I have maybe a dozen books on my shelves that are The Letters of...." various people from history. I would imagine that biographers value the "letters" of their subjects. I was never a great fan of Joseph P. Kennedy, but when I read his letters to a young JFK, I saw someone that the history books did not adequately describe. I needed to see Joe Kennedy the "father" and JFK the "son" to get a better picture of who our 35th president was. Probably my favorite book of this type is The life And Letters of Stonewall Jackson By His Wife. The film GODS AND GENERALS had a few chronological flaws as to Civil War battles but its depiction of Thomas Jonathon "Stonewall" Jackson was flawless and I highly recommend it. Stephen Lang's portrayal of Jackson would have been "Oscar" material were this not the politically correct culture that it is.
Here is a sample of one of Jackson's letters. It arrived in Lexington, Virginia about two days after the first battle of Manassas. A crowd had gathered to hear news of the battle from the mail. Jackson's pastor had received a letter from him and the pastor exclaimed to the people "Now we shall know all the facts." He read the letter, "My dear pastor, in my tent last night, after a fatiguing day's service. I remembered that I had failed to send you my contribution for our colored Sunday school. Enclosed you will find my check for that object, which please acknowledge at your earliest convenience, and oblige yours faithfully. T. J. Jackson."
From a historical and literary perspective, where will we be in the future without such correspondence to help us understand the leaders of today. We have become a society of email correspondence. President Obama made news last week when he was allowed to keep some of his text messaging ability. Unfortunately, the emails of well known people today that make it to books are of a nefarious nature. I never kept any letters I received while in the army. Sometime in the 80s I started to store all my correspondence. I have to wince when I read some of it today, but it is time well spent and hopefully lessons well learned.
Here is a sample of one of Jackson's letters. It arrived in Lexington, Virginia about two days after the first battle of Manassas. A crowd had gathered to hear news of the battle from the mail. Jackson's pastor had received a letter from him and the pastor exclaimed to the people "Now we shall know all the facts." He read the letter, "My dear pastor, in my tent last night, after a fatiguing day's service. I remembered that I had failed to send you my contribution for our colored Sunday school. Enclosed you will find my check for that object, which please acknowledge at your earliest convenience, and oblige yours faithfully. T. J. Jackson."
From a historical and literary perspective, where will we be in the future without such correspondence to help us understand the leaders of today. We have become a society of email correspondence. President Obama made news last week when he was allowed to keep some of his text messaging ability. Unfortunately, the emails of well known people today that make it to books are of a nefarious nature. I never kept any letters I received while in the army. Sometime in the 80s I started to store all my correspondence. I have to wince when I read some of it today, but it is time well spent and hopefully lessons well learned.
