Jacob Ritner: Home and Garden News During the Civil War
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
On May 16, 1861, Jacob Ritner, a Union captain, wrote to his wife, Emeline.
Gardens have served as sources of comfort and inspiration throughout history, a testament to the enduring power of nature to soothe the soul.
In the tumultuous days of the Civil War, solace could be found in the simplest of things: letters from home.
Captain Jacob Ritner, a man torn between the demands of war and the longing for peace, turned to his wife Emeline's letters as a balm for his weary soul. Charles Larimer's book, Love and Valor: Intimate Civil War Letters Between Captain Jacob and Emeline Ritner is a gem and features all of the letters passed between the Ritners during the Civil War.
News of the garden, a familiar and comforting space, starkly contrasted the harsh realities of war. Beyond its personal significance to Jacob, the garden also represented a shared human experience. Detailed descriptions of the garden's progress and perils allowed Jacob to mentally transport himself to a peaceful place, even in the midst of chaos.
In one letter, Jacob describes the effect of simply reading about the garden:
"I can almost smell the sweet fragrance of the roses and hear the birdsong as I read your words."
I stumbled on one of Jacob's letters, in an excerpt from DC Gill's book How We Are Changed by War.
In one excerpt, Gill reveals how soldiers survived the war, not only physically but also mentally. The Garden, a symbol of peace and tranquility, became a mental refuge for soldiers like Jacob Ritner.
Gill quotes expert Kirby Farrell on the important role of happy memories and spaces to soldiers in combat:
"To preserve their sanity," writes Kirby Farrell, "soldiers [often] concentrated on a prosthetic "reality" by which to ground themselves."
Gill writes that mental images of happy places, like gardens, have the power to mitigate bad environments, like war zones.
An artificial image of home can substitute for the deficiencies of a present-day environment in a war zone. It allows soldiers to mentally project themselves into a more comforting geography.
Soldiers' letters repeatedly ask for details to furnish these environments of the mind:
"Now Emeline dear," writes Union Captain Jacob Ritner on May 16, 1861, "you must write me a great long letter next Sunday.. .. Tell me all the news, how the trees grow, the garden and grass, what everybody says"
The power of the garden to anchor us extends past space and time, and even merely thinking of our gardens can lift our spirits and calm our worries.
