Providing Context: Letters by Candlelight

Many students in higher education lack broad contextual experience. Therein lies a great opportunity to expand their understanding of the world by exposing them to things that have disappeared (or simply faded into the background). One such activity students in the Whitehurst Family Honors Program (WFHP) at Barton College engage in is writing physical letters, and doing so by candlelight. 

To provide some context, students in their second year in the WFHP take an archival research class to learn about working with primary materials. At the faculty’s disposal are several on-site special collections and online collections through AM Digital—an educational database with tools, resources, and ready-to-implement instructional materials. One case study we use from the AM collection includes high-resolution scans of a letter written by Henry Knox, a Revolutionary War general, to George Washington in 1775. The letter is rife with errors, crossed out portions, and words replaced by other words because it was written at night by candlelight in the general’s tent. It was also written in “strange” lettering the students have difficulty reading: cursive. 

In order to provide some salience to Knox’s message, students are first taught to write in cursive with pen and ink. Once they are reasonably comfortable with the process, the lights go out and they are charged with writing a letter home by candlelight. Like Knox, their letters are rife with errors, but upon completion, they seal the letters with a wax stamp and post it to their family. Then, returning to digital scans, not only are they able to read the letter with a bit more ease, they also appreciate the context of its writing. They are transported back in time and understand the importance of Knox’s message and the conditions under which it was written.