Comments on: Supermen http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/ Informed Amateurs Blog the American Civil War Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:01:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Ray B http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/comment-page-1/#comment-256 Ray B Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:22:21 +0000 http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/#comment-256 Steve, I have not had the good fortune of reading this, but it seems like a great read. Thanks for the tip, I'll. keep my eyes out for it! Ray B Steve,
I have not had the good fortune of reading this, but it seems like a great read. Thanks for the tip, I’ll. keep my eyes out for it!

Ray B

]]> By: Steve Meserve http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/comment-page-1/#comment-255 Steve Meserve Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:57:08 +0000 http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/#comment-255 Ray, Have you ever read "Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard"? The book tells the story of the CW enlisted man brilliantly. It should be required reading for every reenactor, be he Yankee or Rebel. Some people scoff at reading it because it is technically a work of fiction. I reply that it is not historical fiction, but fictionalized history, being based on the stories of a man who enlisted in the Union army as a private in 1861 and mustered out as a brevet lieutenant colonel in 1865. The Si Klegg accounts were first published in the "National Tribune" in the late 1870s, and were very popular with the veterans. Too many modern readers deny themselves what I consider to be the best account of Civil War soldier life ever written. I know for a fact Brian Pohanka shared that sentiment because he worked with me to reprint the book and wrote an excellent introduction to the new edition. Steve Meserve Ray,

Have you ever read “Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard”? The book tells the story of the CW enlisted man brilliantly. It should be required reading for every reenactor, be he Yankee or Rebel.

Some people scoff at reading it because it is technically a work of fiction. I reply that it is not historical fiction, but fictionalized history, being based on the stories of a man who enlisted in the Union army as a private in 1861 and mustered out as a brevet lieutenant colonel in 1865. The Si Klegg accounts were first published in the “National Tribune” in the late 1870s, and were very popular with the veterans. Too many modern readers deny themselves what I consider to be the best account of Civil War soldier life ever written.

I know for a fact Brian Pohanka shared that sentiment because he worked with me to reprint the book and wrote an excellent introduction to the new edition.

Steve Meserve

]]> By: Joe Meyer http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/comment-page-1/#comment-254 Joe Meyer Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:03:39 +0000 http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2007/10/01/supermen/#comment-254 Nicely done post, Ray! I, too, have often marveled over the tremendous stamina exhibited by the "common" Civil War soldier. Even allowing for the fact that most of them were older kids and young men, there is something incredible about their performances. Of course, what we rarely dwell upon are all of the shortened lives and premature deaths that occurred among so many of that war's survivors! Yet, even then, there were many who "soldiered on," years longer than they should have. They were from a simpler, stronger, more robust and individualistic environment than we of today. In their own time they forged with their own incredible sacrifices something of the true sinew and fiber of what America is all about. We get to see their kind maybe only once in a lifetime. As I watch all of the old strong hearts and strong minds from WWII slowly fade from the scene, I wonder if we will ever see them again! Nicely done post, Ray! I, too, have often marveled over the tremendous stamina exhibited by the “common” Civil War soldier. Even allowing for the fact that most of them were older kids and young men, there is something incredible about their performances. Of course, what we rarely dwell upon are all of the shortened lives and premature deaths that occurred among so many of that war’s survivors! Yet, even then, there were many who “soldiered on,” years longer than they should have. They were from a simpler, stronger, more robust and individualistic environment than we of today. In their own time they forged with their own incredible sacrifices something of the true sinew and fiber of what America is all about. We get to see their kind maybe only once in a lifetime.

As I watch all of the old strong hearts and strong minds from WWII slowly fade from the scene, I wonder if we will ever see them again!

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