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This letter is about how he was about to go to battle. Sullivan was prepared to fight for the cause and his love for the cause. He was telling Sarah that he will be with him forever and for her not to be sad. Sullivan was comforting Sarah and told her not to worry and that if he passed away he would protect her. This letter shows how many soilders acted to their loved ones and that when they went to go to battle they should not be in despair.

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To my mind, it is very depressing that soldiers at that time felt the need to write letters to their loved ones in case they never came back home since the Civil War could have been avoidable by the South forgoing secession and agreeing to abolish slavery. This letter is heartbreaking owing to the fact that Sullivan Ballou loved his wife, Sarah, deathless yet his love for the country was irresistible; he was also unable to see his boys grow up to manhood. Sullivan Ballou was willing to lay down his life for the cause of the one who came before him to help maintain the government and make the country´s future brighter. Sullivan Ballou wrote the letter to comfort Sarah that he was going to have an honorable death and fought for a cause that he believed was the right one. The letter makes me disappointed that our education system does not allow stories like Sullivan Ballou´s to be well known, countless American lives lost in battle yet their stories remain unknown.

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After listening and understanding the letter, you can feel the calmness and sadness in the way he writes, you can really grasp the love he has for his wife Sarah by him deciding to use his time to write a letter and express his love for his wife Sarah. This letter also shows us the hardships soldiers face by having to leave their families to protect their country.

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I could never imagine how hard it was to be to write a letter to my spouse about me not knowing if I will ever see them again. In the letter you can tell how sad he is to say that he might not see her and how scared he is but you can also see how he doesn't want her to worry so he told her to not think of him dead just think of him gone to help her cope. I could feel for Sullivan because I know what it's like to get in a position and be confused while in it which is super scary. But realizing how many other soldiers there are who could be in the same position is sad because they're so many people not knowing if they're going to die but not just death, but death by themselves. To think about the feelings and emotions Sullivan and others is unbelievable.

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While Sullivan had no idea what was about to happen, he knew to write a letter to his wife, Sarah. From his letter, I can clearly tell that his love for her was true. "O Sarah, if the dead can come back to this earth, and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the garish day, and the darkest night amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours always, always, and, if the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air cools your throbbing temples, it shall be my spirit passing by." this really put into perspective his love, and though he was ready to sacrifice himself for his nation, in his heart was his wife. this made me realize that a lot of soldiers, not just Sullivan goes through this but they still commit to it.

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after listening to this i think that most of the soldiers went through a lot of the same things. sullivan love for sarah was really pure, because the way how he explained how much he loves her. i feel bad for him and sarah because hes a at war not knowing if hes going to make it back for her, and shes at home not knowing whats happening to him. i think that its really sad she didnt get to read it until after he died.

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I think Sullivan Ballouś letter to Sarah was bitter sweet. The reason I say that is because in the letter Ballou is aware that he might die, but even though that is a possiblity his love for her never wavers. When her wrote to her that his love is deathless in the way that is his way telling her alive or dead his lover for her could never die out. He also makes it clear that he doesn want Sarah to mourn him but to think that he is still and war and will be home soon. And I think he did that so if he was to die she wound not be has heart broken.

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He explains that his love for her is so strong that he will continue to love her even after he dies. And that was his way of comforting her before he died. He died very far away from home but he died for something that he believed in.

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After listening to the letter I would say that he loved sarah alot.I think sullivan truly knew he was going to die so he wrote to sarah telling her how much he loved her.He wanted her to not sulk or sorrow in his death he wanted her to know that he accepted his fate and would put everything on the line to fight.In the end he wanted to tell his love that he loved her and to not let her worry.

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After listening to the letter, I think its bittersweet. He talked about how much he loved her, but he didn't know if he was gonna make it. It makes me feel bad for Sarah because she had to read it after he died. I think the way he explained his love for her was beautiful by saying everytime you feel the wind on your cheek that it was him. You can tell he truly loved her.

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After listening to the letter, it is obvious Sullivan's love for Sarah was incredibly strong. It is almost as if Sullivan knew he was going to die, so he wrote his last letter explaining his everlasting love for Sarah. He said his love was deathless and he will always be with her "in the brightest day and the darkest night". Sullivan does not want Sarah to worry about his death, he tells her "do not morn me dead, think I am gone and wait for me". However, he was willing to sacrifice everything for his country and government. I have taken from the letter how hard it must be to express everything you want your loved one to know in one letter, as well as accepting your fate for what you believe in.

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I think the whole situation was really tragic, and most of the reason why is you can see how much Sullivan loves his wife. He knew he most likely would die in the battle and had 1 letter to say what could be the last things he says to his wife. I can also tell from the letter Sullivan's love for his wife and the need to repay the dept of the previous soldiers and those who have fought in the past are very important to him. So in a way when he tells his wife their love is deathless and he will always be with her, it's like he's chosen his wife out of these two really important things to him. So that's really sweet and I hope his wife appreciated how much he loved her.

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After hearing this letter, I couldn't imagine having to explain my love through letter because I was risking my life. The way he explains his love for her in such detail you can just tell how true and rish their love was. He also tells her not to mourn him when he passes because he will always be with her. Ballou knew sooner or later he was gonna die on that field and when he did he wanted his wife to understand how he felt about her. The letter brings a lot of deep feelings he had for her to the surface making it the letter feel so surreal.

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After hearing and understanding the letter I find it how unusual, how we rarely get the point of view from the soldiers. This shows you how your part in the war was so little but so personal. Sullivan Ballou was not certain about his arrival home. If he dies he would be counted as another fallen soldier. Not the Husband of Sarah Ballou.
I relate to her in this way. She is waiting for the letter to come home that her husband isn't coming back. My family knew my aunt was ill and wasn't getting better, we all waited for the phone call we all dreaded.

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This letter, makes me think of how many soldiers both past and present went through similar situations.  When soldiers are putting their lives at risk to defend their nation, they have to be prepared to lose everything in a blink of an eye. Even though they know that they may not make it home, they still try and prepare their family for both the worst and the best circumstances. In the letter, Sullivan Ballou was trying to reassure his wife that if he does die in battle that he will always be with her. This letter is a good representation of how soldiers face the hardships of leaving their families to do what they want and need to do to protect their nation.

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After hearing the letter, it makes me think of how a lot of soldiers during the civil war were in a similar situation. They were putting their lives at risk to protect their nations, and the lives of those they loved. Many soldiers knew that they were gonna face death, and not be safe at home with the comfort of their families. They would die at war fighting for their country, their beliefs, their loved ones. Ballou was trying to comfort his wife about the fact he may never return home, and never see the face of the person he loved the most again.

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The way he explains the love he has for her by saying he will always be there even after death. It makes me think this letter is just really deep and touching to the wife of the soldier. The wife was probably very touched and hurt by this letter knowing that he is dead. Him also writing this last second before his death and just so say this from the bottom of this heart makes this letter very sad and meaningful. This also makes me think about how many loved ones of soldiers have to experience these things not knowing if their soldier will make it out or not.

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The letter to me seems very sad but also calming in a way because Sullivan is telling Sarah that if he dies he will always be with her and that must have comforted her when she found out that he died. Sullivan was reassuring her that he was going to be ok no matter what happens and that she will be ok without him physically there because he will Always be there spiritually.

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I could feel the feelings behind him writing this letter, knowing how hard the battle could have effected him mentally was really hard. For him to put it in words so unique means it was really coming from the heart. I couldn't imagine me in his shoes, knowing that you might die in a couple days or months. The anxiety would be heavy and the panic would be more tense than ever. One thing I can take from this letter is too value your family and closest ones to you more.

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The letter was so sad because it was like he knew he was going to die and dying far from home. Nobody knew what was going to happen. He died for something he believed in.

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Sullivan loved Sarah very much or as he said he loves her deathless. I couldn't imagine what Sarah is going thourgh and I would be very sad if that happened to me but as he said 'don't think of me dead, just think of me gone.'

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Imagine being away from home and in a war. Sullivan Ballou didn't have any idea about what was really going to happen. The clash of the amature armies at 1st Bull Run was terrible. Please write down your thoughts and/or impressions of his letter to his wife Sarah in 5 sentences. Use appropriate capitalization and punctuation.

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Sullivan Ballou Letter and Ashokan Farewell