Letters offer the modern day historian an important look into the past, especially a look into the everyday lives of people. Unfortunately, so many of these important documents have been lost in the maelstrom known as time. Fire, especially, seems to have destroyed much of our past, such as in the case of Charley who lost all his letters received during the war when his Georgia house burned down in 1872.
The letters below offer an important look into the life and times of Charley Goodyear. His letters serve now as a window into of our past, and from them we can learn much of where we have come from. Within the letters, we can see a man deep in thought, indignant towards authority, and in love with the ideas that helped guide him towards his own enlistment. But beyond what we can learn about him, the letters also work as a means to teach us about life in the military. He talks of generals and drills. In his last two letters, he talks of his goal to become an officer in a Colored Regiment, and the “red tape” he has to go through to reach that goal. From his letters, we can learn much of our own history.
The letters that are on this site have been explicated to help a reader better understand where he is coming from, and to elaborate on some of the things which he talks about. Links are within the letters that lead to small elaborative articles. The links are colored reddish-brown for easy finding. Please click on as many as you see, and hopefully through self-exploration, you can find something new and different, and learn just a little more of our past.
So please, explore the letters...
~Zachary Bodnar
The letters below offer an important look into the life and times of Charley Goodyear. His letters serve now as a window into of our past, and from them we can learn much of where we have come from. Within the letters, we can see a man deep in thought, indignant towards authority, and in love with the ideas that helped guide him towards his own enlistment. But beyond what we can learn about him, the letters also work as a means to teach us about life in the military. He talks of generals and drills. In his last two letters, he talks of his goal to become an officer in a Colored Regiment, and the “red tape” he has to go through to reach that goal. From his letters, we can learn much of our own history.
The letters that are on this site have been explicated to help a reader better understand where he is coming from, and to elaborate on some of the things which he talks about. Links are within the letters that lead to small elaborative articles. The links are colored reddish-brown for easy finding. Please click on as many as you see, and hopefully through self-exploration, you can find something new and different, and learn just a little more of our past.
So please, explore the letters...
~Zachary Bodnar
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