ABRAHAM LINCOLN: LETTER TO MRS. BIXBY

In the many dozens of books on my bookshelf, I have one that contains a handful of letters that Lincoln wrote throughout his presidency— he wrote the following letter to a grieving mother on November 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming, but I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic that they died to save. I pray that the Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln

It’s tough not to give that a read without sending chills down your spine. A mother lost 5 of her boys in a single day, unbeknown to her that their sacrifice would drastically help advance the nation in the years to come.