1861 July 11 Alexandria Va

Dear Father I thought I would write & let you know that we start for
this place last Tuesday & to day noon we start for Fairfax Court House since
I have been here I have seen the House that Elsworth got shot in & got A
piece of the flag & was going to send it Home but I lost it the American flag
is flying here the Elsworth regiment has taken charge of the Rail Road which
runs between the City & Fairfax most every House in the City is Guarded by the
troops one of the Regiments past through here bound to Fairfax Court House
last night, the company that I belonged to burned some rotten beef yesterday
right in front of the Colonels tent & as soon as we done it, the whole regiment
joined with ours, last night I received A letter from Ellen & she wrote & told
me that George had Joined A Regiment give my love to Mother & all of the
Folks, I never felt so well as I do now there was A man standing by when one of
the Regiments was passing along & he said that he wish they never would
return but he had not got the words out of his mouth before one of the Elsworths
men shot him through the heart which killed him instantly, I received your
your letter that you wrote me & I thought it was A verry good one, I remain your
Son Joseph Leavitt. N B when you write direct them to Washington as the
same as you did the others it dont make any difference where we are we will
get the letters the same I wish you tell William to send me some postage stamps
& some paper to write home with as we have no chance to get any out here &
some Frank envelops if he can get them I have only two sheets to write home
with tell him it wont cost him much to send them on here & I want you to direct
your letters to me in the Care of Capt. Thomas Company G Fifth Regiment.

Leavitt, a private in Co. G, of the 5th Maine, refers here to the death of E. Elmer Ellsworth,who was killed by James T. Jackson, proprietor of the Marshall House in Alexandria, May 24, 1861, after removing a Confederate flag from the roof of the building. Jackson in turn was shot by Private Francis E. Brownell, who was later awarded a medal of honor for his retaliatory killing. See letter of May 26, 1861, by a member of the family of Edward T. H. Warren


MSS 66