Civil War Essay

In order for you to understand the civil war you would have to know about the Anaconda plan Which was "Winfield Scott's original plan fighting the rebellion". You would have to know about the battles they fought in won and lost such as The battle of Antietam which was a battle between the Union army and the Confederate Army in Sharpsburg, Maryland this was known and still is known as the battle that shed the most blood. The battle of Gettysburg was known as “the most famous and most important Civil War Battle”. There are other things that you can look up and find out information on the Civil war such as Total war and The March to sea. Firstly the Anaconda plan was a stragedy that was thought of by General Winfield Scott. In addition to the Anaconda plan there were battles such as “The battle of Antietam” and “The battle of Gettysburg” both of these battles were bloody and in the battle of Antietam the fight in the corn field there were many casualties and many people had to write letters to the family and explain to them that their husband, son, or father died in action on the battle field. For example a young girl writes to her father a letter and she expresses that she hopes he comes home safe and soon and that he won’t have to go back. Finally Sherman’s March to the Sea was when Union General William Tecumsela Sherman told his troops to destroy everything they found of value. They looted houses and burned fields.
During the civil war fathers and daughters were separated but they were very close and we can tell that through their letters. In this essay I will examine letters from the civil war. I will start with a letter from a young daughter to her father who is in the war. Next I will examine a picture of a young boy leaving his home to go be a drummer in the army. Lastly I will give an example of how families were told that their loved one was killed in the line of duty.
A letter written by Georgina Tilloston to her father George Tilloston who was serving in the 89th New York Infantry of the Union Army. In the letter found in “A souvenir booklet of civil war soliders letters” She tells her father that she has been sick and she may have the whooping cough which she doesn’t want and she would have wrote him sooner but she had to get better but she expresses to him her feelings about him coming home and she says that she hopes he wont have to go back. In the letter she tells her father about the fanily and how everyone was doing and how she excited about going up to her aunts house. While she was writing the letter her sibling was right next to her and she was describing what was happening at that moment as she was writing him. When her father sent her a response back to her letter he tried to calm her nerves as much as possible he said that he wishes to be home and stay there but he would have to have a safe return. Basically this letter was about a father and daughter sharing their love in the most common way of communication many people shared love through letters rather you were lovers, father and daughter, mother and son, or sister and brother they gave their love and concerns and wishes on a piece of paper that could be easily destroyed but during that time a letter meant everything.
Pictures say a thousand words imagine saying this and looking at a photo of a young boy leaving his house to become a drummer in the army you may see his mother crying his grandmother everyone is outside on the porch watching you go off and possibly sign your death wish right there the kids looked confused because they don’t know what is happening to their brother the dog sits and the face looks as if it was to be crying. This is the look of many families torn apart during this horrible events of blood shed. This picture found on page 8 in A souvenir booklet of civil war soliders letters” is a picture of just that. This picture shows a young boy being taken from his home so he can go be a drummer in the army. When you look at this picture you can feel the hurt in the grandmothers and mothers eyes. You can feel their pain and it appears that the dog has emotion in it’s eyes. The dog looks sad and as if it wants to shed a tear not because the boy is leaving but because he is going into the most dangerous war and there is a possibility that he wont be coming back home. During the civil war that’s what a lot of people were afraid of. They were afraid that if their loved one went into the bloodiest war that they would get a letter saying that their loved one was killed. That was hard for the family and for the people who was responsible for breaking the news to a crying possibly hesterical family member. Pictures mean a thousand words well this picture is telling you all the emotion behind a family torn apart by the civil war.
Death letters were very common in the civil war and a letter that was found on http://www.pastvoices.com/usa/atkins-george.shtml. The letter is from George B. Atkins and it is to his father telling him about all the men who were dead and the ones who were sick. In the letter he says that a month ago when he wrote his last letter he told his father about the men who had been killed up to that point and since that last letter ten more had passed on to another life. He also briefly mentions the ones who were terribly sick and he says that he fears their return because he feels like their return will be like the rest who have gone there. He goes on and tells his father that they are doing as well as expected their health is improving and they are getting plenty to eat and receive very good treatment. He starts to talk about money and says “Money is scarce”. That phrase that he uses makes you wonder what exactly does he mean by scarce. He could be saying a lot of things but he actually he means that their money is limited. They do not have a lot of money so they can get the things they need to take care of their selves when they are sick. Another thing that was found interesting that he said was he knows that they are not going to get any money so they can treat their selves when they are sick. He tells his father of a solider that was sick around the time he was sick and he says he didn’t know he was dead till he saw it in the paper and he want his father to tell the soldiers parents and family that he was a good soldier and he did his duty in battle and died as an soldier. He then goes on and gives a list of those dead since the last time he wrote and he also gives the day and month of when they died. He tells his father about those who are very sick and in the hospital but he tells his father that they are improving. Many letters were like this one that George B. Atkins was writing to his father. When they wrote home they talked about the sick and the ones who had passed on. They talked about it because it was what was happening around them they had to see the soldiers body being carried away or the soldiers being taken to the hospital because of a serious sickness. This shows that they wrote more than just about the good but someone had to tell the bad and many did and some didn’t want to but the truth would have eventually set in.
The civil war was a very bloody war that lasted for years and the reason for the civil war was so that the nation wouldn’t be divided anymore. Even though this war was to free slaves and to end slavery so the nations could be united this war took a lot of lives and families had to burry a lot of soldiers. When these soldiers died they left the letters for their family to remember them by. They have the pictures and letters so they can remember what that soldier was like and they have something they can tell other family members about. They get a chance to read the last words that came out of the soldiers head when they were writing the letter. There are different types of letters there are letters to say I love you there are letters that say I miss you and I want you to come home safely and there are letters that say they send their deepest regards to the lost of your son husband or father he was a great man and soldier and there are pictures that can tell the story of such sorrow.