Letter to Sarah Ballou quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When and where did Sullivan Ballou write this letter?

   • From the battlefield at Bull Run in Virginia on the morning of the fighting, July 21, 1861
   • Correct answer: From Camp Clarke in Washington, D.C., on July 14, 1861, days before the march south
   • From a Confederate prison camp after being captured at Bull Run in July 1861
   • From his home in Providence, Rhode Island, before enlisting in the Union Army that spring

   Ballou wrote the letter on July 14, 1861, from Camp Clarke in Washington, D.C. He and the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry were encamped near the capital, preparing for what he sensed would be a major — and possibly fatal — march south. He was mortally wounded at Bull Run one week later.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does Ballou say he is writing the letter?

   • He is asking Sarah to send warm clothing, supplies, and medicine to the camp before the regiment marches
   • He needs to report his regiment’s position to military commanders in Washington
   • He wants to describe daily camp life for Sarah and reassure her that the war will be over quickly
   • Correct answer: He feels compelled to write words she may only read after he is dead, fearing he cannot write again

   Ballou writes: “Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.” He is writing a farewell, not a routine letter — he senses that the coming movement may be his last.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What is the central emotional conflict Ballou wrestles with throughout the letter?

   • Correct answer: His love for Sarah and their sons versus his sense of duty to fight for the Union
   • His loyalty to the Union cause versus his private sympathy for the Southern states
   • His desire to return home immediately versus his obligation to follow military orders
   • His fear of dying in battle versus his hope that the war will end before he is sent to fight

   The letter’s driving tension is the collision between two absolute loves: his “deathless” love for Sarah and his children, and his love of country that “comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.” He sees no way to honor one without sacrificing the other.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What extended metaphor does Ballou use to describe his love for Sarah?

   • A banner that floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, against the storms Sarah must face alone
   • Hopes of future years burned to ashes, against a whispered prayer from his little son Edgar
   • Correct answer: Mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break, against a strong wind bearing him to battle
   • The bitter fruit he once ate as an orphan, against the honorable manhood he hoped his sons would reach

   Ballou writes that his love “seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break,” yet his love of country “comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.” Love is unbreakable chains; duty is an irresistible wind — and the wind wins.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does "Impelled" mean in this story?

   • Pushed into acting unwisely by a sudden, careless impulse
   • Held back or prevented from acting by a strong inner fear
   • Correct answer: Forced or driven forward by a strong internal compulsion
   • Ordered or required to act by an outside authority figure

   Impelled means driven forward by a powerful inner compulsion. Ballou writes “I feel impelled to write” — not that he wants to, or chooses to, but that an irresistible force inside him demands it. The word captures the urgency of a man who fears time is almost gone.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What reason does Ballou give for being willing to die for the Union?

   • He is motivated mainly by the army pay and the pension his family would receive after his death
   • He hopes to win personal glory and recognition in battle so his sons will admire him in later years
   • He was ordered by his commanding officer to march south regardless of personal feelings
   • Correct answer: He feels he owes a debt to the soldiers of the American Revolution who sacrificed before him

   Ballou writes: “I know how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing — perfectly willing — to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.” He frames his willingness to die as repaying a debt owed to the Founders.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What are the names of Ballou’s two sons?

   • Charles and George
   • Correct answer: Edgar and William
   • Thomas and James
   • Robert and Henry

   Ballou names his sons in the letter: “my blue-eyed Edgar” and “Little Willie” (William). He notes that Little Willie is too young to remember him, and that Edgar will keep only the dimmest memories of their play together.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How does Ballou promise to remain present with Sarah after death?

   • Correct answer: By promising his spirit will hover near her — a soft breeze her cheek will be his breath
   • By arranging for Governor Sprague to personally watch over her and the children
   • By asking a fellow soldier from his regiment to carry his letters to her every week after the battle
   • By ensuring his written words will outlive him and speak to her in future years

   Ballou writes: “if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.” He promises a spiritual presence felt through sensory experience — making the abstract afterlife tangible and intimate.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "Omnipotence" mean in this story?

   • The strength of large armies operating together in the field
   • Extreme wisdom or intelligence beyond human understanding
   • Military authority granted by the President of the United States
   • Correct answer: Unlimited, all-encompassing power — a quality of God

   Omnipotence means unlimited, all-encompassing power — traditionally an attribute of God. Ballou writes that his love binds him with “mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break.” His love is so absolute that only divine power itself could sever it — yet his duty to country still pulls him away.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which literary device is most prominent throughout the letter?

    • Stream of consciousness, presenting Ballou’s thoughts without order or structure
    • Correct answer: Antithesis, balancing opposing forces: love against duty, life against death, joy against sorrow
    • Allegory, where each character represents an abstract quality or political idea
    • Dramatic irony, where readers know something Ballou himself does not know yet

    Antithesis — the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas — runs through the entire letter. Ballou places love against duty, joy against sorrow, life against death, the personal against the civic. This structure mirrors his actual situation: two irreconcilable loves, one of which must yield. The letter’s emotional power comes from his refusal to pretend the tension doesn’t exist.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Ballou writes that something whispers he will return to his loved ones unharmed. How does that hope fit with the rest of the letter?

    • It shows he has decided the danger is small, so the letter is mainly a cheerful note
    • It replaces his earlier fear, and from then on the letter talks only about coming home
    • It shows he trusts his son's prayers more than his duty, and it makes him doubt the Union cause
    • Correct answer: He holds on to the hope but prepares Sarah for his death anyway, which is why he writes

    The hope comes with its opposite at once: "If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you." From the first paragraph he writes "Lest I should not be able to write you again." The letter exists because Ballou lets himself hope while preparing Sarah for his death, and he keeps both feelings side by side.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which best describes the register (level of language) Ballou uses throughout the letter?

    • Correct answer: Elevated and formal, with biblical cadences and words like “impelled,” “Omnipotence,” and “thither”
    • Simple and plain, intentionally stripped of literary devices and decoration to convey sincerity
    • Informal and conversational, using everyday slang and casual expressions, like a family conversation
    • Military and technical, filled with battlefield terms, troop numbers, and plans for the march

    Ballou uses elevated diction throughout: “impelled,” “Omnipotence,” “thither,” “sustenance,” “inviolable.” The writing has an almost biblical register — fitting for a skilled attorney and former legislator addressing the most important moment of his life. Some scholars note echoes of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in passages about honor and death.

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13. 13

    Question 13. When Ballou writes “my love for you is deathless,” what does the word “deathless” accomplish in the letter?

    • It promises Sarah that Ballou will survive the coming battle because their love will protect him from all harm
    • It signals that Ballou has fully accepted his death and feels no struggle, writing only to comfort Sarah
    • Correct answer: It creates a paradox: his love transcends death, yet that same unbreakable love cannot stop him from marching toward it
    • It borrows a word from the Bible to suggest that Ballou’s strong faith in God will keep him safe through the battle ahead

    The genius of “deathless” is its paradox. Love that cannot die should keep him alive — yet in the very next lines, that love is described as “mighty cables” that the wind of duty still carries him to the battlefield. His love is deathless, but he is not. The word holds both the promise of eternal love and the acknowledgment that he will likely die — without resolving the contradiction.

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14. 14

    Question 14. What does "Buffet" mean in this story?

    • To mourn or grieve openly in front of others
    • Correct answer: To strike repeatedly or batter against opposing forces
    • To spread food out on a table for a gathering of people
    • To protect someone carefully from all danger and harm

    Ballou writes: “I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight.” Buffet here means to strike against or batter — he imagines Sarah fighting through life’s storms alone, carrying their children as her precious cargo.

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15. 15

    Question 15. How did this letter become widely known to the American public?

    • Correct answer: It was read by actor Paul Roebling in Ken Burns’ 1990 PBS documentary “The Civil War”, over “Ashokan Farewell”
    • It was discovered in the National Archives in 1950 and reprinted in Time magazine
    • It was read by President Abraham Lincoln at a memorial service for Bull Run casualties
    • It was published in the Providence Journal shortly after Bull Run in 1861 by Sarah herself

    The letter circulated in Civil War scholarship for over a century, but reached a mass audience through Ken Burns’ 1990 PBS documentary “The Civil War.” Actor Paul Roebling read an abridged version in the first episode, over Jay Ungar’s haunting fiddle composition “Ashokan Farewell.” The pairing became the documentary’s most iconic moment and made the letter a touchstone of American memory.

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16. 16

    Question 16. Ballou says his final breath on the battlefield will do what?

    • Call out to his commanding officer for help
    • Signal the end of the battle to those around him
    • Carry a prayer upward to heaven on his behalf
    • Correct answer: Whisper Sarah’s name

    Ballou writes: “when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.” It is one of the letter’s most striking lines — his final act in life is to speak her name.

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17. 17

    Question 17. Why does Ballou describe his afterlife presence through physical sensations like a soft breeze and cool air?

    • He is quoting directly from a popular Civil War-era poem about death and the afterlife
    • He wants Sarah to seek out nature as a spiritual practice in the years after his death
    • Correct answer: He translates the abstract promise of spiritual presence into something Sarah can feel and recognize
    • He is expressing doubt about whether an afterlife exists and offering a scientific explanation instead

    Ballou grounds his spiritual promise in the physical world. Rather than vague assurances about heaven, he gives Sarah something she can actually feel: a soft breeze on her cheek as his breath, cool air at her temple as his spirit passing. This rhetorical move transforms an abstract faith into an intimate, bodily experience — making his promised presence tangible rather than merely theological.

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18. 18

    Question 18. What has historians noted about the letter’s authenticity?

    • Historians universally agree the letter is a 20th-century forgery created for the Ken Burns documentary
    • Correct answer: No original manuscript in Ballou’s handwriting has ever been found, and its polished style has raised scholarly debate
    • The letter was authenticated by DNA analysis of the paper and ink in the 1980s
    • The letter’s authenticity is completely certain because multiple eyewitnesses saw Ballou write it

    No original manuscript in Ballou’s own handwriting has ever been found — the earliest known version is a copy. Some scholars point to the letter’s unusually polished literary style as evidence it may have been embellished after his death. Others note that Ballou was a skilled attorney and orator whose training could account for the elevated prose. The American Battlefield Trust and National Park Service present it as Ballou’s while acknowledging the debate.

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19. 19

    Question 19. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • Ballou expresses complete certainty that he will survive the battle and return home.

      Didn't happen

      The opposite is true. Ballou acknowledges he may die: “if it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready.” He writes the letter precisely because he fears he may never write again.

    • Ballou mentions that he himself was orphaned and knows the bitter experience of growing up without a father.

      Happened

      Ballou writes: “after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children.” He was himself an orphan and dreads imposing the same fate on Edgar and Willie.

    • Ballou asks Sarah to remarry after his death so their sons will have a father.

      Didn't happen

      Ballou makes no such request. He expresses “unlimited confidence in your maternal care” and asks Sarah to lead their children to him in the afterlife. He does not mention remarriage.

    • Ballou says he has no doubts or hesitation about the Union cause for which he is fighting.

      Happened

      Ballou writes: “I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.” His commitment to the Union is stated without qualification.

    • Ballou asks forgiveness for his faults and the pain he has caused Sarah.

      Happened

      Ballou writes: “Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been!” The vulnerability of this admission is one of the letter’s most human moments.

    • Ballou instructs Sarah not to mourn him as dead, but to think of him as gone and wait.

      Happened

      Ballou writes: “Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.” He reframes death as a temporary separation rather than a final ending.

    • Ballou mentions that he expects the war to be over within six months.

      Didn't happen

      Ballou makes no prediction about the war’s duration. His letter is entirely focused on his personal situation and his love for Sarah — not on military strategy or timelines.

    • Ballou acknowledges that agreeing to fight means imposing great hardship on Sarah and their children.

      Happened

      He writes: “when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows” — directly acknowledging the cost to his family of his choice to fight.

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20. 20

    Question 20. Why is this letter so closely associated with Memorial Day observances?

    • The letter was written on the date that later became the official Memorial Day holiday in the United States
    • Ballou personally lobbied Congress to create a national day of remembrance before the war began
    • Correct answer: The letter embodies in personal terms what Memorial Day commemorates: a soldier who weighed the cost of dying and chose to pay it anyway
    • Ballou was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War, making him the symbolic first Memorial Day honoree

    The letter has become a Memorial Day touchstone because Ballou does what few historical documents do: he explicitly weighs his life against the cause, acknowledges the full human cost of his choice, and still says “I am ready.” His willingness to “lay down all my joys in this life” captures the sacrifice Memorial Day commemorates in deeply personal, human terms.

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21. 21

    Question 21. What happened to Sarah Ballou after Sullivan’s death?

    • She gave the letter to the Rhode Island Historical Society immediately and refused to speak of it again
    • She remarried within two years and moved away from Rhode Island with her new husband
    • She died of grief within a year and was buried beside Sullivan in Providence
    • Correct answer: She never remarried, raised Edgar and Willie alone, and lived until 1917 — 56 years after Sullivan’s death

    True to Sullivan’s confidence in her “maternal care,” Sarah never remarried. She raised Edgar and William on her own and lived until 1917 — surviving her husband by 56 years. She kept the letter for the rest of her life. It was not delivered to her directly; Governor Sprague brought it with Sullivan’s personal effects after his death.

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22. 22

    Question 22. Which statement best captures the overarching theme of the letter?

    • Correct answer: A person can hold two absolute, irreconcilable loves and be destroyed by the collision between them — yet still choose
    • The afterlife is real, and those who die for a noble cause are guaranteed to be reunited with the people they loved most
    • War is always unjust, and soldiers like Ballou are victims of political decisions beyond their control
    • Love and duty never truly conflict, because a person with strong moral conviction always knows which one to choose

    The letter’s theme is not that love defeats duty or that duty defeats love — both remain absolute to the end. Ballou does not pretend the tension resolves; he acknowledges that following duty means destroying much of what he loves most. The letter’s power is in his lucid, anguished choice: knowing the full cost, he chooses anyway. He is simultaneously the loving husband and the willing soldier — and the letter captures both without flinching.

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