1862 January 4 Camp Franklin near Alaxandria Va

Dear Father I have just set down to tell you that I received your two
letters of the 26 & 29th & one from Mother which was enclosed in yours of
the 26th three days ago & should Not have answered them now if it had
not been for the kindness of one of the members of the Company [w]ho lent me
A stamp you said you thought that I had found them stamps enve
lopes which I have not, the stamp that I put on the other letter I got from
one of the members yesterday I received A Letter from Aunt Remick & she
wrote that she had receved a letter from Mother & that they was all well
at home I want to know whether Mother told Charly, Henry & Walter
to write to me if so I want to know tell Frank Crawford that I have not
forgot that letter he wrote & you can tell the reason why I have not it looks
more like winter to day than it has before since I have been here the ground
all covered with snow which fell last night, day before yesterday Colonel
Jackson arrived back from Maine where we thought he had been for
recruits tell Johney that he does not write much to me lately. I am well
& think whe will get paid off next Tuesday & then I can get some stamps
but if you are amind to you may send Four stamps if not more from your
Son Joseph Leavitt, give my love to Mother & all tell William that I should
think that he would write once in six months to me, I did not take much
pains to write this.


Letters from Joseph Leavitt and his brother George Leavitt 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.

MSS 66