John has received a letter telling him that Owen (his brother) was poorly and he hopes that he's now feeling better.

John describes their recent journey saying that they started from New Orleans on the fourth of this month, traveling in cars to Brasier City. They set off again on the seventh of the month and on the first day walked eighteen miles through a large marsh. John had to travel nineteen miles on the second day, twenty-one miles through the prairie on the third day and thirty miles on the fourth day. He's expecting to travel another hundred miles before seeing any rebels. John feels better when he's marching than when he's camping. At the moment they're camping near Vermillionville and he expects to stay there for a day or two.