Bushwhackers and Broken Hearts by P.J. Sullivan

The book is very easily read in one sitting but can also be reread again and again, or read in multiple sessions. Sullivan's Bushwhackers and Broken Hearts is an easy 5 star book. It gives me great pleasure to know that after decades of searching, the letters finally reached the Barton family and can be now shared as a part of our American history. In his advance book to me, he included a little note that reads in part: 'I hope you like the book that your ancestor made possible.' Indeed I do. Sullivan who has transcribed these often illegible and time-worn letters. The death of John Barton leaves many things unexplained, but his words and those of his correspondents now forever endure thanks to P.J. In his final chapter, Sullivan ponders on these questions and more: Why would John, a married man with two small children, leave his farm to join the army for three years at thirteen dollars a month? Why would he sign an oath repudiating his wife and children? Why had John wanted a child put out of the way? And finally, was Barton's death an accident or suicide?

This intimate look into the lives of ordinary people, gives us a greater idea of the tangible sacrifices and losses of a country at war, and sheds light on the distance and disparity of a soldier's life and that of his family at home. His added comments, opinions, speculations, and unanswered questions, allow us to journey with him as he uncovers the daily life and emotional ins and outs of the Bartons during the Civil War. These many years later, it is a privilege and a delight to read the letters in Sullivan's book. Until his email, I had been left wondering if the letters ever made their way home to the Barton family.

Sullivan nearly one hundred and fifty years after John Barton's letters had been left in the care of my 2nd great grandfather. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from author P.J.

Bushwhackers and Broken Hearts by P.J. Sullivan