I was signing several of my Civil War human interest books yesterday at the Gettysburg Gift Center, and the table I was using was directly across from that of Rebecca Marie. She is a very talented crafter / artisan who creates lavish pieces of costume jewelry from the Victorian period. These ornate and exquisite works of art are quite nice and a fine addition to those reenactors / living historians who want to bedazzle their partners at Victorian teas or balls.

Becky's nicely crafted work is available in the Gettysburg Gift Center, as well as on-line at their website / Internet store. She has always had a love of jewelry, especially antique pieces, and has been quoted as saying, "I felt I needed my own creative outlet, and jewelry seemed to be the perfect choice. My goal is to make jewelry that has the look of age, but is affordable to everyone."

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Last night, I had a chance to watch the outdoor drama, Tecumseh!, here in Chillicothe, Ohio, where I am on a temporary work assignment. The play was written by seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Allen W. Eckert, its music was performed (on tape) by the London Symphony Orchestra, and its narration done by famed Native American actor Graham Greene (perhaps most noted for his work in the movie Dances With Wolves). Situated in a modern 1,800-seat outdoor amphitheater on a small mountaintop in rural Ross County, Tecumseh! is an internationally acclaimed performance with a cast and crew of more than 100 people.

So, what does this have to do with York County Civil War history? As I sat there on a balmy Tuesday night in mid-June with 500 other people, I could not help but think how something of this magnitude concerning York's Civil War history might be a winner -- a way of drawing tourists for a night's stay in York in between tramping Gettysburg, the Hershey Chocolate World, and Amish country in Lancaster County.

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A Cannonball reader sent in these photographs taken in Washington, D.C. showing a couple of the statues on the impressive monument to former Union general William T. Sherman (like me, a native of southern Ohio).

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The Charge
Photo by Thomas M. Mingus. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

If you have a particular favorite Civil War photograph and would like to share it with other Cannonball readers, please send me an e-mail with a digital copy of that photograph, as well as giving me written permission to use that photo in this blog. Photos can be of battlefields, reenactors, sunsets at Gettysburg, monuments, buildings, or anything else that is photogenic and is directly related to this general area's Civil War history. Send them in, and I will publish them over the next few weeks!!

All entries become eligible for a drawing for an autographed copy of my book Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition when it gets in print.

Posted in Gettysburg battlefield Miscellaneous York County sites

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Dennis Morris's museum-quality miniature layout of a portion of the Battle of Gettysburg

Here is a link to my other blog, which I maintain for a wargaming society that Debi and I formed several years ago. It depicts what I consider to be a museum-quality miniature diorama depiction of the Confederate attacks on Devil's Den and the Rose Farm at Gettysburg, actions that are well within walking distance from the York CWRT's adopted 102nd Pennsylvania and 62nd New York's monuments. The actions shown in this outstanding miniature layout predated the advance of the 102nd and 62nd.

What do you think? Very impressive work from the master modeller, Dennis Morris, don't you agree?

Posted in Gettysburg Campaign Gettysburg battlefield Miscellaneous

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I love listening to Civil War music - both period pieces, as well as contemporary works. I listen to my CDs and tapes at home while painting miniature Civil War figurines or building and finishing model terrain for my Civil War miniature wargaming hobby. I also like to pop a disk into my CD player while I cruise around the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields.

My favorite group (by far) is the 2nd South Carolina String Band, and my favorite single artist is Bobby Horton. Recently, I received for review a copy of a new contemporary collection of songs that is simply outstanding -- a collection that grows on me every time I listen. With vestiges of country, folk music, the blues, and a little rock thrown in, Al Grund's Two Soldiers is simply pure entertainment, while at times stirring up some interesting social questions.

Have a look at my review of this new CD on my wargaming blog, Charge!

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As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room in southern Ohio. The birds are singing, and the day offers promise. Generally, I love mornings, as they offer a chance for reflection and meditation, and a chance to jumpstart my batteries for a long full day ahead. The moment is peaceful and relaxing, and the day offers interesting challenges and opportunities.

For many soldiers at Gettysburg, the mornings brought some sanity to the madness. I have been heavily researching the attack on East Cemetery Hill for a manuscript I just finished and submitted to a leading publisher. Most of the soldiers' descriptions of the morning of July 2, 1863, are consistent in describing the sense of peace and serenity that morning, despite the carnage of July 1 and the promise that this day would bring even more suffering and pain. But, for now, the morning broke with a calmness that offered hope.

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Arlington National Cemetery (Robert E. Lee's antebellum home)
Royalty-free photo courtesy of Corbis

I noted in the York Daily Record recently that the death toll in Iraq has reached 4,000 U.S. soldiers. I am not here to make any political comments on the current situation, but, as an amateur historian, I want to point out some sobering statistics from the Civil War, which some called "the late unpleasantness," perhaps the biggest understatement in history.

Nearly 3 million Americans took up arms during the Civil War, and some 620,000 of them died (with disease killing twice as many as bullets). Considering how small the population of the country was between 1861-1865, that tragic number grows in magnitude when you consider that 620,000 is equivalent to more than 6 million men lost today. SIX MILLION in roughly five years!

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As I sit in front of my warm fireplace this morning, I cannot help but think of the rich blessings in my life. God has been so good to me through the years, and I have been so undeserving of what He has poured out. Easter weekend has always been a time of celebration for our family, marked by mutual worship, sunrise services, family get-togethers and good food, Easter baskets for the kids, games and family activities, and thankfulness.

A few times over the two-plus decades we lived in exteme northeastern Ohio, Easter was also marked by something else - a blizzard! Even in late April a couple of times, we arose on Easter Sunday to find that more than a foot of snow blanketed the ground (it's easy to hide, but tough to find Easter eggs in the snow drifts!).

For one Pennsylvania infantry regiment, Easter 1863 also brought a blanket of the white crystals...

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Recent news headline:
Tampa Sued for Nonpayment of $299.58 Civil War Debt

A Tampa, Florida, woman has sued the city to collect an old debt that dates back to the Civil War. Joan Kennedy Biddle is in possession of an old promissary note from the city that dates from June 1861 when her ancestor Thomas Pugh Kennedy sold implements and ammunition to help defend the town of 850 people from the Union army. Not having cash, the town issued the IOU, which has been kept in a safety deposit box.

Biddle filed suit to claim over $20 MILLION dollars that Tampa owes her in her opinion, figuring the original debt at 8% compound interest! The city government is citing the 14th Amendment, which essentially negated civic debts stemming from rebellion. It should be an interesting court fight. Stay tuned.

That brings up York and an old unpaid bill of its own...

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