1862 July 18 Camp near Harrison's Landing, Va.

Camp in the Field Near Harrisons landing Va July 18th 1862
Dear Mother--I received your letter which was enclosed in Fathers of the
11th on the 15th & I can tell you I was glad to receive it as I am all
letters from Home, you said that you saw in the paper that I was wounded
if you did there is nothing in it you need not worry about my being wounded
because it is not so the Division had A hard time of it coming to this River
& saw some hard Fighting through the seven days but since we have been
here we have got rested & are getting along verry well I am well &could not
ask for better health which I have had ever since I came to Virginia we came
of from Picket Yesterday from the Outposts where we could get everything
we wanted to eat such as turkeys, pigs & chickens & I should like to stay A
week on Picket but we are relieved every twenty four hours I suppose you have
blackberries at Home so do we & in the summer we live high on Fruit and
such things I received A letter from William yesterday & wanted to know
whether I felt like going into another Battle I am agoing to tell you that
I do not care about going into Battle but as I enlisted to serve the Government
in what Position I was placed whether it was Fatigue or Fighting I shall do
my duty that is if I am able to do it & I know that the Generals do not expect
any that is not able to do it  but it has been the Case with me whenever this Regi-
ment has been in battle that I have been with it & am Just as willing to go in
one tomorrow: that is if I am required to I had A trembling come over me when I
went into battle this last time but I done my duty & if you want to know you can
send & ask the Commanding officer of the Company & he will give you all the
information that you want there is one thing about the Rebels that they are
full of powder & Whiskey & they are so that they will come up to the mouth of
the cannon & hold out their hands to grasp it, one day as this Regiment was
supporting the First Massachusetts Battery they came up to the verry mouth
of the cannon but when the Infantry gave A charge they was not to be seen they
had scattered in all directions of the woods & you can guess what kind of firing
they was under that afternoon by the numbers of tons that the Battery Fired
it was just five times the Captain reported so the name of the Captain is Porter
& that afternoon the General told  him to give them A taste of everything. O.S.
I was verry sorry to hear that Edward was sick give my love to him & the rest &
when I get this I want you to tell William that I want him to send them papers. I
guess that Father does not send any as I do not get any  from him, which I should
like to have I will  now close by saying give my love to all from your Son Joseph Leavitt.

Letters of Joseph Leavitt of the Fifth Maine and his brother George of the Fifth New York were copied into a ledger by their father after the war as a remembrance of them.  Both boys were mortally wounded in the war, George at Second Bull Run and Joseph at Spotsylvania.


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