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October 10, 2015 · 4:06 pm

Dispatches From The Front #6

Book 2 12 August 1864

Fort Delaware

Sitting in the middle of the Delaware River about 9 miles south of Wilmington, is Fort Delaware. Designed to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia from attack from the sea, this imposing and impregnable granite and brick fortress sits on little Pea Patch Island. Pea Patch was so named because a shipment of pea seeds were lost overboard and ended up growing on the island. Much of it is at sea level and underwater when the river runs high with spring runoffs.

The fort was finished just before the recent rebellion began and has, thus far, not served its purpose of defending upriver citizens. Its isolated location in the middle of the Delaware River, however, rendered it a perfect prison for captured rebels and those opposed to the measures taken by the government in defense of the nation. The North calls them “traitors,” but in the south they are called “political prisoners.”

Among those held illegally is one Reverend, Isaac W. K. Handy, a Presbyterian minister, arrested the previous summer (1863). He is a man of proud bearing and a ready smile. After a careless remark at a dinner party, the Reverend found himself a guest in the infamous Fort Delaware prison.

The prison facilities inside the massive walls of the fortress are reserved for high ranking Confederates and the political prisoners. Their accommodations are demonstrably superior to those housing the lower ranking officers and enlisted men living in shabbily built barracks, where they are forced to wash themselves and their eating utensils in the putrid water of the canals running through their fenced confines.

Because of its location, escape from Fort Delaware is a fool’s errand, risking life and limb in the frigid and dangerous currents of the Delaware River. One has little choice but to endure the squalid conditions of the prison and hope the war ends soon.

Guards are often sadistic and some take pot shots at prisoners if they act suspiciously or do not quickly obey orders. Commanding the guards are Captain George W. Ahl and Lieutenant Abraham G Wolf. Both gentlemen, if one can even call them that, have the lowest respect for mankind, especially Confederate prisoners and often abuse their charges at will. General A. Schoepf is Fort Delaware’s commanding officer and seems to allow Ahl and Wolf freedom to have their way with the prisoners.

While there are many rumors of prisons in the South with prisoners suffering under similar conditions, alleged by some to be even worse, one certainly does not want to find oneself incarcerated at Fort Delaware.

Excerpt from An Eternity of Four Years, Chapter 26 – Wolf’s Revenge

*****

The shackles were placed on my wrists, and they were tight. One guard tied a rope to the center of the chain connecting the two shackles and tossed the other end over a beam. Then two of them began hauling me up until my arms were fully extended over my head, and my toes barely touched the ground. I could neither hang from the shackles on my wrists comfortably nor support myself on my toes.

Wolf got in my face again, and like every encounter I had with him before, I could smell the alcohol on his breath. His eyes were glassy and he slurred some of his words.

“How long?” I asked.

He shrugged. “As long as I feel like.” He left two guards with me. “No one comes near him, understand?”

Christmas Eve and I was hanging from a beam like some ornament on a Christmas tree. My hands were already beginning to hurt, but I dared not show my discomfort to give them any satisfaction. It was to be a cold winter night, and I was not properly dressed to spend it outside. I knew if I hung there very long, my hands would eventually swell and turn purple, and I could lose their use.

*****

Author’s Note: Lieutenant Abraham Wolf and his immediate superior Captain George Ahl were real guards at Fort Delaware, and their attitudes towards the prisoners depicted in my book were true to what my research said about them. The hanging torture that Ethan endured on Christmas Eve 1864 was indeed practiced on Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware. An author could not ask for better antagonists than these two, or a better name for one than Wolf.

Sources:

Images of Fort Delaware by Laura M. Lee and Brendan Mackie, Arcadia Publishing (Lieutenant Wolf is pictured on the cover of this one, seated second from the left)

Unlikely Allies, Fort Delaware’s Prison Community in the Civil War by Dale Fetzer and Bruce Mowday, Stockpole Books

Report:

Not much to report on Fort Delaware. After getting up at 6 in Gettysburg followed by a three hour drive to FD, we found it closed for the winter. The last weekend it was open was last weekend!

So, we packed up and headed for Dogfish Head Brewery, one of the most successful of the rapidly growing number of craft brewers, number 13 of over 3,000, a number changing almost daily. That was another hour and a half. We tested samples and took the tour. The place was indeed impressive, especially considering they started from nothing only 20 years ago.

Dogfish Brew

We then packed up and drove 2.5 hours to Washington DC, managing to take wrong turns only three times, and that was using iPhones and Google Maps.

I am tired and ready to come home!

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October 9, 2015 · 4:24 pm

Dispatches From The Front #5

Book 2 16 July 1863

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Lee has once more crossed the Potomac and entered Maryland and Pennsylvania, capturing many towns and cities. The Confederates eventually massed near the little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, pushing the Yankees back to positions south of the town on Cemetery Hill and down to the Round Tops on their extreme left flank in the south. Federal positions were arrayed in the shape of a fishhook, with the hook end on the north end at Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill only a few hundred yards east.

Late on the first of July, Ewell’s Corps faced weak Yankee positions on Cemetery Hill and could have pushed them off if he had had reserves available to support any successes they were almost assured of. Instead, Ewell was compelled to hold until all of the Confederate Army could mass at Gettysburg. That meant Hays and the 1st Louisiana had to assault Cemetery Hill on the second of July after it had been heavily reinforced and its positions hardened by the Yankees.

To the South, a Confederate assault on positions on the Union left flank at the Round Tops proved a failure. At the other end of the battlefield when Confederates began their assaults on Culp’s Hill and nearby Cemetery Hill, the fight that went well on into the night. Hays’ Brigade of Louisiana Tigers overran the Federal positions on Cemetery Hill, briefly taking their gun line only to be pushed back when Meade brought up reinforcements.

On 3 July, Lee assumed the Union center to be weakened and ordered Pickett to attack the center after cannonading their lines. This famous attack also faltered. Suffering heavy losses, the Confederates were stopped at the very muzzles of the Yankee canons.

On 4 July, Lee withdrew and positioned his forces in preparation for a withdrawal on 5 and 6 July. Gettysburg was a decisive loss for Lee and surely is a major turning point in the war.

Ethan’s comments on the battle. An excerpt from An Eternity of Four Years, Chapter 19 – Close Enough to Touch

*****

LA Monument GettysburgI am sure what happened on 2 July of 1863 will be long debated by the historians. Some will say the Confederate advance ran out of steam after taking the Federal gun line to be pushed back by more northern brigades thrown into the fight.

Others will say the outcome would have been far different if only Rodes and Gordon had thrown everything they had into the battle to exploit what we had accomplished.

Still others will say it would not have mattered even if they had, because the Union forces would have been just too strong for the Confederates to push much beyond where we had.

But I believe the answer is more complicated than that. Looking at pure numbers does not tell the whole story. After the war, some who were there on the other side that night of 2 July told me the South almost won the whole thing. Had we exploited our gains and pushed even a little further, enough to at least appear as if we were threatening to cut the Baltimore Pike south of Cemetery Hill, whether actually able to or not, all Federal resistance might have collapsed for fear we were about to cut off their only supply and escape route.

It is claimed the high tide of the Confederacy was on 3 July with Pickett’s charge in the Federal center. I contend it was the night before at Cemetery Hill on the Federal right flank. Either way, the end of the war was sealed at Gettysburg, but it would drag on for nearly two more bloody years.

I do know this much: the Tigers from Louisiana complained that once again they had gained for the South the potential for a great victory, only for that opportunity to be lost for want of forces to exploit what we had won with our precious blood.

Note: The monument above is the Louisiana State Monument to its soldiers at Gettysburg. It was designed by the same man who did Mount Rushmore, John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum.

*****

Report:

Another exhausting day…. We toured the battlefield and learned a lot I had not read in the many histories of the Battle of Gettysburg I have read. The weather held—and since we had a driver who knew the place, we didn’t get lost again today!

I paid special attention to the events on Cemetery Hill, which was a major event in An Eternity of Four Years for my characters. Again, the scale of the locations surprised me. Winebrenner’s Run was closer to Cemetery Hill than I understood. And Cemetery Hill was smaller than I imagined.

Winebrenner's RunPhoto taken from the Federal gun line on Cemetery Hill, looking downhill to Winebrenner’s Run, which is in the trees only a few hundred yards away. If you read the book, you will know Hays’ Brigade (1st Louisiana) was stuck there from before sunrise until late in the afternoon of July 2—in the hot July sun.

Gun Line CemetaryThe Federal gun line on Cemetery Hill. The 1st Louisiana captured these guns but could not hold them.

We also visited the Gettysburg Cyclorama. I saw it when I was here nearly 20 years ago, but it has been completely restored and is housed in a new building. It is a 19th century version of a 3D movie, only nothing moves. They have skilfully blended real foreground items with the 360 degree painting. The viewpoint is from the very center of the battle on the third day of the battle from the point where the Confederates briefly broke the Union line. See if you can tell where the real 3D stuff ends and the painting begins in the attached image.

Cyclorama1

After the bus tour we finished our visit to the new museum. The exhibits are very well done and tell the story of the war from before it started to well past Reconstruction with emphasis on Gettysburg, naturally. If you ever get here don’t miss it.

Overall, what emerged is an appreciation for the complexity of this battle, not that the others we visited were very simple. Because of this battle’s importance, a major turning point in the war, you get a real feeling for how much was in the balance and how such small things things like timing made the difference between success and defeat both tactically and strategically for both sides. Misjudgment, such as Lee underestimating the strength of the Union center on July 3, is a good example. Tactically, his idea to hit the center was sound, because he had already hit both ends, which should have encouraged Meade to weaken the center to protect his already threatened and attacked flanks. But the center was much stronger than Lee thought, and much of the artillery bombardment from the Confederate side went long because of gun smoke obscuring the impact of the rounds from the gunners to make adjustments.

Knowing this, Meade began silencing his guns a few at a time to make it sound to Lee like he was hitting them. When the Confederates got close in that famous Pickett’s Charge, Meade opened with his “silenced” guns using canister and slaughtered them. Fewer than half that began the charge returned to the Confederate side that evening. Lee was personally devastated by what he considered his failure.

Again, the bloodletting was on a scale unimaginable. This was indeed a brutal war.

Tomorrow – Fort Delaware, a prison for captured Confederates.

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October 8, 2015 · 8:28 pm

Dispatches From The Front #4

Book 2 117 September 1862

Sharpsburg, Maryland

General Lee has daringly invaded Maryland and thrown the Yankee strategy in disarray. After briefly using South Mountain as a barrier, Lee pulled back to Sharpsburg and assumed strong defensive positions along Antietam Creek.

Jackson’s Corps arrived during the night from his capture of Harper’s Ferry, securing a safe supply route for Lee, and was assigned positions on the Confederate left.

It rained last night and into the predawn hours, with the dawn breaking foggy and damp. By 5:30 AM both sides were exchanging volleys of musket and cannon, mostly on the Confederate left. The center of attention soon became a 20-acre field of corn standing tall and ready for harvest, but the harvest this day would not be of corn—but rather of men. Soon it would simply be known as “The Cornfield,” and anyone who had been there would know immediately the meaning behind the name.

The cannonading was so heavy that at times it seemed almost as one long roll of thunder, a noise straight from Hades sure to shake even the most stouthearted veteran present.

The Confederate brigades of Tremble and Douglass occupied the Cornfield. Union General Hooker noticed Confederate polished rifle barrels and bayonets glistening among the corn stalks and brought forward four batteries or artillery to deal with the threat. With canister shot, they mowed down corn and men alike, the men falling among the corn as if still in their ranks.

Jackson sent the Tigers of Hays’ 1st Louisiana Brigade into the fight to hold the faltering Confederate line. They charged through the Cornfield and pushed the Yankees out. Standing on open ground, they withstood withering musket and canon fire. The dead and wounded mounting, the Tigers were forced to retire with Walker’s Texas Brigade rushing past to assume their vacated positions.

Soon both brigades were forced to retire to Dunker Church, where they withstood further attacks by the Yankees throwing more brigades into the fight. Hays had lost over 60% of his Tigers, and every staff officer and regimental officer had been shot.

To the west, Stark’s 2nd Louisiana exchanged deadly fire over a chest high rail fence until forced to retire with heavy loses. In less than one hour, both brigades of The Louisiana Tigers were rendered hors de combat and were out of the fight.

The fighting followed to the south centered mainly on the Sunken Road, where Confederate casualties were such that they were stacked as many as three deep in the roadbed.

As the day closed, Lee withdrew and licked his wounds. The battle was, at best, a draw, but could have been a decisive Northern victory had the cautious McClellan used the several divisions he held in reserve.

With total casualties well over 23,000, this day will go down as the bloodiest single day of the war thus far.

Excerpt From An Eternity of Four Years, Chapter 15 – The Bloodiest Day

*****

The 550 screaming Tigers of the 1st Louisiana crossed those 300 yards under murderous artillery fire that cut our fellows down. In spite our losses, we plunged headlong into the Cornfield and collided with the Federals in a bloody melee of musketry, bayonets and clubbed muskets that eventually drove the Yankees back. The 12th Massachusetts received most of the attack.

I caught a glimpse of Jean leading his company and Sean right behind him as they ran, fired, reloaded and fired again. The Yankees were resisting stubbornly and falling back slowly.

We advanced to within 250 yards of the Federal line in the East Woods and faltered against stiffened resistance. Trapped out in the open fields, we were hammered by artillery and musket fire. The dead and wounded fell in staggering numbers.

*****

Report:

CornfieldThe Infamous Cornfield.

We did Sharpsburg today (Antietam if you are a Yankee) and Gettysburg in the late afternoon. We managed to get in some of the stuff at the Gettysburg Visitor’s Center after we arrived.

While Sharpsburg was the single bloodiest day of the Civil War at over 23,000 casualties (dead, wounded, and missing), Gettysburg, lasting three days, was the bloodiest battle at over 51,000 casualties. Those are truly staggering numbers. One thing is becoming abundantly clear from visiting these four battlefields, something that had not hit home quite as hard as it has on this trip, and that is this war was a human meat grinder, chewing men up and spitting them out. Read what is written on the two plaques below to get a picture of how bad it was.

LA PlaqueThe Louisiana Brigade and the Cornfield

Let me put this in perspective for you. There were over 620,000 casualties in the Civil War. That is substantially more than the total American casualties in ALL of America’s wars prior to the Civil War, and the CW was pure fratricide! World War II lasted less than four years, almost as long as the civil war, and spanned the globe. American casualties in that war were a little over 405,000, about two-thirds of the American Civil War. Get the picture now?

TX PlaquepsdThe Texans that replaced the 1st Louisiana came off even worse.

It begins to hit home reading the accounts of the 1st Louisiana Brigade in the infamous Cornfield and those of the Texas brigade that relieved them. It was said the corn stalks, cut as if by a knife, dripped blood, a harvest of corn and men.

Dunker OutsideDunker Church

I have included images of the famous “Dunker Church” that some spell as “Dunkard Church”, both inside and outside. It was where several of the brigades withdrawing from the Cornfield went to attempt to recover. It is not far from the Cornfield only a few hundred yards. The fighting followed the shattered brigades right to the church.

Dunker InsideInside Dunker Church. The pastor would have stood between the two windows to teach God’s Word.

I have also included an image from the famous Sunken Road, where Confederates took positions in this trench-like sunken road. They held off determined attacks until the Federals brought up artillery and managed to fire deadly canister shot down the road, mowing them down.

Sunken RoadSunken Road

The carnage that was Sharpsburg is just unimaginable.

Report on Gettysburg tomorrow. I am sunburned and exhausted. Janis forgot the sunscreen. I have a complete drug store in my bag but NO sunscreen.

The countryside driving up from Sharpsburg to Gettysburg was beautiful. Road was too twistie to stop and take pics. We managed not to get lost today. Used the iPhones and Google maps.

I am done for today…

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October 7, 2015 · 5:02 pm

Dispatches From The Front #3

Book 2 1Dateline: 21 July 1861

From: Manassas Junction, Virginia

The fight both sides have been spoiling for just occurred around a creek called Bull Run near Manassas Junction, Virginia. Confederate commander, General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter, had previously withdrawn his forces to take positions behind Bull Run. Such must have seemed to Union commander, General Irvin McDowell, as weakness, because he advanced in Beauregard’s wake.

Beauregard planned to draw McDowell into crossing Bull Run and attacking him near his center, allowing The Confederates to flank the Yankees around their left flank, thus cutting off McDowell’s escape route to Washington and his means of supply. McDowell did not take Beauregard’s bait, but instead, attempted a flanking maneuver of his own around Beauregard’s weakly defended left flank, where Beauregard had positioned Colonel Nathan G. Evans’ 4th South Carolina Regiment supported only by two cannons and Major Chatham Roberdeau Wheat’s Tigers, the 1st Special Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Volunteers, which consisted mainly of rogues and ruffians of ill repute, many culled directly from New Orleans’ jails. All total, only about 1,100 men held the Confederate left and would ultimately face at least three divisions.

The battle opened with Federal cannon fire from near the center of the line. This was but a distraction, as McDowell was actually busy moving the bulk of his army around the Confederate left flank. Dust raised by their movement and observations from Confederates in a high tower exposed the maneuver, and General Evans positioned his regiment to the left to meet the threat. A brief skirmish between some troops from South Carolina and Wheat’s Tigers ensued as a result of mistaken identity. Officers from both units quickly sorted out the mess but not before the Tigers suffered 3 killed and several wounded.

Soon Yankees were pouring over Bull Run to be met by the men from South Carolina and Louisiana. Standing firm, the Confederates beat back the Yankee advance and even charged into their midst. Some of Wheat’s Tigers threw down their slow-firing muskets and, with screaming Rebel yells and drawn knives, gallantly fell upon the hapless Federals, throwing them into confusion and driving them back. But they soon recovered and added more units to their number. Badly outnumbered and with their units mixed, Evans and Wheat were forced to withdraw back to Henry House Hill, where they were eventually joined by fresh Confederate brigades rushed into the battle. Included was the Virginia Brigade, commanded by General Thomas J. Jackson, who stood firm against the charging Yankees like a stonewall. As a result, his brigade is now being called the “Stonewall Brigade” and its commander “Stonewall” Jackson.

With more Confederate brigades thrown into the action, the Federals began to falter and withdrew in a panic, skedaddling all the way back to Washington, leaving the battlefield to the victorious southern warriors.

Sadly, during the fight at Henry House, Major Wheat was badly wounded and carried from the field by some of his men. This evening, he was told by the surgeon there was no record of any who had ever survived such a wound as his. To which he defiantly replied, “I don’t feel like dying yet. I shall put my case on record!” No doubt he will.

Though a great southern victory, special recognition must be given to Wheat’s Tigers, who held the line, withstanding many times their number, allowing time for a defense to be organized, ultimately guaranteeing victory. There are clearly no better fighters than the Tigers from Louisiana.

Excerpt from An Eternity of Four Years, Chapter 5 – First Blood

*****

Jackson StatueThe brigades of Barnard Bee, Francis Bartow and Thomas Jackson arrived at the front and joined the fight. Jackson and his Virginians moved to the left near Henry House Hill and took up positions. The fire from the Federals was terrific as we fell back unable to hold. Colonel William Pendleton had four batteries of artillery on the hill and was pouring canister shot into the Federals. An Episcopal Minister, Pendleton shouted the order, “Fire, boys! And may God have mercy on their guilty souls!”

The 4th Alabama under Bee was being pushed back. Bee rode up to Jackson and announced, “General, they are beating us back!”

Jackson’s reply was to the point, “Sir, we will give them the bayonet.”

Reassured, Bee rejoined his shattered force and asked his Alabamans to make another effort.

There is some question to this day as to exactly what Bee said to his men and just what he meant by it. It was generally agreed that he pointed to the Virginians and said, “Look at Jackson and his Virginians standing there like a stone wall.” With that statement, General Bee gave Jackson his famous nickname. After that Old Tom became known as “Stonewall Jackson,” and the Virginians of Jackson’s Brigade became known as the “Stonewall Brigade.”

*****

Report:

The “adventure” continues. The day began with Heath and Blake sleeping late. They were tired. Then it got really interesting. Blake discovers he has the luggage of some girl. Evidently, she grabbed his bag and left hers with him. Naturally, it contained all kind of girlie stuff. A long hilarious thread or text messages with wives at home ensued. I suggested he make do and wear what was in the bag, but the bra didn’t fit. That means we made a trip to Wally World to re-outfit Blake. Janis actually predicted we would have to do that for some reason or another. (She knows us well.)

Moving on…

Henry House

We visited the battlefield for First Manassas and took the walking tour. Very interesting to see the ground I wrote about in An Eternity of Four Years. Things were actually closer together than I had imagined. The first image is of Henry House and the Federal gun line mentioned in the book. Evans and Wheat were driven back here from in the distance in the left. The Confederates, by then, had realized the battle was on their left flank and began rushing brigades to that area. This hill became the focus of the fight. Confederate positions are about 800-900 yards in the direction the guns are facing.

We also visited some Second Manassas sites, a battle not really mentioned in the book, because Ethan was in Richmond tending to Aimee when it occurred. The Louisiana Tigers played a very remembered role in this fight. The Confederates were deployed in very strong positions along an unfinished railroad cut. In some places the railroad was a trench, while in others it was elevated. The image below is of an elevated section held by the 1st Louisiana Brigade. They ran out of ammunition and were reduced to throwing rocks at the Yankees 20 feet away just on the other side of the cut and eventually driving them off.

Unfinished Railroad

Went to dinner tonight at BJ’s Brew Pub and managed to get there and back without getting lost. Our navigation skills are getting better….

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October 6, 2015 · 9:07 pm

Dispatches From The Front #2

Cover B1From: Arlington, Virginia

Arlington was the home of Robert E. Lee before the American Civil War. He was serving as an officer in the United States Army prior to the war. Because of the incapacity of the aged Winfield Scott, General of the Armies, field command of the Northern Army was offered to Robert E. Lee. Virginia seceded from the Union soon after, and Lee declined the position and “went south”* to “offer his sword” to his home state of Virginia. Like many southerners, he could not take up arms against his home.

Arlington Plantation had originally belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington and step-grandson of George Washington. Custis willed the 1,100-acre estate to his daughter Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who was married to Robert E. Lee.

After Lee went south and because of its proximity to Washington DC (just across the Potomac), the family vacated the house in 1861. It was then occupied by Union forces during the war and became a cemetery for Union dead.

Today Arlington is a National Cemetery and a shrine to those who have served our nation honorably. Arlington is the home of The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by Tomb Guard sentinels. Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), headquartered at Fort Myer, VA.

* “Went South” (also, “gone South,” “go south,” etc.) – The term was used well back into the eighteenth century. In modern usage it generally refers to a situation turning bad or going “down,” because South is usually down on maps. It was used during the Civil war to refer to Americans who shifted their allegiance from the United States to the Confederacy. This is especially true for members of the US military, who resigned their positions and volunteered for service in the Confederate military.

 

Excerpt from The Last Day of Forever. This is where Ethan is faced with staying in the US Army or resigning.

*****

Colonel Loring became more serious. “I understand you’re from Louisiana?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m not sure how you feel about what is going in the East, but you being a southerner, I imagine it is very much like most of the southern boys in this army. I’m from South Carolina, myself. Personally, I think secession is a very bad idea, but I’ll tell you what I have told other officers. The South is my home, and if I must choose I am going to resign my commission.”

“I understand your feelings well, for I feel as you do.”

He stopped and turned to face me. There was sadness in his eyes. “War is coming. Lieutenant, I can feel it like I feel a change in the weather in the stump of this missing arm.” He became pensive. “Several more southern states have seceded from the union: Mississippi on 9 January, two days later Alabama, Georgia on 19 January.” He paused and took a deep breath. “And just a few days ago Louisiana voted for secession.”

So, they had done it, I thought as fear welled up inside me, fear for my country, fear for the future.

Loring continued, “I imagine you’ll be resigning your commission now.”

I looked at him questioningly. “I can’t take up arms against my state, my friends, or my family. What can I do, sir, but resign?”

*****

Arlington Graves

Trip Report:

We have arrived, and the adventure begins—first, by getting lost on the way to Arlington National Cemetery, and it is only a couple of miles from the airport! In the process we crossed the Potomac twice, and that was not part of the route from Reagan International to Arlington, which we drove past three times unable to make the turn into the cemetery because of wrong instructions or wrong lane, or wrong turn. We drove all over Northern Virginia, and we broke at least a dozen laws in the process if making lane changes and turns. Tourists!

Actually, the conversations (maybe arguments) among us on giving directions to Ryan, who was driving, were quite humorous. Heath says that was the best part of the trip so far.

We did finally find the front gate to Arlington and get parked. By far, the best part of the visit was the Tomb of The Unknown Soldiers. We lingered there for quite a while and saw the changing of the guard and a wreath laying ceremony. These sentinels take this very seriously. Some kids were talking loudly (silence is expected at the tomb), and the guard broke his stride and stepped out with his rifle and admonished them. They take 21 steps to make the trip one way, and all turns were on a 21 count. Twenty-one being the number for the highest honor, as in a “21 Gun Salute.”

As mentioned they do this in all kinds of weather, including hurricanes. There was a hurricane that hit Washington some years ago, and that was the one time they were told to stand-down for their own safety. The sentinels refused and walked the guard through the hurricane, anyway.

Arlington is a beautiful place and the final resting place of so many Americans, famous and not-so famous, and those “Known but to God” who gave their lives for their country—miles and miles of white headstones perfectly aligned and meticulously tended. If you ever get to DC, Arlington is worth a visit.

TOU Arlington

Tomorrow, it is the Manassas Battlefield.

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October 4, 2015 · 4:15 pm

Dispatches From The Front #1

Book 2 1From October 6 through October 12, I will be traveling with my two sons, Heath and Ryan, and my grandson, Blake. We will be touring famous Civil War battlefields in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania with additional visits to the Civil War prison, Fort Delaware, and Washington DC. To my surprise, it was Ryan that suggested this. I never knew he was that interested in the places I wrote about in An Eternity of Four Years. Normally, a writer visits the sites in his book before he writes about them, so this is a bit backwards. I did, however, “visit” them via Google Street View while writing the story.

I will post trip reports on http://www.catahoulachronicles.com daily, assuming I am not passed out from exhaustion. As the title of this post suggests, I will treat each post as if it were an on-scene report from the battlefield in the 1860s usually with a brief excerpt from the book. Each will be followed with some (modern) commentary with pics if I can make that work while on the road. These will be done from the various locations while we are traveling. (I may be biting off an awful lot doing this, but I will do my best, and I think it will be fun.)

I will be covering First Manassas (VA), Sharpsburg (MD), and Gettysburg (PA). In the six days we have to do this, we can’t cover every battle in the book, but these three were major engagements in the war and the book. We will drive through the Shenandoah Valley on the way to Sharpsburg but won’t have any time to spend there.

(By the way, did you know the North and the South often had different names for Civil War battles? First Manassas was called  “First Bull Run” in the North (Second Manassas was Second Bull Run), and the Battle of Sharpsburg was called “Antietam” in the North. This is because the South tended to name battles after nearby towns, and the North tended to draw names from major terrain features on the battleground. Bull Run and Antietam were both creeks running through the battlefields. Since my books are written from a southern viewpoint, I use the southern names.)

When we visit Fort Delaware, where Ethan was held prisoner for nine months, at Ryan’s request and since it is close to Fort Delaware, we will also visit Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and maybe have a brew or two. Report to follow, hopefully. From there we will return to Washington DC and visit as much as we can in the one day remaining. We intend to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and a few other “must see” sites in DC. Again reports if I can make them work.

I hope you will “come along” on this trip with us and let us show you what we see—and learn a little American history in the process.  I love history, which is one reason I write historical fiction. This is your chance to connect the history and the places with the story in An Eternity of Four Years.

I will not be inundating you with daily emails during this period. I will send out only one more reminder, and that will be a reminder announcement the day before. After that, you will be on your own to come back the next day for more Dispatches From The Front on the Catahoula Chronicles Blog. Clicking follow on the catahoulachronicles.com web site will get you automatic email updates. I also intend to post daily on FaceBook.

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September 10, 2015 · 2:00 pm

Manard Lagasse Hated Getting Shots!

Me, Manard, Joey 1953I had a brief discussion with Elton Lagasse, Manard’s older brother, at a meeting the other night, and he reminded me of a story from our childhood. Manard had a needlephobia, a really bad needlephobia. I never really considered Manard to be a coward. He was always there with the rest of us, doing all the stupid and risky things boys did back then, but he really feared getting shots. (Manard is in the middle in the image on the right.)

As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, my dad, Dr. M.B. Casteix, used to periodically round up all the kids of our extended family for inoculations for just about every disease known to man. Those were followed in a few weeks, or a few years, maybe both, with booster shots. And then there were the tetanus shots for our frequent wounds and rusty nail punctures in our bare feet, and we were always barefoot during the summer. Seemed like we were always getting shots for something when we were kids.

The call would go out, and all us kids would be required to report for inoculations, usually on Saturday afternoon or at night after the my dad’s office closed. The roundup included Manard and Elton Lagasse, Bobby and Melanie Manard, Kibby Manard, and sometimes even my cousins, Stephanie and Robin, and sisters, Jeanne and Martia, who were all quite a bit younger than the first mentioned group.

All of us had “side-entrance privileges,” which means we could go in the side door of the office. Usually escorted by parents, we marched into the last examining room at the side entrance end of the hall and lined up for our shots. On one of the first such inoculation roundups, Manard managed to be at the head of the line, and he was looking a bit nervous—maybe a lot nervous?

CabinetMB went to his instrument cabinet (which now resides in my bathroom) for a syringe. Whatever it was he came out with, Manard evidently thought it resembled something on the order of a turkey baster with a big needle, because his eyes got got as big as saucers, and after only a brief moment of indecision, he concluded he wanted no part of that thing and promptly decamped.

Panic stricken, he headed out the examining room for the side door, but Henry Lagasse, his dad, waiting there for him to take him home, happened to be blocking his way. Upon seeing his dad standing there with a questioning expression on his face, Manard did an about face and headed up the hall that ran the length of my dad’s office, but that offered no means of escape; the front doors were locked. Henry knew something was up and was in hot pursuit of his youngest child. He caught up to Manard in the little room at the end of the hall where the bathroom and coke machine were (Heath has that over in Texas, the coke machine, that is).

Somehow, Manard got past his dad, bolted out of the coke room, failed to navigate the turn and bounced off the hall wall, then headed back down the hall at a full-tilt run for the side door—and needle freedom! About then MB innocently stepped out of the examining room with the syringe in his hand to see what was up with Manard. As soon as Manard got a  look at “Dr. Frankenstein” with his turkey baster hypodermic, he slid to a halt, his Keds making little screeching sounds on the highly-waxed, asphalt tile floor. He did another about face only to run smack into his dad, who was still in hot pursuit but obviously gaining on him.

Henry manhandled the loudly protesting and squirming Manard into the torture chamber—er, I mean examining room—for his dose of whatever it was we were getting that day. MB stuck Manard, and he squealed like a stuck pig.

Kip and ManardThe rest of us kids stood around kind of big-eyed and slack-jawed in complete awe of what had just transpired. Most of us were thinking maybe we should be considering some kind of escape plan ourselves? But the door was by then well covered by at least two parents, and seeing no way out, we reluctantly got our shots with only minimal whimpering. They stung a little, but we lived.

The whole affair became a source of humor for all of us but Manard, of course. All future inoculation summons were somewhat looked forward to, because we wanted to see what Manard would do, and he never failed to impress us with his fear of the needle.

The last photo is of Kibby (on left) and Manard with my dad’s office behind them. Thanks to cuz Bobby.

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September 4, 2015 · 7:27 pm

The Parrott Rifle

During the Civil War, most canons were smoothbore (no rifling), which tended to limit range and accuracy. One notable exception was the Parrott Rifle, which came in a number of different calibers from mobile field pieces to heavier immobile defense pieces used on fortifications.

The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parrott, a West Point graduate. He created the first example in 1860 and patented the design in 1861, just in time for the “festivities” we call the American Civil War.

Parrott Crew

They were manufactured as a combination of cast and wrought iron. Because of the increased resistance of the rifling slowing of the projectile’s trip down the barrel, higher pressures were generated than in smoothbore canons. As a result bursting at the breech end was a problem. This was solved with the addition of a large wrought iron band added over the breech end of the gun. This can be seen at the back end (breech end) of the guns in the two attached images. This is a distinguishing feature of the Parrott Rifles. The band was heated red hot and slipped on while cold water was poured down the bore of the gun as it was being rotated. This ensured uniform attachment of the band to the gun.

The Parrott was used by both sides in the war and came in different sizes from 10 pounders (weight of a bore size round iron projectile) to rare 300 pounders. For the largest field piece, the 20 pounder, the gun alone weighed 1,800 pounds.

The Parrott had a poor reputation for safety and was not liked by some of the crews. But they were effective out to about 2,000 yards when handled by a well-trained crew. The more common smoothbore canon, the Model 1857 12 pound Napoleon, was effective out to only about 1,200 yards

Limbered Guns

The gun rested on a two-wheeled gun carriage. Its trail was attached to a two-wheeled limber for transport and drawn by a team of horses. Ammunition, fuses, sights, and its friction priming device were carried in the limber, which was positioned well behind the gun when deployed for action. Additional ammunition was carried in caissons, which replenished the limbers in a fight. The crew usually consisted of eight men, and each had a specific job when fighting the gun. They rode the gun’s horses and on the limber when transporting the gun. A battery usually consisted of four guns, but was fewer in many cases.

Ammunition consisted of solid shot, exploding shell, and canister or grape shot. The exploding shell had a timed fuse set by the crew to explode on arrival at the target. Grape shot and later canister consisted of a “package” of round cast iron balls about 1” in diameter. It can best be described as resembling shotgun buckshot ammunition but a lot bigger. It was used at relatively short ranges against charging infantry. You can see the awful effects of canister in some scenes of Pickett’s Charge in the movie Gettysburg, a classic Civil War movie. Look for the scenes where the canister takes out dozens of charging Confederates as they cross a fence. It takes out the fence, too.

Captured guns were a great prize during the war, especially for the equipment-short Confederates. And with the advent of rifled muskets, increasing their range and accuracy, the gun’s crews and horses became prime targets. If the crew was killed or wounded, the gun was out of action. If the horses were killed, the gun could not easily be repositioned or removed from the field, lending them to the possibility of capture.

There is a scene in An Eternity of Four Years that took place at the Battle of Port Republic during Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, when the Louisiana Tigers were tasked with capturing some particularly troublesome guns that had a high-ground position sweeping the battlefield with their accurate fire. When the Tigers took the position, capturing the guns, and were in danger of being repulsed, they slaughtered the artillery horses to prevent the guns from being moved. That actually happened in that engagement, by the way.

The Civil War was generally fought with the linear battlefields of previous wars; that is regiments, divisions, and corps lined up facing each other and blazed away. The smoothbore muskets were not very accurate and hitting a man at 100 yards was pretty iffy, thus the need for massed fire. Throw enough lead at them, and you are bound to hit something. Unfortunately, that required massed troops, making them easy targets for the other guy’s massed fire.

With the advent of rifled muskets and the rapid reloading Minié ball, all that changed, and casualties went up dramatically. The same held true for canons, which were generally placed to the rear of the infantry. The added range and accuracy of the rifled muskets and field guns made those obsolete tactics suicidal.

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August 25, 2015 · 10:14 pm

Rachel Meets Her Rival – Excerpt

At the risk of giving away too much of the story plot of An Eternity of Four Years, here is a short scene at a grand ball in Washington when Rachel meets her rival, Aimee de Beauchamp, for the first time. If you have read The Last Day of Forever, you will know Aimee was chasing Ethan while Rachel was “exiled.” Enjoy.

•••••

PrintThe ball was in one of the hotels near the capitol. Its ballroom was elaborately decorated with gas crystal chandeliers, gilded moldings, and fine draperies. The room was a sea of soldiers in dress blue uniforms, politicians in formal wear and white ties, and lovely women in fancy ball gowns. Miles took me around the room and introduced me to so many generals and politicians that I lost track of their names. Several asked me to dance and questioned me about my portraits.

“Captain Herndon tells me you are the finest portraitist in Washington. I must see your work. My wife wants a portrait of me now that I have been promoted to brigadier. Do you think you can fit me into your schedule?”

“I do have a waiting list, sir, but we can work something out.” After the dance I gave him my calling card.

“I shall be calling upon you, Miss Rachel.”

“And I shall look forward to it, sir.”

Miles intervened and took my arm. “Don’t I get to dance with the girl I brought?”

“Of course, Miles.” And he swept me out onto the floor and spun me around until I was dizzy. I was having a marvelous time. Washington is nothing like Gettysburg!

We retired to the punchbowl for refreshments. As Miles was reminding me of the names of those I had met and needed to remember, a woman called out in French-accented English, “Miles, is that you? It is you!”

Miles turned to the voice, and a shocked expression swept over his face. “Aimee?”

“Aimee?” I said softly to myself as my Analee eyebrow went up. I turned to see a beautiful young woman making her way to us, a broad smile on her face.

Aimee swept into the conversation with a flourish worthy of the finest stage actor. Miles was speechless. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your lovely, new lady-friend?” she asked, nodding to me.

Miles looked to me anxiously before beginning the introductions. “Mademoiselle Aimee de Beauchamp, may I present Mademoiselle Rachel Whitcomb. Rachel, Miss Aimee de Beauchamp.”

That broad smile of hers fell from her face such that I would almost swear I heard a thud when it hit the floor. She glared at me for a moment and seemed unable to speak, but she soon recovered. “You are Rachel? And may I call you Rachel? I feel as if I already know you…”

“Of course…” but she did not allow me to finish, and frankly, I am glad she did not, for what I was thinking of saying was not flattering.

“And you must call me Aimee. We are almost old friends, aren’t we?” Getting no immediate response from me, she turned to Miles. “Miles, aren’t we like old friends?”

Miles could barely get in a nod before she continued, “I must say, Rachel, you are as lovely as Ethan said you were. That’s a beautiful gown; it shows off your trim figure so nicely.”

I did not have a chance to respond before Miles attempted to regain control of the conversation. “Aimee, I thought you were in France?”

•••••

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August 17, 2015 · 8:55 pm

New Cover For The Last Day of Forever

For those interested, I have a new cover. I like this older Rachel much better. It is a period photo I Photoshopped slightly to make her just a bit less plain looking, mainly her eyes and mouth.

Cover B1

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