Video: Women Soldiers Brought to Life

 I've been working on this project for a while now and finally got to a point where I could wrap it up and share it.  I took some images of women soldiers, colorized and animated them using AI.  If you have worked with AI, you know it can be fickle.  I can't tell you how many times I had to redo something because it just didn't turn out the way I wanted despite composing very specific prompts.  And I will say that there are some details that still aren't what I wanted.  I'm sure down the road I will still tweak this video, or make a complete new one.  But, until then, here it is:  

 

 

Battlefield Trust Aims to Preserve Land Women Soldiers Fought On

The Battlefield Trust announced recently an opportunity to purchase over 1,000 acres at Chickasaw Bayou.  This was the North's first major attempt to take the vital city of Vicksburg.  Previous expeditions had failed without truly threatening the city with Holly Springs being the most notable.  

Video: Animated Almeda Hart, alias "James Strong," 127th Illinois Infantry

My latest venture into using AI to try to bring women soldiers of the Civil War to life involves working with Almeda Butler Hart who served as a mounted courier for General David Stuart's brigade during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.  Almeda and Henry were newlyweds, and she didn't want to be separated from him when he enlisted.

The audio and video are not perfectly synched.  But I think it's still effective in giving life to this extraordinary woman.  The picture I used is of a younger Almeda when she was a teenager before the war.  She was actually around 25 at the time of Chickasaw Bayou.  At the end of the video, I included a picture of her as she was closer to her time of service.  I didn't use it in the video throughout because the quality is rather poor.

160th Anniversary of Chickasaw Bayou

Today marks the 160th anniversary of the landing of William T. Sherman's squadron just north of Vicksburg in an early attempt to capture the important river city.  It was a dismal failure for the Federals.  Among Sherman's soldiers was Almeda Hart.  She was disguised as "James Strong" so that she could accompany her husband, Henry, in the 127th Illinois Infantry.  Here is a short video I made showing viewers where Almeda an Henry landed and the area where she was riding as she delivered messages during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou for David Stuart's brigade of Morgan Smith's division.  You can read more about Almeda and other women soldiers in my book Behind the Rifle:  Women Soldiers in Civil War Mississippi.  Also, if you attend my presentations, I open with a reading of the letter Almeda sent to her mother.

 

Married Women Soldiers of the Civil War

In this video, I share brief accounts of a few of the women soldiers who went to war with their husbands.