How the Civil War Taught Americans the Art of Letter Writing
Soldiers and their families, sometimes barely literate, wrote to assuage fear and convey love
By Christopher Hager, Zócalo Public Square
smithsonian.com
January 22, 2018
Sarepta Revis was a 17-year-old newlywed when her husband left their North Carolina home to fight in the Confederate States Army. Neither had much schooling, and writing did not come easily to them. Still, they exchanged letters with some regularity, telling each other how they were doing, expressing their love and longing. Once, after Daniel had been away for more than six months, Sarepta told him in a letter that she was “as fat as a pig.†This may not seem like the way most young women would want to describe themselves, but Daniel was very happy to hear it.
Read more:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-civil-war-taught-americans-art-letter-writing-180967913/#Bf4EZ0rOVDxMozf6.99
