I'm not one to argue with General Grant, but I read somewhere that Thomas ordered the cadets to "slow trot" because the horses at the ...   Sat May 2nd, 2009 11:45 pm

Johan, wasn't there a shortage of leather in the South as the war ground on?  That was one of the reasons that shoes couldn't always ...   Thu Oct 30th, 2008 09:35 pm

Thanks, Susan, your details set me straight. Patty aka Widow ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 03:43 pm

Pam, "Marching through Culpeper" is a Civil War novel by Virginia Beard Morton.  All the characters are real people except the heroine and her family.  It's ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 03:42 pm

Johan, The one thing that everyone seems to be missing is the value of the CDV for the researcher. You can actually see how the uniforms ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 03:14 pm

Cleburne Fan, I do find myself wishing that moving picture film, even a very primitive form, had been developed by then. It would be awesome to ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 02:54 pm

Johan, you said -- A couple well known examples were the famous "Punch Bowl" photos of ANV men captured in the last mos of the war ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 01:54 pm

Pam, an excellent thread. Can't remember where I read it, but during Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, all the commanders received identical copies of maps before an assault.  ...   Fri Oct 17th, 2008 01:39 pm

OOPS, double post, sorry. There is a major difference between serfdom and slavery. Slaves were movable property, like livestock.  They could be bought and sold and taken ...   Wed Oct 8th, 2008 09:47 pm

There is a major difference between serfdom and slavery. Slaves were movable property, like livestock.  They could be bought and sold and taken to live elsewhere. Serfs ...   Wed Oct 8th, 2008 09:47 pm

They're much prettier than oil pumps. ...   Wed Oct 8th, 2008 05:13 pm

I can't give you any resources for your research, but, as usual, I have lots of undocumentable opinions.  Here goes. Napoleon III may have toyed with ...   Wed Oct 8th, 2008 04:50 pm

Pam, yesterday morning I overslept by 45 mins. and had to skip the tour of historic railroad sites in Alexandria.  Simply didn't hear the radio ...   Sun Oct 5th, 2008 04:03 pm

Dixie Girl, good for you, you've chosen an excellent but difficult topic. You've already read other posts about the lack of medical knowledge, and the lack ...   Sun Oct 5th, 2008 03:35 pm

During the French Revolution, three men were led to the guillotine, a doctor, a lawyer, and an engineer. The doctor was first.  The executioner released the ...   Sun Oct 5th, 2008 03:06 pm

CleburneFan, to add a little comment about Sherman's reasons, I can't remember where I read it, maybe in Sherman's memoirs, that he wanted to show that ...   Sun Oct 5th, 2008 02:30 pm

Howdy from NoVa. At UVA in Charlottesville, they say "All dirt roads lead to Virginia Tech." UVA calls itself Mr. Jefferson's University.  That's true, but it's meant in ...   Sun Oct 5th, 2008 02:06 pm

Fairfax Station was one of many stations on the Orange & Alexandria RR (VA).  On Saturday, Oct. 5, the Friends of Fairfax Station Railroad Museum are ...   Wed Oct 1st, 2008 08:33 pm

The second part of luck is making the right decision - knowing what to do.  The soldiers who found Specil Order 191 did the right ...   Wed Oct 1st, 2008 07:32 pm

Hello, Shani, it's good to have another new member in this board.  We have some of the most fascinating conversations in here.  You'll find others ...   Wed Apr 30th, 2008 09:55 pm

CleburneFan, I received Newt's trilogy for Christmas.  I HAVE to read it.  It's almost May and I keep setting it aside for something more appealing.  ...   Tue Apr 29th, 2008 10:04 pm

Southern Son, the strongbox is OK to protect the artifacts from light, but you can't be sure if they are properly protected from moisture, skin ...   Tue Apr 29th, 2008 09:56 pm

CleburneFan, our little tremor in Caracas was Dec. 31, 1980.  We lived in La Floresta district, just a few blocks from the American Embassy, where ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 09:47 pm

During the Peninsula campaign, Gen. Fitz John Porter made several balloon ascents with Lowe or assistant as pilot.  One day Porter got in the "car" ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 09:36 pm

Southern Son, what a fun discovery.  Were they actually in the house?  Maybe somebody found (or bought) them elsewhere and stashed them for safekeeping?  Did the ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 08:10 pm

Sgt. Ramsey, no, I haven't read "Reveille in Washington." Thanks for pointing it out, I'll add it to the list of books to buy.  It sounds ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 11:09 am

Javal, I agree with you that it might not be Jackson.  Many men had dark untrimmed beards, and the crushed kepi was common.  That figure ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 11:00 am

HCTR, fedreb mentioned Jed Hotchkiss' "Make Me a Map of the Valley."  That's the book where I learned about Jackson's reliance on the maps of ...   Mon Apr 28th, 2008 10:46 am

funhistory, what a great handle!  Welcome to this place. At the reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek, sutlers' row featured an enterprising mortician with a list ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 05:32 pm

Sgt. Ramsey, you're doing fine, posting in here.  No need to post one answer twice in reply to separate threads. You may have noticed occasionally a ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 05:04 pm

Fedreb and CleburneFan, Duh-me (smacks forehead with palm).  I truly live in the wrong century, to forget about Disney World etc.  Never been there myself, though ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 05:00 pm

Hello, HCTR, welcome to the board, and a very good question. You already know that some maps were incomplete, inaccurate, and had confusing place names.  Generals ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 04:47 pm

Sgt. Ramsey, welcome to the board. The best Civil War novel I've ever read is "Marching through Culpeper," by Virginia Beard Morton, 2001.  She lives in ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 04:30 pm

Fedreb, I gotta ask, what the heck is mouse hunting?  Does it mean taking the grandkids on walks in the woods, looking for mice or ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 04:02 pm

The Bull Run Civil War Round Table meets at the public library in Centreville, second Thursday of the month, year around.  Some of us meet ...   Sun Apr 27th, 2008 12:23 am

We lived on the top floor of a brand-new 17-story apartment tower in Caracas, Venezuela.  On New Year's Eve we felt the building sway and ...   Sun Apr 20th, 2008 09:42 pm

It was so dark in the woods, and several shots were fired.  I doubt that anybody could have known whose shots hit Jackson.  He was ...   Thu Apr 17th, 2008 09:19 pm