Gorsuch, Joseph B., 1834-1908 to Joseph and his wife

Written in the field near Vicksburg, on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River. Gorsuch, Captain of the 83rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, discusses recent Union attempts to take Vicksburg, Mississippi by way of a constructed canal. He writes: "You need not be troubled but what we will take Vicksburg, but I confess that I consider it very doubtful whether we will now. If we do take it, it will be by very hard fighting. The rebels appreciate the importance of this point as well as we do... I hope that our Generals will not waste any more valuable lives... Bayonet charges are very brilliant things, but also very bloody things... and should never be made except with a certainty of success." He discusses the Confederate's advantages. He relates that illness is prevalent among soldiers and officers, but, miraculously, no men in his company have died. He discusses the sickness of several mutual acquaintances, including one death. He deeply misses his family. In a postscript, included on page one, he writes that Lieutenant Cummins and Joe Harris send their love. He relates that his regiment is part of General Andrew Jackson Smith's Division, in General Stephen Gano Burbridge's Brigade.