Katie Hanson - Another One Bites the Dust

In 1879, the story of Katie (or Kate) Hanson swept across the country.  Katie had disappeared twenty-two years prior, and newspapers reported that the mystery had finally been solved.  The romantic tale began in Pennsylvania when the eighteen-year-old fell in love with a man named Johnson.  The couple relished each other's company and specifically loved sharing adventures hunting and fishing in the woods.  But that came to an end when Hanson's father commanded her to desist in associating with the young man, whom he deemed "worthless."  Katie could not reconcile her feelings for Johnson and her father's lack of approval.  To her, the only option was to dissolve the relationship, which she chose to accomplish by running away in male disguise..  A search ensued, but after a couple of years, Katie's parents gave her up for dead.  According to them, she must have either been shot and killed in a hunting accident or became lost in the woods and perished.

My Video at Chalmette National Cemetery

So I'm branching out - after forcing myself in front of the camera.  First up is a video Mark shot of me last year at Chalmette National Cemetery talking about Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias "Lyons Wakeman," of the 153rd New York Infantry, who is buried there.


To learn more about Wakeman, click [HERE].

To find out where other women soldiers of the Civil War are buried, click [HERE].

I will periodically share more of these in the future.  You can view my YouTube Channel and subscribe by clicking [HERE].

Until next formation....rest.

My Book is Now Available for Pre-Order!

You can now purchase my book through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  It will ship March 15th.  Right now, the only option is hardcover, but it will be available as an ebook at some point. 

Even though the focus is women soldiers from Mississippi or those from elsewhere who fought in Mississippi battles, I branch out and share new exciting research about such topics as Gettysburg, Shiloh, Allatoona, Peach Tree Creek, Andersonville, 2nd Fort Donelson, Cloyd's Mountain/New River Bridge, Andersonville, Alton, etc.

Click [HERE] to purchase a copy from Amazon.

Click [HERE] to purchase a copy from Barnes & Noble.

Meet Miss Jenna Who Found Inspiration from a Woman Soldier of the Civil War

I recently had the pleasure of receiving an email from a nice gentleman named Mr. David who shared with me that his lovely and talented daughter, Miss Jenna, will be studying library science after she graduates from high school.  Her inspiration for her career choice?  She read the letters of a woman soldier named Mary Ann Clark and her mother, Elizabeth Burbage. And now she wants to use what she has learned to form a platform from which she can share her knowledge with others throughout her future career.  This is what Jenna had to say:

They Didn't Just Enlist in Wartime, Part 2

In my last blog post, I shared an article about a New York woman who enlisted in 1855, before the war.  Click [HERE] for it.  The following appeared in the Davenport Daily Gazette in October 1865, relating a brief story about an Iowa woman who had been serving at Camp McClellan six months after Lee surrendered.

They Didn't Just Enlist in Wartime

This article is from the Fremont Weekly Journal (Ohio) reprinted from the Utica Telegraph in 1855 shows that women didn't just have their sights set on serving in the military during wartime.

Of course, if she had kept her nose clean, who knows how long she would have served.  Or perhaps that's why she enlisted to begin with - to flee from the law.  Some did that to escape the Georgia State Penitentiary at Milledgeville during the Civil War.  Click [HERE] to read an article I wrote about it.

Until next formation....rest.

Women Soldiers at the Battles of Cloyd's Mountain and New River Bridge (Includes Video)

During the spring of 1864, the Federals launched a multi-prong offensive where they ultimately clashed with the Confederates at places such as the Wilderness in Virginia and multiple locations in and around Atlanta.  Another part of the offensive involved Brigadier General George Crook marching into southwestern Virginia in order to destroy the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad.  Confederates led by Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins attempted to stop them on May 9th, 1864, at Cloyd's Mountain, located in Pulaski County. The battle was short and involved a small amount of troops on both sides, but the action was fierce and involved hand-to-hand fighting resulting in a high amount of casualties.  At the end, the Federals drove the Confederates from their works and turned their attention to the 700-foot-long railroad bridge that spanned the New River.

Piers from the railroad bridge spanning the New River
View is looking at the Federal position on the west side of the river
http://www.thomaslegion.net/battleofcloydsmountain.html

Women Soldiers at Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown's raid in 1859.  The abolitionist attempted to seize the arsenal there and distribute the weapons to his followers in hopes of inciting a slave revolt.  U.S. Marines led by then Colonel Robert E. Lee stormed the engine house that Brown and his men had barricaded themselves in.  The abolitionist leader was captured, taken to Charles Town where he was tried and convicted of treason, and hanged.

Marker in Charles Town
Photo by Mark Hidlebaugh

Harpers Ferry 
Library of Congress

 Harpers Ferry is a lovely place to visit.  Mark and I have been there multiple times with the latest trip being a couple of months ago.  You can walk the scenic streets lined with period buildings that you can enter.  Inside, you will occasionally find interpreters in period clothing who will answer questions you may have.

From Books to Battlefields: Women Soldiers as Students and Teachers

And just like that, my summer is over, and it's time to go back to school.   While I love my job as a college instructor and have been blessed to have taught with some of the most amazing people throughout my career at all levels, I defy you to find a teacher who rues the end of summer vacation.

The Battle of Peach Tree Creek: "They Fought Like Very Devils"

The Union soldier who uttered those words was referring to Brigadier General Winfield Scott Featherston's Mississippi Brigade of Major General William W. Loring's division, Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart's corps, at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek fought on this day in 1864.