Someone wrote a letter to his wife Sarah at the very end of the first part "The Cause" where he was saying goodbye. Does anyone know where I could find that? It... moved me to tears...
Revenge is sweeter than life itself. So think fools.
[deleted]
I love reading war letters; thanks to both of you for reminding me of this one.
share[deleted]
Thank you so much for posting this. It is amazing. Truly.
shareThanks DATo--one of the all time great letters: I only caught up with this series this last weekend (the dvd boxset was marked down to $20.00 here in Australia) and it was this letter that made me sit through the entire series in one sitting.
shareThat almost made me shed a tear, I have the soundtrack and it is a great one too?
share1) I am struck at how the average American had such a great command of the written word and just how far modern language has deteriorated. Compare this to say a page of dialogue from the "Sopranos" ( I know apples & oranges - but you get the point)
2) Also, nowhere in the letter does he use the simple phrase "I love you" Yet the letter overflows with love and devotion. I don't think there is such romance and dedication in the modern world.
I hear ya, super, what happened to language between then and now, so sad. That was an overwhemingly beautiful letter, and a lot of young men could learn fromit. This is how to woo and express love to a woman.
share"The Civil War" is great, but is not flawless. The letter presented in the film is not the real letter. They left out some of the text to make it much more poetic than it was...still hell of a good letter.
share[deleted]
That is some letter
STOP PUPPY MILLS! http://www.banpuppymills.com//
[deleted]
I remember watching "The Civil War" when it first aired, I was 9 or so. I didn't really understand everything that was happening, but my dad's a Civil War buff and I watched it along with him. When it got to this letter, even as young as I was, I was moved by it.
Years later, I was watching it in a 9th Grade American Government class. Being Junior High, we spent most of the afternoon making snide remarks and only half paying attention to everything. But when it got to the letter, combined with the family photos and "Ashokan Farewell," everyone shut up. It was amazing. Anything that can stop a group of sarcastic mid-90s Junior High kids dead in their tracks is quite powerful indeed. It just gives the whole episode, and the whole series, am emotional, human quality that's crucial to understanding the war and those involved. It took the whole thing out of the textbooks, and into a different realm. And the letter is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read. Moving and tragic and wonderful all at once.
"The Letter" was enough to move me to tears in grade school when this series first aired. Almost 20 years later, it still makes me sob. I hope that somehow Mr. Ballou knows what an impact it has had on this country and how enduringly he is living on so many years after his death.
share