Civil War Letters

History is often found in the most unlikely places. Buried under years of soil, in the form of a button, bullet, or bottle lost and trampled underfoot. Hidden in old chests of drawers, in attics and in cellars, one might find a piece of long-lost jewelry, an antique vase, or just book with someone else’s name inside. All of the treasures we accidentally happen upon are worth something, if only to us, but rarely do they affect our perception of the past; unless, that is, it is letters that we find, faded fragile pages full of words that not only evoke the past, but make it real.

Letters from the Civil War era are finds that are among the most historically important in America. Prized in library collections, sought-after for museums, and sold at auctions and private sales for staggering sums, Civil War era letters give those of us in the 21st century a private, highly personal view of the thoughts of those who experienced the Civil War first hand, whether soldier or civilian.

It would be painstaking and most likely impossible to even estimate the number of words that have been written about the Civil War in the nearly 200 years since, many contemporaneously by those who lived during the time and even participated in events related to the war. However, none of these have the same point of view as letters written during the war itself, none of the intimacy, immediacy, and explicitness.

Letters written by soldiers during the Civil War era give intensely personal accounts of battles, life in military camps, or experiences in towns and villages that were often hundreds of miles from the place the soldier – and those he wrote to – called home. These letters humanize leaders rendered black-and-white by the passage of time, make visceral the numbers of battle-dead that are often only numbers in unfeeling text, and in fact bring life to long-dead soldiers largely forgotten in time. Through these letters readers can experience the fear, homesickness, anger, and even, rarely, joy of the men who experienced the Civil War.

On the other hand, letters to soldiers from their loved ones give a rare glimpse into lives of those who waited at home for the war to end. Just as important historically, these letters not only detail day-to-day life in America during the Civil War era, but also document local news, family histories, and social customs of the time. More than that, they reflect the writers’ thoughts and feelings about not only the war, but about family, friends, and innumerable other subjects. It is also worth noting that these letters provide the best record of the lives of women and children – often forgotten by history – during the Civil War-era, providing, in fact, the majority of first-hand accounts of this time in history as seen by women and children.

If you are interested in reading examples of Civil War letters, see the following websites:
Dakota State University’s Collection of Civil War letters and other writings
University of Virginia’s American Civil War E-text Collection
University of Notre Dame’s Civil War Manuscripts Page
Virginia Tech’s American Civil War Manuscripts