Mansfield, La. April 10/64
My Dear Judge:
I wrote for fear that you will be uneasy about Lawrence. He is doing very nice. His wound is a flesh one through both thighs, and he fears that you will hear it worse than it is. I left him a few hours ago at the Hospital with about a half dozen Yankee ambrotypes (women) laughing over them and some of the love letters written by the women to the men. He will go out to a private house tomorrow or next day. He was wounded in the first day's fight of the infantry. His horse was first killed, and whilst he was on foot was wounded. The old seventeenth are nearly all killed. The 17th and the Crescent (La.) suffered more than any other regiments in the fight. Noble, Hancock and Gil McKay were killed in the first fight (Friday); also Ellis Patten. There were a great many wounded in Hancock's Co. Thos. Whitaker and Louis Brown slightly wounded, and Alex Muckleroy was hurt. I have no time to write more of those particulars -----
¬More anon, Your friend,
J. C. Rusk.
Camp of 4 Tex, April 11, 1864. Hon. C. S. Taylor.