Readville [BCF]

April 24 1863

Dear Father,

I ought to have written you long ago, that your man Vogelsang was accepted, and is a Sergeant in one of the new companies. He is very efficient.  Mr. Wingate has probably told you the result of his visit. He didn’t like to accept the position of Second Lieutenant, which was the only one I could offer him. I told him, I would write him, if there was a chance of a higher rank for him, in my regiment. I liked his looks very much. Col. Wild has his name on his list.

You will see me in New York a week from today — and the day after that is the Wedding.

Everything continues to progress favourably with the 54th. We have now about 730 men. They are beginning to desert.  There arc 17 -20 absent without leave. None caught yet. I shall set a detective at work tomorrow. Please honour a draft from Thos. B. Fox to the amount of $230.  It is the Company fund sent you by Uzias[?] Goodwin, and which I have never paid to them. I don’t know that he will draw it now. My business correspondence is getting larger and larger, and tonight I have written six letters — some of them long.  All our ordinance has come from Washington. I expect to get it out here tomorrow. We have Enfield Rifles.  The Ladies’ committee have agreed to pay an instructor for a band, so I shall have one going before long.

Effie is well. She and Mrs. Lowell came out here today. The house is a very pleasant one. When Annie & I come back & Mother & Nellie come on, Mrs. L will go home, which will leave room for all of us.

There are three flag committees entrain for this regiment. One white and two black. They are all quarreling together, and are distracted by internal dissension at the same time. I wrote one of them today that if they didn’t settle their difficulties I should probably not accept a flag from either of them.

Love to Mother & Nellie