The 104th Regiment at last accounts was quartered

at Gloucester Point, on the York river, opposite Yorktown,

where they were performing garrison duty and repairing

an abandoned fort on the Point.  They were having a

pretty jolly time of it in indulging in salt water bathing

and luxuriating upon oysters, clams and soft crabs, judg-

ing from the following extracts from letters written home

by a member of the regiment.

GLOUCESTER POINT, August 21st, 1862.—We are still at

this place ; no changes since yesterday, only we now occu-

py the fort, while before we were to the rear of it perhaps

one hundred yards.  The weather continues fine, the bath-

ing is splendid and the fishing cannot well be exceeded. 

We have oysters in abundance.  I caught one hundred

clams and oysters to-day in about fifteen minutes, and,

then roasted them in the fort, on an old stove plate.

The troops are embarking rapidly on the opposite side

of the river, at Yorktown.  They continue to come down

the Peninsula.  Smith’s Division is at Newport News;

Peck’s and Couch’s are on the opposite side of the river,

and Kearney’s Division is at Alexandria.  Two regiments

are here—the 104th Penn’s and the 98th New York.

August 23.—Out on picket one mile from the fort; had

a fine shower, which settled the dust nicely.  You ought

to have seen the regiment while marching; they were so

dusty that you could not tell what color they were.  There

were times when we could not see the face of our nearest

partner, and the perspiration ran down our faces cutting

roads through the dust, streaking our foreheads and cheeks

in fancy style.  After reaching the end of our journey

the boys pitched into the river one thousand at a time,

causing the water to foam as only salt water can.

August 24.—Splendid morning; the air is cool and

bracing.  We now expect to remain in this fort and put it

in complete repair.  I am going to work to-morrow morn-

ing with one hundred men.

August 26.—I informed you we had commenced repair-

ing the fortifications here.  We worked at them yester-

day—our regiment and the 100th New York.  We progres-

sed finely.  You may judge of the size of the fort when I

tell that it is nearly a mile around it on the parapet.

It seems that the quantity of our rations improves as we

become settled down.  On the march these matters become

disarranged, and it takes several days to straighten them

up.  Our men had not half enough rations while on the

march, and if they had not stolen a great amount of pro-

duce from the farms along the road they would have fared

badly.  Our chief officers are now becoming more strict

again in regard to foraging on our enemies; and it was

carried in great excess.  Five times as many beeves were

killed as were wanted to feed the men of a regiment.