1861 November 15 New Camp Va

Dear Father As I Have A spare opportunity to write I thought I would write you A few lines & as I have not received that paper that you said you sent to me that had that Letter in it But there was A Boy in the Company that got it & he let me read it it is true that the Whiskey has Maide more drunkards, & Men that never thought of drinking at Home, But I will give you my word that I will not touch it I hate the name of Whiskey yesterday we moved our Camp about four miles from the old one it is near Bailys cross roads where whe moved from there is six Regiments that kept pouring in all day yesterday, there I think before long you will hear of the greatest Fight that the World ever heard of & I think it will be near Fairfax Court House there is Four Divisions that have advanced already I wish you could see the Grounds they have covered with Tents as far as the eye can see & the Artilery & Cavalry, There is Five Forts Buildt around ours & there is some Handsome Buildings on them, Fort Taylor that the Fourth Maine Has been Building is quite A Large one it has about twelve sixty four pounders with about the same number of thirty two pounders they have got the largest guns on than any Fort around here excepting the ones at Arlington the Church that Genl Washington built was destroyed by the Rebels, When you write again I want you to write & tell me whether John receivd that I wrote to him there is Letters that I have wrote I know that you have not receivd because you havent Mention it in your letters I received A Paper to day dated the tenth give my Love to all of the Folks From your Son Joseph Leavitt


Letters from Joseph Leavitt of the 5th Maine and his brother George of the 5th New York as 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. Presumably a third brother William survived the war.

MSS 66