Browsing All Posts filed under »“Personal” CW memory«

For the memory of an uncle she never knew

May 2, 2013 by

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It’s a major reason why I’m headed to Chancellorsville in just under six hours. I can list all my relatives in the 10th Virginia, the 33rd Virginia, and the Purcell Artillery who were there, fighting, on May 3, 1863. I can also list my relatives in the 7th West Virginia Infantry who were there, fighting, […]

He gave them victories

May 1, 2013 by

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May 1, 2013… so begins the Sesqui of the Battle of Chancellorsville. As such, I’ve been thinking… What if Stonewall Jackson lived to command beyond Chancellorsville? Frankly, any forward speculation of his possible performances in battles after Chancellorsville is subject to so many factors that it’s not even funny. As such, forward speculation is a […]

Passing of the last real child of the Stonewall Brigade(?)

April 29, 2013 by

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I’ve been seeing postings lately, mostly on Face Book, about the last four surviving children of Civil War veterans (actually, it focused on the last four just in Virginia alone… and I didn’t seem to catch that last part), and I added to each that I thought they were missing somebody. I’m sorry to say… […]

Another perspective on Emancipation Day

January 1, 2013 by

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It didn’t dawn on me until I read a post on Facebook… Yes, I know it’s the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and I’ve been keenly aware of that since midnight. Some see the document and its reach as meaningless, but those who do so seem to look at it more from the surface… […]

Jackson’s gone

December 6, 2012 by

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Some might expect to see this title this coming May. Others might get what I’m saying, realizing that I’m referring to Jackson leaving the Valley, 150 years ago last month. As things were I just wasn’t able to post within the Sesqui envelope, in conjunction with the actual dates… but it was on my mind […]

German influence in the Shenandoah Valley… even into the Civil War

September 23, 2012 by

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I posed a question yesterday… But, how far back, before the 1850s, is it necessary to take such a study? Of course, I meant, specifically… how the varying sentiments during the Civil War era South came to be… and how they might be traceable  to earlier points in time. Again, as one who concentrates heavily […]

Review: American Experience presents… “Death and the Civil War”

September 17, 2012 by

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As one who often takes strolls among the graves of Civil War dead (and as one who is a regular follower of American Experience), I was very eager to see how the upcoming episode would deal with the “process” of death during the war. I’m glad to say… I was not disappointed. In Death and […]

“It is a good time of the day”: Antietam

September 16, 2012 by

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I’ve stopped briefly, after my walk from the Visitor’s Center to the Bloody Lane tower. Part of me considers the civilians on this day, 150 years ago… their concerns of what might yet come. Part of me considers relatives in gray, on the next day, near Dunker Church… Part of me considers relatives in blue, […]

Hurrah, for Thomas Walter! A Sesqui reflection.

September 15, 2012 by

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I had hoped to have this posted on the anniversary of the event, but six days later… can’t be too bad with a “live” blog post from the actual site! So… 150 years ago, six days ago… Thomas Walter saved what is one of the most attractive features of the old C&O Canal… the Monocacy […]

Catching-up: day 3 of the Harpers Ferry-Antietam Sesqui weekend

September 15, 2012 by

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Finding myself adequately worn-out after the hike up Maryland Heights, on Thursday… and then the “breakout” tour in Harpers Ferry, last night, I haven’t been able to keep pace with blog posts. So, drafting a hasty one before heading out this morning. It’s been great so far. The hike up Maryland Heights… with a friend/co-worker […]

The alarm goes out in Clear Spring, 150 years ago today

September 10, 2012 by

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Following-up on my post from Saturday, I look back again at the village of Clear Spring. I have nothing to show how my ancestors felt… there and in nearby Four Locks. Instead, I rely on what is available… not so much as a reflection of what they also felt, but to add another dimension to the […]

Across the Potomac and into Maryland

September 7, 2012 by

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It’s where my mind has been for the past few days… Since September 4th, I’ve been thinking about the Confederates crossing the Potomac and moving into Maryland, and how long the news might have taken to reach my family members, just to the west of Hagerstown. My third great grandmother Kate Moore lived near Four […]

Reflections on the Brawner Farm

August 28, 2012 by

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It’s usually not my practice to post things without giving them much thought (at least from what you, the reader can see in my words here… but I’m surely giving it thought “off-paper” or, considering the platform… “off-web”), but… in that this is almost 150 years to the hour since it began, this evening my […]

Our National Parks

August 20, 2012 by

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A story hit today that is painful to read… the National Park Service is set to get the ax once again. Now, this really isn’t a surprise, because many have seen the writing on the wall for quite some time, but to see it in print is a painful reminder. The strange part of this […]

Prewar Harpers Ferry in art… and some thoughts

August 7, 2012 by

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A little something different this evening… While I have my fair share of Troiani battle scenes on my walls, I’m finding myself more drawn to pre-Civil War art these days. It might be that the bigger draw is the humanity… that calm in years before the storm. Sure, they had their own problems, even in […]

I am a beneficiary of hard war

July 30, 2012 by

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I don’t know, but it seems to sound about as silly as saying “I’m a victim of Sherman… or Sheridan… or fill-in name here. So let me try the “victim” angle again. Instead of “victim”, how about refering to oneself as… “One who suffers the long-term ill-effects that the war laid upon my poor departed kin-folk, so […]

More unraveling of complexities in a family’s story

July 8, 2012 by

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Since the “wires” seem to be hot with stories of Southern Unionism (Craig offered-up yet another story of Southern Unionism just today!)… here comes another meaty morsel which I ran across recently. I don’t recall, exactly, how it came to my attention, but recently, while perusing the Web, I ran into a biographical sketch of […]

“Did people call him a Union man?” “Yes, sir, and a great many called him a damn Yankee all the time.”

July 7, 2012 by

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My attention to the details of his life just weren’t there… it seemed they didn’t need to be… as a father-in-law to one of my distant uncles, John William Neer was an indirect link in the family tree… and, at one time, I knew nothing of his life, other than that indirect connection. Over time, […]

Has the Sesqui of the ’62 Shenandoah Valley Campaign fallen short?

June 7, 2012 by

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In writing about Turner Ashby yesterday, I kept thinking about (but wrote nothing of it) how all has gone, so far, in the Sesqui of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, and feel that the 150th has served as a benchmark of sorts. I think when the Sesqui began, many of us in the CW blogosphere, asked if […]

Turner Ashby, in family and personal… “memory”

June 6, 2012 by

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There are several posting Turner Ashby’s death picture today. After all, it was on this day that the “Black Knight”* met his end, just outside Harrisonburg, Virginia. As for me, I’ll opt out on posting that pic, and any lengthy account of the circumstances surrounding his death… but, will post some of my thoughts on […]

Despite what you say, your claim as a loyal Union man is disallowed…

May 20, 2012 by

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I’ve got a post coming about John W. Neer, a Union man from Harper’s Ferry. While no blood relative of mine, one of his daughters married my third great granduncle, James Draden Moore (1859-1899). Neer’s story is an interesting one, and I look forward to telling it, but I wanted to break-out one small portion […]

Along the road to McDowell… another Sesqui moment

May 6, 2012 by

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Because of the move, I’m still without certain notes and books to back me up with quotes and whatnot… so, I’m going to wing it again… The masses are flocking (or so it would seem) to McDowell, Virginia this weekend for the 150th anniversary of the battle, but… it’s not the actual Sesqui until Tuesday. […]

My great grandmother’s wood cook stove

April 29, 2012 by

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It’s cool and drizzling here in the upper Shenandoah this morning. Perfect conditions for starting a fire in the wood stove. But, that having been cleaned-out for house showings, I’m afraid it will remain a cool stove while modern heating systems takes over. In the absence of the charm of a fire in the wood […]

The war from within… contemporary Southerners reflecting on the Civil War… sans Lost Cause

April 26, 2012 by

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I don’t delve into these things like I used to do, usually because I find the time spent equates to wasted time, and really, I have little patience (and thus, I will officially issue a word of warning when it comes to commenting on this post) for dealing with the responses typical of many modern Confederate advocates (which, […]