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"O, if this war was over, you and all the soldiers could come home and stay home in
peace." So read a letter from home received by a soldier in Robert E. Lee’s army
in 1863. It was a typical sentiment expressed in letters sent to soldiers of
both the North and the South. Among the hardest burdens borne by troops in this
bloodiest of all American wars was the separation from loved ones. Receiving a
letter from home was a heart-stirring event for war-weary troops yearning for
the simple pleasures of peace. News from the family, bits of gossip, words of
encouragement from parents and siblings, endearing sentiments from wives or
sweethearts - all provided welcome diversion from dull duties and battlefield
dangers. "Mother give me her little sheep, and I will have the wool to make you
some stockings," wrote a young son to a soldier father in the Army of Northern
Virginia. "Mother says I am a good boy and smart too...." Such poignant
reminders of home could refresh tender memories in a soldier, but could also
rekindle the pain of separation. "There ain’t a day, no hardly an hour, but what
I am thinking of you and the children," a dutiful Johnny Reb replied to the wife
he left behind. "I look at your photograph and fear it is the last I shall see
of you." For most soldiers, however, the pleasures afforded by mail far
outweighed the pain. Letters were read and read again - repeatedly. "Please rite
me agin soon," one Southern soldier asked the folks back home, "for I am mity
sad and lonesom." In the lull between battles, even amid the ruckus of a
bustling nighttime camp, a letter from home was a priceless treasure of
hope.
Mort Künstler's Comments:
Checkers was a popular game during the war
and were often played on a makeshift checkerboard that was painted on the inside
of a poncho or blanket. In Letter from Home, however, I deliberately painted the
letter in the center of the canvas and worked the rest of the scene around that
point. I added other camp activities in the background to try to illustrate an
observation of a Civil War soldier that the war was interminable boredom
interspersed with sheer moments of terror. Games and duties provided much-needed
distractions from the hardships of war, but nothing provided more relief than a
letter from home.
1150 Limited Edition Numbered and
Signed.
Image size: 19" x 15 1/4"
Reproduction Technique: Fine Offset lithography, printed on 100% rag,
neutral pH, heavy vellum, custom made stock, using fade resistant inks.
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