Letters Of A Confederate Soldier Analysis

Grant is in a position where every day is filled with anxiety and fear that it may be his last, but this is not easily recognized in his writing. In his letters he speaks in such a way that he seems calm and is taking everything confidently. For instance, in a letter to his friend John W. Lowe, on May 3rd, 1847, he writes, “You say you would like to hear more about the war. If you had seen as much of it as I have you would be tired of the subject. I am heartily tired of the wars. If you were to see me now you would never recognize me in the world.” He provides a dignified and somewhat casual response to his friends request, as if to say, I have gone through hell, but there is no good in revealing all that I have suffered. In my eyes this shows how he is a principled man and there is a lot to be learned
In The Civil War Diaries and Letters of a Confederate Soldier, Etter writes almost entirely in personal narrative and journal entries. The fact that Etter had no intended audience other than himself while he wrote these journals, means readers get a better view into the mind of a young soldier. In contrast, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, is almost entirely a collection of letters Grant wrote to his then fiancé Julia Dent. Since his works were to his lover, he seems to write more about missing her and getting out of the war then his inner thoughts and ideas. This issue was also brought up in our library introduction session where I read two letters written to family members by a former armor officer. In one letter to his brother, he spoke of his involvements in a battle and how he felt killing the enemy. Whereas, in his letter to his parents, he spoke more about his desire to return to safety and optimism for the end of the war. This makes it difficult to understand a soldier’s experience at war because they offer less intimate details of their everyday