Exhibitions of Mother-Love by Annie Wittenmyer
“Exhibitions of Mother-Love” recounts the endurance of women whose husbands and sons were lost, wounded, or imprisoned during war. A Philadelphia mother travels to recover her son’s body after learning he has been killed. With her casket destroyed in a station fire, she finds his regiment, recognizes him when soldiers exhume him, and spends twenty-six hours alone beside his coffin at a ruined railroad station, waiting for a train amid darkness, wild animals, and fearful sounds. Though his remains are mistakenly left at Baltimore, she finally brings them home; later, after her husband is killed, she again goes to the front to retrieve his body. Another mother, from Maine, learns that her only son has been wounded, captured, and sent to Richmond. Refusing all discouragement, she obtains a letter from Governor Andrew, then persuades President Lincoln to give her a pass beyond the Union pickets. Confederate guards stop her but send her onward to Richmond. At the hospital, she insists on seeing her son despite the surgeon’s refusal. Her arrival restores his hope, and he declares that he will recover; he does.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Historical Nonfiction, Civil War Literature, Women’s History · 1,152 words
First lines
TO WHAT LENGTHS AFFECTIONS WOULD CARRY WOMEN IN THE WAR.
War brought heavy burdens of anxiety and sorrow to the women on both sides of the lines during the terrible struggle of 1861-1865. The anxious waiting for news from the battle-field, the heart-breaking scrutiny of the list of wounded and killed, cannot, with their sorrows, be measured by words and phrases.
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Genres
- Historical Nonfiction — The work recounts purported real events involving women during the American Civil War, using historical settings, figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Governor Andrew, and wartime circumstances.
- Civil War Literature — Its subject is the 1861–1865 conflict, particularly its emotional and practical consequences for civilians connected to Union soldiers.
- Women’s History — The narrative foregrounds mothers' courage, grief, agency, and endurance, documenting women’s experiences in a war commonly narrated through soldiers and battles.
- War Literature — Although it does not depict combat directly, it examines war’s casualties, imprisonment, bereavement, military hospitals, and the suffering imposed on families.
Tags
American Civil War · 1861-1865 · Union and Confederate lines · Virginia battlefields · Richmond hospital · Philadelphia · Maine · Washington, D.C. · war bereavement · maternal love · mothers and sons · women in wartime
What this Textopian page supports
Exhibitions of Mother-Love is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Annie Wittenmyer
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Nonfiction, Civil War Literature, Women’s History, War Literature, Biographical Anecdotes
- Length: 1,152 words
- Structure: 1 section, 22 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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