Civil War Letters (1997)    

Artist Note: "Civil War Letters" are excerpts from the diaries and letters of dead boys, all but a few from Iowa, a state far underestimated in its contribution to the war. This is but one of a series begun in 1990.

Long a Civil War buff and morose an avid historian of Iowa, Glen lived in the country seven miles north of Iowa City (1993-2004). His house was in Solon, IA, but placing his mailbox on the Iowa City side of Newport Road. Glen kept his Iowa City address. His residence was once in the middle of Newport Township. Researching this led to his focus on Iowa's significance (and loss of life) in the war. All states' regiments consisted of young boys from the same town, township, or city. If one regiment was eliminated (mostly by disease before or during capture), no one returned. A very small percentage of Civil War casualties came from gunfire. None of Newport Township's 19 boys returned. East, west, north, south, all volunteers were going to a two-week party. Newport Township’s regiment served under Grant in the west, removed from the celebrity of Gettysburg, Antietam, Bull Run, Fredericksburg. Those who survived Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and Sherman's march across Georgia were few.

Pencil, charcoal, watercolor, tape nib, flat folded pens. On handmade 16 X 24" paper by Pamela Spitzmueller.

Text: Amos Ketchman, 1862

Publications &: Exhibitions: "Letter Arts Review Annual, 1999," V.15, N.3.