ePub New Perspectives on Racial Identity Development: Integrating Emerging Frameworks; Second Edition by From Brand: NYU Press in History

Description

On September 7; 1864; William Whitlock; aged thirty-five; left his wife and four children in Allegany; New York; to join the Union army in battle. More than 100 years later; his unpublished letters to his wife were found in the attic of a family home. These letters serve as the foundation for Allegany to Appomattox; giving readers a vivid glimpse into the environment and political atmosphere that surrounded the Civil War from the perspective of a northern farmer and lumberman. Whitlock’s observations tell of exhausting marches; limited rations; and grueling combat. In plainspoken language; the letters also reveal a desperate homesickness; consistently expressing concern for the family’s health and financial situation and requesting news from home. Dunham’s detailed descriptions of the war’s progress and specific battles provide a rich context for Whitlock’s letters; orienting readers to both the broad narrative of the Civil War and the intimate chronicle of one soldier’s impressions.