Monday, October 10, 2011

1861 Oct 10 Camp Vernon, Va.

Dear Mother As I Heave not Recived but one letter from you For three weeks I thought I would sit down & write you A few lines & find the reason that you have not written oftener to me The nights out Here are Cold & it takes hold of A fellow who have not received any under clothes yet All we have received yet is A blue uniform & regulation Hats with new Tents Whe are called up at Five in the Morning And then we eat our Breakfast at the tap of the drum which consists of salt Meat & soft Bread with coffee to drink & you can See that we have our choice to have tea or coffee I choose the tea rather to the coffee whe Have had no Plates to eat of of since we returned from Bulls run but have had to Take our fingers, the next tap of the drum is at Seven which is for the Sick to fall in & go to the Doctors & then next is for the Guard to Fall in which is at nine oclock then at ten the hold Regiment is to fall in & go to work on the Fort & then Return at twelve to eat their dinner & then Have an Hour to rest then after that fall in for the afternoon work & when they Return from work at night they get a ration of Whiskey But I do not touch it I remember the Promise that I maide to Father before I left Portland & I shall keep that Promise, the next tap of the drum comes off at ten oclock at night when we have to blow out the candles & turn in in the kind of bed that I sleep on is Made by driving Four stakes in the ground then go out & cut some slats & put them crossways then take my wollen blankit & lay it on double & it makes quite a Bed to Lay on But they are not quite so comfortable as the Beds are at Home but A Soldier need not expect anything Better for Camp life the United States Government clothes the men well & there is no reason to complain whe are to have some blue frock coats & some new Blue over coats to Where this Winter the General of the Brigade, his name is Slocum & the Brigade is called the Seventh & it is in the sixth Division Col Howard commands A Brigade in Baltimore I Believe & went Lastly there to take command Father wanted me to Find out the name of the Officers in the New York Regiments but I cannot find out their names so soon the only one that I know is Colonel Davis of the New York sixteenth Regiment I receive Letters from George often But do not get any from William I Hope you will hear good reports about Gen Fremont before Long that is I hope you will hear of A great Victory Maid by him in Missouri which I Think you will before Many days whe are still under Marching orders and have been for three week if it is towards the Enemy I they will start soon Because i want to see the Reblion Crushed soon It is not for cowardice that I want to see it end. I attend the meetings at the Chaplains Tent every Sabbath Morning and Evening & the Wednesday Evening Meetings Which is Hold in his tent tell Mary Wallace if she has got home there was one of the real oll stock of A Methodist Preacher Last Sunday Evening from Ilinois & tell Her he was A smart one, This Brigade has Built A Guard House it is made of logs & they have a ring Maid to Make them that [?] Guard run round it for one hour steady & give them no Chance to Breath, Company A the Brunswick Company has got for their First Lieutenant Daniel Clark Brother of Edward Clarke I miss Edward A great deal because he was always A Playmate I enlisted with him in Portland, There is another one that came out here with Clarke to take A Lieutenants Girth in some Company tell William to tell James Safford that there is A good chance to get A Lieutenants Girth if he should apply for one from the Govoner Give my Love to Aunt Eliza and Uncle Joseph & to small Eliza as i use to call her & to Henry tell Johny that I got his letter & tell him that I shall write as soon as I get an opportunity to write give my love to Father and all of the Family this is the First Long Letter that I ever attempted to write And when you write to me again I want to know what you think of it From your affectionate son Joseph Leavitt I forgot to Put Misses down In directing this Letter

Joseph Leavitt, 5th Maine, as copied by his father after his death in 1864

MSS 66

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