Dear Mother, Dear Father - Paperback

What was it like to be a child during the American Civil War? What would you write to your mother if you were hundreds of miles from home, surrounded by soldiers and uncertain when you might see your family again?

In Dear Mother, Dear Father, young people who lived through the Civil War come to life through their letters and diaries.

Meet drummer boys, young soldiers, a sailor and children waiting anxiously at home. Follow their experiences as they write about camp life, friendships, illness, battles, school, and the everyday things they miss. Some try to reassure worried parents. Others share news from home, describe the hardships of war, or express their hopes of being reunited with loved ones.

Through authentic historical correspondence, photographs, and carefully researched narratives, readers discover a side of the Civil War often overlooked in history books: the experiences of the children and teenagers who lived through it.

Their words reveal courage, homesickness, humor, fear, and the powerful bonds of family during one of America's most difficult periods.

More than 160 years later, their letters remind us that behind every historical event were real people with families, dreams, and stories worth remembering.

They were young. Their experiences were real. And their words have survived to tell their stories.