1862 January 27 Camp Franklin near St Johns Semenary Alaxandria Va

Dear Father--I received your letters of the 18th & 27th three days ago & should
& should[sic] have answered them before but as we had to go on guard every
other day arround the Camp as the other companies but one had gone on Picket
Guard , & that other that staid in was Captain Browns he took this Companys
place so you can see that I had not much spare time to write but I have rece
ived your letter dated the 23d & in it you said that you had received the money
that I had allotted to you & that you had given Mother that Five dollars I have
been waiting to see wether you got it or not, I had almost Maid up my mind
not to send it that way again it took so long for you to get it but as you have got
it I shall continue to send it so again that young man that you said sent home
twenty six dollars by the name of Jackson is the verry same man that you
spoke to in Camp Preble he is not in the Company now but has got A place
over to the Brigade Quartermaster department as Sergeant of that depart-
ment but he comes to the company to get his regular meals he is what you would
call A nice young man you said in your letter of the 18th that you did not
see how it was that we did not have to drill the reason is this the mud
has been as much as A foot deep for the last week but the going is A
little better & for the first time for A week this afternoon we had A
battalion drill, I think it is kind of strange that I do not get any letters
from George yet I believe Captain Brown is going to resign which I am
sorry to say, you wanted to know whether we was on high or low ground
it is high but I can tell you that this camp Ground is A Muddy hole
when it rains there is nothing now that I can write so I will close
my letter by saying that I will try to answer some of your questions in
my next letter to you tell Frank Crawford that I received his letter & will
try & answer it this week I hope that you will continue in good health
& the rest of the Family give my love to all of Aunt Eliza and all of the
rest of them I am in good health, There is A Postman that goes in the
City every morning & if there is anything due on the Letter I have to pay him
& he pays it over to the Post Master in the Post Office so you see how it is that I
have to pay what is due on them From you affectionate Son Joseph Leavitt

Letters from Joseph Leavitt of the 5th Maine and his brother George 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.

MSS 66