Sullivan ballou letter. Was Sullivan Ballou's Letter a Forgery? 2022-12-23
Sullivan ballou letter
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The Sullivan Ballou Letter is a poignant and deeply moving letter that was written by Major Sullivan Ballou of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry on July 14, 1861, just one week before he was killed in the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War. The letter, which was addressed to his wife Sarah, has become famous for its heartfelt expression of love, devotion, and patriotism, and it has been widely reprinted and anthologized since its initial publication in the New York Times in 1862.
In the letter, Major Ballou writes to his wife with great tenderness and affection, expressing his love for her and their children and assuring her that he will always cherish the memories of their time together. He also reflects on the larger political and moral issues of the Civil War, expressing his belief that the cause for which he is fighting is just and necessary and that he is willing to lay down his life in its defense.
One of the most memorable passages of the Sullivan Ballou Letter comes near the end, when Major Ballou writes, "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 on with all these chains to the battlefield." This poignant expression of love and duty captures the complex emotions that many soldiers in the Civil War must have felt as they left their families and homes to fight for their country.
The Sullivan Ballou Letter has been widely admired for its eloquence, sincerity, and emotion, and it remains one of the most famous and beloved documents of the Civil War. It serves as a testament to the enduring love and devotion that Major Ballou felt for his wife and family, as well as his deep conviction in the righteousness of the cause for which he was fighting.
The Sullivan Ballou Letter Mystery
Sarah never married again. After collecting souvenirs from the area, the troopers mounted and the party departed Bull Run with a greater sense of the terrible realities of war. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. The man who wrote the obscure examples I had the fortune to read recently was pragmatic, obsessed with details absent in the famous letter. As darkness began to set in, Governor Sprague suggested they continue with the original aim of the expedition and search for the body of Captain Levi Tower, another 2nd Rhode Island officer mortally wounded at the battle.
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‘O Sarah!’ Did Sullivan Ballou’s Famed Letter Come From Another’s Pen?
Not my will, but thine O God, be done. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! Sarah, my love for you is deathless. He was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1853. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Nonetheless, he eventually attended Brown University, earned a law degree from the National Law School, and practiced law in Providence. A second son, William, was born in 1859.
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Major Sullivan Ballou's Letter to Wife Sarah
It was a private love token from a man who would always be young to her. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! The letter next appeared in print in 1888 in An Elaborate History and Genealogy of the Ballous in America by Adin Ballou, a distant relative—published in the same form as had appeared in the Brown University book. He is currently a high school social studies teacher for Akron Public Schools. O Sarah, I wait for you there! A pure love of my country, and of the principles I have often advocated before the people, and "the name of honor, that I love more than I fear death," have called upon me, and I have obeyed. 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. Come to me, and lead thither my children.
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A Letter from Sullivan Ballou
Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! Although Sarah would receive other, decidedly more upbeat letters dated after the now-famous letter from the battlefield, the letter in question would be found among Sullivan's effects when Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island traveled to Virginia to retrieve the remains of his state's sons who had fallen in battle. My question here is, was the letter famous when Sarah died? 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. July 14, 1861 Camp Clark, Washington My very dear Sarah: The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days — perhaps tomorrow. After Bull Run, Confederate soldiers dug up the graves of the fallen Union soldiers. Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you.
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Letter to Sarah Ballou
Sullivan and Sarah Ballou are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI. Every man in this country wishes he could say those things to a woman. If I had my way, it would continue to float in a blue sky above us. The 8th Georgia Infantry was the only regiment from that state that may have come into contact with the 2nd Rhode Island, and the 21st Georgia did not arrive at Manassas until after the battle, staying in winter quarters in the neighborhood of Sudley Church. I have sought most closely and diligently and often in my heart for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I love, and I could find none.
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Lessons on Love from Sullivan Ballou's Civil War Letters
Ballou, 32, was a lawyer and father of two small boys, Edgar and Willie, who volunteered to fight for the Union Army. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me — perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar — that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. No one can doubt but that it would have been her most cherished possession. After Civil War hostilities opened with the April 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter, Rhode Island began to raise regiments for Federal service. There they found what appeared to be bones. And you can scarcely imagine how my blood dances, my nerves thrill and my brain almost whirls…and I see my little boys going through their childish pranks, and hear their singing voices, and even stretch my arms to catch them, and awake to touch the white walls of my tent.
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Sullivan Ballou Letter
Come to me, and lead thither my children. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Robert Grandchamp, who writes from Jericho Center, Vt. On July 21, 1861, the 2nd Rhode Island led the Union advance at First Bull Run. Real feelings emerge here—feelings that explain the emotions felt by so many viewers and that kept Ken Burns enthralled—but I am not convinced they emerge from the same writer whose vivid language fills the other letters.
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Sully Balloo's Letter
Come to me, and lead thither my children. O Sarah, I wait for you there! The box was pulled from the grave, and the lid was pried off to reveal the body of 37-year-old John Slocum, rolled up in a blanket. Ballou wrote the letter on July 14, 1861 while awaiting orders that would take him down to Manassas, Virginia where he was killed on July 28. Furthermore, not only are we supposed to believe Ballou wrote his wife twice the same day—it happens; George B. The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. For one, the tonal and linguistic discrepancies among the letters are significant. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.
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