months services - I thought I had sufficiently explained it several times -
The Government took our Horses and equipments from us last december so from the first of January afterward we do not receive twelve dollars for the use of our Horse and Equipments for each month as we did before. So I only receive pay for my own services A Sergents pay was up to the first of last May seventeen Dollars per month and multiply 17 by 4 you will have 64 dollars the amount that I received and I have got to pay for cooking one Dollar per month and washing cost about the same and we get a tired on living on the same diet and we are necessarily obliged to buy some Articles of food -- + every thing is very high. Eggs are worth from 50 to 75cts per dozen and sweet milk 25cts per quart + every thing else in proportion. Sergents pay is raised to 21 dollars per month from last may. we will muster to morrow again for pay. When I get it I will send you Thirty Dollars. John Allen is out of the Hospital again. Getting better My health is good. We are still stationed here they are building the R.R. to Jackson
                    I am yours affectionately
Celina Roe                                              J.H. Roe

I intended not to write but a half a sheet at this time but after I had written it full I found that I had not written all the particulars as you say and that perhaps there might be some things that I had not mentioned that would be interesting to you In the first place I will speak something more in reference to the Packages that I sent you date June 15th I spoke to the Post Master in reference to the Postage on said Package he said it was six cents + consequently I put on two stamps the full amount of said postage and I think that the Extra six cents that you had to pay was Illegal A very large number of men are now working on the Rail Road that runs east from Vicksburg They will soon have it in running order to Jackson whare we will have a station and a strong guard
From there they will repair the Road to Meridian whare it strikes the Ohio and Mobile R. Road One Hundred and twenty miles east of Jackson near the eastern line of the state of Mississippi whare we will have a force sufficient to guard and hold it We have not less than forty or fifty thousand men here + they are coming all of the time I think they are getting up an expedition here to go to Mobile by land but whether we will get ready to start before my time expires I do not know I expect to be in Ill. by the first of Sept if I am alive + well Celina we have the best of Religious meeting here We have Preaching at 10 oclock A.M. and at 4 P.M. every sunday & evening prayer Meetings three times every week I feel that the Lord is blessings the Labors of the Chaplins in the Army Brother Wood is here and seems to injoy himself well tell Brother Enterkine That I believe that Hartfelt Religion is on the increase in the Army + that I do hope + pray that the dark might of superstition + moral depravity is given away + those + that peace + brotherly love

[written in top margin, opposite] will soon pervade our beloved country

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