My+Brother+Sam+Is+Dead

October 16, 2007 Ruby Group

__My Son Sam is at War__
 * Dear Sam,

I know that you are hard headed. It is one of your best and worst qualities. You got it from your dear old father. I know my plea might not change your mind at all, but I am begging you to try to see this situation from my point of view. This war has brought so much loss to our family. You are off at war and father has been captured and killed. How can you expect me to be able handle it if you died? When you say that you are willing to die for your country you are being selfish and not thinking about what it would do to Tim and I if you were killed. What about your family? Going to this war is like committing suicide. You are bound to get yourself killed and when you do get killed I will have to suffer with the grief of your death. All the while i will be thinking "if only I could have stopped him." I refuse to live with that grief, so I am going to attempt to do everything possible to convince you that war is not the right place for you so that when you make your decision of which is more important fighting for your country or your family I will know that at least I tried to persuade you.

First off, just think about Tim. All through his life he has admired you as an older brother, and you repay him by going off to war and leaving him with the burden of maturing at an early age. He has had virtually no time to be just a child, and that is unfair and cruel. I bet that when you were his age you had not a care in the world, but Tim is constantly working without a complaint. You are also stopping poor Tim from pursuing his dreams. He wishes to become a surveyor and be Mr. Heron's apprentice, but he has not been able to pursue either of these things considering the amount of help I have needed at the tavern. If you came home maybe Tim would be able to work on his future a little bit. That would make him so happy. Doesn't your brother deserve a little happiness after all he has been put through? He had to watch your father being capture and that must have been horribly difficult for him. He has been put into some scary situations that even a lot of adults have not experienced. When you were younger imagine if you had an older brother who stopped you from going to Yale or doing things that you wanted to do. The really pathetic thing is that Tim doesn't feel any anger towards you. In fact, he still admires you in the same way as before. Do you not feel at least a little guilty?

Going to war is not the only way you can support the Patriots. If you feel so strongly about the colonies principals then there are other ways to support the Patriots then actually fighting in the war for them. These other ways might be just as helpful or more helpful to the Patriots than actually being on the battlefield. These ways will also be less dangerous. One less soldier will not affect the outcome of the war. There are thousands of other soldiers. Why do you feel this huge obligation to fight for the Patriots anyway? I do not understand where this is coming from. Are the boys at Yale influencing you? In my opinion they are. Sure, I think that you might want to help the colonists gain independence from Britain, but I think the main reason you are in the war is just because everybody else is doing it. Anyway, Think of all the ways that the Patriots have negatively affected our family. First, by taking your father from us and then by taking you from us. I don't understand why you have to get mixed up in this war you are far too young and naive in my opinion.

I know this letter has been pretty harsh and gives you a lot to think about, but I want you to remember that I will always love you. Like your father, I am only looking to keep you safe and out of harms way. This is pretty hard to do when you are in basically one of the most unsafe places in the colonies. You have people being killed and slaughtered all around you, so how am I to know that you will not be next? I would much rather have you sitting at home, here in the tavern. I don't usually beg, but I am begging you please come home. I am trying to hold it all together the best I can, but I am not sure I will be able to for much longer. I can't wait to see you next and I know Betsey and Tim are always eager to hear from you. Just remember, we all love you no matter what you decide.

Love, Your Dear Mom ||