Vandals Damage Monuments to Escaped Slaves, Underground Railroad Mural To be Removed

by Fred Ray July 12, 2020

The madness continues all over the country. A statue of “Aunt Lucy” Nichols has been defaced in New Albany, Indiana. Born in 1838, Nichols escaped from a Tennessee farm in 1862 with her young daughter, Mona, and traveled several miles to the Union line across the Hatchie River. She joined the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment […]

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Lest Zeb Vance Offend Your Eye

by Fred Ray July 9, 2020

The city of Asheville has done some boneheaded things but this time they’ve outdone themselves. The Vance Monument downtown, which I mentioned earlier, has now been covered with a plywood barrier and a shroud, to keep it from offending anyone until a commission decides what to do with it. The mayor, Esther Manheimer, says that […]

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Statues and Vandals

by Fred Ray July 5, 2020

A happy 4th of July weekend to everyone, and I hope you are all with family in this holiday and staying healthy. The news keeps on coming faster than I can keep up with it. The city of Richmond, I am sorry to say, has removed the statue of General Stonewall Jackson. At least it […]

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And Then They Came For Abe Lincoln

by Fred Ray June 24, 2020

Protesters in Washington now want to remove the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park, which they for some reason find offensive. The statue commemorates the emancipation proclamation. Yesterday they held a peaceful protest but promised to come back tomorrow (Thursday) to tear it down. Since this is on Federal property this would seem to be setting […]

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Sad Times

by Fred Ray June 23, 2020

This is a post I wanted never to write. I am sorry to report that a mob has desecrated the Confederate monument at the capitol grounds in Raleigh, NC. It began as a raucous Junteenth celebration and quickly became a riot. The mob brazenly entered the capitol grounds and began attacking the monument, trying to […]

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Free Access to Fold3 Military Records for Memorial Day

by Fred Ray May 21, 2020

Fold3 is offering free access to its records for the Memorial Day weekend. Especially if you’re still in lockdown this is an excellent chance to access Civil War records, including an extensive collection of service records.

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Musketoons and Rifle-Muskets: What’s In A Name?

by Fred Ray May 18, 2020

Names and nomenclature do make a difference in military topics. You’d like to be as accurate as possible, and I think it’s important to use the terminology current at the time unless you specify you’re using something contemporary. I’ll use two examples that have caused a lot of confusion—musketoon and the rifle-musket. The difference between […]

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