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We Americans have
just experienced the worst disaster that has ever struck
our country. How
can we put out another newsletter, review yet another Civil
War book, and care what people did almost 150 years ago? We
weren't going to. But
once we started, we realized that looking at history helps
us to understand what's happening today.
Love
and Valor is a book of Civil War letters between husband
Jacob Ritner and his wife Emeline, discovered and further
researched by their great-great grandson, Charles Larimer. Jacob
was a captain in the 25th Iowa Infantry, and
Larimer has done an admirable job collecting these letters,
providing commentary notes about the Iowa Infantry, and
giving a historical context.
It
is in that context that we recognize a few differences,
but mostly the similarities between 1861 and 2001. Those Americans were involved in a war against a threat to
freedom, the outcome of which was extremely uncertain. Jacob's
letters, as today's soldiers' e-mails might, dealt with
politics, children, love, and thoughts of home. They
know they were, as we soon may be, sacrificing for a just
cause. Both
sides knew they would win. But,
they did not know at what cost.
Unlike
today, Jacob thought it would be a short war; we think
this war will be a long one. Jacob's
daily routine consisted of foraging, drills, and marching. Today's
soldiers' duties involve telecommunications, aerodynamics,
and nuclear physics. Jacob
was paid about $15 per month; our soldiers earn about $700. Of
course, unlike Jacob's unit, today's soldiers won't pick
their officers by voting on who could shout, "Whiskey for
six!" the loudest.
Every
letter shows us Jacob's and Emeline's naïvete, their sentimentality,
and their mundane ailments and complaints. It's
easy to dismiss their concerns because we know who won. We
don't have that advantage today.
Through
this book, we see one thing clearly, one thing which we
share across these many generations. As
Jacob writes from his heart, he says we pray our sons (and
today, our daughters) will never have to be soldiers.
We
are drawn to this book and these letters because it is
by and about people who were just as naïve, mundane and
sentimental as we are today. In
spite of it, they overcame and thrived after the worst
disaster that ever struck their country. They
were just like us.
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