What was Sullivan Ballou letter about?

What was Sullivan Ballou letter about?

As poignant as it is prescient, Ballou’s epistle captures not only the spirit of patriotic righteousness that led many men to the enlistment office, but it also drives home the stark reality that casualties of war were not confined to the battlefield.

What happened to Sullivan Ballou letter?

The letter may never have been mailed; it was found in Ballou’s trunk after he died. It was reclaimed and delivered to Ballou’s widow by Governor William Sprague, either after Sprague had traveled to Virginia to reclaim the effects of dead Rhode Island soldiers, or from Camp Sprague in Washington, D.C.

Who wrote Sullivan Ballou letter?

The letter first appeared in print in 1868 in a chapter written by Horatio Rogers Jr. in Brown University in the Civil War, a volume looking at Brown alumni killed in the war. Rogers, a Brown alumnus who also served in the 2nd Rhode Island, was a friend of Ballou’s.

What is the purpose behind Sullivan Ballou’s letter to his wife?

On July 14, 1861, Sullivan Ballou wrote a poignant letter to his wife, expressing his love for her and his patriotism toward his country. A week later he fought in the first battle of the Civil War at Bull Run.

What happened to Sullivan Ballou’s wife?

When he died, his wife was 24. She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William, and never remarried. She died at age 80 in 1917. Sullivan and Sarah Ballou are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.

What happened to Sullivan only a week later and where did this happen?

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. He became judge advocate of the Rhode Island militia and was 32 at the time of his death at the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. When he died, his wife was 24.

What happened to Sullivan Ballou’s body?

Sullivan Ballou was critically wounded at this battle, and died in a makeshift hospital at Sudley Church, Virginia, on July 26, 1861, where he was buried. His body was later exhumed and burned by Confederate soldiers, and the remains were personally retrieved the following year by Governor William Sprague.

Who is Sullivan Ballou buried next to?

When he died, his wife was 24. She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William, and never re-married. She died at age 80 in 1917. Sullivan and Sarah Ballou are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI.

Did Sullivan Ballou write the letter?

His doubts about the authenticity of the letter grew. In the fall 2017 issue of America’s Civil War magazine, Grandchamp — a native Rhode Islander who now lives in Vermont — lays out the case that Ballou did not write the letter, among the most famous of the Civil War.

What is the main reason the US Civil War started?

A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery. In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict. A key issue was states’ rights.

Why did Abraham Lincoln cause the Civil War?

It was the economy of slavery and the control of the system of slavery that was a major controversy in this dispute. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was a reflection that the Southern states have lost their influence and power, and it was the first in the series of events that led to the Civil War.

Why did the South lose the Civil War?

The most convincing ‘internal’ factor behind southern defeat was the very institution that prompted secession: slavery. Enslaved people fled to join the Union army, depriving the South of labour and strengthening the North by more than 100,000 soldiers. Even so, slavery was not in itself the cause of defeat.