Month: November 2008
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A Silver Stadia
Bill Adams sent me a link to a nice piece of Civil War militaria—a silver stadia. Normally made of brass, the stadia was a primitive range-finding instrument with scales on one side for cavalry and infantry on the other. I’ve never seen a reference to anyone actually using one (estimating by eye usually worked better […]
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Chivalry and Sharpshooting
Various commentators have mentioned that the ethos of the 18th and 19th Centuries disapproved of sharpshooters, who were seen as acting in a cowardly manner. Some even considered it unchivalrous to take aim at an individual foeman. Here’s an example in an editorial that appeared in the Missouri Democrat in December, 1862. Major-General Hindman, it […]
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New Vicksburg NMP Resource Assessment
Perry Wheeler, the Media Relations Coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association, recently passed along the following information: Hello all, I hope you’re doing well! My name is Perry Wheeler with the National Parks Conservation Association. I thought you might be interested in our new resource assessment of Vicksburg National Military Park. Today, NPCA’s Center […]
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Civil War Talk Radio: November 7, 2008
Air Date: 110708 Subject: Ed “Alleghany” Johnson, Confederate General Book: Old Alleghany: The Life and Wars of General Ed Johnson Guest: Gregg S. Clemmer Summary: Gerry discusses the life of Ed “Alleghany” Johnson with his biographer, Gregg S. Clemmer. Brett’s Summary: Gerry started the show by asking Mr. Clemmer why he did a biography of […]
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November 2008 Book Notes
Those that can’t write, Review! November 2008 James Durney *************************************************************** What do you want for Christmas? This question is making the rounds in my family. There is a good chance that the same question or some variation of it is making the rounds in yours. For Civil War people, the answer is often books. Here […]
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Southern Seahawk: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea
Southern Seahawk: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea Though I am a big fan of the War Between the States, I am not very knowledgeable about that part of the conflict that took place on the high seas. I found Southern Seahawk, the first novel in the Seahawk Trilogy, to be a great […]
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Google Settles Suit
I use Google a lot, both for searches and for research on Civil War topics. Google book search is now an immense and impressive repository of 19th Century books, including a great many on military matters. I’ve found some very scarce regimentals as well as many books on rifles. The other big advantage of the […]