Vicksburg is a good city.  We are camped east of 
the town and have been given the responsibility 
of fortifying defensive positions.  Vicksburg is 
an important shipping point for the Confederacy 
and occupies a strategic position on the banks 
of the Mississippi River.  There are  several 
gun emplacements that look over the river from 
high bluffs.   With the large cannon and mortars 
they contain, no boat should be able to pass 
without getting damaged or sunk.  We have been 
mainly workin on positions around the railroad 
that comes into town.  This river port and
rail center must be defended if the Yankees ever 
come this way.

Speakin of the river, this is one of the biggest.  
I crossed it when I went to Texas the first time 
and was impressed.  The locals tell me that right 
now the river is down, but when the rains come in 
the winter and spring it will get bank full and 
big trees will look like splinters as they come 
tumbling down stream in the floods.  I can't 
imagine how big it will get.  Right now it looks 
a mile wide, and it's down?

Elizabeth tells me that all is well. The harvesting 
of the crops produced enough corn for our needs and 
she had some to sell also.  The cash crop, cotton 
was harvested and sent to the mill.  She got good
money for it, but not as much as I thought she 
might.   Mrs. Prusser and the elders at the church 
are helpin  her with the business dealins, so I 
guess she did all  right.  Little Sid is in the 
middle of everything.  He's explorin everything 
and  keepin her real busy.  She cut his hair for
the first time the other day.  Said he didn't like 
it much, but did OK.

Everyone at home feels that the war is going well 
for the Confederates.  The ladies have formed aid 
societies that knit bandages and make clothes for 
their men in uniform.  Elizabeth sent me a couple 
of home spun shirts, some socks and some underwear.  
She also sent me some preserves, may-haw jelly, 
and sugar cured-smoked ham.  I shared ham and 
preserves with my squad.  Together with what the 
others had from their home folks, we had a feast!  

The mail is gettin here pretty regular now, and we
receive things from time to time from the folks. 
Got another letter from Georgia.  Paw has joined 
the Army.  He and Brother Sid will be in the same 
regiment, so they will be able to see each other.  
Maw says she'll make out just fine with the help 
of the young ones and my sister's family.  I hope 
so.  I wish they'd go to Texas.  I'm afraid that
Northern Georgia may see some fighting if the war 
doesn't end pretty quick.

Besides Bull Run, there have been some other 
victories.  Confederate militia defeated Unionists 
at Wilson's Creed in Missouri in August.  Missouri 
is split half and half and the Confederacy may gain 
another state there.  In Virginia, General Lee is 
defending Richmond with a big army.  The Northern 
commander is a man named McClellan.  The Yankees are
suppose to be building a big force, but don't seem 
to want to fight.  I guess the Battle of Bull Run 
took a lot of starch out of them.  With winter comin 
on, I guess we will be holdin up too much fighting. 

Captain Prusser says that armies don't march or fight 
too much in the winter because it's too hard to supply 
them if the weather turns really bad, and too many men 
are lost to sickness.  He does not think we'll do much 
of anything until springtime.  Me, I still think the 
Yankees won't last.  Sooner or later, they will get 
whupped again, and if it's bad enough, I expect they 
will go back home and leave us alone.  It'd sure be 
nice if we could find a way to do that now, but they 
don't seem to want any more of us right now.