Civil War letters to home

Conditions for soldiers during war:

On January 20th 1862 Private Joseph Saberton wrote to his brother. In his letter he gave details on the weather at the time being snowy with some sleet. He talked about the spread of sickness and there were only around 500 men able to be on duty because the rest had cases of measles, or something of that severity.

July 31st 1862, Joseph Saberton wrote once more to his family mainly his brother and father in separate parts of the letter. He addresses his most recent march where six men had died to a heat stroke. He also is very encouraging of his brother, with words such as "Give the south particular hell when they come at you." From this we can assume that his brother also fought for the Union army.

November 19th 1861, Dirk Keppel writes to his brother-in-law about his time so far. He talks about the fortresses that they've captured along with the plantations they've cleared out. He also talks about the cold nights where they sleep outside, and how the men get sick and long to be home.

June 26th 1864, Private John Miller wrote to his father telling him about how they were driving the confederates back, and how he was doing. He told him how the rations were small and the heat and and rain were making the men sick, but he reassured his father that he had good health and wasn't in bad condition.

June 10th 1862. John Hurley his sisters from a POW camp in Mississippi. He informs them that he is getting better, but still has measles. He is at the camp after staying in a hospital for some time and talks about his friends who died from sickness.

All of these men were Union soldiers except for Private John Hurley who was a confederate soldier from Alabama. All these men wrote back to their families to tell their loved ones that they were still breathing and most were still in good health, but not all of them. Many soldiers through-out the war suffered died from diseases and illnesses from poor advances in medicine. It makes us wonder how many of these men didn't make it home not because of a bullet or bayonet but because of illness spread across both sides, North and South.

Sources:
Joseph Saberton letters
Dirk Keppel letters
John Miller's letters
John R. Hurley POW letters

13th amendment

The 13th Amendment was the amendment that really abolished slavery within the United States. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation had already been put into place nothing really changed until the 13th amendment came about.

AMENDMENT XIII

SECTION 1

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

SECTION 2

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The 13th amendment was passed by Congress on January 31 1865 and was ratified by all states on December 1 1865. The Emancipation Proclamation was implemented on January 1st 1863 when the civil war was entering it's 3rd year. The Emancipation Proclamation stated "All persons held as Slaves" "are, and henceforward shall be free." Although it did release some slaves, it was only in the rebellious states, meaning those who hadn't succeeded from the Union still could hold slaves. But the 13th amendment freed all slaves, no matter what part of the country they were in. 

Sources:
-Full Constitution
-Picture and more information of the 13th amendment 
-Date of ratification of the 13th amendment
-Information and further of the details of the Emancipation Proclamation

History of the American Flag

1. The current US flag has 13 stripes and 50 stars on it, but it wasn't always like that. It started out with the 13 stripes like we have now but instead of stars it had a smaller British flag (British Union Jack) in the top left corner of the flag. this was used by George Washington on New Years day in 1776 when he put it at the top of Prospect hill when the British attacked. It eventually grew into having 13 stars of the colonies, and continued to add stars as the country grew.

2. Like previously stated, the first american flag had 13 stripes, and the British Union Jack in the top right hand corner. The flag was later changed to have 13 stars in place of the Union Jack, this version of the flag is when the name Old Glory arises. From 1777 to 1960 the flag would undergo many changes, mainly the amount of stars added as our nation grew in the number of states we have.

3. The only changes tot he flag that I could find were the first change which was the replacement of the union jack with the 13 stars, and the addition to stars as states were added to our country.

4.
A) I feel like the flag is a symbol of the men and women that have fought and died for this country, what we did to obtain freedom and why will fight to keep it. If you had asked me a couple of years ago if everyone saw the flag in the way I do I would've thought that everyone agreed on the meaning of it, but recently we've had people who associate the flag with racial or gender inequality. Now we have professional athletes kneeling during the national anthem in protest. I think majority of people within the US see the flag as a symbol of freedom and think of the men and women who fought for it, but there are some who don't appreciate the flag, country, or people who fought for it. 

B) Old Glory from what I could find was the first nickname for the flag, it has become more popularly known as the Star-Spangled Banner. Francis Scott Key wrote the song Star-Spangled Banner in 1814 and it later became our national anthem in 1931.

C) Many songs about the flag discuss the meaning behind the flag like the brave men and women who fought for the country, and how our flag represents our freedom across the nation.

5. Americans still put the flag at half staff on days of tragedy within our history, which shows a respect for the flag, this is also another reason for for not allowing the flag to touch the ground, out of respect for soldiers and past occurrences within our countries history.

6. I see the flag any thing of men and women who fight for us, this itself could be controversial if a person does not agree with a war, or with any conflict. Many people say the flag is racial, which is the argument behind players kneeling during the national anthem, so even though I don't agree with that, people still use it as a item of controversy.


Sources:
-History of the flag
This site was useful, because it shows special events in which the US flag was used
-Evolution of the flag