Episode 7 | Off to War

Rhode Island's political and military leaders respond as America is thrust into Civil War. 

25 minutes | 1859 - 1861

Hear About:

📜The social, political, and economic factors Rhode Islanders considered while on the verge of Civil War.

📜How Abraham Lincoln won over the Rhode Island population.

📜How Rhode Islanders contributed to the first major battle of the Civil War.

6-Apr-16-2025-08-39-09-6159-PM
Key Historical Figures Introduced
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Governor William Sprague

The "Boy Governor" who helped ready Rhode Island during the onset of the Civil War. 

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Sullivan Ballou

Rhode Island soldier who is known for the eloquent letter he wrote to his wife Sarah a week before he was mortally wounded in the First Battle of Bull Run.

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Ambrose Burnside

A soldier from Bristol who played a major role in the American Civil War.  

Visit Locations From the Show
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Exchange Place | Providence, Rhode Island

As soon as Confederate forces began firing at Union soldiers at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Rhode Islanders began volunteering to supress the rebellion in the south and keep the Union intact.  A few days later, the members of the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Regiment were assembled at Providence's Union Station (seen in picture on the right) and led off to war by Ambrose E. Burnside. 

Maps, Graphs, and Images
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Did Sullivan Ballou Actually Write the Famous Civil War Love Letter? 

Historian and Rhode Island native Robert Grandchamp, doesn't think so.  Although he's not sure who wrote the letter, he speculates that it could have written by Ballou's friend, Horatio Rogers.  The reason he doubts it was Ballou is because of discrepancies in handwriting, differences in tone and content, the use of elevated literary language, and thematic inconsistencies.  To see his full explanation click here.

Learn More
Books:
  • The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790-1860 by Peter J. Coleman
  • Our Story: The Lives and Legacy of Those Who Served in Battery B First Rhode Island Light Artillery by Stephen G. Evangelista
  • Hidden History of Rhode Island and the Civil War by Frank L. Grzyb
  • The Rhode Island Home Front in the Civil War Era by Frank J. Williams and Patrick T. Conley
  • History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker
  • Rhode Island: A History by William G. McLoughlin