Edwin Weller (1839–1908)

This book contains a collection of letters that Yankee solider Edwin Weller from Havana, New York wrote to his lady friend, Nettie Watkins, during his service. Prior to the Civil War, Edwin Weller worked in Nettie's brother-in-law's store. I guess no one will ever know if they "admired" another before the war, however they were good friends, and over the course of the war they become secretly engaged. Edwin's letters are sweet, a great source of historical information, and at times, teasing and flirty.

Sadly, some key elements are missing, at no fault of the Weller family or author. While a great source of information, only Edwin's letters survived, making the book one-sided. It's left to the imagination what Nettie's replies to Edwin were. Seemingly, based on Edwin's letters, we can assume she talked about friends and parties in Havana, was jealous that Edwin had a photograph of another girl, and had other male suitors. This book would be golden if Nettie's side of the romance had survived.

Unfortunately, it also seems that a few key letters are missing. While the flirting builds over the course of the letters, there's no letter that outright asks Nettie to marry him. It's like they go from friends to secretly engaged during a big gap. It's understandable if the letter was lost, however, I would have liked more comments from the author on his opinion or family memories of what happened during this gap. The moment of engagement is kinda key in a courtship. I was interested in how he'd word his question.

Overall, it's an interesting history read, a good example of long-distance dating in the wayback. It shines a lot of light on how the war and fighting was communicated to female friends and family in the North. Edwin is usually cheerful, focuses on the good, and at times seems more like he's on vacation than at war.… (más)