Primary Source Analysis #5 Depression and grim emotions towards the war appear to be a prominent element common among Civil War veterans. In the aftermath of a war that left hundreds of Americans dead and introduced to the country warfare on a scale not seen in ages, it isn’t so surprising to look at the effects of the war and notice the lingering trauma that casted it shadows over the minds of many veterans. The Civil War would leave a noticeable emotional impact on many of its combatants. Looking at John Allan Wyeth’s autobiography With Sabre and Scalpel, many to harbor many of the motifs and elements that are laid out by James Marten in Sing Not War. The grim environment of the war, and the powerful messages left by Wyeth, such as his statement of “I knew the men who were killed” (Wyeth, 315). These sentiments and dark tones that seem to encompass his experiences connect well with the…show more content… Describing a procession of a funeral with two soldiers, this poem is relatively not as dark, as it is simply solemn. The choice of diction for this poem is particularly powerful in describing the scenery and sounds of the procession in an otherwise silent night. Whitman seems to relate the moonlight to the heaven having a presence with the funeral (Whitman, 246). The bugles act as the past, representing warfare, while the moon appears to symbolize the results of warfare and the destination of these soldiers from a religious standpoint. This solemn theme connects to the Wyeth’s darker autobiography, but the presence of a dark and solemn theme in the first place must be noted. Marten notes the haunting feelings that some soldiers may experience as a reaction to the war, such as the young solider from Arkansas whose brother died by disease (Marten, 48). The haunting imagery and solemn tones seem to reflect the emotions and perceptions some had towards the
