Yesterday was a sad day here. The shops were shut up, and at 11 o'clock, a procession was formed. The band leading, then the soldiers, the fire company, then come all the schools. The little mites first, then the upper, then the new schoolhouse scholars, last the seminary teachers and scholars. Citizens came last. They marched around the street.
No doubt services like this for Lincoln were carried out all across the Union. A time of great sadness. But at least people are feeling a little more confident in their "drunken nobody" of a vice-president than they were a week ago.
Of course, practical concerns continue to rise to the surface, and Marcia needs help deciding how to dispose of her farm and money. Her husband clearly has great confidence in her, to have left her in charge of it all.
Springfield Apr 20 1865
My dear husband
Can it be that 40 years have past over my head? I can not realize that it is so. I fear my life has not been spent in usefulness, or it would not seem such a blank.
Yesterday was a sad day here. The shops were shut up, and at 11 o'clock, a procession was formed. The band leading, then the soldiers, the fire company, then come all the schools. The little mites first, then the upper, then the new schoolhouse scholars, last the seminary teachers and scholars. Citizens came last. They marched around the street.
At 12, they went in to the meetinghouse - ours - and listened to an excellent sermon from Mr Mann. Mr Picknell made remarks, also Mr Moore. The greatest harmony prevailed, and the speeches, good. Minute guns were fired, and the bells tolled. The house was draped in mourning, and hung with flags. With crepe, many house in the street were draped, and sadness is upon every countenance, for all feel that a great man has fallen.
Many are now expressing confidence in the new President which they had not felt one week ago.
God rules. There is my trust. I thank him, that he ever gave us such a President as Abraham Lincoln.
All seem to think that the rebs have killed their best friend.
I am glad the cabinet is to be returned.
How I do want to sit down and have a good talk with you. I do want some who can understand and feel as I do.
But I want to say a word about something else. You sent me a $50 note. I have not touched it yet, and do not want to break it if I can help it. I have used the rent and the money I received from Abram, which would just make fifty dollars, adding the money he gave me to pay for tuition.
You know how I have wanted some grave stones, and this money I have consecrated for that purpose, but I do not see how I am to get along now for a few weeks without some more than I have, without using it soon.
I can get some of Sarah's board, and I have some tomatoes, but now is the pinch. Almost six month's interest is due, but I should have to lose it if I spent it. What can I do?
I think I shall let my land, for I cannot take care of it.
Have not decided yet what to do.
Good buy
M S Grennell
I did not get my letter ready to go out in the mail, so I will write a little more.
If you do not think best to let the land, you can say so. I do not know who I could get to help me. I thought Mr Haywood would do it for me, but he says he cannot. But he thinks he can find a man who will take it to the halves.
Mr Bates will sell me manure to put on.
This is a transcription of a letter that my great-great-great grandmother sent to her husband during his service in the American Civil War. It was written with minimal punctuation, so I have made regular edits for readability while keeping the content of the letter as close to the source as possible.
You can click on the original letters to see a high resolution scan for comparison.
I have dozens of letters from Marcia Spencer Grinnell to her husband Abel from this period, and will continue to share them as time and interest permit. The letters make for fascinating reading, and provide an intimate look into domestic life at the time of this conflict.
CLICK HERE to read more letters from Marcia Spencer Grinnell and her family during the civil war.
Or CLICK HERE for a complete catalog of my work on Steemit, so far.
It's very interesting. Just reading about it some might think that this formal grieving by whole communities was a symptom of earlier, more insulated societies, ones cut off from easy access to the outside world. What I know of the grieving that the country did after Kennedy's assassination was much more recent but very similar. The similarity is almost spooky, the way that our societies reactions haven't changed despite the change in technology and world awareness.
This struck me, too - how united the town seemed to be in their support for Lincoln, and their grief for him. Also it seemed like a more dignified, respectful time. Can you imagine such a unified reaction to the assassination of Trump, say, or even Obama?
I think the only comparable event in our lifetime was the 9/11 attacks, and of course that's a hard thing to compare to the assassination of an individual.
I briefly thought about what a current assassination might mean to the country... not long - you know that all our internet exchanges are being monitored for unpatriotic content, eh? 😉 I think with the current mood 1/2 the country would be thowing wild and crazy 'wakes' rather than somber mourning! 😉 😉
I hadn't thought about the parallel with 9/11. I think it is actually a very good one. While the 9/11 attacks were on a much larger scale individually, I think it is fair to say that the country back in the time the letters were written was also at war and in bereavement over soldiers who wouldn't come home, friends and family fighting in the war against each other, the deplorable state that loved ones might be facing POW camps, then the assassination of a very well loved leader perhaps made it a more serious event than it might otherwise have been.
All good points. Lord knows there was certainly enough trauma to go around.
I don't blame her husband, she sounds entirely thrifty!
1865 just an awful year, crazy commodity prices all around.
Her focus on tomatoes (as food, money, store of value) and farming is so telling, we all turn to mother nature for help when times get tough.
And notice her despair despite the war being pretty much over.
Her Abe Lincoln stuff reminds us of the blind "social media"-like response to celebrity. She doesn't understand the man at all, but celebrates his loss. She should focus more on those tomatoes!
https://steemit.com/money/@harpooninvestor/business-history-trumps-political-history-every-time
I'm so glad you found my old history post. It was such a fun project to put together. It was definitely interesting reading her perspective on Lincoln knowing what we know of the propaganda of the time.
I like your advice about the tomatoes. It's usually smartest to pay attention to the things we can control.