(Map of the encounter between the forces of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Samuel Davis Sturgis at Brice’s Crossroads, MS, on 10 June 1864. The position of the 72nd OVI is along the line of retreat at the upper left center. Map Civil War Preservation Trust). I don’t necessarily disbelieve in co-incidence- but the battle that […]

(Union Troops destroying railroad track by heating and bending them around trees. They became known as “Sherman’s Neckties” during the destruction. Image Library of Congress). Oh, man, this could be dry as hell, but it is required for the set-up for what happened to GG Grandfather and the 72nd OVI. So, bear with me. What […]

(Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Library of Congress). We will get to the strategic picture on the progress of the Union Anaconda squeezing the Confederacy tomorrow, since I need to introduce you to a figure of some note in this tale of the future brother-in-laws. His name is Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest, in full, and […]

(Five unidentified prisoners of war in Confederate uniforms in front of their barracks at Camp Douglas Prison, Chicago, Illinois. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress). We are going to have to spend a minute on the social issues that went along with the Civil War. I would rather contemplate the remarkable Triple Crown win […]

I was sitting with Barrister Jerry at Willow last night, along with the usual suspects aligned in the usual places at the bar. I asked him if he had heard about the major data breech at the Office of Personnel Management, better known in these parts as OPM. For purposes of efficiency, they share their […]

The words that account for the activities of the 72nd OVI are prety dry. When my cousin Harold and I were doing research about Great Great Grandfather a couple decades ago we saw his service record, but I took notes on paper and they are long gone. The unit diary has the places, but not […]

I always feel a pang of loss on this day, and think of our pal Mac Showers sitting under the pneumatic tube- the “bunny tube” waiting for messages from Main Communications in The Dungeon at District headquarters at Pearl. He was told by Commander Joe Rochefort to wait for notification from the Fleet about whether […]

(The Village of Clifden, in County Galway, where Honora’s odyssey began. The blue eyes in the family came from the Viking raiders who harassed the coast of Ireland in olden days. Original oil by Wayne Wolfe). AUTHOR’S NOTE: As it turns out, this voyage along the river of history has been quite an eye-opener. I […]

(The Siege of Vicksburg. Map by Hal Jespersen). They did not celebrate the 4th of July in Vicksburg for 81 years. Well, there is some controversy over that and there were some ceremonies some years. The times have changed, but the 4th is a day that no one really wants to remember in Vicksburg. Grant […]

(Map of the second half of the Vicksburg Campaign. Great Great Grandfather’s Ohio unit moved from Memphis to Young’s Point, LA, in April and then participated in Grant’s long left hook through Jackson, MS, and then into the siege lines around the Gibraltar of the Mississippi River that resulted in the surrender of the city […]