cut one's foot, (v. phrase), to step in an animal turd. Sometimes a polite euphemism used in mixed company. You see Bubba examining the sole of his shoe and you say, "What are you looking at, Bubba? Did you cut your foot?"
click on this to see more arkie words
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Mascots of the War
"Major," a mutt for the 10th Maine, (later reorganized as the 29th Maine) had a habit of snapping at Confederate minie balls in flight. Unfortunately, he caught one and died. During engagements, "Major" would bark and growl ferociously until the battle was over.
Gen. Robert E. Lee kept a hen as a pet and was rewarded with a egg laid under his cot each morning for his breakfast. The hen was displaced during the Gettysburg battle, causing much consternation until she was found. She was placed on the headquarters wagon for the retreat.
The 3rd Louisiana CSA, had a donkey in its midst. The donkey would push into the commander's tent and try to sleep with him, mistaking the officer for his original owner.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis's dog was also named Traveler.
Soldiers of the Richmond Howitzers kept a number of gamecocks as pets. The Battalion also kept a dog, "Stonewall, " who was much admired by the artillerymen. Stonewall was given rides in the safety of a limber chest during battle. He was taught to attend roll call, sitting on his haunches in line.
The 43rd Mississippi Infantry kept a camel named Douglas, which was killed by a minie ball during the seige of Vicksburg,
Civil War Camp Sumter Prisoners Saved by a Storm
The U.S. Civil War took the lives of more Americans-- 600,000 more than any other armed conflict. As with many wars, much of the suffering took place off the field of battle as soldiers starved and died of illness. Nowhere was this more true than in prisoner of war camps, the site of 10% of the Civil War’s deaths. The most notorious of the Civil War camps was Camp Sumter near Andersonville, Georgia. Built to hold 9,000 prisoners, the 16.5 acre site was chosen in 1863 because of its remote location and abundant food sources.
As the war was reaching its climax, Camp Sumter packed more than 30,000 men into the space designed for a third as many. The Stockade Branch, which provided the only water for the inmates, was backed up by the stockade’s pilings. It became a putrid cesspool polluted with grease from a cookhouse upstream, the waste water of laundry and human excrement.
Those who drank the water were as likely to kill themselves with dysentery and diarrhea as to quench their thirst.
Then one night downpour caused the Stockade Branch to overflow with such ferocity that it washed away much of the camp’s foul waste. Several bolts of lightning struck near the prison, including one that hit a pine stump inside the stockade. At the base of the lightning-charred stump, a spring of fresh water emerged. The source was most likely a local spring that had been covered over during the construction of the camp, which the storm liberated. It came to be known as Providence Spring.
As the war was reaching its climax, Camp Sumter packed more than 30,000 men into the space designed for a third as many. The Stockade Branch, which provided the only water for the inmates, was backed up by the stockade’s pilings. It became a putrid cesspool polluted with grease from a cookhouse upstream, the waste water of laundry and human excrement.
Those who drank the water were as likely to kill themselves with dysentery and diarrhea as to quench their thirst.
Then one night downpour caused the Stockade Branch to overflow with such ferocity that it washed away much of the camp’s foul waste. Several bolts of lightning struck near the prison, including one that hit a pine stump inside the stockade. At the base of the lightning-charred stump, a spring of fresh water emerged. The source was most likely a local spring that had been covered over during the construction of the camp, which the storm liberated. It came to be known as Providence Spring.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Famous Quotes of the war
"It's bad. It's damned bad."
- Abraham Lincoln's first reaction to the Union Army's rout at First Manassas
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance"
- Union General John Sedgwick spoke these words just moments before being shot dead by a confederate sniper at Spotsylvania
"He looked as though he ought to have been, and was, the monarch of the world"
- Description of Robert E. Lee
"Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues anything"
- Abraham Lincoln directed this remark to George B. McClellan, who had excused his lack of action in the fall of 1862 due to tired horses. McClellan was removed from command shortly there-after.
"He will take more chances, and take them quicker, than any other general in the country--North or South"
- A contemporary so described Robert E. Lee
"Look at Jackson's brigade! It stands there like a stone wall!"
- Confederate General Barnard E. Bee of South Carolina gave this description of Stonewall Jackson's brigade at First Manassas *
"It's just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns"
- A Federal veteran so instructed new recruits in musket drill
"Boys, he's not much for looks, but if we'd had him we wouldn't be caught in this trap"
- A captured Union soldier described Stonewall Jackson in this way
"a tyrannical, hot-headed vulgarian"
- A subordinate so described Nathan Bedford Forrest
"The time for compromise has now passed, and the South is determined to maintain her position, and make all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel"
- Jefferson Davis used these words in his inaugural speech on February 16, 1861
"a damned old goggled-eyed snapping turtle"
- Subordinate officers so described Union General George Meade
"Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River"
- Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston made this unfulfilled prophecy shortly before the Confederate defeat at Shiloh, which cost Johnston his life
"I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words to his army's chaplains
"Really, Mr. Lincoln, I have had enough of this show business"
- Ulysses S. Grant used these words to decline to attend a White House party in his honor, so that he may return to the front
"The rebels are out there thicker than fleas on a dog's back!!"
- An excited Union officer used these words to report the advance of Confederate forces at Shiloh
"Hello, Massa; bottom rail on top dis time"
- A black Union soldier spoke these words to a Confederate prisoner he recognized--his former master
"No, no. Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees"
- Stonewall Jackson spoke these words on May 10th, 1863, just before pneumonia took his life **
"It is well that war is so terrible--we should grow too fond of it"
- Robert E. Lee gave this observation while watching thousands of Union soldiers sent to the slaughter at Fredericksburg
"Strike the tent!"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words in delirium, shortly before he passed away on
October 12, 1870 **
"I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier."
- Confederate Brigadier General Albert Perrin made this oath on the eve of the Battle of Spotsylvania, where he was killed in action.
"General, get up--dress quick--you are a prisoner!"
- Confederate partisan John S. Mosby directed this order to General Edwin H. Stoughton after rousing the General from his bed at Union headquarters.
"In the name of God and humanity I protest!"
- Confederate General John Bell Hood lodged this complaint against General William T. Sherman's orders to have the citizens of Atlanta leave the city following its capture by Union forces.
"General, if you put every [Union soldier] now on the other side of the Potomac on that field to approach me over the same line, I will kill them all before they reach my line."
- General James Longstreet made this vow to Robert E. Lee as countless Federal assaults were beaten back by Longstreet's men at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
"If you surrender you shall be treated as prisoners of war, but if I haveto storm your works you may expect no quarter."
- Nathan Bedford Forrest routinely issued this warning to opposing forces and often received his desired result.
"Every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they stood in their ranks a few minutes before."
- A Union officer who survived the Battle of Antietam gave this description of the destruction of a Confederate force posted in a cornfield there.
"All this has been my fault."
- Robert E. Lee repeatedly spoke this line to the survivors of Pickett's Charge as they stumbled back to Confederate lines.
"Whoever saw a dead cavalryman?"
- Infantry troops often uttered this sarcasm in criticism of the cavalry, who were said to fight so rarely that they seldom left casualties behind.
"If you bring these leaders to trial it will condemn the North, for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion."
- Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court privately delivered this opinion on charging captured Confederate officers with treason.
"The dead covered more than five acres of ground about as thickly as they could be laid."
- A Confederate survivor so described the Union dead at the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864.
"Hold on with a bull-dog whip and chew and choke as much as possible."
- Abraham Lincoln offered Ulysses S. Grant this encouragement during the latter's grueling Siege of Petersburg in 1864-65.
"It's all a damned mess! And our two armies ain't nothing but howling mobs!"
- A captured Confederate private gave this description of the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864.
"My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me."
- Stonewall Jackson
"I am now considered such a monster, that I hesitate to darken with my shadow, the doors of those I love, lest I should bring upon them misfortune."
- Robert E. Lee gave this appraisal of his image to a friend shortly after his surrender at Appomattox in 1865.
"General, unless he offers us honorable terms, come back and let us fight it out!"
- James Longstreet said this to Robert E. Lee as he rode off to discuss terms for surrender with General Grant at Appomattox.
"I am short a cheek-bone and an ear, but am able to whip all hell yet."
- Union General John M. Corse made this peculiar boast after sustaining a head wound at the Battle of Allatoona in 1864.
"We talked the matter over and could have settled the war in thirty minutes had it been left to us."
- A common Rebel soldier made this statement after fraternizing with a Union soldier between the lines.
- Abraham Lincoln's first reaction to the Union Army's rout at First Manassas
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance"
- Union General John Sedgwick spoke these words just moments before being shot dead by a confederate sniper at Spotsylvania
"He looked as though he ought to have been, and was, the monarch of the world"
- Description of Robert E. Lee
"Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues anything"
- Abraham Lincoln directed this remark to George B. McClellan, who had excused his lack of action in the fall of 1862 due to tired horses. McClellan was removed from command shortly there-after.
"He will take more chances, and take them quicker, than any other general in the country--North or South"
- A contemporary so described Robert E. Lee
"Look at Jackson's brigade! It stands there like a stone wall!"
- Confederate General Barnard E. Bee of South Carolina gave this description of Stonewall Jackson's brigade at First Manassas *
"It's just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns"
- A Federal veteran so instructed new recruits in musket drill
"Boys, he's not much for looks, but if we'd had him we wouldn't be caught in this trap"
- A captured Union soldier described Stonewall Jackson in this way
"a tyrannical, hot-headed vulgarian"
- A subordinate so described Nathan Bedford Forrest
"The time for compromise has now passed, and the South is determined to maintain her position, and make all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel"
- Jefferson Davis used these words in his inaugural speech on February 16, 1861
"a damned old goggled-eyed snapping turtle"
- Subordinate officers so described Union General George Meade
"Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River"
- Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston made this unfulfilled prophecy shortly before the Confederate defeat at Shiloh, which cost Johnston his life
"I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words to his army's chaplains
"Really, Mr. Lincoln, I have had enough of this show business"
- Ulysses S. Grant used these words to decline to attend a White House party in his honor, so that he may return to the front
"The rebels are out there thicker than fleas on a dog's back!!"
- An excited Union officer used these words to report the advance of Confederate forces at Shiloh
"Hello, Massa; bottom rail on top dis time"
- A black Union soldier spoke these words to a Confederate prisoner he recognized--his former master
"No, no. Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees"
- Stonewall Jackson spoke these words on May 10th, 1863, just before pneumonia took his life **
"It is well that war is so terrible--we should grow too fond of it"
- Robert E. Lee gave this observation while watching thousands of Union soldiers sent to the slaughter at Fredericksburg
"Strike the tent!"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words in delirium, shortly before he passed away on
October 12, 1870 **
"I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier."
- Confederate Brigadier General Albert Perrin made this oath on the eve of the Battle of Spotsylvania, where he was killed in action.
"General, get up--dress quick--you are a prisoner!"
- Confederate partisan John S. Mosby directed this order to General Edwin H. Stoughton after rousing the General from his bed at Union headquarters.
"In the name of God and humanity I protest!"
- Confederate General John Bell Hood lodged this complaint against General William T. Sherman's orders to have the citizens of Atlanta leave the city following its capture by Union forces.
"General, if you put every [Union soldier] now on the other side of the Potomac on that field to approach me over the same line, I will kill them all before they reach my line."
- General James Longstreet made this vow to Robert E. Lee as countless Federal assaults were beaten back by Longstreet's men at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
"If you surrender you shall be treated as prisoners of war, but if I haveto storm your works you may expect no quarter."
- Nathan Bedford Forrest routinely issued this warning to opposing forces and often received his desired result.
"Every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they stood in their ranks a few minutes before."
- A Union officer who survived the Battle of Antietam gave this description of the destruction of a Confederate force posted in a cornfield there.
"All this has been my fault."
- Robert E. Lee repeatedly spoke this line to the survivors of Pickett's Charge as they stumbled back to Confederate lines.
"Whoever saw a dead cavalryman?"
- Infantry troops often uttered this sarcasm in criticism of the cavalry, who were said to fight so rarely that they seldom left casualties behind.
"If you bring these leaders to trial it will condemn the North, for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion."
- Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court privately delivered this opinion on charging captured Confederate officers with treason.
"The dead covered more than five acres of ground about as thickly as they could be laid."
- A Confederate survivor so described the Union dead at the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864.
"Hold on with a bull-dog whip and chew and choke as much as possible."
- Abraham Lincoln offered Ulysses S. Grant this encouragement during the latter's grueling Siege of Petersburg in 1864-65.
"It's all a damned mess! And our two armies ain't nothing but howling mobs!"
- A captured Confederate private gave this description of the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864.
"My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me."
- Stonewall Jackson
"I am now considered such a monster, that I hesitate to darken with my shadow, the doors of those I love, lest I should bring upon them misfortune."
- Robert E. Lee gave this appraisal of his image to a friend shortly after his surrender at Appomattox in 1865.
"General, unless he offers us honorable terms, come back and let us fight it out!"
- James Longstreet said this to Robert E. Lee as he rode off to discuss terms for surrender with General Grant at Appomattox.
"I am short a cheek-bone and an ear, but am able to whip all hell yet."
- Union General John M. Corse made this peculiar boast after sustaining a head wound at the Battle of Allatoona in 1864.
"We talked the matter over and could have settled the war in thirty minutes had it been left to us."
- A common Rebel soldier made this statement after fraternizing with a Union soldier between the lines.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
How to cuss like a Civil War Soldier
http://www.columbiarifles.org/Articles/Cussing.html
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos.
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Poem of Pvt. Miles O'Reilly
| Thirty-seven (Poem) by Private Miles O'Reilly |  |
APRIL 20, I864
BY PRIVATE MILES O'REILLY
THREE years ago today
'We raised our hands to heaven,
And on the rolls of muster
Our names were thirty-seven ;
There were just a thousand bayonets,
And the swords were thirty-seven,
As we took the oath of service
With our right hands raised to heaven.
Oh 'twas a gallant day,
In memory still adored.
That day of our sun-bright nuptials
With the musket and the sword':
Shrill rang the fifes, the bugles blared,
And beneath a cloudless heaven
Twinkled a thousand bayonets,
And the swords were thirty-seven.
Of the thousand stalwart bayonets
Two hundred march today;
Hundreds lie in Virginia swamps,
And hundreds in Maryland clay;
And other hundreds, less happy, drag
Their shattered limbs around.
And envy the deep, long, blessed sleep
Of the battle-field's holy ground.
For the swords—one night, a week ago,
The remnant, just eleven,
Gathered around a banqueting board
With seats for thirty-seven;
There were two limped in on crutches,
And two had each but a hand
To pour the wine and raise the cup
As we toasted "Our flag and land!"
And the room' seemed filled with whispers
As we looked at the vacant seats,
And, with choking throats, we pushed aside
The rich but untasted meats;
Then in silence we brimmed our gl*****,
As we rose up—just eleven,
And bowed as we drank to the loved and the dead
Who had made us THIRTY-SEVEN.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Keeping warm
The Spoon and the Taco
Many times, Civil War events can get downright nipply. What can you do to help prevent your sleeping area from becoming an ice box? Well, you could do what I do. Namely, spoon with your pards. This technique involves packing in tight with your homeys and sharing bodily warmth. Homophobia is nice, but it won't keep you warm at night. Now, what do you do when you have no pards with which to spoon? I propose a technique that I have named The Taco. What you do is:
1) Lay down a ground cloth. This will keep you dry. If you don't have a gum blanket (shame on you) you can try a shelter half. Personally, I save my shelter half for my feet.
2) Lay down all your blankets. You would be surprised how much heat your body loses to the ground. Having a blanket (or several) underneath you will keep you warmer than having all your blankets on top of you. In this case all your blankets will go under you (at first.)
3) Lie down. (Did you think you were going to stand all night?)
4) Grab one edge of the mass of stuff you are lying on and pull it completely over you. You should wind up lying on one half of the pile and under the other half. Otherwise you did something wrong and you probably are a degenerate. Do you see what you have done? You have effectively doubled the amount of cover for yourself. If you have two blankets and one ground cloth, let's say, then you are lying on one ground cloth and two blankets and also under two blankets and one ground cloth. The blankets under you will help hold in warmth from the ground, and the ground cloth over top of you will keep out the wind. You don't have as much wiggle room, but it will keep you warmer. Make sure you don't pull the closed end of the taco too tightly. This keep heat from escaping directly through the blankets. It's also a good idea to tuck your feet in to keep them warm. I like to use my shelter half to tuck in my feet. It keeps the wind out pretty well, and there is enough of it to get good coverage. If your camp has a fire, sleep next to it with the open side of the taco towards it for convection heating.
1) Lay down a ground cloth. This will keep you dry. If you don't have a gum blanket (shame on you) you can try a shelter half. Personally, I save my shelter half for my feet.
2) Lay down all your blankets. You would be surprised how much heat your body loses to the ground. Having a blanket (or several) underneath you will keep you warmer than having all your blankets on top of you. In this case all your blankets will go under you (at first.)
3) Lie down. (Did you think you were going to stand all night?)
4) Grab one edge of the mass of stuff you are lying on and pull it completely over you. You should wind up lying on one half of the pile and under the other half. Otherwise you did something wrong and you probably are a degenerate. Do you see what you have done? You have effectively doubled the amount of cover for yourself. If you have two blankets and one ground cloth, let's say, then you are lying on one ground cloth and two blankets and also under two blankets and one ground cloth. The blankets under you will help hold in warmth from the ground, and the ground cloth over top of you will keep out the wind. You don't have as much wiggle room, but it will keep you warmer. Make sure you don't pull the closed end of the taco too tightly. This keep heat from escaping directly through the blankets. It's also a good idea to tuck your feet in to keep them warm. I like to use my shelter half to tuck in my feet. It keeps the wind out pretty well, and there is enough of it to get good coverage. If your camp has a fire, sleep next to it with the open side of the taco towards it for convection heating.
I got this off another website that didn't have the author's name.....so if any knows who wrote this please post their name so we can regonize them.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Fort Gibson Heritage Days
This comming weekend..April 21 will be the muster at the ole Fort! Be thar! It will be most fun. Preston and Tom are supposed to play Saturday night for a jollification!
Fort Gibson Oklahoma just East of Muskogee. Muskogee is 30 miles north of I-40
Fort Gibson Oklahoma just East of Muskogee. Muskogee is 30 miles north of I-40
SgtMajor No More
Preston Ware is not SgtMjr of the TMVI anymore! He had a long run of it though...1998 to 2007. One fellow said he was the Strom Thurmon of reenacting. ha ha Ironicly...he was awarded a plaque for his long-time services at the very event where he declined to run for the post again. Dont be surprised if you see him in the 3rd Arks ranks alot more!
personal note: I am sure gonna miss those stripes! and sure, werent they glorious?
Great Video of Gettysburg
PL sent us this link to a YouTube video of a Gettysburg reenactment. Looks like the 145th to me. I think I saw Ron Cates. Its really very good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDxrB9-7tHY
paste the above link into your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDxrB9-7tHY
paste the above link into your browser.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Ample Bosom
[The Texas Brigade were]...full of good-humor and confidence in themselves and in their general, Hood. They answered the numerous taunts of the Chambersburg ladies with cheers and laughter. One female had seen fit to adorn her ample bosom with a huge Yankee flag, and she stood in the door of her house, her countenance expressing the greatest contempt for the barefooted Rebs; several companies passed her without taking any notice, but at last a Texan gravely remarked, "Take care, madam, for Hood's boys are great at storming breastworks when the Yankee colors is on them." After this speech the patriotic lady beat a precipitate retreat.
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