Letters to the family of a Union Private:
Letters to the family of a Union Private:
Joseph Jones wrote a collection of letters to
his wife, Nancy E. Jones during different times in the civil war. Joseph was a
union private in the 79th Illinois infantry. The letters where
written from where he was placed at that time in the war, they include;
Louisville, KY (September 7,1862), Murfreesboro, Tenn.(February 11,1863),
Tullahoma, Tenn.(August 7, 1863), Chattanooga Tenn.(November 10, 1863), and
Dallas, Tenn.(June 5, 1864). The letters consist of Joseph telling his wife
about what is happening in the war. His descriptions of the war are very vague.
He mentions various times that he does not want to talk or think too much about
the battles, because they are just to hard for him. Instead he focuses his
letters on his family and how he cares about and loves them and wants them to be
raised right. He talks of his morals and how important they are to him. Joseph
speaks highly of African Americans in his letters and seems to show a huge
amount of respect for them. He often speaks of how immoral slavery is and how
important it is to abolish it. Reoccurring themes in each letter include; the
need for money, Christianity, sanitation/health in the war, hunger and many
other topics relating to the war, the union and the abolishment of slavery. How
do letters such as these help us to empathize with the soldiers and families
during the civil war? How did the wives of soldiers fighting in the war take
care of the house, and the kids, yet also take on the male role of providing for
the family? Does this also affect the role of their children?
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