A postmaster named Lori Boes entered her office in usual time and sat on her desk to do her work. The woman was all engaged in her work when a colleague of hers hands her an envelope. It read “To the Postmaster.” Which clearly meant that it was for her. Confused and curious she opened the envelope and found three letters. One could tell only by the appearance of it that it was old. The woman later finds out that these particular letters were written 153 years ago and most importantly, it was written by a soldier. The surprises did not end there soon she finds out that the soldier who was fighting in the civil war at that time had addressed it to his family. Now the question was if the letter was written over a century ago and was directed to writer’s family why did it have ‘To the Postmaster” written on it? Had the letter traveled time? From there began an interesting investigation that involves museum, experts, and local people. The investigation reveals a lot about the Civil War and brings forth some astonishing facts about the soldier. And the woman does find the answer to all these questions. The answer that takes her breath away for a second.

Storytelling

Storytelling is an art and definitely not an easy one. Especially, if it is about the sensitive issue like Civil war. Only a person with a keen interest in Civil war and postal services can narrate this jaw-dropping story in the best way. A researcher had stepped out of his comfort zone to look for a soldier named Nelson Shepherd who had disappeared into the dark.

It Begins

It was not an ordinary day, not for Lori Boes at least. The date was April 24, 2015, and Lori as a postmaster was doing her regular work of distributing letters all across the small town named Newaygo in Michigan. Newaygo is a very small mining town that has a population of 2,000 people.

You’ve Got A Mail

The woman did not have much affection for historical items nor had she ever come across any mystery in her life. The woman was known for minding her own business. That day too she was busy doing her work when a letter came her way. The letter was sort of addressed to her. It was supposed to be delivered to Postmaster, Newaygo, Michigan 49337.    

Why Her?

So as she was the Postmaster of Newaygo, the letter was for her. There was nothing extraordinary about the envelope. It was like any regular white envelope with nothing special about it. The letter had a forever stamp on it. However, except that there was no other clue, not even a return address. The missing of this detail did intrigue her a bit. However, she still was not very much interested in that.

Confusion

The woman explained, “there was no sign that the packet contained anything other than, say, an authorization to hold mail.” She was in dilemma now. Should she open the letter or let it stay sit inside the envelope till someone comes forward to claim it? However, she found herself tearing open the letter a few minutes later. He did not know what was hiding inside it. 

She Tore it Open

She was just not ready for what was coming. Immediately after ripping open the envelope she scolded herself for not handling it with care. It was not a regular envelope with a regular letter. It was a matter of historical significance you will know why very soon. The envelope was covering another envelope that seemed to have undergone a battle. Wh would anyone send her a letter that seems to have come straight out of a battle. The appearance of the letter was enough to put her in surprise.