Camp near Harrisons Landing Va July 10th 1862
My Dear Father  yours of the 21 & 22 were received soon after we arrived to the Camp
I suppose you are anxious to hear from us after these hard times we have been
through it will be impossible for me to give you any discription of what we have
passed through you have seen the papers & know about the battles of Thursday
Friday, Saturday Sunday,Monday, Tuesday 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th & 31st six
days hard Fighting & what has been the result simply we have been oblidged to
change Front as McClennen says well whose fault is this who is to blame for the
defeat for defeat it is & nothing else & no amount of agument will alter the case
the fault is to be charged to Congress & Politicians instead of attending to the war
Congress has done nothing by play & fool the time away trying to hinder Genl.
McClellan, when Yorktown was evacuated the thing should have been pushed
forward troops should have been sent forward to reinforce the Army but enstead
this being done the Army was allowed to grow smaller & smaller by sickness, while
the rebel Government were pressing every Man into the service that they coul
lay their hands upon, our Army has been allowed to dwindle down to the smallest
number these are facts I speak from what I know now to give you an idea of the
falling off in the army since we left Yorktown I will just say t his Regiment left
Baltimore with nine hundred & seventy six men (976) on the day of the battle
on the 27th we did not number four hundred the same story can be told of every
Regiment in the Army now you can put that & that together & make up your
mind where the blame ought to rest for my part I am satisfied that this has
been A defeat & it came verry near being A bull run even worse Wednesday
morning when we were leaving Malvern Hill on Turkey bend if the Rebels had
mistrusted how we were situated the whole army could have been cut to pieces
you may think I am wild but I am telling you nothing but facts it was the
wil of Providence we should escape now Just look at it six days fighting no sleep
you would wonder if we got played out at last, Porter Heintcelman Kerney
Summer & [Keyes?] in the fight all the time could they stand A great while
Longer would it be wondered at if they should give out at last, what I wonder
at is  that we held out against such great odds so long no one except those in the
Army know what we have passed through I cannot describe it to you on paper six days
constant Fighting & retreating six days cannonading six days continual excitement
every nerve strung up to the highest pitch, take A violin & screw up the strings untill
they are ready to snap then you will have some Idea of the condition the six days
fight left us. the Army that proberly numbered one hundred & twenty thousand
will not number now seventy five thousand & the blame should be laid where it belongs
to the Congress of the United States all they have done is to talk Nigger & hatch up some contract whereby
some of their friends or themselves could rob the government the consequence of all this is we are defeated
how it will end God only knows hoping this war will end before many months & I shall have the pleasure of seeing you all once more I remain your Son George

Letters of George Leavitt of the 5th New York and his brother Joseph of the 5th Maine were copied into a ledger after the war by their father as a remembrance.  Both boys died in the war, George at 2nd Bull Run and Joseph at Spotsylvania.

MSS 66

[from the diary of Anne Madison Willis Ambler]

Thursday July 10, 1862

The gentlemen left this morning, Mr. A. promised
to bring us things he could buy in his
neighborhood. & Dr. Williams said he would come
back to fix our teeth–
There were three Yankees here again this
morning- came for something to eat- were
quite meek till after they got their breakfasts-
said they would surrender to our confeds –
after they were strengthened however, one of
them said “if this war lasted a thousand years-
they would lick us.”  They picked up more
courage- I believe though that they are deserters-
 as the army is at & below Orleans & they certainly
have no business here- they say they are going
to Richmond… the days pass slowly away-  I never felt
more sad in my life than I have been for
the past week–I fear some great trouble
is in store for me–I can’t shake off
this fear–It haunts me-

[transcribed by her granddaughter Anne Madison Wright Baylor in 1972]

MSS 15406

[from the diary of William M. Blackford, bank officer and former diplomat, with five sons in the Confederate Army]

Thursday 10  Had to borrow Mr Power of
the Orange & Alex R R Co to help in
 [?] [work?]  weather still very
hot–Letter at night from Eugene.
The shocking sights he has witnessed
after the late battles and the heavy
loss of his company to which he was so
much attached have affected his
spirits.  He says all the romance of
war has been knocked out of him &
that he longs for peace.  He has seen
very hard service and been in three
of the bloodiest battles of the war
and in the midst of great danger He
escaped by the blessing of god, unhurt.
He was ordered on special duty in pick
ing up abandoned arms & found him
-self at Shirley, when on introducing
himself he was most kindly recd by
Mrs. Carter, a relative of his in [?] It
was quite an incident.

MSS 4763

[from the diary of Eliza Oswald Hill,  refugee from Wilmington, N.C.]

Thursday 10th  I have been busy sewing all day tho it has been very warm
Susy & all in the house have received letters but Liza & I–I dont know what to
make of Tom’s silence I hope to morrows mail will bring me a letter.
At 4 o clock it clouded up & we had thunder lightning–& a great deal
of wind-with but little rain.  John Rensher spent the evening with the
girls-

MSS 6960

[from the diary of Jesse Calvin Spaulding of Co. F, 25th Massachusetts]

Wednesday
July 9

           Went on guard to day, Was
               orderly of the third relief.
Lawrence was office of the guard

MSS 11293

[from the diary of Daniel D. Logan, younger brother of General Thomas M. Logan, formerly a Sgt, Co. B, 1st Special Battalion (Rightor’s), now with the Hampton Legion]

Wednesday – July 9th 1862
Went round to Mr Wellfords after
breakfast this morning & saw Mr & Mrs
Warner Taliaferro who promised to
take my letter to Mrs Roy for me
they start tomorrow for [space left blank] with
a large party who are returning to
their lovely deserted homes – Spent the
morning down town on divers little
searches – Went with Bro but could not see
Genl Magruder – Dined & spent the Evening
with Mrs Harvey – after which I
rode round & remained at Mr Dunlops
to tea with Mullie – The family came
up & set with the Capt – Our army
fell back today to within 8 or so
miles of town – got my transporta
-tion today for Camp Moore & will
probably start in a few day for So Ca
     Awfully HOT today!  [–]

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 6154

[from a “war journal”  of George Hazen Dana of the 32d Massachusetts as compiled by him from diaries and letters]

                                                 Harrison’s Landing.
                                                 July 9th 1862.
We are, as you see, at the same post as when I last wrote.
 Since then, nothing to disturb us.          The rebels are
within a few miles of our advance (in how large force I
do not know), and, as McClellan’s orders read yesterday,
we may be attacked at any moment, and are well prepared.
I think that the guess I made in my last was incorrect.
Everything is kept close here till executed, but from
all we can gather, Burnside’s arrival with re-inforcements
is what “little Mac,” as the soldiers call him, is waiting
for, and then for a grand advance.          The solution
of the last movement seems to be this – McClellan,
with his comparatively small army, could not hold
the long line of operations that he had planned and
taken possession of, as the rebels have been strongly re-
inforced by Jackson’s Whole army. – – –  The day
before Mac commenced his splendid manouvre (changing
his whole line of operations, and which, had it not been
executed in a masterly manner, would have ensured
the destruction of our entire army.) President Lincoln
visited him, and we probably see, in the arrival of
fresh troops now, the fruits of that visit –           I see by
the Boston Journal of July 4th that we lost our
siege guns.          It is false – nothing was lost, not a
gun, and McClellan compliments his men to that
effect in his last order –          All I hope is to be
able to write you a letter soon from Richmond –

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 5130

                       District of West Tennessee
Office of the Provost Marshal General
             Memphis Tenn  July 10th  1862

Special order No 14
 The constant communication kept
existing between the rebel arm  rebel army
and their friends and sympathizers in
the city of Memphis has constrained
the issuing of the following order–
           all the families of all persons
in the so ca army of so called Confed-
erate army and of all persons
holding office under the so-called
Confederate Arm Government and
of all persons holding office  under
state, county or city municipal offices
who have left the city and claiming
allegiance to the said so-called confederate
Government and also and who are
now have absented themselves from the
city of Memphis

[draft ends abruptly at this point and another begins:]

The constant communication
existing between the so-called confederate
army and their friends and sympathizers
in the city of Memphis, despite the
effort made to real orders heretofore
issued and the efforts to supress  them
have constrained the issuing of the
following order–
        The families of the follow now
res of now residing in the city of
Memphis of the following persons are
               go South beyond our lines
required to leave the city within five
days from the date hereof–

1st  Persons holding commissions in the
Confederate army or who have vol
untarily enlisted in the confederate service
2nd all persons holding office or in
under or in the employ of the so-called
Confederate army-Government
3d all persons holding state, county
or municipal offices and claiming allegiance
to the so-called confederate army and
are absent from the city-

 [from the diary of Charles Hay of the 23rd Ohio]

                       Pack’s Ferry, Va., July 9th, 1862.
     Crossed the river today, and took a walk
in Monroe County.  Ascended a mountain
fully a mile, and came across a family
professedly Union, who used us very kindly,
and were quite affable.  But, how, in
the name of goodness, any individual can
be content to inhabit the summit of
such a mountain, is more than I can
fathom.  Certainly he has never seen much
of the world, to be content with such an
unprepossessing portion of it.

                        Camp Jones, Flat Top Mt. July 10th.
Returned from Pack’s Ferry today.

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 13925