Browsing All posts tagged under »Frederick County Virginia«

Following the drinkin’ gourd? OTD, 1831

September 8, 2016 by

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The clip below is taken from the Torch Light and Advertiser (Hagerstown, Maryland), from September 8, 1831, but the subject of the clipping is a slave named Paul Taylor, who escaped from Frederick County, in the Shenandoah Valley. As he made his escape on August 13, by the time this appeared in the newspaper, he […]

Selling Col. R.K. Meade’s livestock (1833)

April 26, 2016 by

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The title of this post might lack the hook that would draw in a crowd, but that shouldn’t detract. For those who are truly curious about what antebellum life was like in the Valley (and might be well-acquainted with the area of the Valley in which this piece discusses), this piece offers an opportunity to […]

Just having missed a “Nathaniel Parker Willis, of the Shenandoah”

October 4, 2015 by

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In my pursuit of the “Shenandoah Literari” of the nineteenth century, I encounter some unusual twists and turns in the history of the Valley. One family’s “brush” with the area’s history, for example, presents an interesting “what if”. Now, I’m not really a fan of “what ifs” in regard to history, but I do find […]

To find a cavalry battlefield… on the back roads of Frederick County, pt. 1

November 12, 2014 by

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While I’ve known for many years that one of my great-great grandfathers was grievously wounded, on November 12, 1864, I’ve never given the location much thought. It just seemed that, given the information available in his service record, Pvt. James Harvey Mayes was wounded in a fight at the little village of Nineveh, just north […]

More on literacy in antebellum Shenandoah – libraries, taxes and public schools

September 26, 2013 by

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Having spent more time tallying stats, it’s time to share a bit more regarding my thoughts on the antebellum literacy levels in the Shenandoah Valley… According to the 1850 census, at that time, the Shenandoah Valley had a total of four public libraries, with a total of 5,510 volumes. Those libraries could be found in only four out […]

The reach of religion in the Shenandoah Valley in 1860

September 15, 2013 by

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In part, my interest in looking into churches in the Shenandoah Valley is to see if there is any connection to the literacy rate. I’m also curious how the denominations reflect anything that may help me further in my understanding of Southern Unionism in the Valley. Though I don’t think I have anything that gives […]

Literacy rates in the antebellum Shenandoah Valley

September 12, 2013 by

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*UPDATE: Actually, though they weren’t part of the 1860 census, the numbers of those who could not read and/or write were tallied in the census for both 1840 and 1850. I will probably tally the numbers from that census to compare with the numbers shown in the 1870 census. I’m sorry to say, there are […]

Did West Virginia know what it was doing?

June 20, 2013 by

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Yesterday, on Harper’s Ferry’s Facebook page, I saw a comment in response to a post about the following day (today) being the 150th anniversary of the birth of West Virginia. The response was simply… “Traitors!!!” Obviously, it wasn’t a comment that involved much thought, to say nothing of the evident lack of knowledge when it […]

Interpreting USCTs in places where they were not…

March 10, 2013 by

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Recently, there’s been a flurry of posts about USCTs (see Craig Swain’s, here; Emmanuel Dabney’s, here; Kevin Levin’s, here; and Jimmy Price’s, here), and, as I’m in the process of compiling a list of USCTs born in Shenandoah Valley counties, I find it timely. Should the interpretation of USCTs be incorporated into places in which they were not… […]

Tracking-down the history of Winchester’s G.A.R. post

March 7, 2013 by

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As part of the effort to find those elusive Southern Unionists, it shouldn’t be surprising that I would look to the activities of the Grand Army of the Republic in the hopes of finding some of the local boys in blue. Indeed, there were a couple of posts in the Shenandoah Valley, and one of […]

“You must choose & choose at once.”

August 15, 2012 by

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Back, just an hour or so ago, from a pleasant evening drive… prompted by the writing of this post. I realized that the Southern Unionist at the center of this post rests in a cemetery not terribly far from my home. So, I ventured out… and visited Daniel and Mary Brindle. Daniel was Pennsylvania-born, but […]

On the trail of Stonewall’s Winchester photographer

August 12, 2012 by

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Having spent the day out and about yesterday, on Rt. 11, in what is known as the famous (and growing) “Rt. 11 Yard Crawl”, I lucked into landing several Carte de Visite (CDVs) and cabinet cards from a number of photographers from the mid-19th century. There were several from New York, one from Philadelphia, and […]

“… he… was not going to vote for a slave government.”

July 11, 2012 by

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The argument can be common. The war was about slavery vs. the war was not about slavery. Usually, when those two points of view collide, the result is a string of reasons why… coming from both sides. More significant to me are the accounts of people who lived in that time… and even better if […]

Winchester, Virginia and sentiments… Secesh vs. Unionism…

March 11, 2012 by

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First, yes, I know… it’s been a while. Relocating is going to string me out a bit between now and June, but I need to remember to feed the blog in the in-between. In fact, the warmer it gets, the more motivated I am to get things done on the inside of the house, so […]

Ghost-busting on the Opequon battlefield

February 4, 2012 by

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O.K., well, not really… but… As I’ve been gearing-up for my relocation to the Winchester area, I’ve been taking more interest in the rather obscure details of local history there, and… this certainly caught my eyes just a couple of weeks ago… I’ll admit… tough to read as a screen capture, so here’s the transcribed […]

Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the Civil War… a sampling

October 30, 2011 by

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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, […]

How a Shenandoah Valley “apple-butter boil” beat “a South Georgia shinding all to pieces”

October 9, 2011 by

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It is, after all, October, here in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley… and with that comes not only reflections on the past (“heritage” festivals abound!), but also a good deal of apple-butter making. Regretfully, much of the ceremony surrounding the traditional apple-butter boils have long been forgotten, or have simply been cast aside as an unnecessary […]

Three generations of Conrads from Winchester

July 16, 2011 by

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As those who read this blog know, I have a couple of interests other than the American Civil War, and, occasionally, wires cross… not for the worse, but usually resulting in something interesting. Take for example, my interests in the 116th Infantry from the Shenandoah Valley in the First World War. One of the men […]

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