Final Project Write Up: Civil War Accounts

When I think of "lost voices", I think of people I have never heard of before. People who no one knows and have lived their literary lives in the shadows of big-name authors. "Lost voices" could also be those who never considered themselves as authors or even as contributors to literature of any era.

Well, it just so happens that I believe anyone who writes a letter or a diary/journal is, actually, making a contribution to literature--especially in the 19th century when everything was was taken down on paper. The correspondences and accounts of individuals during the American Civil War shone out at me and beckoned to be explored. Surprisingly, there are enormous databases of Civil War letters to be found on the World Wide Web and it was therefore not very difficult to get my eyes on them. However, the content and subjects of these letters ranged just as any modern-day email might. From teen-age gossip to final letters home before a deadly battle, daily lives of 19th century folk can be explored in depth.

During my search for interesting accounts, I waded through dull and poorly written letters; like a soldier's routine letter home--blathering on about how he couldn't shine his brass buttons anymore or how the rations were gradually decreasing in amount. Or perhaps a woman writing to her husband and informing him his horse now had a limp because it had sprained its leg in a rodent hole---mundane stuff, really: be careful when you try and find interesting and impactful Civil War-account material. But find some, I did.

Perhaps the most profound letter that I came across was one from a soldier to his wife and children. He feels death creeping up on him and takes the opportunity to write his last thoughts and fond wishes to his family. This story was very touching and I recommend it to many-- especially Pfouts (be careful--it holds potential to be a tear-jerker). Read here, Sullivan Ballou’s Last Letter.

On a lighter note, there were a few comical pieces I found and added to my collection. Dear Hattie was a comical letter from a young soldier who posted a false advertisement in the equivalent of the personal adds in a 19th century "Lonely Hearts" magazine. Apparently he got a response from a young woman and then responded to the lassie (in this "Dear Hattie" letter). An enjoyable read and readers can get a good sense of what some of the young men's values were...in terms of their female companions. I enjoy these letters because they are such personal windows into peoples daily lives. I wonder if any of them ever thought their letters would be compiled with others and stuck onto the Internet---*inconceivable*(the man from Princess Bride!). Another lighter piece I stumbled upon is a type of fond love letter from a miss Sallie Seeper to her dearest one (or so I believe). This was interesting to me because it was, in a sense, a typical report back to the one she cared about and the way it was written was almost more exciting than the actual content. There are a few blanks spots where the transcriber failed to decipher the penmanship, but everything else is recorded as originally written--spelling mistakes, indentations, symbols and all.

Many of the accounts which I found were inspiring because of what some of the writers went through in this tumultuous period of war--and to see how they are living their lives as a result of the war and how the war has touched them/changed them. I believe it is important to recognize the experiences and lives of these individuals--their lives will call you to look into the "lost voice" accounts of others during the Civil War and then to other historical events. Because they are "lost" or "smaller" than the big names, they are delicate and secret--almost more important than the mainstream authors. These men and women were real and told it like it was: raw.

Some neat places to look for more Civil War accounts:
Love Letters of the Civil War
American Civil War Collection Etext
Letters From the Past

Final Project readings update...after the deletion problem

Here are the other things I have read...as far as I can remember and I think there are more that I am forgetting.

A letter from a young girl named Lizzie to her friend Mary. They are both in the Confederate states (which is interesting because everything i read was from the Union states) and there were some areas where Lizzie talks about "those rediculous Yankees were driven back" and such... Most of the letter was of silly teen gossip which is not up to Lost Voices standards....i didn't include it

another letter from a young man (a soldier) responding to a young woman's introductory letter. Apparently he had placed a false advertisement in the classifieds section of "Lonely hearts" magazine and he had gotten a response. In the letter he expresses his excitement and confesses he had advertised his features incorrectly---made himself more attractive. He seems like a very nice guy who likes his female companions to laugh out loud and enjoy life as well as express themselves. Pretty progressive for that time, don't you think? I liked this one!

ummm.... can't remember anymore that I've read...though there are more...hmmm....shoot. Blogger shouldn't have deleted my original posting. oh well.

Final Project activity for "The Black Saxons"

This was a very interesting story--like nothing I have ever read before. The way the author portrayed the slave jargon was amazing...a bit difficult to read, but helped the development of the various characters. As far as my thoughts on the meeting go, I do think it was a good idea. It let the whole community of slaves come together and organize--decide on a course of action. Especially after the meeting that the slave holder attended in disguise, the slaves had decided not to murder their masters and make their escape when the British reached the land. If this had not been decided or if a meeting had not taken place, masters would have been killed, slaves would have been killed and the greater sense of unity would be weak throughout the slaves. I am interested that only men attended the meetings (or were reported to have attended the meetings) and not women. What would the outcome have been if women had been involved? At the end of the short story, the author says
"These cogitations did not, so far as I ever heard, lead to the emancipation of his bondmen; but they did prevent his revealing a secret, which would have brought hundreds to an immediate and violent death. After a painful conflict between contending feelings and duties, he contented himself with advising the magistrates to forbid all meetings whatsoever among the colored people, until the war was ended."

I am glad that the author included this part because it goes to support my belief that the meeting was a good idea. The slaves were able to reach a decision before the magistrates forbade all meetings among colored people. Also the meeting was successfull because it changed the thought of this slave holder and lead him not to reveal their secret of meeting in the forest together. juicy content...good read.

Dunbar and Pfouts' example paper

I had never before read anything by Dunbar...well, not that I recall, but I like his writing so much that I'm sure I would have asked to see who wrote such an interesting piece of literature.

"A Negro Love Song" was enjoyable to read and I want to memorize it so I can sing it while slapping my knees around the campfire during spring break--and everyone else can sing the " jump back, honey, jump back". I like to read things when they are written like they sound, so anything for dialects or accents are lovely. Not too much being said in this poem, though, besides gaiety (spelling?) and flirtations....

The rest of the poems, “We Wear the Mask.”, “The Poet.”, “The Poet and his Song.”, had some more meat to them and the thoughts shared on the class blog example paper sure helped me pay attention to the messages behind the words. I felt Dunbar had so much to say, like Pfouts said--something deeper and probably not as pretty so people wouldn't be likely to enjoy reading it. He hides his deeper feelings and views behind his "Mask" of a song and definitely mentions it in "The Poet and his Song". Here he says as long as he sings his song, the public will be good-tempered, so he will keep to himself that which will poke and stir up the public. so sad. I wonder what his writing would have been like if society back then were more like today...if he wasn't the one of the first or the first African-American to be payed for his poetry. I wonder if he would have let himself go a bit more. I'm sure I would have gobbled it up if he had. Very interesting man and i am surprised he died at such a young age, too.

Frustrated about Final Project readings progress notification

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!! during this weekend, I wrote down several good observations of Civil War letters and accounts I had read--I put time into them and saved the post as a draft until I was done. and then when I pressed the "publish" button, Blogger said that I couldn't post for some wierd reason and when I pressed "back", my entire post was gone!!! AAHHH. what is with that? Okay. so, I am out of the time that I put aside for this project today: I will re-write everything tomorrow evening. Bummer. shoot. *grumble* *grumble*

Update on Final Project Readings

For my Final Project readings theme, I chose Civil War letters/personal accounts. There are extensive archives out there on the web of different accounts, but many of them are bland and poorly written. I have taken it upon myself to try and find the more flavorful ones and report back with what I have found that is good, as well as what is not up to attention-holding standards. That said, here is what I have read...with a few more not mentioned because I lost interest within the first sentence...

A personal account of Private Warren Lee Goss-- a young man recalls his experience of enlisting in Massachusetts: reasons why he signed up (like "it promised 'chances of travel and promotions'), his first few weeks (uniform trouble and not liking to be orderly and 'in line'). It gives a sense of how much soldiers learned before they went into action...according to this account--not a heck of a lot. Also, it gave a sense of the maturity levels and interests of the younger enlistees in the Civil War...very interesting and detailed account. a good read

Observations of a teenage girl--published 26 years after she was present for the battle of Gettysburg. She describes what she sees and feels--her reactions to gruesome events that take place and how she copes with the violence. This was enjoyable to read because there was so much happening and Tillie Pierce (the girl) recalls her memories in a way that is easy to follow.

A love letter from Miss Sallie Seeper to a man who I believe to be a soldier named Robert James. This was different to read because the transcriber took down everything: misspellings, symbols (+), and there were places where some words were indecipherable. It was neat how i can read it just as it was written...

there is more coming--don't worry

this post was made over time and saved as a draft several times--never published until now. woops.

Response to Zaragoza/ El Cinco de Mayo poem

Well, I went and looked into some of the history of the Zaragoza Club Poets and found nada. But I didn't stop there; I also read information about the Battle of Puebla and the victory of the Mexican people and Commander General Zaragoza. This victory is celebrated by Cinco de Mayo (May 5th). No wonder the poem is about General Zaragoza and the others, it was an amazing victory because there were so few Mexican soldiers against so many French. After the French army recollected itself and more troops were sent over to Mexico, the Mexican people did not do so well for a time in victories, but the Battle of Puebla is still celebrated nonetheless for the great patriotic feat accomplished under Zaragoza.