I have the Best Mother in the World
After Vicksburg’s surrender, a woman visits neglected Confederate hospitals and meets a severely wounded boy who calls his mother “the best mother in the world.” He fears she believes him dead and begs that she be told he is alive, faithful to her advice, and has neither sworn nor drunk. The woman sends word through General Grant, and the mother replies with overwhelming joy, having mourned her son as killed. She sends love and prayers, and the woman continues to relay letters and follow the boy’s movements. Near the war’s close, she sees him recovered in Camp Douglass and hopes he returns safely to his mother.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Historical Nonfiction, Civil War Literature, War Memoir · 1,119 words
First lines
The thunder of the cannon had ceased at Vicksburg. The artillery and heavy guns of two great armies were idle and silent; and although more than one hundred thousand men of war, the conquerors and the conquered, were in and about the fallen city, it was as quiet and orderly as a country village. Only the day before, July 4, 1863, I had stood with friends on Fort Hill and witnessed the surrender; but now, July 5, duty and conscience led me into the hospitals where the sick and wounded of the Confederate army were quartered. The hospitals were in a wretched condition because of lack of supplies, and some of the sufferers had been lying through all the long siege.
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Genres
- Historical Nonfiction — The work recounts a firsthand Civil War-era experience at Vicksburg, rooted in identifiable events, locations, military conditions, and humanitarian relief work.
- Civil War Literature — Its setting, conflict, imagery, and emotional stakes arise directly from the American Civil War, especially the aftermath of the Siege of Vicksburg.
- War Memoir — The first-person narrator describes her own actions as a wartime relief worker, including visiting hospitals, distributing supplies, and carrying correspondence across military lines.
- Personal Narrative — The piece is told as a focused personal recollection, with the narrator relating a meaningful encounter and its lasting emotional effect.
Tags
American Civil War · Vicksburg surrender · Siege of Vicksburg · July 1863 · Vicksburg, Mississippi · Confederate hospitals · wounded soldiers · young Confederate soldier · military nursing · humanitarian aid · Sanitary Commission · wartime correspondence
What this Textopian page supports
I have the Best Mother in the World 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, War Memoir, Personal Narrative, Humanitarian Literature
- Length: 1,119 words
- Structure: 1 section, 25 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for I have the Best Mother in the World by Annie Wittenmyer
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