Letter from Calvin Shedd to His Daughter Ada—Historical Letter
We can learn how people lived and thought in the past by reading historical letters. Sometimes historical letters also provide information about the physical landscape of the past. The letter below describes what Florida's coral reef looked like to a soldier from New Hampshire in 1862.
Primary Source
March 6, 1862
My Dear Daughter, Ada,
I Should like to see you very much I think of you very often. There is lots of coral and sea shells here….
…The Coral here is almost white it grows like trees with trunks and branches I should have said it is built in that shape or it is made by a little insect not so large as the head of a pin it is said to be of a green color in the water on these Islands and it has to be Boiled and laid in the sun to make it white. when the wind blows here the waves break over the coral reefs and it sounds like heavy Cannon or Thunder the waves are called Breakers- a Reef is where the coral is most to the top of the water and it stops the force of the waves and they break over in a great sheet of white foam, as high as a house.
…[G]ive my love to Annah & Lilly be good Girls and write a line to me when mother writes
From your Father C. Shedd
Excerpt from University of Miami's Calvin Shedd Collection.
Background
Has someone in your family ever traveled far from home? During the Civil War, soldiers often had to travel far away from their homes. Calvin Shedd left his family in New Hampshire to support the Union. He went to a military camp in Florida. Because of its great distance from New Hampshire, Florida was a very different place. Shedd saw many new sights and shared them with his family in a series of over 50 letters. Read closely to learn about Florida's coral.
