The following was taken from the Original Soundtrack Recording
and the series as seen on PBS, THE CIVIL WAR
One week before the Battle of Bull Run, Sullivan Ballou, a Major
in the second Rhode Island Volunteers wrote to his wife in
Smithfield.
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days, possibly
tomorrow. And lest I should not be able to write to you again, I feel impelled
to write a few lines that will fall unto your eyes when I am 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 faulter.I know how American
civilization now depends upon the triumph.of the government and how great
a debt we owe to those who went before us thru the blood and suffering 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 can break. And yet,my love of country comes
over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly with all those chains
to the battlefield.
The memory of all the blissful moments I've enjoyed with you come crowding
over me. And I feel most deeply grateful to God, and you, that I've enjoyed
them for so long. And how 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 to see our boys grow up to honorable manhood around us.
If I do not return my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, nor that
when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.
Forgive my many faults and the many pains that I have caused you. How
thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been. But oh Sarah, if the dead can
come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love... I shall always be with you in the
brightest day and the darkest night. Always. Always.
And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath. Or the cool
air at your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not
morn me dead. Think of me as gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.
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Directed By Ken Burns/John Colby.
Dear Sarah,
