1862 July 27 Camp Near Harrison's Landing, Va.

Camp Near Harrisons Landing Va July 27th 1862

My Dear Father--Before me are yours of the 11th, 17th & 18th July & I have
A little time to spare will try & answer them.  I should have answered them
before this, but we have been at work about all the time since we arrived
at this place, you dont know with what pleasure I receive your letters & those
from my Wife & Friends I may appear unreasonable, but I expect A letter
every day & if I do not receive one, I think something is the matter, Yesterday I
eight letters to answer & how to find time to answer them all was A puzzle
as we have little time to ourselves, you no doubt read in the papers that
the Army of the Potomac is resting, I don't see it, by the way this expression
by one of our men used, and lost one months pay it was in this way when
asked by the Sergeant to go & do some work he remarked, I dont see it, for that
he was Court marshaled & sentenced to forefiet one moths pay, now while
I am I might as well say A few words in regard to the treatment which we
Privates receive in the army, in the first place, then, A Private had got to
receive a great many insults without the priviledge of resenting them if an
Officer says anything to you which you think is insulting to you you must take
it or if you should presume to make A reply or saying anything in your defence
ten chances to one, you would go to the guard house, & perhaps stay two or three
weeks.  Court marshaled & be sentenced to forfeit pay or have A ball & chain to
your leg, now mind I am writing facts, everything I state I can prove.  I know
of young men that belonged to this regiment that are ruined by the treatment
they received at the hands of Officers, when they joined this regiment they were
as fine young men as you would wish to see, but for some trifling offence, have
had their heads shaved & drummed out in the presence of large crowds of People
you will say we must have discipline in the army, examples must be made of
some one of those that do not conduct themselves in A propper manner, well
for the sake of argument, I will agree with you, but where one guilty one is pun[i]shed
ten innocent ones receive punishment you may have seen the statement of one of the
members of Congress from Pensylvania in regard to this matter, he says in the Pen
itentiary I saw citizens from my own place, men that were respected, dis
graced for no cause whatever these may not be Just the words but will answer
one little incident I will relate one of the Officers in company F is no Gentleman
one young man in the company had A muskett that had been rusty by constant
rains falling on said muskett, will this Man cleaned, day after day, would
this man work on his muskett but the stains would not come out the muskett
was clean but the stains could not be removed, now every night at this infraction
this Lieut would find fault & say the muskett was not cleaned & that the Private
did not attempt to do it well this went on for some two weeks the private could stand
it no longer was driven to make A reply, what was the result the Private was ordered
To report to the Lieut, sent after the Company was dismissed, he did so, stand
there says the Lieut & clean your muskett it is clean says the private, I tell you to
clean the muskett, I have been at work all the afternoon on the muskett, says
the Private & can prove it, are you agoing to clean that muskett, it is clean, for
this the Private was tied to A Tree, enough  for the present, in some future letter I will
give you some more of it, I will give you the dark side of the picture, you wish me to
give you A discription of what I have passed through from the 25th of June to the
fourth of July, it will be impossible as I said in my letter of the tenth, I described
the scene as well as I could, I can see it all before me as though it was but yesterday
yet cannot describe it, you say you dont agree with me in all points, I dont expect you
to, but mind you I dont take back what I have said, you did not see the immense
mound of property destroyed by fire, Amunition, Comisary stores, Quartermasters goods
Ordinance, waggons &c nor will you tell me what is the use of saying that McLellan
brot of everything, did not lose A waggon, why not tell the truth about this matter
we did not brig off everything waggons were lost & A large amount of Property destroyed
the articles of clothing alone, will amount to A verry large sum, not it is of not interest for me
to make statements that are not true. I am careful when I make A statement to find out
the particulars, now when I say we have been defeated, I mean just what I say, it is nothing more
or less than A defeat, s\our object was to take Richmond we were defeated in that Object, we have
got the same battles to fight over again, you say I am tired & cross, that we have not accom
plished all I think the Army ought to have accomplished I do think the Army have not
Accomplished what it ought. could & would have done, Gen McLellan had when he was
before Yorkown the largest best drilled, the best equipped army ever on this continent an army
bound for Richmond an Arm equal to the task before them, it is my honest belief that if this
Army had been under Genl Heintzelman Hooker or Kearney either would have been
in Richmond with less loss of life than this long delay as caused Genl McClellan
may be the best Gen. in the world, but who was at Williamsburgh that gained the day Genl
Heintzelman, who at Fair oaks Gen Heintzleman who at White Oak swamp Heintz[le]man and
Kearney, who at Malvern hill Heintzleman  was not Heintzleman in all these battles the
Hero, mark my word if Gen Heintzleman was appointed to the command of this Army his appointment
would be received with the wildest delight, you may think I am crazy when I talk in this strain, I am not
mistaken in the signs around me, I dont reccollect of Genl. McLellan being in any
engagement from the Battle of Gains Mills, to the battle of Malvern Hills I repeat
this Army should have been in Richmond, how long we shall remain in
this place I cannot give A guess, we are making ourselves as comfortable as we
can, what we want the most is A change of food something that has got a taste
to it, Fresh bread is wanted badly hoping this will find you in good
health I remain your Son
                                                        George W Leavitt

[Letters of George Leavitt of the 5th New York and his brother Joseph of the 5th Maine were copied into a ledger by their father John in the fall of a1865 as a remembrance of them.  Both boys wee mortally wounded in the war, George at 2nd Bull Run and Joseph at Spotsylvania]

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