Beaufort [BCF]
June 6, 1863

Dear Mother,

The mail which was to have gone last night is still here, so I can send you a few lines.

Col. Montgomery sailed yesterday, and we shall go after him before long, I suppose.

This is an odd sort of place. All the original inhabitants are gone — and the houses are occupied by Northerners & a few Florida refugees.The Northern ladies here are a fearful crowd  — ungrammatical and nasal. I had a taste of them the first evening we arrived, having unawares booked into a house where 8 or 10 teachers live.  Ned Hooper extracted me by taking me to tea to his house, and I have not ventured in town, on foot, since.

Col. Higginson came over to see us, day before yesterday.  I never saw any one who put his whole soul into his work as he does. I was very much impressed with his open-heartedness & purity of character. He is encamped about 10 miles from here.

The bush-whacker Montgomery is a strange compound. He allows no swearing or drinking in his regiment & is anti tobacco—But he burns & destroys wherever he goes with great gusto, & looks as if he had quite a taste for hanging people &c throat-cutting whenever a suitable subject offers.

All our stores are very acceptable now, and the Hungarian wine Father sent us is excellent. Genl Hunter doesn’t impress me as being a great man. There is some talk of his being relieved. If we could have Fremont in his place, wouldn’t it be fine?

Mr. Eustis was over here yesterday. Tomorrow the Major & I ride over to his plantation. I hope you will send me all rhe papers containing accounts of our passage through Boston.

It is impossible to keep clean here for two hours — the fine sand covers everything. Every one here has received us very kindly; though there are a great many opposers among the officers they show no signs of it to us.

Love to the girls & yourself dearest Mother.

Your loving son

Dear Father,

Please send the enclosed to Annie. Put a stamp on it & drop it in the box —  so it will get there later than another I addressed to her Father’s care yesterday.