1862 June 15 Mechanicsville, Va.

Mechanicsville Va June 15th 1862
Dear Father  I recd your kind & welcome letter of the 6th and one
from Mother which was Inclosed in yours I am well & enjoying good health
which I hope is the case with the Family at home night before last the regim
ent & the whole Brigade was called out they tried to flank us on the right
but it did not amount to  much yesterday we was building A Cordavy[sic] road
near the Chickahominy swamp, since we have been here we have done no
thing else but do Picket duty & build the roads over, General Smith has already
crossed the swamps with to other divisions we do Picket duty tomorrow
in which we relieve the ninety six Pensylvania I have not seen George since
Sunday because I do not get anytime to go there, there is not A day but we are detailed
to do something if you see Edward L. Clarke give my love to him & ask him if he thinks he
will come out here as A Soldier you rote that they were raising another Regiment in
Portland & I want to know whether Capt Thomas has been made Lieut Colonel
of the Regiment I heard that he was the company is getting ready for inspection which comes
off an nine O Clock & we have Religious services at 5 in the cool part of the day Mother writes
in her letter that Georgs Regiment had to March in A drenching rain the day that the battle of fair Oaks
came off to reinforce Genl. Pope which she made A mistake instead reinforcing Pope who is at
corinth she meant Genls Heintzelman Sumner & Keys I will now close by saying by the
time you get this, I hope you will have received that fifteen dollars give my love to Mother
& tell her that I wrote her one the other day P.S. I received three papers from Henry &
one from Portland Advertisers Office, if you take the Maine temperance Journal now & Boston
Advertiser I have seen the temperance Journal up to the seventh & you may begin from
the seventh & send them this is from your affectionate Son Joseph Leavitt give my love to Lizzie
Tell Mother that I only know Mrs Hossacks Son by sight & he is as well as any of us


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.

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