The Bitter Fruits: The Civil Wilr Comes to a Small Town in Pennsylvania. By David G. Colwell, 1998. Cumberland County Historical Society, 1998.
Another book on the Civil War, you say. Yes, but one that is unique to that vast body of writing. It is about the overall situation that led to the Civil War and its conduct until the Battle of Antietam. It is about the war's effect on Carlisle. But most of all it is about James Colwell, a 49-year old lawyer from Carlisle who enlisted in the Union cause shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter, and his wife, Annie, who was twenty years younger. Two things complicated· the situation-James made his decision to join the Army without consulting Annie, and Annie, born in Baltimore, tended to be Secessionist in her point of view.
James and Annie wrote to each other often. David G. Colwell, great grandson of James, came into possession of a larger number of these letters and used them as the backbone of the book. He intersperses chapters consisting entirely ofletters with ones describing the war, in general, and particularly on the effect of the war on Carlisle. The basic theme of the letters is personal. Initially, and throughout the correspondence, Annie bemoans the fact that James volunteered without consulting her. She complains and he consoles. News of their four children often appears in Annie' s letters. Early on, James makes specific requests as to what Annie should send him. A letter written in February 1862 contains an amazing list of requests-sausages, puddings, a small cured ham, some pies, cranberries, a turkey, a couple of fat chickens. He also asks for butter wrapped in cloth as a previous shipment "rusted the bucket wherever it touched." And he evaluates his gifts. "The picldes you send are very nice but I have no use for the night shirt and will return it."
Their correspondence was not always confined to family matters. Annie wrote that the abolitionists and the contractors were prolonging the war. She expressed admiration for General McClellan. James often criticized McClellan, writing that Northern Secessionists always praised the general. For his part, James wrote: "I am willing to give him credit for anything he does. But I will wait till he does it." Not only Lincoln was disturbed by McClellan.
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