Susan and Horace Hooker Civil War Correspondence

In the collection there are hundreds of letters between Horace and Susan during Horace’s deployment while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. These letters show the love the couple had for each other. One aspect of these letters that is interesting is how whenever Horace writes “darling,” “I love you,” or other proclamations of love, the line is highlighted in blue crayon. This may indicate that Susan highlighted those lines to look back on while she was missing her husband or worried about his safety. These types of historical documents are able to make people from the past relatable, and “humanize” them in a sense, this is why I find archival research and exhibits to be very important,