Mary Ellen Mcowen

Seven Months a Soldier: a Civil War Story As Told by the Letters of Private Arnold Southwick and Mariah Harper Southwick Mary Ellen Mcowen

Tender, complaining, gossipy letters were sent back and forth between NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, where Pvt. Arnold Southwick was stationed during the final conflicts of the Civil War, and the OHIO COMMUNITY, where his wife, children, relatives and friends fretted about the continuing terror. Folks then called it ?The Rebellion? and ?Mr. Lincoln?s War.? As the presidential election of 1864 approached, Peace Democrats were hoping for the defeat of Abe Lincoln and the election of General George B. McClellan. McClellan is known to have said, ?If I am elected, I will recommend an immediate armistice and ?...insist upon exhausting all and every means to secure peace without further blood shed.? This Civil War story is based on the actual letters written by the great-grandparents of the editor and enriched by letters Arnold received from his family and neighbors in Big Island Township, Marion County, Ohio. Here is an inside look at the final seven months of America?s Civil War.