Dozens Of Letters Shed Light On Lives Of Civil War Era Brooklyn Residents
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- This week marks the 150th Anniversary of what many consider to be the end of the Civil War, when Robert E. Lee surrendered.
Now, a set of letters offers a remarkable and intimate look at that time in history and how it affected a very specific part of our area.
A century-a-half ago between 1861 and 1865, more than 30,000 men from Brooklyn left home to fight in the Civil War. They left behind spouses, children, and loved ones.
As CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported, their stories, contained in two dozen letters and personal correspondence between soldiers and loved ones, are part of an extraordinary exhibit at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
The writing provide a window into the souls of those affected during the war. They speak of love, longing, and death. The full spectrum of human emotion.
"They talk about their belief in the war they are fighting, and sometimes they talk about their disillusionment," Deborah Schwartz, President of the Brooklyn Historical Society, said.
In one letter a soldier named Daniel Kelsey writes to his son.
"I have never experienced so grieving a loss as I had of your brother Samuel," Kelsey wrote.
In another John Woodward writes to his girlfriend Annie.
"I have this duty and hope that I may do nothing that will make you ashamed to acknowledge me as your friend," he wrote.
All of the letters were from people who were from Brooklyn. It is an intensely personal look into their lives at the time. A look at life during war time.
Displayed on the wall, a correspondence from Washington Roebling, the son of the man who designed the Brooklyn Bridge. It was written to his fiancee Emily Warren.
"I have often wondered how two lovers can be true to each other if they don't know how to write," he wrote.
"It brings them to life for me. It humanizes them," Kristian Roebling said.
Kristian is the great great grandson of Washington Roebling, and the great great great grandson of John Roebling, the man who designed the bridge.
The letters made their way to the Brooklyn Historical Society through various families and collections over many years.