This week’s reading comes from the historical inspiration for my recent submission for Labyrinthia Mythweaver’s picture prompt, “Every Man Under His Vine”. It is the stirring letter of Major Sullivan Ballou of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry to his wife Sarah, before the eve of the First Battle of Bull Run of the American Civil War, in which he eerily foretold his death. Originally made famous by its inclusion in Ken Burns’s legendary documentary on the war, Ballou’s letter is an under appreciated classic of not only epistolary writing but, I would argue, of American literature. It captures the warring impulses between romantic love and love of country, patriotism and filial duty that Americans continue to wrestle with today. It is my sincere hope to do right by this remarkable piece of writing with this humble reading.
© Conor MacCormack, 2026. All rights reserved.
Whatever happened to writing like that? Sometimes it feels like, as a society, we are losing our words.
Beautiful