Seth James Wells

Seth James Wells was born on April 26, 1842 in Rising Sun, Iowa. Wells was a white American Union soldier who resided in Michigan following his birth. He began recording in his journal on November 3, 1862 when he was 20 years of age. While marching through many southern states such as Tennessee and other various areas, Wells would observe what was happening and record that information later that night at the military camps. Military marches, military life, weather and the quartering of troops were generally the kinds of information Wells would record in his diary. Wells continued his diary up to his date of

The life of Seth James Wells in the military seemed to be very similar each day. When the men had time to themselves, they would usually play ball with other men in their division. Unfortunately, free time was limited and the soldiers spent most of their time dealing with the hardships of war. The fall and winter days were not too harsh for the soldiers, but by night it was often unbearably cold. Snow and rain sometimes left the men soaked and looking for a dry place to sleep. Many nights the men would have to think of ways to keep warm and dry. Seth James Wells writes, “The ground was muddy and I looked around, found a stack of corn, dug down to the dry stalks, husked out a lot and made a bed for myself.” Methods such as this one kept the men dry and warm during bad weather.

When reading this quote, I got the impression that Wells is looking back two years ago thinking about how much better life was at home with his family, but he did not know it at the time. Sometimes it takes a tragic event such as war to make people realize how important certain things are in their lives. People often sit around and feel sorry for themselves because they think they have had a bad day, or are going through tough times. It is not until you are put in the position of Seth James Wells that you realize just how good things really are. Family, friends, and freedom are important aspects of ones life that should never be taken for granted.

Women were not allowed to enlist for military duty during the civil war. Many women helped in military hospitals and maintained the home front, but some brave women disguised themselves as men to fight for their beliefs. Woman soldiers went by masculine names, once in the military, to hide the fact they were female. On March 27, 1862, a girl who had served eighteen months as a private soldier was discovered in one of Seth James Well’s friends division. “They took her to the preacher’s to get her a dress and will send her north. A good many of our boys saw her,” (The Diary of Seth James Wells). Because they passed as men, it is impossible to know with any certainty how many woman soldiers served in the Civil War (Women Soldiers of the Civil War).

It seems that young adults today do not realize the extremes and reality of war. With the recent terrorist attacks and the United States currently at war, I think that teenagers are finally realizing just how real and terrible war is. At any time almost any young male over the age of eighteen could be called on to defend our country, being put in a similar

Some topics in this essay:
Seth James, Civil War, Dress Parade, American Union, , Uncle Tim’s, seth james, People Chopping, James Well’s, diary seth, civil war, diary seth james, Diary Seth, Sun Iowa, life seth james, begin marching, woman soldiers, people realize, position seth, civil war women, family friends, home family, position seth james, life seth,