By Arthur N. Skinner, James L. Skinner
Spanning approximately a century, the letters during this assortment revolve round a vital occasion within the background of a southern relations: the loss of life of the eldest son due to affliction shrunk in the course of carrier within the accomplice military. The letters display a slaveowning relations with willing pursuits in artwork, tune, and nature and an unshakable trust of their faith and within the accomplice cause.
William Seagrove Smith was once a personal within the sign corps of the Eighteenth Battalion, Georgia Infantry. Smith used to be a part of the strength protecting Savannah till it fell in past due 1864, after which marched with normal William J. Hardee in his recognized retreat out of the town and during the Carolinas. Like such a lot of different infantrymen on each side of the clash, William Smith fell now not by the hands of an enemy yet from ailment. He died in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 7, 1865. A parallel and complementary tale approximately William's more youthful brother, Archibald, additionally emerges within the letters. As a cadet at Georgia army Institute, Archibald used to be (as his mom and dad fervently wanted) exempt from carrier; in spite of the fact that, he finally saw--and survived--action sooner than the war's end.
Scattered among the strains within the letters which are dedicated to the 2 brothers are a wealth of details approximately agricultural, commercial, and social lifestyles within the family's north Georgia neighborhood of Roswell, the Smith family's flight from Sherman's invasion strength, their lives as refugees in south Georgia, and a last reunion of the Smith brothers outdoor of Savannah simply after the city's fall. additionally incorporated are a couple of relocating exchanges among the Smiths and the family members that cared for William in his ultimate days.
A short heritage of the Smith kin via 1863 starts the correspondence, whereas the letters following the warfare exhibit their fortitude within the face of William's loss of life and the hardships of Reconstruction. the quantity concludes with chosen letters from the following new release of Smiths, who conjure photos of the previous South and revive the reminiscence of William. just like the so much unusual Civil War-era letter collections, The loss of life of a Confederate introduces a private measurement to its tale that's frequently misplaced in histories of this sweeping event.
