Today is the 4th of July, but I read this story this morning which is more akin to something for Memorial Day. I did not know of this. How devastating it must have been to the sisters (both parents had pre-deceased their sons). You can feel the sadness still back across the 150 years.
We all know of the eloquent Bixby letter Abraham Lincoln wrote to a mother whose 5 sons reportedly died in battle during the Civil War. It is read near the start of the movie, Saving Private Ryan. Turns out 2 of her sons died, not five, but that was still too much for her to bear.
And I remember the Fighting Sullivans of WWII fame -- the 5 brothers who died on their ship and about whom a movie was made, a postage stamp issued and a law change about relatives fighting together.
But this story is only now being told and I hope it gets picked up by the wire services because it really brings to light the level of sacrifice, and how soldiers actually died, in the American Civil War. With such horror going on continuously during the war, you have to think maybe the country became numb to it and thats why we never heard about it until now.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120704/OPINION01/307040071/Iowa-View-The-ultimate-family-sacrifice?Opinion
