Christmas Gift Ideas!

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for the history enthusiast on your list, consider items on my reading list.  Most center around women soldiers, of course, but I do have a section at the bottom that includes books published by my friends that deal with other topics.

Check it out by clicking [HERE].

The true gift:  John 3:16.

If At First You Don't "Secede": The Republic of West Florida

You probably recall learning about the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 in school.  But what you may not know is that the deal wasn't as straight forward as you may think.  A dispute arose over whether the agreement included territory called West Florida.  Despite the name, this region did not include any part of Florida we know today.  Rather, it stretched from the Mississippi River in the west, across the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts, and over to the Perdido River, which forms the boundary between present-day Alabama and Florida.  The 31st parallel was the northern boundary.

This area was ruled by the Spanish, claimed by the United States, and inhabited by French, British, and others.  It was quite an interesting place filled with diverse individuals and unsavory characters.  Indeed, West Florida attracted buccaneers, thieves, malcontents, misfits, political refugees, and ruffians, among others.  William C. C. Claiborne, the only governor of Orleans Territory and later the first governor of the state of Louisiana, described the people of Louisiana West Florida by noting that “a more heterogeneous mass of good and evil was never before met in the same extent of territory.”  And with the political unrest, the region was prime for tension, drama, confrontations, and clashes.

Video: A Woman Soldier Who Occupied Natchez With Her Unit in 1863

In 1863, the 95th Illinois Infantry disembarked at Natchez Under the Hill to occupy the city.  One of the soldiers in this regiment during this time frame was a woman named Jennie Hodgers who served as Albert D.J. Cashier.  In this video, I show you the areas she would have seen as she entered Natchez.

Hodgers was not the only woman soldier with a connection to Natchez, Mississippi.  Click [HERE] to watch another video I previously shared about "William Bradley" of Miles' Legion, whom I discuss in more detail in my book, Behind the Rifle.

Until next formation....rest.

Illinois Congressman Mentions Women Soldiers on the Floor of US Senate

William Richardson served in various political offices in Illinois beginning in 1836.  Ten years later, he enlisted in the military and fought in the Mexican War as a captain before earning a promotion to major.  After the war, he settled in Quincy, Illinois and then headed west to serve as governor of the Nebraska Territory in 1858.  Following his resignation, Richardson - a Democrat - went to Washington DC to serve in the US Congress.  In 1863, he was elected to fill the Senate seat previously held by Stephen Douglas.

William Richardson

How Many Women Soldiers Were There? Solving for X.

I address this topic in my book as well as in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section found in the menu at the top of my blog.  But I wanted to expand on it here.   First of all, as a mathematics instructor, I can tell you that you can make numbers say pretty much anything you want.  Trust me.  I have had some rather innovative students, and I have marveled at their creations.  Now, some of them were wrong, but creative nevertheless.

So what do the numbers say regarding women soldiers of the Civil War? 

Battle of Allatoona Pass - 155 Years Later

A woman soldier lost her life in a horrifying manner 155 years ago during a nasty little fight just north of Atlanta. She and a few other of her sister soldiers fell in the Battle of Allatoona Pass, which can be viewed as a footnote to the Atlanta Campaign or an introduction to the ill-fated Franklin-Nashville venture.

Atlanta fell to the Federals a month prior, on September 2nd.  John Bell Hood continued to lurk in the area and decided to attack the Federal supply base at Allatoona, located along Western and Atlantic railroad.  William T. Sherman ordered Brigadier General John Corse stationed in Rome to defend the pass and the stores at Allatoona.  There, on October 5, 1864, he clashed with Confederate troops commanded by New Jersey native Major General Samuel French.

Samuel French's map of Allatoona
From Two Wars:  The Autobiography of Samuel G. French (1901)

Battle of Port Gibson

The Battle of Port Gibson was a delaying action undertaken by Confederates to show General Ulysses S. Grant's advance to Vicksburg.   Outnumbered approximately three to one, General John S. Bowen commanded Confederate forces consisting of a few brigades that faced two Federal corps under John McClernand and James McPherson.

battlefields.org

A Monument to a Civil War Woman Soldier?

There aren't many monuments to women soldiers in our country.  There's a statue of Deborah Sampson that stands outside the public library in Sharon, Massachusetts.

https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-98-an-infantryman-named-robert/

My Appearance on C-SPAN2's Book TV

On Saturday, August 17th, I had the privilege to participate in a panel discussion on the Civil War at the Mississippi Book Festival.  John Marszalek, Ben Wynne, Jacquelyn Hal, and I all enjoyed speaking about our recent books detailing lesser known aspects of the Civil War.  Follow the link to watch the video:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?463290-11/author-discussion-civil-war-south&playEvent=&fbclid=IwAR0KuYxH-DN3HWP5XIqQAdrlBDUtmf813l0N38u4tTQm_qc32ztZlpJZfQc



Until next formation.....rest.

Video - 155th Anniversary of the Battle of the Crater

Today marks the 155th anniversary of the Battle of the Crater, and I wanted to share a video Mark and I made with a good friend of ours, Aaron Rowland, who is a ranger at Petersburg National Battlefield.  In it, we discuss the battle and the woman soldier whose body was discovered there.

Click [HERE] to read an earlier post I wrote about this topic.

Video: Jennie Hodgers's Name Etched on the Illinois Monument, Vicksburg National Military Park

Next time you visit the battlefield in Vicksburg, find the name of "Albert D. J. Cashier" on a tablet inside the Illinois monument.  That is the male alias of Jennie Hodgers who served throughout the war in the 95th Illinois Infantry.  In this video, I show you where it is.  How many more such names do we gaze upon that are actually hidden women?

Until next formation....rest.

Women Soldiers and Suicide

I tried to compose this post weeks ago.  But other projects kept coming up, and I had to put this one aside.  And then in the matter of a week, I learned that two friends lost their sons to suicide.  The younger one was only sixteen.   They  both succumbed to depression.  I still hurt for them.  My thoughts soon turned back to this post, and I immediately dismissed it as one that needed to remain hidden.  But it kept creeping back into my consciousness, and I relented.

The following women did not meet their fates on a battlefield as others did.  As a matter of fact, only one of them may have encountered the enemy at all.  Instead, the foe these women faced was within themselves, and they either perished by their own hand - or nearly did.  Their stories are tragic and should be told.  We should remember them not completely out of pity, but because they provide us with a connection to our own flawed, mortal, and often wounded psyche.

Video: Watch Mark and Me on the Tony Tone Show

Video: Follow in the Footsteps of a Female Participant in Thayer's Assault at Vicksburg

Today is the 156th anniversary of the Federals' second assault at Vicksburg and the last before Grant laid siege to the river city. During this assault , Brigadier General John M. Thayer attacked a Confederate fort across challenging terrain. Check out the video Mark and I made in which we navigate Thayer's approach. Interestingly, a woman soldier serving in the 3rd Missouri Infantry (US) was among the Federal element of Woods' brigade providing support.

We made this video in October 2018 prior to the release of my book, Behind the Rifle. But now that it's out, you can read all about "Charles Junghaus." She is buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Until next formation....rest.

My Interview for Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Recently, I was interviewed by Karen Brown about my book, Behind the Rifle, for the Mississippi Edition segment of Mississippi Public Broadcasting.  You can listen by clicking on the link below:

http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/mississippiedition/mississippi-edition-thursday-april-25/

My Interview on the Y'all Show

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Jon Rawl for the radio show, Y'all. Based out of Tennessee, the show covers a range of topics from food, travel, outdoors,sports, history, and more: all with a Southern focus of course! I have not listened to it yet, so I'm not sure how goofy I sound. 😃


Y'all Show - Masters Preview; Civil War Women; Southern Food Fests

And Now For Something Completely Different: Ringwraiths at Sudley Springs Ford

One of my favorite photographs from the Civil War was taken by George Barnard at Manassas in March 1862. 

Library of Congress:  LC-DIG-cwpb-00954

There's just something about this photograph that depicts children and Federal cavalry staring each other down at Sudley Ford.  The tension is palpable, and a viewer is quickly immersed with the unknown.  What transpired between the children and troopers?  What was said?  Regardless of the subsequent events, one thing for sure is that the lives of these individuals would be changed forever in the coming days, months, and years.   Specifically, the innocence of the children would be stolen by one of the most profound tragedies in American history that was the Civil War. 

[HERE] is a post containing then and now photos of the area.  And in [THIS BLOG POST] one researcher identified the children as belonging to the Thornberry family. 

The troopers are unknown, but for whatever reason, when I saw this photo for the first time, I couldn't help but thinking of them as the Ringwraiths in The Fellowship of the Ring and the scene depicted as "Flight to the Ford."  

Supplement to My Article "Hidden in Plain Sight" (Military Images, Spring 2019): JANE PERKINS

In a previous blog post, I shared a teaser video in which I revealed that I had discovered what I thought to be a woman soldier in a photograph.  Based upon my research of military documents, newspapers, and soldiers' letters and diaries, I developed a theory as to who she possibly was.  And so Mark and I tag teamed on an article about this photograph and the alleged woman soldier it contained.  It has been been published in Military Images magazine (Spring 2019).  Visit the Military Images magazine website by clicking [HERE] to learn how to purchase this magazine.

Cover for the Spring 2019 Edition of Military Images Magazine

Trailer for "Behind the Rifle"

I hope you enjoy the trailer I made for my book, Behind the Rifle:  Women Soldier in Civil War Mississippi.

My Article: "Hidden in Plain Sight"

When I came across this image of Confederate soldiers, I discovered that one of them may be a woman! In this video, Mark and I analyze this interesting photograph, which - according to my research - would be the only one known of a female soldier in the field with her male comrades, if the soldier is indeed a woman.   Make sure to watch to the end to learn about our upcoming article, "Hidden in Plain Sight," which will appear in the spring 2019 edition of Military Images magazine. In this publication, Mark and I discuss this photo and reveal who this possible woman may have been according to military documentation.

I include this female soldier in an introductory chapter in my book, Behind the Rifle, but I discovered her in this photograph too late to include it.

Until next formation...rest.

Julia Underhill: "Don't Forget Me," Part 2

In my previous article, I shared the first part of Julia Rundlett Underhill's story.  She was born in Maine and had married Leemon Underhill, who did not meet her father's approval.  The couple moved initially to Minnesota and then to Wisconsin.  Things were going well until Leemon enlisted in the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery and marched away to garrison Fort Jackson in southern Louisiana.  With her husband absent, Julia found it increasingly difficult to take care of their two daughters and fend off unwanted attention from men.  The tense situation she discovered herself in ultimately drove her back east - to Massachusetts where two of her aunts lived.  And it was from there where she sent Leemon a letter in 1864, informing him that she had become a "good looking boy."  Click [HERE] to read part one.

Julia Underhill: "Don't Forget Me"

Born in either 1836 or 1843 (depending on the source) in Maine, Julia Frances Rundlett did not have an easy life.  Her troubles began when she wed Leemon Underhill, a Canadian by birth.  Some sources claim that he was a local teacher.  Some even say that he was her teacher.  Depending on which birth date is correct, Julia may have been fourteen when she married.  Leemon was twenty three.  And her father, Joseph, did not approve of the marriage.  He said that he "sent [her] to school and tried to give [her] a chance to be somebody in the world."  And now, it appeared as if she had squandered the opportunity her father had presented her by marrying Leemon.  Joseph apparently did not believe Leemon was good enough for his daughter and doubted his ability to take care of her.

VIDEO: A Woman Soldier in Natchez, Mississippi

In this short teaser video shot in October 2018, I point out the location where a woman soldier was discovered in Natchez,  Mississippi.  I don't mention her identity in the video because my book had not been released at the time.  But she was a slave who served as "William Bradley" with Miles' Legion, which was a Confederate unit.

You can read more about her in a previous post by clicking [HERE] and by reading my book, Behind the Rifle.