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Holidays:  Memorial Day~Civil War Letter  |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3317 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3317 Posts |
 Posted - May 30 2011 : 8:00:53 PM
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Photo taken at Riverside Cemetery near my home this Memorial Day morning)
Watched American Experience this evening and it reminded me of this letter I posted a while back~Thought I would re-post it again on this Memorial Day...
"One of the many blessings we enjoy in this country is that we are free, and we know well the sacrifices of men and women who serve in the military have made-especially at this time of year. How hard it is to answer a nations call at the suffering of those you love most of all-And of all the letters written home to family over the more than 200 years of this nations history, none is more compelling than the one written by Sullivan Ballou, a Major in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, to his wife; Sarah, in Smithfield in the early days of the Civil war."
July 14th, 1861
Washington, DC
My very dear Sarah,
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days, perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American civilization now leans on the triumph of the government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing-perfectly willing to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government and to pay that debt.
Sarah, my love for you is deathless. It seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break. And yet my love of country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly, with all these chains to the battlefield.
The memory of all these blissful moments I have enjoyed with you come crowding over me, and I feel most deeply grateful to God and you that I have enjoyed them so long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years when, God willing, we might have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us…
If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been.
But, oh Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love, I shall always be with you in the brightest days and in the darkest nights. Always. Always. And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath; and as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do no not mourn me dead: Think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.
Major Sullivan Ballou
Note: Sullivan Ballou was killed one week later at the first Battle of Bull Run
Melody
Farmgirl #525
www.lemonverbenasoap.etsy.com
www.bythebayhandcraftedsoap.blogspot.com
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 9:07:04 PM
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Oh my gosh, Melody - This is so moving; so beautiful. (And the picture is beautiful, too!) God bless our forefathers and mothers. God bless them.
(I went to school with Brian Ballou - we lived right over the RI/MA border - wonder if that's a relation... Interesting.)
Thank you for sharing this.
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 9:31:31 PM
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I love the way they wrote/spoke back then. There are still people (mostly the very old) in areas of East TN and Western NC that speak this way. I run into them sometimes when I am up there kayaking.
Bless all soldiers past and present!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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ChickieMama
True Blue Farmgirl
303 Posts
Angela
Banks
Oregon
USA
303 Posts |
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embchicken
True Blue Farmgirl
1487 Posts
Elaine
Ocean
NJ
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2011 : 11:10:28 AM
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That is one of the most beautiful and touching letters I have ever read. Thank you so much for posting.
~ Elaine
Farmgirl sister #2822
"Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things." ~Saki
http://embchicken.blogspot.com
http://gusandtrudy.blogspot.com |
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Caron
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
Caron
Orange
Texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2011 : 1:09:37 PM
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Wow. I started to cry halfway through it. What a beautiful,heartfelt letter.
Caron
Happy Farmgirl Sister #254
"An Apron:Its strings gently tug at us, tenderly, softly calling us to turn back to the old ways".-Above Rubies Magazine |
Edited by - Caron on May 31 2011 1:10:43 PM |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2011 : 07:30:37 AM
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You should hear it read in Ken Burns The Civil War. It's moving just by words, but when you hear an actor read it. Well, you just come undone.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2011 : 10:31:56 AM
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This letter is truly eloquent. If only we could speak (or write in long hand)those feelings of our heart, and bare our soul...if we have thought them through, to another is really very precious. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl & Sister #870 ~
"It compliments God to ask great things of Him." ~ St. Theresa of Avila
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coaloha
True Blue Farmgirl
502 Posts
Pam
USA
502 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2011 : 10:56:41 PM
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Melody,
I just ready the letter that you posted...it is so touching. Thank you for sharing it. I hope that Sarah, Sullivan's wife, was comforted by his assurances of love and purpose.
Pam Barnes-Palty
Phoenix, AZ
Farmgirl #1075
Be distracted by joy |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2011 : 7:40:01 PM
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This is the song that played to accompany the reading of this letter. It still brings tears to my eyes.... what? 20 years later?
http://youtu.be/zKdvnwrTloo
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3317 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3317 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2011 : 7:58:05 PM
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Oh yes...Ashokan Farewell. This is the one piece I insisted my daughter learn when she was taking violin lessons. It is haunting...
Melody |
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Holidays: Memorial Day~Civil War Letter |
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Memorial Day~Civil War Letter
