Civil War Letters Collection

Civil War Letters Collection

Letter 1: The first letter was written on April 27, 1861 by Madison, a solider at war, to Lizzie, his wife at home. These letters were written back and forth by this young couple as a way to keep in touch while Madison was away. This letter encapsulated this soldiers plea to his wife and explains why he believed he needed to fight in the Civil War. Madison continued to apologize several times for leaving his wife, and further illustrated that he needed to fight for he believed it was his "duty".

Letter 2: The second letter was written by Lizzie on November 2, 1861, responding to Madison's first letter that was previously written to her. In this letter, Lizzie reassures her husband, Madison, that there is absolutely nothing to be apologize about and hopes that she can one day be as kind and selfless as he was to serve his country. She also requests that he kept a journal throughout his adventures in the war so that he can one day read it to their future grandchildren and reflect on what it was like to fight in the war. 

Letter 3: The third letter was again written by Lizzie to Madison on March 16, 1862. In this letter, Lizzie reflects a beautiful sunset, and explains to Madison how it has made her ponder their relationship. She defines how lucky she feels to have such a loyal husband that is willing to fight in the war and be there for her when he comes home, but while also reflecting her sorrow in how much she misses him. She then mentions that she can hopefully see him soon, and gives him updates on his family, stating how he needs to be thinking of his sister, Kate, for her health had not been the greatest that winter.

Letter 4: The fourth letter was written on April 28, 1862 by Madison to Lizzie. In this letter, Madison summarizes a particular day at war when he saw a frightened women with her children. He explains how when he asked the women what was wrong, she began to cry, and stated that she feared her husband was going to die at war. He compared this to his current relationship and situation with Lizzie, and further stated how he believes their relationship will survive. 

Letter 5: This letter was again, written by Madison to Lizzie, on July 31, 1862. Madison continues to tell Lizzie graphic stories about this war, with this particular story being based off of a fallen solider he saw when he was fighting. He stated how when he saw him, he noticed that there were letters written from his wife in his pocket, and this again, reminded him of current relationship with his wife, and how devastated he would be if he never got to see his wife ever again similar to this soldier. 

These letters were written back and fourth by the married couple, Madison and Lizzie, as Madison left Lizzie, and their future child to go fight in the war. Throughout all of these letters, the universal theme of "love triumphs all fear" was constantly mentioned. Typically, each letter mentioned either an update on how they were feeling, or a specific startling story from where they were at the time. Through all of these emotions or descriptions, the idea of this young couple one day being able to see each other again always gave the ending of each letter a more lighthearted completion, rather than a fearful one as if was possible that they would never see each other again. As reading these heartfelt letters, it really allows the reader to put themselves in this couples situation and think; What would I have done/felt if I were in this situation? or Would I have handled this time apart differently? Would I have been able to stay away from my spouse for so long without knowing when they would return?

Although this is not a love letter written by Madison or Lizzie, this is an example of a letter that was written by a solider at war to his wife. Similar to Madison's and Lizzie's letters, they both cover how they long to see each other.

Sources:

Letters between husband and wife, I used to find all five of my letters shared between Madison and Lizzie

Whitmanweb, I used to find other examples of civil war letters shared between husbands and wives.