March 29, 2010, 08:54 PM | #351 | |
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Distinction between the Union army and the Confederate Army
There is a moral superiority that the Confederate Army enjoyed over the United States Army. They didn't have coffee-boilers who loafed about while their buddies were fighting. One Corn-fed explained:
Quote:
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April 7, 2010, 06:15 PM | #352 |
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Those thieves are not my men
Union soldiers marching through Willow Springs in Mississippi had looted one plantation and left virtually nothing. The indignant farmer rode up to Union General A. J. Smith to complain that his men had robbed him of everything he owned. The thieves, he said, belonged to the command of Brigadier General A. J. Smith's division of McClerland's XIII Corps. Smith listened to the man and then asked, "Whose mule is that you rode up on?" When told by the farmer that it was his own, Smith replied, "Well, those men didn't belong to my division at all, because if they were my men they wouldn't even have left you that mule."
The defense rests.
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April 26, 2010, 11:09 PM | #353 | |
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Grave robbers
It's not really grave robbing, but a friendly rivalry between some Texas regiment and the 3rd Arkansas with whom they were brigaded with.
Quote:
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April 28, 2010, 07:55 PM | #354 | |
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"I'm not dead yet!"
This is almost out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Quote:
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April 28, 2010, 08:19 PM | #355 |
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WWII Infantryman:
At some point during this period, Colonel Johnson, the Commander of the 117th, drove his shiny jeep past a filthy soldier who failed to Salute. Johnson backed up and told the man he’d either salute right now, or he’d find himself as the point man in Company A, 1st Battalion. The man simply replied “I am the point man in Company A…” Johnson saluted him and drove on. |
April 30, 2010, 11:09 PM | #356 | |
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In Deadly Earnest
by Phil Gottschalk. It's about the Confederate Missouri Brigade in the Civil War. Taken from page 353:
Quote:
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May 2, 2010, 03:26 PM | #357 | |
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This is from Gerald Earley's, I Belonged to the 116th: A Narrative of the 116th Ohio Volunteer Infantry During the Civil War, pages 31-32:
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May 2, 2010, 04:03 PM | #358 | |
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Final entry from Gerald Earley's book listed above.
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July 24, 2010, 12:26 AM | #359 | |
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Here's something about the Mexican Revolution.
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Many Chinese in Mexico threw their lot in with General Pershing when he led a punitive expedition against Pancho Villa. They became the cooks, laundrymen and most importantly, the mule skinners who supported Pershing's columns. Knowing that they would be executed by Villa if left behind, he brought them with him when he recrossed the border back into the United States and had them housed on an army base until he could get a special law passed that granted them permanent residency (despite the Chinese Exclusion Act). They became known as Pershing's Chinese. The Chinese who stayed behind (because they were not participants of Pershing's campaign) were executed, along with their Mexican wives and their children, by Villa and his men. It was genocide south of the border. From Tang, Irwin A, Asian Texans: Our History and Our Lives, Austin: The It Works, 2007, p 114-115. The Chinese joined los Federales after 300 of their number were massacred in Torreon (May, 1911). The company involved was recruited in Chihuahua City, NW of Torreon. Adapted from "Planting the Celestial Republic in San Antonio," San Antonio Express, June 17, 1917.
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July 25, 2010, 06:33 PM | #360 | |
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This excerpt is from the same book.
Quote:
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July 30, 2010, 08:10 AM | #361 | |
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Abe Lincoln told this story
Lincoln told this story after he heard that Hood's army was defeated at Nashville.
Quote:
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August 2, 2010, 09:46 PM | #362 | |
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Another Lincoln line
I've been reading Dr. John Sotos' book, The Physical Lincoln. Sotos' is a cardiologist trained at John Hopkins. His book raises the issue that Lincoln's misshapen body was not attributable to Marfan but to a rare form of cancer, MEN2B. The first chapters discusses the case for Marfan and why Lincoln didn't have Marfan. Other chapters examines each of Lincoln's physical attributes through eyewitness accounts, photographs, casts of Lincoln's hands, several life masks and his death mask.
Let's not get into a discussion whether Lincoln was the debbil incarnate or a sainted martyr. He's the dude on the penny and the five dollar bill. Good enough? Well, here's something Lincoln said that Dr. Sotos quoted (on page 263): Quote:
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August 3, 2010, 06:22 PM | #363 |
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Not a blackpowder tale
So, when I was in the Old Dominion State attending The Company of Military Historians Conference in April, we visited the Smithsonian Aviation Museum near Dulles Airport. They had Enola Gay, the B-29 that help light up Hiroshima displayed there. There were numerous WW II fighter aircraft including a Focke Wolfe 190 fighter. Anyhow, they also had a book signing event. The book was, "Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wehrmacht" by Robert F. Door and Thomas D. Jones. It's about the three squadrons of the 365th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force. Unlike the Eighth, which was a strategic air force, the Ninth was a tactical air force that supported the ground operations. At Normandy, the plastered the German convoys rushing to reinforce Rommel. During Operation Cobra, the blasted a way for Patton's army to break out and encircle the Germans. They bombed and strafed the retreating columns as they sought to escape the Falaise Gap and provided support when the Allies chased the Wehrmacht out of France. I bought a copy and started reading it recently.
If you remember Operation Bodenplatte, that was the German Luftwaffe's early morning strike in Dec. 1944 to destroy the AAF on the ground. About 850 fighters took off near dawn and streaked westward with orders to strafe the American fighters before they could even warm up their engines. An airforce was destroyed, but it wasn't the AAF. The Luftwaffe suffered 40% loss in aircraft. Worse, 234 irreplaceable fighter pilots had been killed, wounded or captured. General der Jagdfleiger Adolph Galland lamented that it was the death of the German fighter arm. One German fighter pilot who didn't return was Oberfeldwebel (Master Sergeant) Stefan Kohl. When captured, Kohl believed that they had struck a devastating blow against the Americans. His belief was not without basis as the airfield was littered with burning P-47s. Cocky and self-assured, he jerked his thumb towards the wreckage and asked his American captors of the 386 Squadron that he just struck, "What do you think of that?" Unable to deny the destruction, Maj. Bob Brooking stomped out angrily without saying a word. What Kohl didn't know was at that time of the war, American factories were producing more planes than we had pilots for. From the depots around Paris, fresh Thunderbolts were rushed to the front to replace all the destroyed or damaged planes. A few days later, the 386 was operational again. Brookings then fetched Kohl from his jail cell and pointing to the airfield asked Kohl, "What do you think of that?" Kohl was stunned with what he saw. Rows of shiny, brand new Thunderbolts lined the field. Energetic crews were working on them and preparing them for their mission. Realizing that industrial capacity of America could not be matched by Germany, a humbled Kohl replied, "That is what is beating us." The book is a good read. Check it out.
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August 3, 2010, 07:28 PM | #364 | |
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From Hell Hawks, page 186
Here's a funny little incident that followed the Luftwaffe's raid on the 386th Squadron's airfield.
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August 8, 2010, 05:42 PM | #365 | |
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Not a funny story
But something useful when you're in the field and you've got a partridge or quail to cook.
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BTW, I'm told that the mountain folk of West Virginia cook chicken this way too.
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September 11, 2010, 09:30 AM | #366 | ||
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From Mark Twain's 1869 travel book (so there's no copyright protection on it now), The Innocents Abroad. Twain caught a steamship to Europe with intent of visiting Egypt. He stops in Paris where he sees the emperor, Napoleon III, the nephew of the great conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte.
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I guess he was the original Abdul the Butcher. Anyway, Twain earlier stopped in Tangier. Quote:
Thank you MalH for recommending this book. I got it out of the library and carried it with me to Egypt.
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September 12, 2010, 06:56 PM | #367 | |
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Mark Twain sees an enchanting girl at the opera
The other book I carried on my recent trip was Twain's, A Tramp Abroad (c 1898). Tramp in those days meant to hike as in the Civil War song, Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching... Anyway, Twain decided to go to Germany to study art and he attends the Opera. This excerpt is from page 49:
Quote:
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September 16, 2010, 06:39 PM | #368 | |
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Mark Twain visits Pompeii and sees a Roman soldier
The fellow has been dead for several centuries of course. From page 41 of Vol. II, The Innocents Abroad, we have:
Quote:
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September 17, 2010, 06:18 PM | #369 | |
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Curing night blindness
I'm currently reading Panzer Destroyer: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander by Vasiliy Krysov. It is published by Pen & Sword (UK). We are fortunate that more Russian memoirs are appearing in the bookstores. Until recently, almost everything we got was from the German perspective. Panzer Destroyer is the memoir of a Red Army Officer who commanded a KV-1, then a SU-122 howitzer armed assault gun, a SU-85 (the anti-tank equivalent of the SU-122) and finally at T-34/85. He fought at Stalingrad before being transferred to fight at Kursk. I'm only 1/3 the way through, but it's an exciting read as he gives graphic accounts of his battle against German tanks, anti-tank and infantry. His assessment of various pieces of armor of both sides gives a fresh perspective to ponder. It's well worth reading and you can either buy it or see if your local library has a copy.
Here's an excerpt: Quote:
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September 25, 2010, 09:59 PM | #370 | |
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Back on Civil War track
Recently an older Civil War buff passed away and I went to his son's home to pick up five boxes of his books. Most I'll share with members of the Civil War round tables that I belong too. One caught my attention though. It is Glenn W. Sunderland's Five Days to Glory. Based on the letters of 59th Illinois Pvt. Tighlman Jones, he joined at age 15 and fought at Pea Ridge, the Siege of Cornith, Perryville, Stone River (Murfreeboro), Knoxville, Atlanta and five days before his discharge, at Nashville where Hood's Army of Tennessee was crushed by Thomas. Jones unfortunately was wounded and did not survive his wound. A company commander in regiment recounts a tale of soldierly looting and avoidance of detection.
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October 29, 2010, 04:37 AM | #371 |
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He's no soldier
We all know of Boxer's call me senator. Here's a spoof at this Link.
There is an Abe Lincoln precedent (not president). Lincoln the attorney was representing an army officer who was accused of assaulting an old man. Lincoln was giving his opening statement when he was interrupted by his client. Lincoln: "There is an indictment against a soldier for assaulting an old man." Client: "I am no soldier. I am an officer." Lincoln, unfazed, corrected himself. "I beg your pardon. Gentlemen of the jury, there is an indictment against an officer, who is no soldier, for assaulting an old man."
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October 29, 2010, 11:38 AM | #372 |
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Jacob the Goose
Noted Canadian military historian Rene Chartrand had his submission on Jacob the Goose published in The Fall 2010 issue of The Company of Military Historians. Page 231 has the story of Jacob the Goose. I'll summarize it here.
During the Canadian Rebellion (1837-38), the 2nd Coldstream Guards was sent to Quebec where it became part of the city's garrison. Sentries were posted around the city and Guardsman and ex-farmboy John Kemp stood his post on what would otherwise seem a typical boring day. As he paced, he noticed a fine white goose wandering about his post. Pacing back and forth as sentries do, Kemp kept an eye on the goose when he spied that a large, brown fox had stalked up close to the unwary goose. Kemp could not shoot (the fox, not the goose) as it would sound the alarm. Suddenly the goose noticed the fox and making panicked sounds, flapped its wings. It fled between Kemp's boots with the fox in hot pursuit. A quick thrust of Kemp's bayonet put an end to the fox. With that, the goose bonded with the guardsmen and always accompanied them on post. They, in turn, named it Jacob. One day Kemp was on sentry duty again walking his post. Two knife armed would be assassins were sneaking on Kemp. Jacob spotted them when they rushed towards Kemp. Flapping his wings and squawking out an alarm, Jacob counter charged. Kemp spun on his heels, saw the assassins, raised his muskets and fired. His fellow sentries responded to his assistance and the assassins fled. Jacob was heralded as a hero by the regiment and the officers had a golden collar fitted around his neck. When the guards returned to London in 1842, Jacob accompanied them. He became a favorite of children and was said to be approached (not poached) even by the Duke of Wellington. For anyone who is a member of The Company, my article on Pemberton's Sharpshooters begins on page 223.
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October 29, 2010, 12:32 PM | #373 | |
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Correspondence between Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton
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October 29, 2010, 12:37 PM | #374 | ||
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So I've been reading Jennison's The Humorous Lincoln
Final Lincoln story.
General McClellan grew tired of Lincoln's intermeddling. Lincoln was growing wearing of McClellan's inactivity and was urging McClellan onward to attack the Confederates. To mock the president, McClellan sent trivia. Quote:
Quote:
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October 31, 2010, 12:06 AM | #375 |
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My grandfather was born in 1870, in Genoa, Italy. being a stone mason, he found work building the fortifications in Alsace-Lorane. When they were digging the foundations for the house where my dad was born..1908, they came across blue wool cloth, brass buttons, and finally human bones with the blood still on them..this was from the 1870 Franco-Prussion war. My granparents ran a little resturant there, one day a big German officer came in and ordered rabbit with corn-meal mush. Grandpa said to come back in an hour or so. Grandpa not wanting to lose a paying customer had not told him he had no rabbit...He went out to alley in back & found big tomcat. After the meal, as he was lighting his pipe and relaxing over a final glass of wine, he said that was the best rabbit he had ever had! In 1912 grandma with 4 little kids under 6 years came to this country on the Ancona. She couldn't speak a word of english (grandpa had come over in 1910). During WW1, the Ancona was converted to a troop ship & was sunk off North African coast by Austrian U boat...Captined by Von Trap. I never did get to meet my grandfather, he having drowned in 1933. Grandma lived to see men walk on the moon, she died at 92.
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