Just read this:
A list such as this would not be complete without Sullivan Ballou’s eloquent, heart filled letter to his wife Sarah. It was written in 1861, one week before the union soldier was killed at the First Battle of Bull Run which was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. The abbreviated version of the letter below was featured in Ken Burns Civil War documentary.
Dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days – perhaps tomorrow. And 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 am 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 American Civilization now leans upon 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 can break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly with all those chains to the battlefield. The memory of all the 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 for so long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes and future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and see our boys grown up to honorable manhood around us. If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, 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, O 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 day and in the darkest night… always, always. And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath, or the cool air your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again…
Interesting Fact: Sullivan Ballou’s letter was never mailed. It was found in Ballou’s trunk after he died and delivered to Ballou’s widow by Governor William Sprague, His wife, Sarah, never remarried. She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William. She died in 1917 at the age of 81 and is buried next to her husband.
How could I read about people like this all the time and not fall completely in love with the history of this county and this world?
i loved this letter so much. im glad you posted it. oh it hurts, it hurts, but its so so sweet.
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