Through Sullivan's Eye
Sullivan Ballou Letter
Sent to Mayo Alive by
J C Sullivan, Ohio, USA
This is an actual Civil War letter written by a Union soldier named Sullivan Ballou. Written to his sweetheart, Sarah, he must have had a forewarning of some sort. He was killed in battle right after this was written.
July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington
My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days - perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing - perfectly willing - to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt...
Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistably on with all these chains to the battle field.
The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me - perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness...
But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and the unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights...always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.
I would like to think that it does not matter who wrote
this letter, that if it had been found on the field with its
identifying marks missing it would have been impossible to
know if it had sprung from the Union or from the
Confederacy. When tempers flare and partisan fervor rears
its increasingly tiresome head, we would do well to
contemplate the human cost that is so often lost in the rush
to lay blame and guilt. To fight the war again is to deny
those honored dead the peace they earned with their last
full measure.
I would like to think that it does not matter who wrote this letter, that if it had been found on the field with its identifying marks missing it would have been impossible to know if it had sprung from the Union or from the Confederacy. When tempers flare and partisan fervor rears its increasingly tiresome head, we would do well to contemplate the human cost that is so often lost in the rush to lay blame and guilt. To fight the war again is to deny those honored dead the peace they earned with their last full measure.
J C Sullivan
Since sending this letter to 'Mayo Alive' J C Sullivan discovered that Mooner Entertainment are making a 15min dramatic film inspired by, and containing Sullivan Ballou's letter.
Sullivan is an internationally-published Irish-American writer residing in Northeastern Ohio. He is an American correspondent for the Mayo News. jcs1@alltel.net
mayo live 1996 from county mayo ireland
