- About me
- Cenantua – What and why?
- Cenantua’s pages (bio sketches & so on)
- Citing… this site
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, […]
February 20, 2013 by Robert Moore
With an interest in seeing Southern Unionism from a different perspective, I’ve been tinkering with data a bit. The following pie charts are just some examples of the ways in which I’m reviewing some of the data I’ve compiled. Each illustrates the different levels of completeness for the various counties of the Shenandoah Valley. Comparing […]
December 6, 2012 by Robert Moore
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 […]
October 25, 2012 by Robert Moore
Obviously, I’ve not been writing a great deal over the past few weeks. For one, I’ve been struggling with a bout of writer’s block. On top of that I’m battling with content… what I want to put in a blog, and what I want to put in a book. Yup, a book is in the […]
September 2, 2012 by Robert Moore
A friend of mine asked me if I thought his ancestor (John Albert Racer) might have been a Southern Unionist. He has a hunch he was, plus, there’s some pretty interesting stuff surrounding this fellow’s life in the war. For one, there’s a pretty cool story that comes out of Page County, about one of […]
August 25, 2012 by Robert Moore
Last weekend, when walking around Harpers Cemetery, in Harpers Ferry, I lucked upon a headstone that caught my attention. I wasn’t looking for it, but there it was… the headstone for “Uncle John” Neer‘s parents, George and Amelia Neer. It was a pretty cool find. I took a couple of photos and continued on my […]
July 17, 2012 by Robert Moore
In my exchanges, over the years, some folks have indicated that they thought some Southern Claims applicants were lying. Well, yes some were, but I have to ask… “How have you identified those who you think were lying?” It’s not always so easy. Sometimes, however, it’s painfully obvious… and one doesn’t have to read between […]
July 8, 2012 by Robert Moore
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 […]
June 6, 2012 by Robert Moore
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 […]
May 5, 2012 by Robert Moore
I’ve seen a good deal of “Stonewall Jackson praising” going on lately, and while I can appreciate his part in the history of the Valley for that time, that’s not quite all of the story. In short, not everyone was cheering the arrival (and in some cases, the return) of Confederate troops in the Valley, […]
April 29, 2012 by Robert Moore
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 […]
April 20, 2012 by Robert Moore
On the morning of April 20, Banks’ troops marched on Luray… it was the first time Union soldiers entered the town. Joseph Wheat remembered: As they approached Luray, the Main Street was crowded, people looking up at the top of the hill at the Modesitt house, but when they actually came in the great rush […]
April 19, 2012 by Robert Moore
The stage being set in yesterday’s post, which was supposed to be this morning’s post… this is where I get to inject a little light-hearted commentary, into the seriousness of the day… When Hotchkiss arrived at Shenandoah Iron Works, he found his cavalrymen… two companies of the 7th Virginia Cavalry… “in a state of drunkenness”.** Now, what’s […]
November 13, 2011 by Robert Moore
Sorry for the delay… busy week. O.K., where was I? Oh, yes… First, I need to say, this has been a very fluid set of posts, and all are subject to modification at this point (the beauty of blogs… they aren’t really “set-hard in ink”). I started off writing this with an idea of where […]
November 5, 2011 by Robert Moore
Last weekend, I brought out one of the family bibles in my collection, so that my two youngest could see some of the “artifacts” that have been maintained, safely inside, for more than a century. In particular, I wanted to show them these items… … a death poem, a “cypher”/multiplication table, and a lock of […]
October 31, 2011 by Robert Moore
This appeared in a post last year, but, I like the story so much… Despite being part of a series of victories in 1862, the “Page Grays” of Co. H, 33rd Virginia Infantry, had seen their fair share of desertions (not, by any means, that the “Grays” were slackers, as the company also saw more than […]
October 30, 2011 by Robert Moore
You might recall a post from this past July, in which I briefly mentioned Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the USCT. I haven’t had as much time to work with that project as I would like, but it’s one that is always on my mind. Perhaps, over winter, I’ll be able to wrap it up. Anyway, […]
October 29, 2011 by Robert Moore
A little something trivial, but interesting… On August 6, 1936, Frank Bruen, the author of Christian Forrer, the Clockmaker and his Descendants (1939), “was favored by a call from Capt. Joseph Deyerle Forrer, formerly of Mossy Creek [Augusta County], Va.” According to Bruen, In the course of our conversation we spoke of the Iron blast […]
October 26, 2011 by Robert Moore
It’s barely a blip on the radars when it comes to Sesquicentennial commemoration/remembrance, but on this day, 150 years ago, some of my kin… some in blue, and others in gray… may well have exchanged shots. No, it wasn’t in one of the big battles, but, rather, a small scrap that resulted in Gen. B.F. […]
September 14, 2011 by Robert Moore
If you know most of the nuts and bolts that make up that history, and are tasked with accomplishing that request… it can be a tall order, and rather painful. You’re forced to bypass key elements, including certain names and events, that you know are critical in the overall story, but… this is all the […]
July 22, 2011 by Robert Moore
Before I left Manassas yesterday, I had to do just one more thing. Yes, I was hot and miserable at the time, but, it didn’t matter, I had to do it. This is the first place that I’ve visited this year, on the 150th anniversary of an event in which my people were present, 150 […]
July 22, 2011 by Robert Moore
22nd. I go in search of brother Wm* who had been badly wounded; find him near the battlefield, and take him with other to the Junction. I then go in search of some other wounded, and find a few. Start to F. Royal at midnight with them. I am very wet from being in the […]
June 26, 2011 by Robert Moore
So, about that Jessie Scout that I’ve been mentioning… First, Jessie Scouts were known to be of great value to the Union cavalry, but… often it was because they wore gray… not blue. According to this site, The concept involving the use of enlisted Union soldiers as scouts, in enemy uniform, collecting information while operating […]
May 2, 2013 by Robert Moore
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