Campaign Journal. Providence, RI. April 1, 1861.
This rare campaign newspaper, published by the Providence Journal, supported a slate of Republican candidates for state office. One of the candidates was Sullivan Ballou, a successful lawyer and up-and-coming politician in Rhode Island, and a strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War he dropped all political aspirations and volunteered for service with the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, only to be mortally wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run. Ken Burns immortalized him in his documentary, The Civil War, by highlighting the eloquent letter Ballou wrote to his wife from the battlefield two weeks before he died. Gift of Vincent Golden.
