Letters written by a Union soldier that were donated to Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute by Harriet Johnston of Chester County will be brought to life in a new book, writes Anna Merod for The Winchester (Va.) Star.
Robert Bradbury, who fought in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War, wrote most of the letters to his sister. In one of them, he explains why all able-bodied men should fight for the Union.
“If this rebellion succeeds, the nation is ruined and the torch of liberty forever extinguished. We must stand up for the constitution and the Union,” he wrote.
The items were donated by the 72-year-old Johnston in June, several years after meeting Jonathan Noyalas, the institute’s director, at the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Creek. The author of the letters was a Philadelphian and grandfather of Johnston’s aunt by marriage.
Johnston was delighted to hear news of the upcoming book.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “It’s fulfilling.”
Read more about the letters in The Winchester Star here.
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