Cianci's+Civil+War+Project

A. Letter  The letter that Alex Cressler sent to Henry Bitner was very symbolic of what was happening to people during this period of time. This letter was sent May 17, 1861 just at the start of the war. The origin of this letter was Chambersburg, PA and this was also the origin of his other four letters. His other 4 letters were also sent to the same Henry Bitner. This document is about the start of the war and how he misses his friend dearly because he hasn't seen him in a while. What i found interesting about Cressler's letter was that he talked about how no one can truly know what battle is like unless you have been in it yourself. He vividly describes the sounds and images of battle such as "fifty thousand human beings marched into the field of battle by the warming and thrilling sound of almost countless drums." This letter came after seven states seceded the Union and this caused great tension between the now divided United States. This letter also came nearly a month after the attack on Fort Sumter which was a starting battle to this war. This document shows the way war was viewed and how differently it is viewed today. Back then many people believed in nationalism when the country was young but today war and praise for our country is very different. One question i still have about this letter is what is so important about the Saturday he expects everyone to visit? He says that he will be expecting Governor Curtin and many others but what did they plan to discuss or do? Cressler, Alex. "Valley Personal Papers." (1861): Print. http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/F0700

 B.Newspaper  This newspaper covers many topics such as the John Brown's raid, debt of the United States, and war updates. This newspaper was written on September 23, 1864 and its origin was in Virginia. What i found interesting about this newspaper is that it covered a wide range of topics that were occurring toward the end of the Civil War. One event that occurred was that General Hood evacuated Georgia after a siege by General Sherman. These two generals went back and forth but Sherman was ultimately more successful. I feel that there was a little bias due to this newspaper being from the North. Since it was from the North, it was more focused on the Unions wins and successes rather than the Confederates. Another thing i found interesting was that there was an ad for a runaway black slave. This made me think about how runaway slaves were chased down and people would put out search parties or even pay others to find out their whereabouts. One question that i still have about this newspaper is why did it only state bits and pieces of events and not more detailed events? "Civil War- Era Newspapers." Staunton VindicatorSeptember 23, 1864: 1 & 2. Print.http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/news/rv1864/va.au.rv.1864.09.23.xml

C.Image  The painting i used was one of African American soldiers. This painting was painted by Edwin Forbes and the actual date of creation is unknown.. This image is showing African Americans fighting in what was the Civil war. This was very interesting to me because it represents the two parallels between the North and the South. African Americans fought with the North over the issue of slavery in the South and they fought with everything they had. I found this photo to be surprising because it shows how blacks and whites in the North were working together and how successful they were in the end. The most dominant elements in this photo is the dead soldiers on the ground. This is very important because many died promoting freedom for everyone and they lost their lives just to make things right. This image makes me think about how important the Emancipation Proclamation was. It was important because it freed 3 million slaves and most of them came back to fight with the Union army. Another feature of this painting is that it depicts the different fighting styles they used. This painting shows a line of soldiers marching with guns witch is very different from now because things were more organized and fair. One question I still have about this photo is around what period in time was this painted? I want to know this because it would let me focus on what happened in the war to cause the painter to paint this. http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/Images/V18P244B.html?q=db:images%20AND%20image_name:V18P244B.GIF

D. Song lyrics  "Tramp!, Tramp!, Tramp! or The Prisoner's Hope" was written by George Frederick root in 1864. Although very little information is known about exact locations, it is believed that this song was written in Boston. This song is from the perspective of someone who feels trapped or jailed such as a slave. The message of this song is that although you may go through hard times, you should have hope in order to succeed. Another message of this song is that although slaves went through horrible/ tough times, many still had hope that one day they would be reunited with their families and loved ones. This song shows feelings of sadness and miss family which is evident in the line " Thinking mother, dear, of you." It also shows a great deal of courage and struggle and that in order to make it through these difficult times, you must have faith and courage. This song was written towards the end of the Civil War where the North had successfully beat the South. His song became popular in marches before battle to keep those in mind of who they were fighting for. I found this song to be very interesting because it showed me that people banned together in large movements such as the civil war to do what's right for those who were being treated inhumane. It was also very eye opening because it said that someday they will be free which also shows a high sense of hope and courage. http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar/cws11.txt