Letter to Sarah Ballou Flashcards
by Sullivan Ballou — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Letter to Sarah Ballou
When and where did Sullivan Ballou write his letter to Sarah?
He wrote it on July 14, 1861, from Washington, D.C., one week before the First Battle of Bull Run.
What event prompted Ballou to write this letter?
Strong indications that his regiment would move into battle within days, possibly the next day, led him to write in case he was killed.
What does Ballou say he is willing to lay down for his country?
He says he is willing to lay down all his joys in life to help maintain the Government and repay the debt owed to those who fought in the Revolution.
What internal conflict does Ballou describe in the letter?
He struggles between his boundless love for Sarah and his children and his sense of duty to his country, calling it a fierce though useless contest.
What promise does Ballou make about what will happen if he dies?
He promises that his spirit will always be near Sarah, and that if she feels a soft breeze on her cheek, it will be his breath passing by.
What are Ballou's final instructions to Sarah regarding their children?
He expresses unlimited confidence in her maternal care and asks her to develop their characters, then pleads for her to lead the children to him in the afterlife.
What is the last thing Ballou says his dying breath will whisper?
Sarah's name.
Who are Sullivan Ballou's two sons mentioned in the letter?
Little Willie, who is too young to remember his father long, and blue-eyed Edgar, who will only dimly recall their time together.
What do we know about Ballou's own childhood from the letter?
He was an orphan, referring to having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage, which makes the prospect of his own children growing up fatherless especially painful.
How does Ballou characterize Sarah's role after his potential death?
He envisions her buffeting the storms of life with their precious little freight (the children) while he watches from the spirit land, and expresses unlimited confidence in her maternal strength.
Who does Ballou ask Sarah to convey blessings to at the end of the letter?
He asks her to tell both their mothers -- his and hers -- that he calls God's blessing upon them.
What small detail suggests Edgar has a special bond with his father?
Ballou mentions that Edgar will keep his frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood, suggesting they played together often.
How does the letter illustrate the theme of duty versus love?
Ballou uses the metaphor of a strong wind bearing him irresistibly to the battlefield despite mighty cables of love binding him to Sarah, showing duty overpowers personal desire.
How does Ballou connect his personal sacrifice to the larger American cause?
He frames his willingness to die as repaying a debt to the Revolutionary generation whose blood and suffering established the nation.
What does the letter suggest about Ballou's belief in an afterlife?
He speaks of watching Sarah from the spirit land, hovering unseen around loved ones, and waiting for her to join him, revealing a firm faith in reuniting after death.
How does the theme of mortality shape the tone of the entire letter?
The awareness that he may die within days transforms everyday sentiments into urgent, final declarations, giving the letter its intense emotional weight and elegiac quality.
What extended metaphor does Ballou use to describe the tension between love and duty?
He compares his love for Sarah to mighty cables binding him, while love of country is a strong wind that bears him irresistibly to the battlefield despite those chains.
What is the effect of the metaphor 'precious little freight' in the letter?
It likens the children to fragile cargo on a storm-tossed voyage, emphasizing Sarah's burden as a single parent navigating life's hardships alone.
How does Ballou use sensory imagery in his description of his spirit returning?
He evokes touch through a soft breeze upon your cheek and cool air fanning your throbbing temple, transforming the abstract afterlife into something physically felt.
What rhetorical purpose does the phrase 'Not my will, but thine O God, be done' serve?
It echoes Christ's prayer in Gethsemane, framing Ballou's sacrifice in biblical terms and elevating his decision to answer duty's call as submission to divine will.
What does 'Omnipotence' mean in the context of this letter?
It refers to the unlimited power of God -- Ballou says nothing but God's power could break the cables of love binding him to Sarah.
What does 'orphanage' mean as Ballou uses it in the letter?
He uses it to mean the state of being an orphan, not the institution. He laments having eaten the bitter fruit of orphanage and fears his children will face the same fatherless condition.
What does 'impelled' mean when Ballou says he feels impelled to write?
It means driven or compelled by a strong inner force. He feels an urgent need to leave words for Sarah in case he dies.
What is the significance of the line 'my love for you is deathless'?
It is the letter's most famous phrase, asserting that his love transcends mortality -- a claim given tragic power by his death one week later at Bull Run.
What does Ballou mean by 'burn to ashes the hopes of future years'?
He means that dying in battle would destroy all the plans he and Sarah had for growing old together and watching their sons reach manhood.
What is the emotional effect of Ballou's closing line, 'O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children'?
It transforms a farewell into a reunion promise, reframing death not as an ending but as a temporary separation before the family is whole again in the afterlife.