nt a
statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you
are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the
field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any
words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the
grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from
tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the
thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our
Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,
and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly
a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln.

This is the letter[5] that Robert E. Lee, when he was president of
Washington College, wrote to the father of a student who was drowned:

Washington College,
Lexington, Virginia,
March 19, 1868.

My dear Sir:

Before this you have learned of the affecting death of your
son. I can say nothing to mitigate your grief or to relieve
your sorrow: but if the sincere sympathy of his comrades and
friends and of the entire community can bring you any
consolation, I can assure you that you possess it in its
fullest extent. When one, in the pureness and freshness of
youth, before having been contaminated by sin or afflicted by
misery, is called to the presence of his Merciful Creator, it
must be solely for his good. As difficult as this may be for
you now to recognize, I hope you will keep it constantly in
your memory and take it to your comfort; pray that He who in
His wise Providence has permitted this crushing sorrow may
sanctify it to the happiness of all. Your son and his friend,
Mr. Birely, often passed their leisure hours in rowing on the
river, and, on last Saturday afternoon, the 4th inst.,
attempted what they had more than once been cautioned
against--to approach the foot of the dam, at the public
bridge. Unfortunately, their boat was caught by the
return-current, struck by the falling water, and was
immediately upset. Their perilous position was at once seen
from the shore, and aid was hurried to thei