150 years ago today in the Civil War, Nov. 21, 1864: President Lincoln reportedly composes a letter to Lydia Bixby, a widow and mother of five men who had been killed in the Civil War. A copy of the letter is published in the Boston Evening Transcript on Nov. 25 and signed Abraham Lincoln. The original letter has never been found. Scholars continue to debate the authorship of the letter. As to Mrs. Bixbys loss, scholars have discovered that only two of her sons actually died fighting during the Civil War. A third was honorably discharged and a fourth was dishonorably thrown out of the Army. The fifth sons fate is unknown, but it is assumed that he deserted or died in a Confederate prison camp. Despite its dubious origins, the letters text becomes even more famous when it is quoted in Steven Spielbergs 1998 World War II film epic Saving Private Ryan. youtube/watch?v=rvwsdDRyXPw
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 05:06:58 +0000
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