Click image for a transcipt of E.B. Lovejoy's letter.

Neither Solon Chase nor Mr. Blossom got the job of "secret agent" for Androscoggin County. Instead it went to E. B. Lovejoy of East Livermore. The problem was that the army had been allowing sick and wounded soldiers to go home to convalesce. Naturally, many of these men took the opportunity to delay returning to the army, to malinger at home pretending to be unwell, or to desert outright. Agents like Lovejoy were appointed for each county, each armed with a list of men whose status was in question. They tracked down each one and made a determination on the spot about whether or not the fellow was truly sick or could be considered a deserter. Eventually, the army dropped its kindly policy and refused to let men go home on sick leave unless they were pretty sure an individual was never likely to be fit for duty again.