1861 August 8 Baltimore [Maryland]

My dear father
your letter of July 27 & August 6th have been received I was verry glad to hear from you, we are encamped on Federal Hill Baltimore & A Splendid place for an encampment it is, we have A view of the whole City it commands every point & in A verry short time, with the assistance of Fort McHenry the City could be entirely destroyed, but I think there will be no occasion for Destroying the City, for the Union feeling is gaining ground every day and as the City is to be the great Military encampment here will be no chance for A rising, it is the intention of the Government to make\this City the head Quarters for the Reserve there will be about seventy five thousand Troops in Baltimore in about A month, I think we shall stay here some time yet Although I do not know positive, but as Gen Dix is in command of this department he will do all he can, to keep New York Regiments in Baltimore & as this Regiment is considered A cracked one & occupying the most important position it is likely we shall stay untill Gen Scott gets ready to move, I like Camp life verry much we have nothing to do but drill three hours every day & as there has been improvement in the cooking since we have arrived in Baltimore we get along verry well, the Camp is A poor place to hear news, we never know what to beleive, one day we hear one story, and the next something else, at old Point Comfort we had something to do, the Regiment had to go out on pickett twice A week, it was A strange position for me, to be about two miles from Camp on Pickett in the Enemys country the way Pickett duty is done is to March the Regiment where the roads cross each other & send out about one halfe of the men keeping one halfe where the roads cross for the Reserve, the men are posted about one hundred feet apart which leaves the outer Pickett three or four miles from Camp,no one was allowed to pass without an order from Gen Buttler I did not see A doz People all the time we were in Old Point Comfort & the food
we had was not fit for hogs to eat I had to eat crackers for I could not eat the stuff that was dealt to us, the coffee was nothing but black mud & the pork was nothing but grease & the beef was like so much rock, but since we have been in Baltimore there has been great improvement, we have fresh beef every day & also fresh bread the bread is first rate, but untill to day the meat has not been cooked well, that has been one great fault, when we had good meat it was spoilt in Cooking, if it had not been for what the men receive from home, they would not have been verry well pleased, there is not A day but there is A load of boxes arrives in the Camp for different men containing little articles such as pies, & cakes, lemons &c our living here is splendid to what it was at Old Point Comfort everything here is kept clean; our Camp is laid out In streets & every morning the streets have to be swept & not A piece of paper or anything is allowed to belaying arround, for the first six weeks the Regiment
has been under the command of Lieut Col Warren Col Duryee having been acting as Brig General Col Warren is A first rate man & it is through his efforts that the Camp is kept in such good order when we arrived here the eighteenth Regiment of Philidelphia, was encamped, but it was not kept in verry good order, in looking arround I am surprised to see the change that has taken place since we have been here everything arround is kept in first rate order, we have plenty of good water & are now enjoying ourselves my health has never been better than it is now, I should not have asked Wm for any money, but I had nothing to pay the Postage on my letters & as I said before our Food was not fit for hogs, & if it had not been for what the men received from home in the shape of pies & cakes &c they would all have been sick & yet they say that we (that is the new recruits) cannot tell what they had to go through halfe the time they had nothing but crackers, you tell me not to feel down hearted why should I feel so. I have joined the Regiment for the Purpose to serve my Country & I have nothing else to think of & if I always have as good A dinner as I have had to day, I shall not grumble, the weather is verry hot bit I do not mind it much now as I have got pretty well used to it, for the first two weeks that I was in the Regiment the sun burnt me so that I could not turn my head my forhead swelled up & the skin pealed of like bark off A tree, I was glad you received A letter from Joseph, I looked in the papers every day to see if I could find hisname he can tell what A battle is, I have not been in an engagement yet & I dont know when I shall be in one if we are ordered in the Field I shall do my duty.. you will excuse this writing as I am sitting on the ground with A piece of board to write on & the position is not very comfortable, from your Son George P.S direct to Geroge W Leavitt Co F fifth Regiment N Y volunteers Col Duryee Federal Hill Baltimore

Letters from Joseph Leavitt of the 5th Maine and his brother George Leavitt of the 5th New York were copied into a ledger by their father John Leavitt in October 1865: "because they are of value to me and I was fearful that they might get mislaid." Both boys were mortally wounded in the war, George at Second Bull Run, August 30, 1862, and Joseph at Spotsylvania, May 18, 1864.

The fifth New York was known as the Duryee Zouaves after Colonel, later General Abram Duryee (1815-1890) who was wounded twice in the war. Afterwards he was active in New York City politics, serving as both police commissioner and dockmaster.

Lieutenant Colonel Gouveneur Kemble Warren (1830-1882)was most noted for his defense of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg.

MSS 66