SakshiNot Just Letters
Kochersperger linked all the dots and tried to extract as much information as he could out of those letters. The letters were important papers documenting the personal account of a vital time period in History of America. Shepherd described the capital as “The finest piece of architecture in the United States,” he continued, “A large Mass of Stone and Iron there is scarcely any wood about it… It is all White and completely filled with the most Beautiful Paintings I ever saw.”
New Learnings
It seemed the letters were a door to the past. Kochersperger was learning something new about that unforgettable war. However, the man was still far from finding out who sent these letters. His research work had reached its final stage but still, there was no clue regarding the person who mailed it. What made it more difficult was that there were no descendants of Shepherd.
Back To Smithsonian
But as they say, God helps those who help themselves. Smithsonian is not only a museum but it also publishes a magazine that has two million readers and along with that, they receive about six million visits on their website every year. Kochersperger was well aware of that so he decided to use it in his favor. Kochersperger and the Smithsonian put out the letters and their discoveries on their website in November 2016 and hoped for someone to recognize it.
Low Chance
Eight million reader no doubt is a big number but is nothing when compared to the population of the US that is over 325 million people. But that was the only way out for Kochersperger. Though the hope was minimal at least it was there. Maybe the article would go viral and lastly would capture the attention of someone who knows anything about Shepherd and these letters. A Smithsonian writer clarified, “In any museum, provenance, or the history of any item, is critical in helping to understand and share its importance with the public,” “We needed to know how the letters got to us — who was the mysterious sender?” They were about to see………
The Lead
The article was authored by Franz Lidz and was brought online in November of 2016 and it was titled “Newly Discovered Letters Bring New Insight Into the Life of a Civil War Soldier.” Clearly, the luck was on their side as someone contacted the just after a week the article got published. Someone had mailed them, though the source was not clear. The mail was from a woman in Texas and she clarified through the mail that the letters were mailed by her grandmother. The woman was 78-year-old and was named Nancy Cramlit. The old woman resided in Muskegon, Michigan. After that, the next thing Kochersperger remembered was knocking at the door of her house.
An Old Lady
Perhaps they had found the final piece of this puzzle. Cramlit narrated everything to them. She told them that her late husband was a collector of historical, items, antiques, and junk. He used to attend yard sales and according to Cramlit, he got his hand on these letters in one of those sales. This revelation made Smithsonian think about the possibilities of letters reaching Shepherd’s parent and brother. Perhaps they forgot it and so stayed forgotten for many years.