LivaL

//**Dear sister Anna** - **Wisconsin****, 14th of August 1853**

Thank you for your letter. It warmed my heart to read the letter when you let me know that everything is all right back home in Norway. I have read the letter over and over again, and everything feels so alive when you write. I picture you, Ola and little Johanna and Olav, who I love so much, in your little house back home in Stavanger. I miss you very much, and I want you to know that not one single day goes by without me thinking of everyone back home! In my last letter I let you know about Frank who was waiting for me in Minnesota. I also recall telling you that he was a wonderful man with a good farm. He actually asked me to marry him the day after I sent my previous letter. And as you probably have understood by now – I’m married! And that’s not all..! I am actually pregnant as well! And even though I’m very happy and everything seems all right now, I haven’t felt this way all the time. Being with Frank has been difficult. The communication, for instant, has been a problem for us. We have had to use our body language __a lot__! I only knew a few phrases in English before arriving in America, but now I’m able to understand a lot of what people around me are saying. Everything felt very strange when I came to America. I didn’t know anyone here, and suddenly I was thrown into a foreign country and culture. Everything was different…The language, the nature and the smells were all different from everything back home. The language is understandable now, but I am still not used to the different environment here. Sure there’s really nothing wrong with the American nature, but it doesn’t compare to the beautiful Norwegian woods, fjords and mountains. I even remember the summer sun as a bit more golden back home. Speaking of gold – a lot of people go to California these days to find valuable pieces of gold. There are a lot of Norwegians, and other Scandinavians, among these masses of people. I have talked with many of these adventurers, and they are all pretty sure they are going to find happiness and become wealthy here in America. Those poor naive people… Few people actually become rich by standing in the river courses day in and out. The stories wander all the way from the west-coast, telling that most people return to their hometowns without as much as a single gold nugget. The dreams are real, but the truth is overpraised… My new life in America will take a lot of adjustments, but overall I’m glad I went overseas. Although I miss Stavanger and Norway like nothing else, I look forward to spending my life and grow old here in Wisconsin. Feel free to come and visit any time, dear sister. And do bring your husband and children! I’m always looking forward to reading your next letter.

With great love, Kari Smithers.//


 * //Dear sister, Louise 1st of May 1865//**

//During the last couple of years I have been thinking a lot of you. I have wanted to write to you sooner, but my priority went to my true love waiting for me back home. I’m writing you this letter now, while I’m at the train on my way back home to Illinois, to tell you what has happened to me the last couple of years.// //When I went away the autumn 1861, I never expected to see all the things I have seen. I knew it would be some tough sights, and even though I thought I was prepared for the worst – I was wrong. I never expected to experience all the things I have been through.// //I often think of the day when I received the letter from the Congress and was told to join the Union’s Army. As well as a frightening thought, it made me feel important to get to fight for what I believe is right.// //I still don’t understand why the Confederate States, my enemies, can’t understand that their opinions of the slavery trade aren’t humanistic. Their attitudes about African people are to get sick of. Why won’t they realize that Africans are people just like us..? It actually feels really good to fight for this cause, even though times are hard.// //The autumn of 1861 was a quite “calm” time. This was when we for real realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy battle. I don’t want to get into details, but the following years were filled with a lot of blood and deaths. General McCellan and General Winfield Scott were good leaders, but we were proved over and over again, that the Confederate States had better men than us in the front. But Winfield Scott and McCellan learned on the way, and in my opinion, they became great leaders at the end, even though none of them had any military education.// //We should have won the battles at Bull Run and Fredriecksburg. The North States produced a lot more weapons the Confederation, and at that time, we also had a bigger army than the southerners. How could we loose? Our defeat only gave our enemies hope, which resulted in several victories for the enemy’s army during the spring and summer of 1863.// //The long yearned for turning point came later the very same year. The Confederate States had won the last battles, but when they marched towards Washington, we walked out as the winners.// //The battle in Gettysburg in July 1863 was one the most horrible battle I took part in. 40 000 soldiers died in that battle, and 20 000 of them were on my side as my friends and peers. I feel grateful to only loose an eye and damage my knee during those days.// //President Lincoln held his speech “Gettysburg Address” that following November. It was about how Americans and Africans are the same people and a memorial for the many fallen soldiers who had lost their life in all the battles, and especially the battle in Gettysburg, who had made it possible to make the Union the incursive part. I found it a touching speech, and I had to dry some tears from the corner of my eye.// //The rest of the war was like a downhill for me and my co-soldiers. General William Tecumseh Sherman was a great leader, and under his eyes, we invaded Georgia. My group consisted of 36 000 soldiers.// //Then the war was heading towards an end. A happy end for me and my fellow soldiers. We won the Civil War.// //Please write back to me as soon as you get this letter. I’m longing for resting my eyes on your beautiful handwriting.//

//Wishing you everything well,// //your brother Frank.//