Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln
__________
Abraham Lincoln’s celebrated Bixby letter, sent to Lydia Bixby of Boston, Massachusetts, a widow who had apparently lost five sons in the course of the Civil War. Put it on your shelf in the form of Abraham Lincoln: Great Speeches.
While there is controversy about the letter’s authorship (some historians believe Lincoln’s secretary John Hay wrote it) as well as it’s recipient (and whether Ms. Bixby’s boys truly died in combat), the Bixby letter is more than just an individual tribute in the hearts and minds of those for whom Memorial Day is more than just a Monday off work.
This letter also inspired the narrative of Robert Rodat’s screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, and is read during the film in the scene below:
Alletta Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa was also robbed five sons, albeit a century later during World War Two, when a Nazi gunboat torpedoed the USS Juneau on which all five of the brothers were serving. This event prompted the United States military to enact the Sole Survivor Policy as well as christen a new destroyer, USS The Sullivans.
darellovesantucci said:
As a person who grew up in the State of Massachusetts, I’m right there with you, JRB – there have been people who said what you wrote about John Hay, et cetera, but, I have to agree with you, even though I detest war: Memorial Day is more than just an excuse to have a long weekend off – with the ubiquitous barbecues, and beach time. However, in the latter part of the twentieth century, our country’s ‘war agenda’ was clouded… most of it had to do with the private sector (read: capitalist greed), and, I will concur that the US of A did want to have a presence in places like Southeast Asia, because of Communism, and the ongoing Cold War between us, and the then-Soviet Union. However, after World War II, we made some serious mistakes, with badly-gathered intelligence, and, more recently in this century, crude oil (‘Dubyuh’ – George W. Bush – was born in Connecticut, even though he huckstered himself as a ‘Texan’ – and, the Bush family was [and is] in the oil business, right up to their eyeballs). In Vietnam, we should’ve learned our lessons from the French, who occupied Vietnam before we even arrived at going to assassinate Diem (thank you, CIA), then, attempt to train ARVN (the South Vietnamese Army) – who, in many cases, changed their ARVN uniforms for black pajamas (Viet Cong, and / or North Vietnamese Army – who usually got their supplies, and fatigues from our own depots there) at night time. Also, keep in mind that the Vietnam ‘plan’ was begun under President Eisenhower, in 1959 – another Republican, who came from a military background in World War II, and, Korea…
I’m grateful that I’m a Democrat…
However, it is necessary to remember our veterans – as I’m one of them. Yet, the last really honorable mentionable vets (under our government’s tutelage) were from World War II – we had a real purpose in that war, fighting fascism and genocide.
Happy Memorial Day.
john said:
I have the feeling that I could read Abraham Lincoln’s laundry list and be moved to tears…
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