E.M. Pettit came to Washington on May 14th and took his son back to Versailles to recuperate. While convalescing in New York, James spends some time in Albany lobbying for a promotion. He is hopeful that he will receive a promotion before he returns to the front.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 On March 10th, 1861, the 64th NY was ordered to advance to Manassas, Virginia. It was on this long march that James Pettit became severely ill. One year later in a letter he tells his sister about that march. 

…worn out with marching and continuous picket duty. Nearly all day it rained, at times heavily. And we marched 20 miles in the mud and went from early morning till late at night without food and laid down cold and wet. That night I caught the cold that led to my sickness. READ LETTER

The next day he collapsed on the march, but he recovered enough to remain with the regiment a few more days. He then suffered a relapse and an ambulance was called to take him to Fairfax for medical treatment.  The driver, however, left James in a house along the way where his friend Chauncey Joslin found him near death several days later. Chauncey stayed by his side for weeks and would be with him throughout his illness. Taken to the General Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, James began his long recovery.  On May 1st, he was finally strong enough to write a letter home to his father:

I gain strength beyond all expectation. I sit up to take my meals about 3/4 of an hour each time and in my rocking chair about 1 1/4 hours each afternoon  . . . I think I shall go home without delay if you come sometime next week. READ LETTER

A few days later he was released from the hospital and traveled to Mrs. Thompson's boarding house on the corner of 9th and H streets in Washington, DC. There he waited for his father to take him back to Versailles.  In a letter to his sister on May 6th he wrote of how wonderful it was to be out of the hospital:

You cannot imagine My sensations on leaving the hospital and getting into the world once more. It seemed as though a new life was opened unto me and I hope I may make it a new life in serving the interests of truth and humanity. READ LETTER

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