Sullivan Ballou’s Letter to Sarah Ballou (1861)

Primary Source Comprehension • Approx. Lexile 950 • Tabs: Main Idea & Details, Inference, Vocabulary
(reads the letter)
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Primary Source Text Camp Clark, Washington, D.C. • July 14, 1861

Letter to Sarah Ballou

Camp Clark, Washington, D.C.
July 14, 1861

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless; it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence can break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind, and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our boys grow up to honorable manhood around us.

I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar— that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been! But, oh, Sarah, if the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the brightest day and in the darkest night—amid your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone, and wait for me, for we shall meet again.

Sullivan

Comprehension Tabs
Questions in each tab refer to the letter above.
1. What is the main purpose of Sullivan Ballou’s letter to Sarah?
Main idea of the entire letter.
2. What “indications” does Ballou mention at the beginning of the letter?
Detail from the opening paragraph.
3. What does Ballou say about the cause in which he is engaged?
Detail about his view of the Union cause.
4. What future does Ballou imagine, but fears he must give up?
Detail about the “hopes of future years.”
5. What can be inferred about Ballou’s feelings as he writes this letter?
Inference about his emotional conflict.
6. Ballou writes that his love for Sarah is “deathless” and bound by “mighty cables.” What does this suggest?
Inference from his metaphor about love.
7. What does Ballou’s mention of “the wafted prayer of my little Edgar” suggest about him?
Inference about his relationship with his family and his faith.
8. What can be inferred from Ballou’s description of possibly “flit[ting] unseen” around Sarah after death?
Inference about his beliefs about death and closeness.
9. In the sentence “I feel impelled to write a few lines,” the word “impelled” most nearly means
Vocabulary in context from the opening paragraph.
10. In “I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause,” the word “misgivings” most nearly means
Vocabulary in context describing his feelings about the cause.
11. In the phrase “nothing but Omnipotence can break,” the word “Omnipotence” most nearly refers to
Vocabulary in context related to his faith and love.
12. In “flit unseen around those they loved,” the word “flit” most nearly means
Vocabulary in context describing how spirits might move.
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