Letter from Luther Bruen, Fort Hamilton, NY to Augusta Bruen, 1863-07-26
1 Fort Hamilton July 26. 1863 My dear Wife: Your letter of the 22nd reached me last night; that of the 1st came to hand last Thursday. You see they have all got here tho' somewhat behind time. Capt. *Oxley* got here yesterday. He looked very badly last night, but a good sleep has made him look a great deal better. We have become cronies already. He has the use of his legs and I of my arms; so I fill his pipe and light it for him, and he moves around to get what I want. He got a minibullet in his arm which struck the bone breaking it and then went into his side, lodging under the shoulder blade. I think his arm will be saved, though that is not absolutely certain. I hope he will for he is a good soldier and a very good fellow. Mrs. O. had her things packed and wd have started in search of him to-morrow had he not arrived yesterday. We tried to convince her to stay at home but nothing would do but she must set out to hunt him. The captain says it would have been impossible for her to reach *Vicksburg*, if she had tried. He had written to her the day he was wounded and twice afterwards and others had written to her also, so there was no reason why she should have been in such a *flurry*. I hope this will be a lesson to you. If I should be wounded, I will write immediately, if I am able; if not, I will get some one to give you a true account of my situation, so that you need not start on such a wild goose chase as Mrs. O. was about to commence. When an officer is wounded so as to be unfit for full duty he gets a sick leave as a matter of course, and starts for home as soon as he is able to travel. I hope you will remember this. Mrs. *M E.* has come home, but I have not seen her altho' she has been in the fort several times. They have broken up in the fort, and I am obliged to get my meals elsewhere. For the last two days I have sent to Slater's for my dinner and got a good hot one. Each time I have had a broiled spring chicken, a part of which I have saved for my breakfast. Emma has bro't me some fresh eggs from Mrs. Carney which she boils in Mrs. Burke's kitchen. She also makes me a cup of coffee there so that I have a pretty good breakfast. She also brings me hot water in the morning and evening to bathe my foot. She has made herself quite useful. I have an orderly who comes to me at 7 in the morning and stays till taps, who does every thing I want, so that I have no occasion to move about much. My friends have been very thoughtful and spend a good deal of time with me. The ladies from my boarding house come down nearly every evening and with their husbands and the other *families* spend an hour or two with me. We have concerts on Tuesdays and Fridays when they stay longer. A Mrs. Harris who boards there bro't me a couple of oranges the other evening. She is much in the style of the Harris girls at home, weighs 165 pounds, but is clean if rough. Her friend is a Mrs. Robbins, daughter of *Niblo* who is spending some weeks here with her little girl, a fat little *person* that called me papa the first time she saw me. Children are not discriminating, as I fancy I am much better looking than her papa. -- A letter will reach Mrs. *M E.* at this post office. -- I have sent which will go on this year's insurance. That you have will come in play in good time, some years hence. I also have sent for the *inter medical*-pay. I shall send you money to pay the insurance premium and Johnson's interest as soon as it is received. 2 Things are looking very favorably now. If the govt. will only enforce the draft and reinforce our army I think there is no doubt but that the rebellion will soon be put down, though it will probably be some years before business and affairs settle down into their wonted channels. -- Tell John Howard I want to hear from him once more, about my *mix* generally and about potatoes especially. Are you going to elect *Van*? That's what I want to know. I saw the other day a newspaper extract which represented Sunset Cox as saying, some where the other side of the Mississippi that *Brough* would best him 50,000. Is this the way our side feel, if so what reason have they for feeling so? I hope they have good reason for thinking that we shall beat the rascals that much or more, but I should like to know what figures they have for arriving at such a pleasant conclusion. -- I wrote you that Gen. Brown was retired. It is a very bitter pill for him to swallow. But he has little bitterness to take. The Herald this morning has the report made by Gen. Wool to Gen. Seymour in which Gen. Brown is only mentioned in order to charge him with disobedience of orders. There will be a prodigious old row about and I don't care a red cent which *whips*. Wool is a *super conservative* old fool and Brown is a supercilious old fool: the *latter* willfully disobeys orders and is ready to take the head off any poor subaltern who disobeys the slightest of his. Enough of him. I have hardly left enough room to say a word about the children. How does Sella get along with the music lessons? The boys, I suppose are as mischievous as ever. Much love to thee dearest, to the bairns and our kith generally. Good bye Luther July 27, 1863 Mrs. L.B. Bruen Care S. Forrer *Es* Dayton Ohio
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July 26, 1863
Bruen, Luther Barnett
Fort Hamilton, NY
6 pages; + envelope
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Bruen, Luther Barnett -- Correspondence
Catharine Mitchill '31 Collection of Family Letters, Wellesley College Library, Special Collections
MSS.6.213
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http://repository.wellesley.edu/mitchill/213
