MORE LETTERS HOME

This past week we focused on two more excerpts from John Lapham Bullis's letters home. The first, written from Annapolis on his 23rd birthday (April 17, 1864), talks about a visit from "Lieut Gen's Burnside and Grant." Bullis was impressed with Burnside,  writing that he was "a noble looking man with a high forehead in fact a model man in my opinion."  Bullis also mentioned that he was reading Victor Hugo's sketches of Napoleon and that "I have never before taken so much interest in History."  (This led us to wonder how much these contemporary military geniuses and those from history affected Bullis's own career.)

The second excerpt was from a letter written from Philadephia on May 8, 1864, in which he states: "Seated in a pleasant Room on Chestnut St. quite a change from a Tent quite a number of soldiers are here from various parts of the Theatre of War preparing for an examination. 30 days furlow then to Washington. The newsboys keep the air resounding with their music although it is the Sabbath. However I am keeping a Rebel from fighting now I suppose although I am doing nothing and the Rebel the same rather Quaker warfare I think." He then follows this with the comment: "Our exchange was effected just previous to the Fort Pillow massacre." (We're researching the Fort Pillow battle and will have more on it in a few weeks.)

So what do these excerpts of 23-year-old John Lapham Bullis's letters home tell us?  Their regularity indicates that he often thought of his Macedon home and his family, and the lack of direct references to his discomforts and hardships show that he wanted to reassure his family of his wellbeing. A third thing these particular excerpts reveal to us is his focus on his spiritual life.

In the May 8, 1864 letter, Bullis wrote: "Mother you mentioned in your letter as to my spiritual welfare for my part I cannot say that I Lose sight, far from it, however I try to lead a sort of moral life." He followed that comment with, "One principal in particular I admire that is to do as I would be done by but we all stray far from the right paths in the Army as the temptations are great."

We'll continue looking through the excerpts from Bullis's letters and post more next week. In the interim, we'd like to hear your comments and questions (online or in person).

LETTERS HOME

This past week or so volunteers have been focusing on excerpts from letters John Lapham Bullis wrote to "his Mother, Mrs. Dr. A. R. Bullis" during the Civil War.

Some of these letters were written from Annapolis Maryland in November and December, 1863, about 16 months after he had enlisted as a corporal in the New York voluntary Infantry.  In them he expresses his wish that the war was over and assures his mother that he's content to be "as far as possible from Richmond."  He also states, "...I think if they get hold of me again I can do some tall running toward the land of plenty," evidently referring to his capture and the subsequent 10 months when he was confined to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.

Reading these letters 150 years later, we are in awe of men like John Lapham Bullis who survived this conflict that set countryman versus countryman. Why did they participate in this conflict? Dedication and bravery are two possible answers. We'll keep looking for more.

BLACK HISTORY

While searching the Bullis data base for books on the Civil War, we found a book that contains a wealth of information for those of you who are interested in Black history.  And the bonus is that you can access the book on line and then stop by the Bullis Room for a closer look at the copy we have here on the shelves.

History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 was authored by George Washington Williams, son of a former slave. It was published in 1883 by G. P. Putnam's Sons and gives an account of  "negroes as slaves, as soldiers, and as citizens; together with a preliminary consideration of the unity of the human family, an historical sketch of Africa, and an account of the Negro governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia."

This is a comprehensive report on a 250-year span of our history. We highly recommend you adding it to you reading list.

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the war between the states, and we volunteers will be devoting a good chunk of time looking at books in the collection that cover this subject.

We'll also review John Lapham Bullis's papers that pertain to his experiences in the Civil War, and we'll post accounts of some of his experiences as well as his personal reactions.

So if you're researching this war, be sure to check this blog regularly for book lists and accounts of a young soldier's experience in this conflict between the states.

BOOKS ABOUT HOUSES

The Bullis Room contains several books about houses and house construction.  A recent visitor called our attention to one of these: Architecture of Country Houses, including Designs for Cottages, Farm Houses and Villas, by A. J Downing (copyright 1850, published by D. Appleton & Co., NY and Philadelphia).

What a neat book! (We're forever grateful to this visitor.) It delivers what the title says: plans for various types of houses that could be ordered in a kit, ready to assemble. The drawings are extraordinary;  the descriptions and instructions, an interesting read.

This is another book in the collection that can be accessed online. (Try books.google.com) Viewing the book this way gives fast, convenient, at-your-leisure access--which we all like in this fast-moving world of ours.

Viewing the book in the Bullis Room gives a period ambience, non-glare reading, and volunteers ready to help in any way. Please stop by sometime.

MORE ONLINE BOOKS

Here are titles of more books in the Bullis collection that are online for your reading at any time.

Beneath the Tropic Seas, by William Beebe

Book of woodcraft and Indian lore..., by Ernest T. Seton

Fair God or the last of the 'tzins, by Lew Wallace

Japan, an attempt at interpretation, Lefcadio Hearn

The Travels of General Grant, Hon. J. T. Headley

And they are also here in the Bullis Room for your reference use, by appointment. Just call 315-986-5932, Ext. 3 or inquire at the front desk the next time you're in MPL.

ONLINE READING

This is another busy week for Bullis volunteers. We're setting goals and objectives for the year, and we're thinking about how we can more effectively reach out to the community and beyond.  Therefore, we are switching our focus for a while from the Bullis extended families of a century or more ago to families currently in our local- and world-wide community, searching for ways to encourage more utilization of the Bullis books.

Word on the streets is that 50% of the US population will use a smartphone by this time next year. That, combined with increased reading online via other wireless reading devices and desktop computers, suggests that we need to reach out more to that segment of our population.

Therefore...we are listing a few of the books in this collection that are available online for reading, with the idea that if someone experiences a book through that medium, they may want to see the real thing.

Here's this week's list. We'll list more next week. And please remember if you want to see the actual book, stop by the Bullis Room.

The Cruise of the Snark, Jack London

Allan Quartermain, Sir H. Rider Haggard,

The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling, 1908

Madam Bovary, Flaubert Gustave

Women of the War: Heroism and self sacrifice, Frank Moore, 1866