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."  

Of course, that would make Sudley Ford the Ford of Bruinen and the four children Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.  (Yes, I realize that not all of the hobbits were there.  But neither was Arwen in the book, and that's a whole other topic.  And yes, I realize that there are only seven troopers instead of nine, but maybe two of them got lost or something.  Hey, it's my story.)

Here, I fixed it.

Okay, so I'm not the best at graphically altering photos, but you get the picture.  See if you ever gaze upon this image again the same.  Ha!

Until next formation.....rest.