History Museum publishes Civil War soldier's love letters, one missive at a time

STLtoday.com ^ | December 28, 2011 | Tim O'Neil

[Daffynition]

"just Hum me a tune in the evening hours occasionally & I will fancy I hear it borne on the Autumnal breeze"

James E. Love, a Union soldier, wrote those sweet words on Oct. 9, 1861, to his fiancée back in St. Louis. He and Eliza Mary "Molly" Wilson, both natives of northern Ireland, had secretly become engaged before he joined the army two months into the Civil War.

The letter, mailed from near Sedalia in western Missouri, is more chatty than newsworthy, written during a lull in the hunt for elusive home-state rebels. Love describes the beauty of the countryside, his pleasure upon being "near or at the seat of war," and of affection for "dear Molly."

[Daffynition]

James E. Love, in an undated photo, and Eliza "Molly" Wilson, circa 1864, the principals involved in love letters written during the Civil War and published by the Missouri History Museum.

[Scoutmaster]

Fascinating premise and it will be interesting to see how the story progresses (although a genealogist or military historian is bound to spill the beans before all 170 letters are released, one at a time, on the 150th anniversary of the date each was written).

He's not a particularly romantic writer of "love letters." I particularly enjoy how, in his Christmas letter, he asks if she will accept some 'trash' (whatever he sent her) and relieve him of embarrassment.

I also get a kick out of the Missouri Historical Society's Politically Correct warning on each letter that some may be offended by the language and descriptions that (*shock!*) a person in the 1860s used in 1860.

[deoetdoctrinae]

The Sullivan Ballou letter is one of the most widely known Civil War letters, primarily because it was mentioned in the Ken Burns PBS documentary about the Civil War. It’s a very interesting glimpse at uncertainty, life, death, and love during that era.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Fascinating premise and it will be interesting to see how the story progresses (although a genealogist or military historian is bound to spill the beans before all 170 letters are released, one at a time, on the 150th anniversary of the date each was written).

Hmm. The NY Times is available on microfilm going back that far. If someone wanted to start a really fun project . . .

[JamesA]

Several years ago we had bought an old farm house in Southwest Virginia, built in 1854. One day when in the loft of the barn I was cleaning cobwebs with a broom. When brooming the rafters a old Bible fell down. Inside were love letters to and from a cival war soldier. We have found and are still finding many civil war related items. We recently found the original tax reciept for 254 acres and two slaves. The slaves cost .60 cents each and with the land the total was $13.11, and tinprint picture of the house after it was finished. Other items include musket and pistol lead balls, an old knife, coffee grinder and more.

[Scoutmaster]

The NY Times is available on microfilm going back that far.

One of the federal records centers is in Atlanta. I could check military records on the guy and see if he survived the war. I could check pension records to see if a pension was paid to a spouse and if she were the spouse.

From his military records, you could see where his unit served. You could access muster roles to see where he was.

I could use the Soundex and regular index and other records to check the 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses (the 1890 census was almost entirely lost in a fire in 1921).

Somewhere along the way, somebody in his line is LDS or was dead-dunked by the LDS, or has posted his lineage on ancestry.com or another database, so I could find him there - although any online records are suspect.

So you could look at family records, perhaps scans of wills, deeds, marriage records, family bible frontspieces, etcs.

So, somebody wouldn't need the NYT - and they could get a lot more personal than the NYT. It would be a fun project to learn about this couple - but I don't want to know if he or she survived the War and if they married!

[Scoutmaster]

the Ken Burns PBS documentary about the Civil War

I can't read that without hearing Ashokan Farewell in my head. It amazes me that the song's a very contemporary piece and not period. Burns could not have selected anything more appropriate.

A lot of the Rangers who work at the staffed backcountry camps play musical instruments. On my 2000 and 2002 Philmont treks, I sat at night under the cold New Mexico stars, near a campfire, and listened to a plaintive fiddle, guitar, and mandolin play Ashokan Farewell. The memory still gives me chills.