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Letter from Walter Reed to Emilie B. Lawrence, July 29, 1875

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Willets Point,
N.Y. Harbor,
July 29th, 1875.
My darling Emilie;

    I wonder if
you have received the vari-
ious epistle that I have in-
dited to you since the 24th
day of this month. When you
write tell me just what let-
ters you have received, so
that I may know whether
any are lost or not. Believe
me, I have been very prompt,
for how could I be other-
wise when I regarded it
as such a pleasure to
write to my dear little E.

 
Bless your sweet life! you
are not forgotten, if you are
far away by the waters
of the "amber-colored" Meher-
rin- and I look forward
with eagerness to the day
for writing to you-

    In my last letter I said
that I would give you
some description of my
Post in my next- I trust
that I may be able to give
you some slight idea
by the following descrip-
tion. The fort stands on
Long Island & hence on the
Southern side of Long Islan [d]
Sound- The Sound, at this part
part, is not more than 1
mile wide & on the opposite
shore from us is Fort

 
Schuyler, another military
Post- On the immediate
shore stands a large
granite fort some 600
ft. in length- In the rear
of this & rising to a greater
altitude are earth works,
at least 100 ft. in thick-
ness at the base & the
top about 30 ft. thick-
These earth works are
beautifully turfed & the
latter is kept so nicely
trimmed that it [has the] appear-
ance of a green carpet-
These works are protetced
by immense cannon &
from their top can be
obtained a most en-
chanting view- Below
you lies the Sound, cov-
 
ered with sailing vessels
of every description, while
in the distance may be
seen the beautiful pala-
sades of the Hudson River.
A short distance away &
on either side of willet's
Point is a bay, which adds
much to the beauty of the
scene- Leaving the fortifi
cations & the water, we
trace our way for a dis-
tance of about 500 yards
& reach the barrac [k] s & Offi-
cers' Quarters- The Offi-
cers' Quarters are built
on the three sides of a
level & nicely turfed sqare
square- On the south side
stands the Residence of the
Commanding General-
 
and on the the east side,
there are 4 dwellings for
officers & on the west side
2 others for the same- All
of these dwellings are 3 story
frame buildings & are are [all]
double houses- So that
there are in each house
two complete sets of rooms-
Each set consisting of eight
rooms- Each house has
a wide veranda extending
around the front & two
sides,- which adds very
much to their appearance-
The residences are in fact
quite pretty & as good
as I should ever care
to own- There is a very
nice walk & roadway ex-
tending around the [central] square,
which is also bisected
 
by a gravel walk- This
ground serves as the par-
ade ground, where each
evening I witness the par-
ade & hear the music of an
excellent band- On the north
side of the square, but removed
to a considerable e distance
are the barracks for the sol-
diers- Taking all in all, Willet's
Point is a beautiful place-
The grounds are large -- are
well laid off & decorated
with shade trees of various
kinds- I am told that it is
regarded as one of the most
desirable posts in the
service. One thing is quite
certain & that is I am
more than e pleased & would
like to remain several years.
 
My duti s es are very light-
I rise in the morning at
6.30 o'clock & attend the "sick-
call." The bugle sounds & those
men who are sick are broug [ht]
to the Hospital by the Sear-
geants of their respective com-
panies, and are there pre-
scribed for- I next go around
my Hospital wards & see
the few patients who are sick
enough to be confined to their
beds- The number of sick is
very few, as the post is de-
cidedly a healthy one. After
sick call, comes breakfast-
Between breakfast, at 7 to
8 A.M. & lunch from 12 [M.] to 1 P.M,
I have nothing to do- In fact
nothing else during the n
entire day- Dinner comes
 
at 7 P.M. We live well & the gen-
tlemen composing the mess are
quite agreeable- Most of the Of-
ficers at the Post have called
on me- One of them came by with
his buggy & horse & gave me a
very pleasant ride. I live in
the same house with Dr Byrne,
my senior, & find him very pleas-
ant- We have 8 rooms, which
are sufficient, if a body can't
get any more! I do not have
to drill except on Sunday
Inspection- I have become
quite used to my military
clothing & feel just like an
old soldier- Have an abun-
dance of time e for reading &
have already got well to work-
will write on Monday & will then
tell you some good news-

Goodbye, my darling- Ever your
devoted

Walter
.