9-13 What General did W. T Sherman believe to be the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side? His Confederate opponent Cavalryman N. B. Forrest
9-18 What General’s wife was taken prisoner during the Civil War and where? U. S Grant Holly Springs, Mississippi
9-23 What were General George Buell’s raw volunteers called? Squirrel Hunters
9-27 What record did Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard hold at West Point? He attended West Point for eight days
10-1 Who was the highest-ranking officer of the war accused of ‘absent without leave?' General P. T. G. Beauregard
10-7 What was the name of infamous political Confederate prison? Castle Thunder, Richmond
10-12 Who was given the nickname “Wizard of the Saddle” for his equestrian skills? Nathan Bradford Forrest
10-17 What river slowed Sherman approach to Atlanta? Chattahoochee
10-22 What were Quaker guns? Logs hollowed out and painted like cannons.
11-4 Where did Anderson Raider’s “Great Train Race” start? Big Shanty or Kennesaw
11-7 U. S. Grant’s army followed what path on his 1st Mississippi March? Mississippi Central Railroad tracks.
11-11 Who gave Stonewall Jackson his nickname during the 1st Bull Run? Bernard Bee
11-12 How many of the original 12 of Col. Berdan's sharpshooters were left by Gettysburg. Just Berdan and one more
11-21 What was the name of the train that Anderson Stole in the “Great Train Race?”
11-22 General Albert Sydney Johnston was a Native of what state? Kentucky transplanted to Louisiana
11-26 Name four most recognize Confederate Cavalry leaders. J.E.B Stuart, Turner Ashby, Nathan B. Forrest, John Hunt Morgan
12-5 What did Nathan Forrest do with 1,200 prisoners he captured during his l862 raid in Tennessee? Paroled them on the spot.
12-11 What Northern general was described to Lincoln as “a drunken wooden headed tanner?” U. S. Grant
12-16 When it appeared to imminent that Washington would be attacked who were mustered to defend the city? Government clerks
1-2 Tullahoma an Indian named Railroad town where Braxton Bragg had his headquarters for a short time meant? MUD
1-14 What Confederate was the first to become a general? Beauregard
1-15 Where was the longest pontoon bridge build? Union engineers at Windmill point on the James
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
The Secret Place
It was fun growing up in a neighborhood where the homes were built before and just after the Civil War. They were all different floor plans but they all were dark red brick with golden sandstone window stones, door stones and front corner stones.
One of the older homes had something very unusual that would catch any kid’s eye. They had a lattice screen back-porch that many of the homes had. However the lattice screen on one side was three feet from the wall of the house. There was a window in that wall. This area had the floor of the porch with no entrance to the lattice screened porch. The three-foot opening was completely open to the outside. All of this was eight feet or more off the ground.
Along with some neighborhood kids and my sister we found a plank against the house just the right length. We managed to scoot up the plank to our discovery. Mrs. Hamilton a very nice lady was sitting in the room by the window. We were caught! She opened the window and explained that it would be best not to climb into this space because someone could get hurt. I was always the leader and I asked her why this was made the way it was.
She laughed and said that went back to the Civil War. The house was being built when the husband joined Morgan’s Raiders. He wanted to come and go without anyone knowing he was in the area. He kept a ladder under the porch. He used the ladder to climb up to the area and the window was always open for him. She said if we would come by sometimes when she was out on the front porch she would tell us his story.
We kept watch and the first time we saw her on the porch we joined her. She gave us some lemonade and began her story.
Morgan’s Raider had been to Cincinnati where they had been raiding banks in that area. It was a very dark night and some of the raiders returned south. This gave them an opportunity to see their families. It was a very tiring ride with out any moonlight. Mr. Harris, Tom arrived at home unaware of watchful eyes in the darkness.
Tom put his horse Dancer in the barn. He never neglected Dancer. He saw that he was fed and had plenty of water. He also took the time to take the curry brushes to Dancer’s coat after he wiped the lather from him.
Then Tom took his heavy saddlebags that were filled with gold for the Confederacy to his house. The ladder was there under the porch. Just when he was ready to climb the ladder a shot rang out and Tom felt the hot sting of the lead when it entered his head. He gripped the ladder and pulled it to the ground with his fall.
In a flash a man from the darkness seized the saddlebags and then disappeared into the darkness of the night. Tom lay dying on the ground beside the fallen ladder where his wife Anna Lee found him. He died there in her shaking arms.
Tom’s death was just the start of the story. Anna Lee began to smell and see cigar smoke in the drawing room. That is the room where that window was. She dismissed it to her imagination. Anna Lee wanted it there because this was where Tom always smoked his cigars.
Next, Anna Lee heard someone in the barn in the middle of the night. She gathered all the courage she could and took her gun to investigate. Her hands trembled while she opened the barn door. The squeaking door sent a shiver down her spine. Dancer was not in his stall and his saddle was gone. There was no one in the barn. She reported the theft the next morning. A police officer came to investigate and there was Dancer and his saddle. The officer patted Dancer and found that his coat was still moist but he had been well groomed. The officer said that some one must have borrowed the horse for a midnight ride.
Anna Lee was not happy about this. No one had asked her permission to use the horse. Three more times she heard someone in the barn and Dancer was gone when she investigated. The next morning Dancer would be well cared for and was back in his stall.
Anna Lee had also found cigars gone from the humidor and she continued to find cigar smoke in the drawing room. Since the death of Tom she had kept the window locked. She checked the lock and it had not been tampered with in any way.
No one had harmed her except for the sleep that she was loosing on the nights when Dancer would disappear. She knew that she would need all the courage she could find but she was going to find out what was happening.
Anna Lee was awakened from her sleep and she knew that the noise came from the barn. The sky was covered with large black clouds making it a very dark night. Inside the barn was even darker. It took a little time but her eyes adjusted to the darkness and it was surprising how much she could see. This was the fifth time that she had gone to the barn to discover that Dancer and his saddle were gone. She took two bales of hay and fixed herself a place to sleep while she waited for Dancer to return. She tried to sleep while she waited. However the adventure of it all kept her eyes wide open.
An hour before daybreak she heard Dancer’s gait when he came into the yard. The barn door opened with its little squeak. Anna Lee huddled close to the corner and pulled her gun from her pocket. In came Dancer and no one was there. Next the straps of the horse’s saddled moved and were unhitched. No one was there. Then the saddle was pulled from the horse’s back and put in its place. No one was there. The curry brushes were picked-up and suspended in the air. She watched these brushes brush Dancer with the same loving care as Tom’s. No one was there. The stall door was closed and then the barn door with its squeak was closed.
Anna Lee moved to the window of the barn from there she saw a misty form rise from the ground and disappear through the closed drawing room window.
She knew in her heart that it was the apparition of her beloved Tom.
The Civil War came to an end and Dancer’s occasional middle of the night trips stopped. However there in the drawing room Anna Lee continued to see and smell the smoke of a cigar.
One of the older homes had something very unusual that would catch any kid’s eye. They had a lattice screen back-porch that many of the homes had. However the lattice screen on one side was three feet from the wall of the house. There was a window in that wall. This area had the floor of the porch with no entrance to the lattice screened porch. The three-foot opening was completely open to the outside. All of this was eight feet or more off the ground.
Along with some neighborhood kids and my sister we found a plank against the house just the right length. We managed to scoot up the plank to our discovery. Mrs. Hamilton a very nice lady was sitting in the room by the window. We were caught! She opened the window and explained that it would be best not to climb into this space because someone could get hurt. I was always the leader and I asked her why this was made the way it was.
She laughed and said that went back to the Civil War. The house was being built when the husband joined Morgan’s Raiders. He wanted to come and go without anyone knowing he was in the area. He kept a ladder under the porch. He used the ladder to climb up to the area and the window was always open for him. She said if we would come by sometimes when she was out on the front porch she would tell us his story.
We kept watch and the first time we saw her on the porch we joined her. She gave us some lemonade and began her story.
Morgan’s Raider had been to Cincinnati where they had been raiding banks in that area. It was a very dark night and some of the raiders returned south. This gave them an opportunity to see their families. It was a very tiring ride with out any moonlight. Mr. Harris, Tom arrived at home unaware of watchful eyes in the darkness.
Tom put his horse Dancer in the barn. He never neglected Dancer. He saw that he was fed and had plenty of water. He also took the time to take the curry brushes to Dancer’s coat after he wiped the lather from him.
Then Tom took his heavy saddlebags that were filled with gold for the Confederacy to his house. The ladder was there under the porch. Just when he was ready to climb the ladder a shot rang out and Tom felt the hot sting of the lead when it entered his head. He gripped the ladder and pulled it to the ground with his fall.
In a flash a man from the darkness seized the saddlebags and then disappeared into the darkness of the night. Tom lay dying on the ground beside the fallen ladder where his wife Anna Lee found him. He died there in her shaking arms.
Tom’s death was just the start of the story. Anna Lee began to smell and see cigar smoke in the drawing room. That is the room where that window was. She dismissed it to her imagination. Anna Lee wanted it there because this was where Tom always smoked his cigars.
Next, Anna Lee heard someone in the barn in the middle of the night. She gathered all the courage she could and took her gun to investigate. Her hands trembled while she opened the barn door. The squeaking door sent a shiver down her spine. Dancer was not in his stall and his saddle was gone. There was no one in the barn. She reported the theft the next morning. A police officer came to investigate and there was Dancer and his saddle. The officer patted Dancer and found that his coat was still moist but he had been well groomed. The officer said that some one must have borrowed the horse for a midnight ride.
Anna Lee was not happy about this. No one had asked her permission to use the horse. Three more times she heard someone in the barn and Dancer was gone when she investigated. The next morning Dancer would be well cared for and was back in his stall.
Anna Lee had also found cigars gone from the humidor and she continued to find cigar smoke in the drawing room. Since the death of Tom she had kept the window locked. She checked the lock and it had not been tampered with in any way.
No one had harmed her except for the sleep that she was loosing on the nights when Dancer would disappear. She knew that she would need all the courage she could find but she was going to find out what was happening.
Anna Lee was awakened from her sleep and she knew that the noise came from the barn. The sky was covered with large black clouds making it a very dark night. Inside the barn was even darker. It took a little time but her eyes adjusted to the darkness and it was surprising how much she could see. This was the fifth time that she had gone to the barn to discover that Dancer and his saddle were gone. She took two bales of hay and fixed herself a place to sleep while she waited for Dancer to return. She tried to sleep while she waited. However the adventure of it all kept her eyes wide open.
An hour before daybreak she heard Dancer’s gait when he came into the yard. The barn door opened with its little squeak. Anna Lee huddled close to the corner and pulled her gun from her pocket. In came Dancer and no one was there. Next the straps of the horse’s saddled moved and were unhitched. No one was there. Then the saddle was pulled from the horse’s back and put in its place. No one was there. The curry brushes were picked-up and suspended in the air. She watched these brushes brush Dancer with the same loving care as Tom’s. No one was there. The stall door was closed and then the barn door with its squeak was closed.
Anna Lee moved to the window of the barn from there she saw a misty form rise from the ground and disappear through the closed drawing room window.
She knew in her heart that it was the apparition of her beloved Tom.
The Civil War came to an end and Dancer’s occasional middle of the night trips stopped. However there in the drawing room Anna Lee continued to see and smell the smoke of a cigar.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Our Civil War
Isn’t this a great day? The Weaver of Tales wants to tell you about my favorite tales. They are of the Civil War. In the past I have read hundreds of books set in the most interesting time of our history. Since I have been writing about this era I have done extensive research. It is amazing that this glamorous and romantic period of our nation had such devastating problems.
Our country was on the threshold of technology in so many areas and the war expanded these needs. There were new needs that required our American Ingenuity and we stepped-up.
It breaks my heart that there were so many families that the Civil War tore apart. Grief is a part of any war, but imagine going into battle knowing you were facing your own brother. Tod Carter a southern boy charged out in front of Hood’s army to face the Schofield’s northern boys on the grounds of his home place in Franklin, Tennessee. He was killed not five hundred feet from his home. This was the bloodiest battle in the War because of its great lost in only four hours of battle and it took place after dark.
In today’s standards this war between the North and the South was a man’s war. Most of the women were home taking care of their husband’s work and their own. However not all of them, women were very much apart of the espionage on either side. Many women were in the hospitals caring for the wounded. It is known that over three hundred women put on men’s clothing, cut their hair, and joined the ranks. For everyone that was discovered there were many more which were not discovered.
My first in a series of novels about the Civil War has been published, “Natchez Above The River.” I have completed “Four Long Years” and it will be published in the late winter. I have others of the series in various stages of completions.
Let me take you through the written craft and my imagination to paint and weave the story of a southern family with strong Union ties. I want you to see the Civil War through this family’s strong beliefs, loves, and sorrows.
NATCHEZ
Natchez sits high on the hill above the mighty Mississippi River. This is a delightful city that we loved. They did not have a battle fought here. They were ready to surrender before the Union navy arrived. The city has its wonderful old Civil War mansions all through it. They take you back in time to the elegance of antebellum era. The following are excerpts from “Natchez Above The River” by Ruth Thompson.
The prisms of the chandeliers sparkled and flashed from the candles that flickered in the gentle breeze of the evening. There was no mistaking the aroma of the magnolias that filled the ballroom of Grand Oaks. The herring bone pattern of the mahogany and the white oak woods in the floor shined in the soft light. Soon the most beautiful ladies and regal gentlemen of Natchez would dance on the polished floor. Tonight, Dr. Luther Shaw was giving the ball of the season to announce the engagement of his only daughter, Theresa, Tess, to Nathan Harris of Jackson.
“Tess, those Union boys may be here before long. Some of you young ones will see what real men are like. They have manners, but they are not strutting peacocks. Your Grandfather was a real man. Let me tell you he could make my ears sing. It would be a pleasure to hear him to whisper “Charlie Love” in my ear the way he used to do. He is getting impatient waiting for me to come to him. He’ll have to wait on me a little longer. I’m not going to “Glory” until this nation is united.”
This April night was too quiet. There was no sound from the insects or the animals of the night. They had given this lovely habitat to the noises of the men who gathered here. The peach blossoms illuminated the darkness. Would they be there tomorrow night? The night slipped away. Morning was near and there was the rustle of the soldiers finding their position for the fight of their life. Why were they going to fight here? The Confederates needed this key point at Corinth. The railroad, Memphis and Chattanooga, was essential to ship their needed produce to the east. Grant followed Johnston’s army here and gathered at Shiloh across from Corinth. The waiting would end at dawn.
“Childish behavior! Sir, no one has ever accused me of childish behavior. You can be sure that I will always be a minute or two ahead of your bell. I believe you have been ringing it a minute early everyday. Your bell will not catch me again.”
Louise started to move when he said, “Just a moment Miss Shaw, I have a question I would like to ask you. I have a good friend Dr. Hunter Morrison who was to marry a girl from Natchez he called Tess. Her father is a doctor, could he be your father?”
Our country was on the threshold of technology in so many areas and the war expanded these needs. There were new needs that required our American Ingenuity and we stepped-up.
It breaks my heart that there were so many families that the Civil War tore apart. Grief is a part of any war, but imagine going into battle knowing you were facing your own brother. Tod Carter a southern boy charged out in front of Hood’s army to face the Schofield’s northern boys on the grounds of his home place in Franklin, Tennessee. He was killed not five hundred feet from his home. This was the bloodiest battle in the War because of its great lost in only four hours of battle and it took place after dark.
In today’s standards this war between the North and the South was a man’s war. Most of the women were home taking care of their husband’s work and their own. However not all of them, women were very much apart of the espionage on either side. Many women were in the hospitals caring for the wounded. It is known that over three hundred women put on men’s clothing, cut their hair, and joined the ranks. For everyone that was discovered there were many more which were not discovered.
My first in a series of novels about the Civil War has been published, “Natchez Above The River.” I have completed “Four Long Years” and it will be published in the late winter. I have others of the series in various stages of completions.
Let me take you through the written craft and my imagination to paint and weave the story of a southern family with strong Union ties. I want you to see the Civil War through this family’s strong beliefs, loves, and sorrows.
NATCHEZ
Natchez sits high on the hill above the mighty Mississippi River. This is a delightful city that we loved. They did not have a battle fought here. They were ready to surrender before the Union navy arrived. The city has its wonderful old Civil War mansions all through it. They take you back in time to the elegance of antebellum era. The following are excerpts from “Natchez Above The River” by Ruth Thompson.
The prisms of the chandeliers sparkled and flashed from the candles that flickered in the gentle breeze of the evening. There was no mistaking the aroma of the magnolias that filled the ballroom of Grand Oaks. The herring bone pattern of the mahogany and the white oak woods in the floor shined in the soft light. Soon the most beautiful ladies and regal gentlemen of Natchez would dance on the polished floor. Tonight, Dr. Luther Shaw was giving the ball of the season to announce the engagement of his only daughter, Theresa, Tess, to Nathan Harris of Jackson.
“Tess, those Union boys may be here before long. Some of you young ones will see what real men are like. They have manners, but they are not strutting peacocks. Your Grandfather was a real man. Let me tell you he could make my ears sing. It would be a pleasure to hear him to whisper “Charlie Love” in my ear the way he used to do. He is getting impatient waiting for me to come to him. He’ll have to wait on me a little longer. I’m not going to “Glory” until this nation is united.”
This April night was too quiet. There was no sound from the insects or the animals of the night. They had given this lovely habitat to the noises of the men who gathered here. The peach blossoms illuminated the darkness. Would they be there tomorrow night? The night slipped away. Morning was near and there was the rustle of the soldiers finding their position for the fight of their life. Why were they going to fight here? The Confederates needed this key point at Corinth. The railroad, Memphis and Chattanooga, was essential to ship their needed produce to the east. Grant followed Johnston’s army here and gathered at Shiloh across from Corinth. The waiting would end at dawn.
“Childish behavior! Sir, no one has ever accused me of childish behavior. You can be sure that I will always be a minute or two ahead of your bell. I believe you have been ringing it a minute early everyday. Your bell will not catch me again.”
Louise started to move when he said, “Just a moment Miss Shaw, I have a question I would like to ask you. I have a good friend Dr. Hunter Morrison who was to marry a girl from Natchez he called Tess. Her father is a doctor, could he be your father?”
Apparitions of Mill Springs
The first time I saw the mill at Mill Springs was from our boat on the majestic waters of Lake Cumberland. High on the rugged hills of Wayne County it stood. In eighteen twenty-five a post office was established near the mill. It was called Mill Springs. This mill had the world’s largest over-shot wheel. The mill with its many years of service is still in operation today. In May there is always a corn bread festival at Mill Springs.
The clear pristine waters of Lake Cumberland cover the some of the rugged terrain and its history. Let me go back when there was just the Cumberland River below Mill Springs. The Union and the Confederacy each wanted to control Kentucky, a border state. The Rebels had moved into Mill Springs in November of sixty-one and fortified the area north and south of the Cumberland River. Brig. General George Thomas of the Union was ordered to push the Confederate Army south of the Cumberland River.
The weather was wet and Thomas’ army found it difficult to march through the mud soaked country but they arrived on January the seventeenth at Logan’s Crossing. The Confederate Army was ordered to attack at Logan’s Crossing and they did. The Union army pushed the Rebels into Tennessee. Thomas’ army took over the Confederate position at Mill Springs. This was the first victory of many for the Union in the Western Campaign. There were thirty-nine Union boys that met their maker and are buried in the Mill Springs National Cemetery. The Southern boys were taken to Tennessee.
Many souls of soldiers killed in any battle seem to be bound to a restless existence on earth. This is true of those that fought and died at Mill Springs. It is said that it is not always easy to find the apparitions in Mill Springs. However there are violent spirits roaming Mill Springs.
In a recent reenactment at Mill Springs a boy who was just able to hold a musket participated. On Saturday at two o’clock the reenactment started. The little body stood tall in line waiting for the orders to advance. His proud father stood beside him and the rest of the group that surrounded them.
In the blink of an eye he saw an entire regiment pass in front of them. This regiment looked so real even more than they did. He could hear their yelling, the stomping of their shoes, and felt the motion of the air when they passed. This was another group of enactors and he was excited.
He advanced with the regiment and he saw them disappear into thin air. His unit was still standing tall waiting for their orders to advance. He wanted to run and hide but he stepped back in line and waited for the command. He was mortified that he broke formation but he knew in his heart what he had seen. No one else saw or heard the regiment but him. However most adults are not sensitive to the spirit world where young children are.
Each year with their reenactment at Mill Springs is the “Ghost Walk.” This is one of their biggest events and lots of fun. The reenactment of Mill Springs is well attended, much larger than some of the well-known battlefield reenactments. Could it be because of their active ghosts?
The clear pristine waters of Lake Cumberland cover the some of the rugged terrain and its history. Let me go back when there was just the Cumberland River below Mill Springs. The Union and the Confederacy each wanted to control Kentucky, a border state. The Rebels had moved into Mill Springs in November of sixty-one and fortified the area north and south of the Cumberland River. Brig. General George Thomas of the Union was ordered to push the Confederate Army south of the Cumberland River.
The weather was wet and Thomas’ army found it difficult to march through the mud soaked country but they arrived on January the seventeenth at Logan’s Crossing. The Confederate Army was ordered to attack at Logan’s Crossing and they did. The Union army pushed the Rebels into Tennessee. Thomas’ army took over the Confederate position at Mill Springs. This was the first victory of many for the Union in the Western Campaign. There were thirty-nine Union boys that met their maker and are buried in the Mill Springs National Cemetery. The Southern boys were taken to Tennessee.
Many souls of soldiers killed in any battle seem to be bound to a restless existence on earth. This is true of those that fought and died at Mill Springs. It is said that it is not always easy to find the apparitions in Mill Springs. However there are violent spirits roaming Mill Springs.
In a recent reenactment at Mill Springs a boy who was just able to hold a musket participated. On Saturday at two o’clock the reenactment started. The little body stood tall in line waiting for the orders to advance. His proud father stood beside him and the rest of the group that surrounded them.
In the blink of an eye he saw an entire regiment pass in front of them. This regiment looked so real even more than they did. He could hear their yelling, the stomping of their shoes, and felt the motion of the air when they passed. This was another group of enactors and he was excited.
He advanced with the regiment and he saw them disappear into thin air. His unit was still standing tall waiting for their orders to advance. He wanted to run and hide but he stepped back in line and waited for the command. He was mortified that he broke formation but he knew in his heart what he had seen. No one else saw or heard the regiment but him. However most adults are not sensitive to the spirit world where young children are.
Each year with their reenactment at Mill Springs is the “Ghost Walk.” This is one of their biggest events and lots of fun. The reenactment of Mill Springs is well attended, much larger than some of the well-known battlefield reenactments. Could it be because of their active ghosts?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)