Jacob Swartzlander
Morris Island, S.C.

                     Morris Island. S.C.
                           October 24th- 1863
Cousin Han,
              This last ? ago brought a letter
from you which I received this evening. Feeling
in a writing mood I shall answer it. You
need not be concerned about my health any longer
it is good all the time now. And those places
up at the head of Morris Island have become
more healthy than they were formerly.
I had a man who died in hospital at Beaufort
Oct. 12th from a wound received in Gregg while it
was unhealthy, making a loss of three men on this
Island more than any company in the regiment
has lost. We are still in our own camp, one side
of it is washed by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and
the other side is buried up by the sand sliding down
from the hill. Today was a heavy rain and heavy
thunder and lightning, and the sea has been quite
rough for three days. Our brigade gets on Grand Guard
in the front once in three days and on fatigue duty once
in three days making 48 hours duty out of 72.
To night they came off Grand Guard and tomorrow go
to work on the forts. I am out of postage stamps and
cannot get any, I wish you would send me some. I
have plenty of money in my clothes but no stamps.
You would like to know who I am in favor of for Governor.
Well I am in favor of the reelection of Curtin for Governor,
and the defeat of all the d----d Copperheads placed in nom-
ination, and there was any number of them on the Democratic