A good portion of the world population has, at one time or another, kept a journal or diary of the events in their life. When that person is famous, or the events recorded in that journal turn out to be a major historically significant event, other people are interested in reading those journals and diaries. Among the most interested in these writings have been historians. Historians have relied heavily on personal letters, diaries, journals, and even hastily written notes to piece together our history. Without these personal writings, history as we know it would be very different. Our past would be much more limited in detail and information. Some of these personal writings are professionally developed and published and are classified …show more content…
He was already advanced in age when Andersonville opened, but he made it his daily work from sun up to sundown each day to be at the prison and pray for and with the prisoners, regardless of their religion. When times seemed the worst, he went to former Southern parishioners, asked for money to feed the prisoners, and got the money. Father Whelan used the money to buy grain and make bread that would feed the prisoners for weeks. His many efforts to make a miserable existence a little better for the prisoners gave him the name the Angel of Andersonville. His sacrifices were not forgotten, and thousands mourned his death not long after the end of the war (The Angel of Andersonville). The daily life of a soldier during the Civil War varied from unit to unit, much as can be said for today’s military. Some of the struggles facing the soldiers was the distance they had to travel to get to the battles while other struggles had more to do with weather. The worst struggles were faced by Southern soldiers in the latter part of the war as morale was dropping and money was scarce.
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They contain private thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Many are grammatically incorrect, some are even poorly written, while others read like a textbook or a best selling novel. Regardless of the education of the writer, diaries hold first hand accounts of events with details that cannot be found anywhere else. These first hand accounts of a person’s life are considered prized literature by some. Autobiographies and biographies are a very popular genre of books in the literature world today. A person does not have to be a Hollywood starlet, or world renowned recording artist, or even an influential politician to be considered an interesting topic when choosing a book to read. Furthermore, most books written about history are largely based on such writings. How else could someone in modern times know what daily life was like in Colonial America, on a trade ship on the ocean, or in a wagon crossing the frontier. Without diaries, historians would be limited to artifacts that have survived and would then have to determine what was their intended use. Artifacts can only tell a part of a story, Without the written records of life, we would know very little of our past. Histories were recorded in written form and personal narratives in ancient times as proven with cuneiform and hieroglyphics. These personal writings are a necessary part of historical
Andersonville was built in April of 1864 . The Confederacy made Andersonville to hold captured Union soldiers because of better security and more supplied food. Andersonville is known as the South’s largest confederate military prison . The prison , after 14 months , had confined 45,000 soldiers with 400 more coming each day. Out of those 45,000 soldiers , 13,000 died from disease , poor living conditions , starvation , overcrowding , or exposure to harsh weather conditions.
The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History.
In order for an item to be considered a primary source, it has to be made during that time. This piece of information is very important because it can help distinguish between an authentic primary source and a false one. The last thing that Walbert’s reading helped me to understand about primary sources is that they are very important to historians because historians only rely on details that are left behind from the past. Without primary sources,
It has been one and a half centuries since the end of the American Civil War, and in the past couple generations, many historians and author’s have published letters, diaries, newspapers, etc. written by soldiers and civilians from that era. From housewives, and generals, to African-American and women soldiers, all of whom have documented they 're experiences through written text. Both the Union and South have significant figures who will be forever remembered because of they’re personal testament. The goal here is to explore the lives of casualties, soldiers, and noncombatants in the Civil War. These written works have served as the voices for the voiceless, and help to shed light to the horrors and triumphs that were in many cases were kept
Life for the Union Soldier was not only brutal on the battlefield, but the camp life for a Union soldier was just as cruel. With the lack of personal hygiene, unsavory and repugnant food, and the shortage of clothing made living, a very difficult thing to do. Growth in the number of people with diseases was also a contributing factor to the massive amounts of death within the camp and as well as the post-battle wounds that often left either a man with one less limb or put in a mental institution. A Union Soldier’s life during the Civil War was cruel and horrific during their stay at the camps.
Lastly, Historians have demonstrated that this Dynasty has already developed the principles of modern writing techniques. In fact, Chinese literature has undergone relatively limited amounts of change since it was first developed. Documents were initially
She had given it to her in hopes that Didion would learn to keep herself entertained and maybe it would occupy her time and it would cut down on Didion whining so much. She reads her entries that she had written when she was only five years old and she realizes (and wonders why) she had written such ironic and random stories. Didion uses flashbacks like this one throughout her article to prove to the readers that keeping a notebook is not just a recollection of what happened during our day, but rather, anything that the writer wants to put
It is a way to share thoughts between generations and record the history we have created. Losing books would mean losing history, creativity, individuality, and
The struggles of slavery in the American South Slaves in the American South endured difficult lives. A couple struggles that slaves had was that their families were split up and they had hard working conditions. During slavery, slaves families got split up .Harriet Tubman 's sisters were sold to plantations far away. This proves that families were split up.
In chapter one of What They Fought For, I learned about the letters and diaries of the Confederate soldiers. The themes of the letters were home-sickness, lack of peace, and the defense of home against their invading enemy. The thought of soldiers fighting for their homes and being threatened by invaders, made them stronger when facing adversity. Many men expressed that they would rather die fighting for a cause, than dying without trying and this commitment showed patriotism. Throughout the letters, soldiers claimed their reason for fighting, was for the principles of Constitutional liberty and self-government.
The living legacy of the United States Civil War is a complicated time in American history one finds difficult to describe. The ramification of the war prior, during and after still haunt the current citizens who call The States their home. Tony Horwitz’s book Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War looks at the wide gap of discontent that still looms in the late 1990s. For some southerners, the Confederacy still lives on through reenactments, stories and beliefs. For others in the South, reminders the land was dedicated to the Confederacy spark hatred and spite.
Personal Literacy Narrative Reading and writing is a tool everybody needs in their lifetime the basic reading and writing skills are used on a daily base no matter what field you plan to study. Reading and writing are taught at a young age. I personally was taught by preschool I noticed on how I grew with my writing and how I became a better reader and writer throughout my life I personal love reading and writing it’s a way for everyone to express themselves through their choice of words. Everybody learns how to read and write differently some students tend to be stronger than others, personally speaking I feel I tend to be higher in reading then writing.
It is a window into the life of the person, what the purpose for the person’s actions were, how certain events changed the course of his life, which people he fell in love with, which people betrayed him. A biography contains it all. Most celebrities get their biographies written, however some write it own their own, and these are known as auto biographies. They make for an astounding read as you get to know never known before facts about some famous people, all the raunchy little details. So if you have a biography in your hand you are never to get bored.
Famous Journaling Authors Today I will be writing about three famous authors who use the process of journaling to help them draft their personal writings. I will be discussing how journaling help them whether it's in their personal life or writing in general. The three famous authors that I chose to write about is David Sedaris, Virginia woolf, and Anais Nin. These writers know the importance of keeping journal, whether it's for revenge, memory, or stress reduction.
The preservation of ancient texts have been, to say the very least, miraculous. I’d like to veer slightly from simply regurgitating information from