Civil War ValentinesValentine cards have been a popular form of sending affectionate greetings for many years.The switch from handmade to manufactured cards began during the 1840s. By the Civil War (1861-1865), many manufacturers were marketing valentines to soldiers far away from their loved ones. 
This large paper Valentine (pictured at left) has an embossed border. It is glued with scrap: a classical bust at top, floral spray at center, and leaves at the bottom. Between the leaves at the bottom of the card is a small piece of paper printed with this short verse: Fondly I gaze in The three Valentines pictured on this page are in the collections of the Kansas Museum of History. They were sent by Joseph Forrest to Elizabeth Ehrhart during the Civil War. Joseph and Elizabeth, both residents of Macon County, Illinois, became engaged in 1858, three years before the start of the hostilities. They delayed marriage at first because of Elizabeth's young age (18), secondly because of some business concerns, and finally because of the war. Joseph enlisted on July 25, 1861 (shortly after the war began), at Decatur, Illinois. He was mustered into service as a private in Company A of the Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The couple decided to wed on Joseph's first furlough, which unfortunately for them didn't occur for another two years. When Joseph finally returned to Macon County to marry Elizabeth, he also was on a mission to uncover deserters hiding in the area. The couple married on August 9, 1863, and (according to family lore) spent much of their honeymoon riding around the countryside on horseback in pursuit of runaway soldiers. The Eighth Illinois saw much action during the war. It was involved in battles at Shiloh and Corinth (1862), and Vicksburg (1863). After three years of active duty, Joseph was mustered out and honorably discharged in early December 1863. A few days later, he reenlisted in the same outfit while it was in camp at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Valentine pictured at right was apparently cut down from a larger sheet (possibly stationery). It is printed with the following verse: 
FAITHFUL IN DEATH'To horse!' the bugle sounds the call, The foemen rage like waves at sea; If cruel fate should bid me fall, My last fond thought shall be of thee. The Forrests' first child was born in 1864 while Joseph was recovering in a New Orleans hospital from wounds suffered at a battle near Jackson, Mississippi. The Forrests' daughter, Adah, died shortly after birth. Joseph was honorably discharged at Marshal, Texas, in July 1865, because of wounds which, according to his papers, caused him to be "Incapacitated for seven months, in hospitals all that time." Liver and lung damage would affect his health for years, and probably caused his premature death. Four more children were born to the Forrests following the war. Deciding that Kansas might be good for Joseph's weakened health, the family moved to Jewell County in the spring of 1872, where Joseph served as a Methodist minister. In March 1875 they moved to Minneapolis, Kansas. One day a few months later, after preaching at several sites, Joseph sickened and died. He was 35 years old, and left behind a wife and four children. Elizabeth stayed in Kansas, enduring the deaths of two more children from diphtheria in 1876. Although Joseph had never filed for a veteran's pension on ethical grounds (the funds came from a whiskey tax), financial difficulties forced Elizabeth to apply for a war widow's pension eventually. She proved up the Forrest homestead claim herself, and lived in Kansas until she died in 1920. The Valentine below is paper embossed with scenes that appear to depict the American Revolutionary War, or perhaps another earlier conflict. It is printed with the following verse: 
MY LOVE The Cool Things Archives features many other Civil War items, including flags from the First Kansas Colored and Eighth Kansas infantries.
|
|
 |
Return
to the latest 
