Letter to Mrs. Bixby
Encyclopedia
The Bixby letter is a letter sent from the United States
President
Abraham Lincoln
to a bereaved mother of five sons who were thought to have died while fighting for the Union
in the American Civil War
. The brief, consoling message was written in November 1864 to Lydia Bixby, a widow living in Boston
, following a request from Massachusetts
Governor
John Albion Andrew
. The text has been widely praised as one of Lincoln's finest works of writing alongside the Gettysburg Address
and his second inaugural address
.
Some controversy surrounds the recipient, subject, and authorship of the letter. Although her sons died fighting for the Union, Mrs. Bixby seems to have personally supported the Confederacy
. Not all five sons died in battle, with records showing that three of them were still alive years after the war. Historians have long debated whether the text was penned by Lincoln himself or by his assistant private secretary, John Hay
. These factors have scarcely affected the reputation of the letter, which remains in the highest regard of many critics. The letter was widely reprinted and the original is thought to be lost, yet this matter is frequently questioned as new copies are found and examined.
on November 25, 1864, the same day it was delivered to her by the Adjutant General
of Massachusetts
, William Schouler
.
The following is the text of the letter as it appeared in the Transcript:
, wrote that Lydia Bixby had five sons who had died fighting for the Union. Andrew sent the report to the U.S. War Department
with an additional note requesting the president to honor the mother with a letter. The report found its way to Secretary of War
Edwin Stanton, who delivered it along with the records of the five sons to President Lincoln at which point the letter was written.
The War Department incorrectly informed Lincoln about the fate of Mrs. Bixby's sons: Two had died in battle, the others eventually survived the war. It is unclear whether the errors in Mrs. Bixby's story were intentional, and why the War Department had failed to correct the report based on their own records. The actual fate of her sons was as follows:
Bixby herself has been criticized as perhaps being a poor model of a grieving, Union mother. Lydia (Parker) Bixby, by some reports, had moved to Boston from Richmond, Virginia
, yet continued sympathizing with the South as a Copperhead
. Contemporaries described her as a madam
and "untrustworthy and as bad as she could be". The original Schouler report might have been constructed with insufficient fact checking of her claims, which she could have exaggerated in hopes of financial compensation. One of her great-grandsons repeated his father's story that she angrily destroyed Lincoln's letter after receiving it. However, it is also possible that she was innocently unaware that three of her sons had not died (Henry, for example, was released from a Confederate prison only after she received the letter). Mrs. Bixby continues to be a mysterious figure in the story about the letter.
. The copy's existence has kept some hopes alive that the original may still exist, perhaps now forgotten in a collection somewhere. Apart from historical interest in the original there is also interest in the monetary value of such a find, with recent estimates (as of 2009) saying it could be worth millions of dollars. The autograph
dealer Charles Hamilton and Chris Coover of Christie's
auction house receive numerous false original Bixby letters every year.
Hamilton examined the facsimile of the Bixby letter and concluded that it was copied from a poorly executed forgery, citing elements of its construction incorrect for Lincoln's era as well as apparent pencil markings that were traced in pen. John Hay
, whose name is heard frequently in authorship debates, demonstrated that he could ably mimic Lincoln's handwriting
, and Robert Todd Lincoln
too recalled that his father's handwriting was simple to imitate. However, Hay believed the copy to have been made from a "very ingenious forgery", and Hamilton's arguments centered on factors other than handwriting in determining it as a fake.
Starting in the early 1900s, Americans popularly believed that the original letter, or a copy of the original, could be found in Brasenose College at the University of Oxford
on display in a place of honor above other great works in the English language
. When the Lincoln scholar F. Lauriston Bullard investigated this claim in 1925, he instead found that the college had never heard of the Bixby letter and did not even have a copy, let alone the original. Despite this conclusion, the tale continues to appear in popular media from time to time.
In 2008, a Dallas museum found a document in its archives that may be an authentic, handwritten government copy of the letter. The Dallas Historical Society
is having the document appraised. According to Alan Olson, curator for the Society, the paper and ink appear authentic to the Civil War era. Some Lincoln experts doubted the authenticity of the document, citing the large circulation of copies distributed since the 1890s and the unlikelihood of an official copy being made of such a letter.
For many years scholars have engaged in on-going debate regarding whether the Bixby letter was written by Lincoln himself or by his assistant private secretary, John Hay
. Most Lincoln experts believe that the president personally wrote the letter. The arguments in favor of Hay involve no hard proof, but rather several factors hinting that Lincoln might have delegated the task to Hay, who might have explicitly claimed authorship.
One of the first arguments to emerge is the possibility that Hay claimed to have written the letter. Associates recounted that he revealed in numerous conversations to be the author of the letter, but these accounts have been dismissed as second hand recollections. Associated with this argument is one of Hay's scrapbook
s that contained a copy of the letter. These scrapbooks largely — but not exclusively — contain writings by Hay. Others note that he also kept extensive collections about Lincoln, suggesting that this is not proof of a first-hand claim of authorship.
Another factor involves Lincoln's letter writing habits, especially in November 1864 when the Bixby letter was composed. Hay said to William Herndon
, Lincoln's former law partner and later biographer, that Lincoln read very few of the letters that were sent to him, but he still wrote about a half-dozen letters a week. November 1864 happened to be a busy month for Lincoln though, with Hay writing in a letter that very month noting the president's lack of time to engage in correspondence.
Finally the wording of the letter has been argued by both sides as indicative of the true author. Lincoln supporters cite works, such as the Gettysburg Address
and the Farewell Address
, as similar examples of his highly-regarded style. Others have countered that Hay wrote pieces that compare favorably to the Bixby letter, and specifically highlight words and phrases in the letter that appear more frequently in the writings of the secretary. The most poignant example may be the word beguile, which appears 30 times in the works of Hay and, excepting the Bixby letter, not once in the collected works of Lincoln. This has been countered as not proving anything, and the actual usage of the word beguile in the letter seems more in line with the "to divert" meaning than the "to charm" sense that Hay frequently employed.
in Hawaii
. The letter is reprinted in full on a plaque in a memorial garden at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
in Southern California
.
The letter is frequently mentioned in America in relation to the topic of siblings going to war, such as when discussing the Sullivan brothers
, the Niland brothers
, the Borgstrom brothers
, and the Sole Survivor Policy
of the United States military.
The 1998 war film
Saving Private Ryan
dramatized the tragedy of three out of four brothers dying in war, motivating a dangerous mission to find the lone survivor. In the film, General George Marshall
(played by Harve Presnell
) reads the Bixby letter to his officers before giving the order to find that brother, Private Ryan, and send him home.
Former President George W. Bush
read the letter during the ceremony at the World Trade Center site
on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on September 11, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to a bereaved mother of five sons who were thought to have died while fighting for the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The brief, consoling message was written in November 1864 to Lydia Bixby, a widow living in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, following a request from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts between 1861 and 1866 during the American Civil War. He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first U.S. Army units of black men—including the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry.-Early...
. The text has been widely praised as one of Lincoln's finest works of writing alongside the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
and his second inaugural address
Lincoln's second inaugural address
Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his second inauguration as President of the United States. At a time when victory over the secessionists in the American Civil War was within days and slavery was near an end, Lincoln did not speak of happiness, but of...
.
Some controversy surrounds the recipient, subject, and authorship of the letter. Although her sons died fighting for the Union, Mrs. Bixby seems to have personally supported the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. Not all five sons died in battle, with records showing that three of them were still alive years after the war. Historians have long debated whether the text was penned by Lincoln himself or by his assistant private secretary, John Hay
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
. These factors have scarcely affected the reputation of the letter, which remains in the highest regard of many critics. The letter was widely reprinted and the original is thought to be lost, yet this matter is frequently questioned as new copies are found and examined.
Text
Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby was printed by the Boston Evening TranscriptBoston Evening Transcript
The Boston Evening Transcript was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.-Beginnings:...
on November 25, 1864, the same day it was delivered to her by the Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, William Schouler
William Schouler
William Schouler was an American journalist, politician and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
.
The following is the text of the letter as it appeared in the Transcript:
Background
In a report to Governor John A. Andrew, regarding the father of five sons serving in the war, the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, William SchoulerWilliam Schouler
William Schouler was an American journalist, politician and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, wrote that Lydia Bixby had five sons who had died fighting for the Union. Andrew sent the report to the U.S. War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
with an additional note requesting the president to honor the mother with a letter. The report found its way to Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Edwin Stanton, who delivered it along with the records of the five sons to President Lincoln at which point the letter was written.
The War Department incorrectly informed Lincoln about the fate of Mrs. Bixby's sons: Two had died in battle, the others eventually survived the war. It is unclear whether the errors in Mrs. Bixby's story were intentional, and why the War Department had failed to correct the report based on their own records. The actual fate of her sons was as follows:
- Pvt. Arthur Edward Bixby, Company C, Massachusetts 1st Heavy Artillery (served 24 June 1861 – 28 May 1862)
Absent without official leave. Mrs. Bixby claimed that he had joined underage and without permission, which led to a discharge order. He had already absented himself by the time the order arrived. - Sgt. Charles N. Bixby, Company D, 20th Massachusetts (18 July 1861 – 3 May 1863)
Killed near Fredericksburg, VirginiaFredericksburg, VirginiaFredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
. - Cpl. Henry C. Bixby, Company K, 32nd Massachusetts (1862 – 1864)
Captured in 1864, paroled, and honorably discharged that December. (Listed as killed at GettysburgBattle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
in Schouler's records.) - Pvt. Oliver C. Bixby, Jr., Company E, 58th Massachusetts (26 February 1864 – 30 July 1864)
Killed near PetersburgSiege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
. - Cpl. George A. Bixby, Company H, 25th Massachusetts (17 September 1861 – 7 July 1864)
Captured at Petersburg. Later army pension records showed that he was held prisoner and may have deserted to the enemy. He presumably enlisted under the name "George Way", however this and his final fate are not clear.
Bixby herself has been criticized as perhaps being a poor model of a grieving, Union mother. Lydia (Parker) Bixby, by some reports, had moved to Boston from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, yet continued sympathizing with the South as a Copperhead
Copperheads (politics)
The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
. Contemporaries described her as a madam
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
and "untrustworthy and as bad as she could be". The original Schouler report might have been constructed with insufficient fact checking of her claims, which she could have exaggerated in hopes of financial compensation. One of her great-grandsons repeated his father's story that she angrily destroyed Lincoln's letter after receiving it. However, it is also possible that she was innocently unaware that three of her sons had not died (Henry, for example, was released from a Confederate prison only after she received the letter). Mrs. Bixby continues to be a mysterious figure in the story about the letter.
Copies
Mrs. Bixby is said to have destroyed the letter shortly after receiving it, which would be consistent with her alleged Copperhead sympathies. Certainly the original copy sent to her has been lost. However, there is in common circulation a lithographic reproduction of the letter of unknown origin. This copy could suggest that the letter's destruction was not immediate or that it was made from a forgeryForgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
. The copy's existence has kept some hopes alive that the original may still exist, perhaps now forgotten in a collection somewhere. Apart from historical interest in the original there is also interest in the monetary value of such a find, with recent estimates (as of 2009) saying it could be worth millions of dollars. The autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
dealer Charles Hamilton and Chris Coover of Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
auction house receive numerous false original Bixby letters every year.
Hamilton examined the facsimile of the Bixby letter and concluded that it was copied from a poorly executed forgery, citing elements of its construction incorrect for Lincoln's era as well as apparent pencil markings that were traced in pen. John Hay
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
, whose name is heard frequently in authorship debates, demonstrated that he could ably mimic Lincoln's handwriting
Handwriting
Handwriting is a person's particular & individual style of writing with pen or pencil, which contrasts with "Hand" which is an impersonal and formalised writing style in several historical varieties...
, and Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and Secretary of War, and the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln...
too recalled that his father's handwriting was simple to imitate. However, Hay believed the copy to have been made from a "very ingenious forgery", and Hamilton's arguments centered on factors other than handwriting in determining it as a fake.
Starting in the early 1900s, Americans popularly believed that the original letter, or a copy of the original, could be found in Brasenose College at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
on display in a place of honor above other great works in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. When the Lincoln scholar F. Lauriston Bullard investigated this claim in 1925, he instead found that the college had never heard of the Bixby letter and did not even have a copy, let alone the original. Despite this conclusion, the tale continues to appear in popular media from time to time.
In 2008, a Dallas museum found a document in its archives that may be an authentic, handwritten government copy of the letter. The Dallas Historical Society
Dallas Historical Society
The Dallas Historical Society is an organization dedicated to the history of Dallas, Texas . It was organized on March 31, 1922, by citizens who wished to encourage historical inquiry. In 1938, the Society assumed the management of the Hall of State at Fair Park at the request of the City of Dallas...
is having the document appraised. According to Alan Olson, curator for the Society, the paper and ink appear authentic to the Civil War era. Some Lincoln experts doubted the authenticity of the document, citing the large circulation of copies distributed since the 1890s and the unlikelihood of an official copy being made of such a letter.
Authorship
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
. Most Lincoln experts believe that the president personally wrote the letter. The arguments in favor of Hay involve no hard proof, but rather several factors hinting that Lincoln might have delegated the task to Hay, who might have explicitly claimed authorship.
One of the first arguments to emerge is the possibility that Hay claimed to have written the letter. Associates recounted that he revealed in numerous conversations to be the author of the letter, but these accounts have been dismissed as second hand recollections. Associated with this argument is one of Hay's scrapbook
Scrapbook
Scrapbook can refer to:* Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook* Scrapbook , a Mac OS application* Scrapbook , a Switchblade Symphony album* Scrapbook * ScrapBook, a Firefox extension...
s that contained a copy of the letter. These scrapbooks largely — but not exclusively — contain writings by Hay. Others note that he also kept extensive collections about Lincoln, suggesting that this is not proof of a first-hand claim of authorship.
Another factor involves Lincoln's letter writing habits, especially in November 1864 when the Bixby letter was composed. Hay said to William Herndon
William Herndon (lawyer)
William Henry Herndon was the law partner and biographer of Abraham Lincoln.-Biography:Born in Greensburg, Kentucky, Herndon and his family moved to Illinois in 1820, and they settled in Springfield when he was five. Herndon attended Illinois College from 1836-1837. In 1840 he married Mary J....
, Lincoln's former law partner and later biographer, that Lincoln read very few of the letters that were sent to him, but he still wrote about a half-dozen letters a week. November 1864 happened to be a busy month for Lincoln though, with Hay writing in a letter that very month noting the president's lack of time to engage in correspondence.
Finally the wording of the letter has been argued by both sides as indicative of the true author. Lincoln supporters cite works, such as the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
and the Farewell Address
Abraham Lincoln's Farewell Address
Lincoln's Farewell Address was a speech made by president-electAbraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois on February 11, 1861on his way to his inauguration in Washington, D.C. Several thousand citizens ofIllinois gathered to see Lincoln depart...
, as similar examples of his highly-regarded style. Others have countered that Hay wrote pieces that compare favorably to the Bixby letter, and specifically highlight words and phrases in the letter that appear more frequently in the writings of the secretary. The most poignant example may be the word beguile, which appears 30 times in the works of Hay and, excepting the Bixby letter, not once in the collected works of Lincoln. This has been countered as not proving anything, and the actual usage of the word beguile in the letter seems more in line with the "to divert" meaning than the "to charm" sense that Hay frequently employed.
Legacy
An extract, "the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom", adorns the statue of Lady Columbia in the National Memorial Cemetery of the PacificNational Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a cemetery located in Honolulu, Hawaii that serves a memorial to those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. The letter is reprinted in full on a plaque in a memorial garden at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...
in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
The letter is frequently mentioned in America in relation to the topic of siblings going to war, such as when discussing the Sullivan brothers
Sullivan brothers
The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who were all killed in action during or shortly after the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau , the vessel on which they all served, on November 13, 1942, in World War II....
, the Niland brothers
Niland Brothers
The Niland brothers were four American brothers from Tonawanda, New York, serving in the military during World War II. Of the four, two survived the war, but for a time it was believed that only one, Frederick Niland, had survived...
, the Borgstrom brothers
Borgstrom brothers
The Borgstrom brothers were four siblings killed over a six month period during World War II. They were the sons of Alben and Gunda Borgstrom of Thatcher, Utah. The brothers were:...
, and the Sole Survivor Policy
Sole Survivor Policy
The Sole Survivor Policy or DoD Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" describes a set of regulations in the U.S. military that are designed to protect members of a family from the draft or from combat duty if they have already lost family members in military...
of the United States military.
The 1998 war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
dramatized the tragedy of three out of four brothers dying in war, motivating a dangerous mission to find the lone survivor. In the film, General George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
(played by Harve Presnell
Harve Presnell
Harve Presnell was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid 1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States...
) reads the Bixby letter to his officers before giving the order to find that brother, Private Ryan, and send him home.
Former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
read the letter during the ceremony at the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on September 11, 2011.