Letter from James to Parents, April 13, 1864#

Boca del Rio, Texas — April 13th 1864

Dear Parents,

I received two letters by the last mail, also some papers and as I have some leisure time this afternoon I will write some letters, commencing with one from home. I am glad you are all prospering so well so long as Father can make money enough to support the family. I feel perfectly easy. I have a very good time of it, not much to do and plenty of time to do it in. It is rather warm but we have plenty of sea breeze and it is considered a healthy place. I have very good health and have had ever since I have been in the country. I expect to get paid about the 10th of next month up to the 1st of May at which time I shall have something over $400 coming to me, most of which I can send home. I have not been able to make anything outside of my salary as yet; I am very circumspect as to how I act. Three of us officers were offered $4,000 the other day by a party the other side of the river, which would have been over a thousand dollars a piece. The case was this – there is a great deal of cotton in Mexico, most of which has been run across the Rio Grande, as Eagle Pass is about 200 miles above the mouth of the river, they then team it down to Bagdad and lighten it out over the bar in small sloops and carried to the vessels waiting to receive it outside. It is well known, everybody knows that the cotton is contraband, but get it across the river into Mexico and it is safe. The other day a schooner with 80 bales of cotton was wrecked on our shore while attempting to get over the bar; the bales would average 500 lb to a bale. The owners of the cotton, Rebs that lived on the other side of the river, came across and offered us the above amount in hard cash, if we would let them alone. All they wanted us to do was only to remove the guard we had placed over it and quietly let them remove it during the night. It was a strong temptation, but what was the use, we would have been all cashiered and discharged from the service of the U.S., so we had to refuse it. The next day down came an agent, from Brownsville, who took charge of the cotton in the name of the Government, had it put on a Government train and hauled to Brownsville, to await

the decision of the Court of Admiralty. It will probably be condemned on the ground of it being contraband. You in the North, when you read of a seizure of cotton, probably rejoice because the Government is making something out of the Rebs, but don’t you flatter yourself. I can speak knowingly so far as this Department is concerned, when I say that out of 700 bales of cotton which have been seized in this Department, not a single bale on the value of a bale ever went to the Government. I won’t say who did take it, probably the General commanding and the Chief Lieutenant Major of this Division may know something about it. Since I have had charge of the Company, I have been quite a business man. There is more writing necessary than I ever dreamed of. It was a long time before I got through my head the meaning of Vouchers, Abstracts and Invoices. I am responsible for all the Company property of course, and I have to keep up a pretty brisk correspondence every month with a dispatch at Washington to let them know how that stands with my Returns and Vouchers made out in Triplicate. Then comes my Ordnance Returns and all that sent of things, that is the Return that makes you look sharp; with your Abstract and one thing or another, and if you can’t make it agree if you’ve got too many bayonet scabbards or rust Plates, or not enough, it doesn’t make a difference. They stop your pay until you can make it right; even your cartridges have got to be accounted for on your Abstracts and Expenditures. Well, I have got my papers all right at last; it is a beautiful system when you get used to it, everything is so fair and square.

You would be surprised at the high price of things, nine potatoes 12.00 per bbl, butter 1.00 lb, cheese 50cts and other things in proportion. Mr. Blood, an acquaintance of mine, a very wealthy and a true Union man, formally Governor of Florida, had 50,000 feet of lumber consigned to him by a house in New York. Yesterday he expects to get $170.00 per thousand bbl; what do you think of that! I could scarcely believe it, 17cts a foot for common boards seems to me pretty steep, but that is the price for some reason. Ordinary clerks get from 75 to $150.00 dollars per month, 5 dollars a day seems pretty good pay but everything is so dear, a person can’t make much. Us officers, have it better so far as Commissary Stores is consumed as they are bound to sell to us according to Regulations. We pay 2.50 per bbl for potatoes and flour, it is very reasonable, but everything that we have to get our side of the CD, such as butter and milk, milk by the way we get in cans, it is made in New York, called Borden’s Condensed Milk at 75cts per can. One can is equal, I suppose, to about one gallon of milk; costs us very dear. John’s writing is improving in appearance and Durlyn is rather improving in his writing. I see Will visits Jamaica occasionally. So Miss Mills is about to get married, what is the name of the fortunate man that has won such a large prize in the Matrimonial Lottery? Now that Tom Byrd has got home I suppose Miss Peterson and he will be making a match of it. Ira Whitman, Ike Luce, and Gretna’s Drum Major have gone to New Orleans to get their discharge, they having never mustered into our Regiment. The Colonel has gone to New Orleans on a leave of absence, he may never get back, and I don’t care much whether he does or not; although he has treated me well enough since the Court Marshal, still he is not fit for a Colonel. I just saw an extract from a paper in which it speaks of 8,000 cavalry having just come over land from California to Brownsville, and of the French marching on to Matamoras; there is not a particle of truth in either report. There is no marching or fighting so far as I can learn. As soon as the River rises we may send some troops up the river 3 or 400 miles to prevent them running goods, arms, and cotton to and from the Confederacy. I am glad to hear you are building a house of Worship; perhaps by the fall, if I should be so fortunate as to get home by that time, you will have it built. Then how proud I shall feel to walk up the isle to our pew with Mother’s arm in mine, with my uniform on; I think a great deal of the uniform. I have associated so much with the officers of the old 13 Army Corps, General Grant’s old Corps, that I have with them, contracted a prejudice against citizens, men too weak in the back or in the faith to come out and fight. The Confederates set them an example, they turn out every man, except the men over 60 years old, but they are getting pretty well used up. A great deal depends on this year’s campaign. I rather think Grant will use them up this summer. I have written to the

Secretary of that Missionary Society, General E. Waterbury, acknowledging the receipt of his paper and Official notices of my membership to the Society. Give my respects to all friends. I have got so I can speak a little Spanish, just a few words, such as good morning and evening, and muchas gracias bonita senorita, “many thanks, pretty girl”, señor is man, señora is woman and señorita is girl. We call them all Greasors from their greasy and dirty appearance, they all abound with fleas and grey backs, except some of better class. I did think of filling another paper as it is not often that I am in the humor of writing, but I think this will do this time.

Your Affectionate Son,

James D. Wade

Lt. Comd. F Co.