1861 Sept[ember] 5 Camp Vernon

Dear Father
I received your & Mothers Letters yours of the 29th 31st & Mothers of the 28th and by such long letters that you write to me should think that Paper was plenty. The Men in Company think them are the letters to get, by the way you write you think that i want to come home, but I am not sick of it yet whe[sic] are under Marching orders Last Night the Cook was ordered
to Cook two days rations and have them ready at any Minute, there was A Boy in the Regiment by the name of Welsh who received a Letter from His Mother Stating that she called on the Mayor Thomas & asked him how Long the Regiment was in for & the Mayor told her that As Long as the Regiment did not go before the war department that the United States could not hold them for only three months & that is just what it said, because i saw the letter that she wrote to him Saying that if the Regiment should o into another Fight before the three months were out, & any of them should lose an arm or leg what claim could they have on the United States to give them any thing to support them They could not have any claim on them whatever & that is what the men are looking at you wrote me about the two Captains there is but two Captains in the regiment that came out with us & the names of them Capt Scammon of Company H & Captain Edwards of Company J, & them are the only ones that came with us the Major is A first rate man & if all the others was as clever as he was there would not be halfe of the Grumbling That there is now the Regiment i expect wil lget Paid off in A few days the sum of 25 dollars and i shall Send that dollar you sent to me i did not expect you to give it to me i intended to pay it to you again & the next letter you get from me there will be two dollars for you & two for Mother, there is not Much any thing the matter with me excepting the loseing of Flesh & i do not want to come home as Long as i can stand the climate John Shaw recived his discharge papers from Arlington to day & has started for home From your Affectionate Son Joseph Leavitt N.B. Tell Mother that Mr Stevens did not give me Five dollars as Ellen Told Her it is the First that i Heard of it Joseph Leavitt
Jefferson Davis is dead he died of the small Pox X X William
Direct your Letters in the Care of Capt Sawyer he was the Second Lieutenant in the Company G. Tell i do not think much of him because he does not write to me. Send them Postage stamps in the next letter that i have been expecting them i want to get them so that I shall know what mony i will have to pay you.

Joseph Leavitt, private in the 5th Maine

MSS 66