Letter from Duncan, John B.
| Soldier: Duncan, John B. |
| Allegiance: Union |
| Unit/Service Branch: 32nd Infantry |
| Home State: Illinois |
| Date Written: Sunday, September 27th, 1863 |
| Location: Natchez Miss |
| Correspondence Type: Letter |
| Subjects: Family, Newspapers, Sickness, Western Theater, Wife/Girlfriend |
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My Dear wife and children,
I gladly seat myself this Sunday afternoon to scribble you a short letter for there has been nothing of importance transpired here since I wrote last which was last Sunday. I should have written during the week but was a little unwell, so I thought I would not write until I saw what it would terminate in, so yesterday and today I feel quite well except as you see I am a little nervous. My trouble was from derangement of the bowels, I had a severe attack of diarrhea on Monday and in the afternoon it stopped suddenly and remained so until Friday which produced a most miserable feeling, throwing me into a feverish state of nervous excitement, from which my nerves have not fully recovered yet. I kept up all the while and attended to my business but it was a hard task especially of afternoons.
I am getting tired of this courtmartial, we hold our sessions in the Court House and it is too far for me to walk back and forth to camp, so I have to remain in town all the time and our court is only in session from 9 o’clock to three, so I put in the balance of the time as best I can, and as I have not found any good loafing places here you may be sure it is tedious and confining.
I said there was nothing new here since I wrote before the fact is we know nothing here of what is going on in the rest of the world until a week or ten days after it happens. The latest northern paper I have seen is St. Louis and Chicago papers of the 18th and Cincinnati of the 19th. I hear a rumor that one of the Burnett boys is down, got here this morning with a paper of the 21st or 22nd in which it is reported that Rosecrans has been attacked and sustained a heavy loss an was compelled to fall back from Chattanooga to await reinforcements. I hope this may not be true but fear somewhat that it is.
I will stop until I see whether I get a letter…Ad Van? Is discharged and starts home today, but we are not allowed to send letters by private conveyance. Mose Burnett got here yesterday, but I have not seen him yet. The boys are generally well, Maj. English says health is better in the Regt. now than it has been for a long while.
Regards to all my friends, my best love and a kiss to all my family.
Yours ever lovingly,
J.B. Duncan
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