Civil War Letters Are Restored For a New View of History

Martha Plum was a women whose husband was in the Civil War. She sent him letters to him while he was at war. One letter she sent, was not found until recently; the letter had a bald eagle and the American flag, on it.

The letters that the people sent are carefully now being restored in a lab. The letters, held at New York's Public Library, are restored by archivists. Martha Plum's husband's name was William, and he died because of Yellow Fever. Martha was in the hospital, where William was a patient, when a doctor told her William was dead. 

To learn more go the the New York Times, the paper's media team has posted a video showing much of the restoration process.

Documents like letters might not seem important to history, but they are. They show people how the day's happenings -- sometimes significant, sometimes ordinary -- all help create history. Also, letters from different people show that there are different stories, or narratives being told. When you consider these together, you may get a very different view of history.

Written by: Anya J. and Rubina H.

Photo: Archivist restoring a letter