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Regiment: 2nd Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures:
Louisville Ky
Feb the 22nd 1863
Dear friends
I once more send you a fiew
lines to let yo know I am geting
quite smart once more and soon
expect to join my regiment a
gane the wether here now is verry
wet and disagreable yesterday at
4 oclock in the afternoon we had
one of the most terific thunder stor-
ms I ever saw it blew as if would
blow evry thing away I do not know
as I can write you any news since
wrote to you before this being the
third time since I have been in
the Hospital I told you I would give
you a discription of an Abby I
visited in this state there was 4
of us started out to se it on the 25th
of last month they ar all what they
call Monks they ar all french
and germans there is 65 of the Mon-
ks and 45 of what they call Lay
Brothers who do the work they have
got 1700 Acres of land 1200 is inproved
they have an Orchard of 2000 aple trees
and Vinyard of 10 acres they have
got a saw and grist mill and in
fact evry other hting nedeful
in a community the object being
to have as little to do with the
world as possable they have st-
ock of all kinds the Monks dress
in long white Robes wearing a
big lether belt around the middle
they wear hoods on there heads
made of the the same material
as there robes with capes on them
reaching down under there belts
they wear the verry corseest kind of
shoes and altogether they ar a verry
qiuere looking set there is no women
about they live in a state of perfect
celibecy they building is made of
brick 260 feet one way 200 the other
it took 3400000 brick to build it
there is one part of it a church one
part to live in one to entertain
straingers in a nother for to dine
in a nother to cook in they can
seat 5000 persons in the church
you would get lost in it without
a guide the steple of the church is
260 feet high space will not allow
me to give you a full discription
of them I have often red in history
of such buildings but never saw
one before and it was quite a sight
they took grait delight in shoing
evry thing to us I will tell you
some more about the south there
is more whiskey drank in the south
in one month than in the north
in one year you may think this
strange but Nevertheless it is true
they more welthy make large
quanties of aple and peach bran
dy evry year and you can find
it in there cellars for 10 years
and never been taped the poorer
people take there corn to the
still house and get it made in
to whiskey still housees in the
south ar as think as the school
houses in the North whiskey is
as plenty as water it is drank by
man women and child and
they will even set it on the
table to there meals I thought they
could drink whiskey in
Mich. but they cant begin with
there Southern friends and all
use tobacco boath yong and old
I have sene plenty of families
whare evry one chewed tobacco
even down to childern of
five and six years old and
I have seen the boys ask yong
ladies for a chew of the weed and
they would put there hand in
there pocket and had it out
without any ceramony about
it and without ever thinking
for what it was don for such
is the depravety and ignorance
of the Southern people
pleas write as often as you
can tell Aunt I think she
owes me a letter I hope this will
find you all well John Wasson
