A handwritten letter book compiled by John Leavitt of Maine ("I finished coppying these letters Oct. 7th 1865 & I coppyed them because they are of value to me and I was fearful that they might get mislaid"), two of whose sons (George W. and Joseph) served in the Union Army. John Leavitt transcribed in neat and legible handwriting letters written by his sons to various family members. Included are transcribed letters from acquaintances of George describing his death at the Second Battle of Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862. Also included is a transcribed excerpt from an Adjutant General's report describing the service and death of Joseph who, mortally wounded at the Battle of Spottsylvania on May 18, 1864, died in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 15, 1864. There are 39 letters from George Leavitt written between August 8, 1861 and August 9, 1862, when he served with Company F, 5th Regiment of New York Volunteers. The letters are written in great detail and cover numerous topics about current events, army life, and campaigning. Leavitt writes from Camp Federal Hill in Baltimore, Maryland, and then from various locations on the Peninsula in Virginia. From Baltimore he writes of evident Southern sympathies in the city, construction of a fort, various privations and lack of food, and that the war will be a long one. On the Peninsula he writes of slow progress to Yorktown due to roads clogged with military traffic, the evacuation of Yorktown, and the Union defeat at the Seven Days' Battles where only the "will of Providence saved the army." There are numerous letters from Joseph Leavitt written between June 30, 1861 and May 1864, when he served with the 5th Maine Regiment. The letters are written cover current events, army life, and campaigning on the Peninsula, at Antietam, at Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. There are also letters written from the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, where Leavitt was hospitalized for a battle wound. There are several letters from John Leavitt to his wife written in May and June 1865 from Alexandria, Virginia, where he was visiting his son Joseph in the hospital. He writes on his son's wound, prognosis, fortitude, and treatment and also describes hospital conditions. Included are two poems, "Over the River" (from the Portland Transcript of September 27, 1862) and "The Blue Coat" (to the editor of the Boston Jounral, June 2, 1866). Included are undated handwritten research notes summarizing all of George Leavitt's letters and 13 of Joseph Leavitt's letters (between June 30 and September 8, 1861).
