Letters to Sarah is a collection of over eighty letters written by a young Union soldier, Cpl. John H. Pardington, a member of the 24th Michigan Infantry of the famous Iron Brigade. They are filled with patriotic dedication to the Cause, longing for his wife and baby, details of camp life, and reflections on the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and other engagements. They are touching love letters, made more so because the reader is aware that Pardington will be killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The letters reflect John's concerns about everything at home: how Sarah is being treated by relatives, the baby's exposure to scarlet fever, Sarah's money needs and their plans to buy a home. The letters are also a depiction of the stresses of service life and the heroics of everyday life whether at home or on the battlefield.
Covering a span of time from September 1862 through June 1863, the letters are witness to the maturation of a common soldier from a simple Michigan country boy to a seasoned fighter who has survived the bloody battlefields more than once. The collection also includes letters to his sister and father-in-law in which his opinions of President Lincoln, the changing leadership of the Army of the Potomac, and the hoped for outcome of the war are expressed with wisdom and insight despite his occasional poor spelling. One becomes aware that the value system of those days has, sadly, changed considerably.