II - 02 Letter to Mrs. Bixby

Letter  to  Mrs.  Bixby(1)

Mrs.  Bixby,

Boston,  Massachusetts,

 

Dear  Madam,

I  have  been  shown  in  the  files  of  the  War  Department(3)  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 they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost(4), 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