Category: biography
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Praise for the USAMHI
A quick Huzzah! for the fine folks at the US Army’s Military History Institute (USAMHI), Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. I’m sorry to say I’ve never visited in person, but they have been immensely helpful to me over several years by snail and email. Most recently, I heard from Mr Richard Baker, a Technical Information Specialist at…
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Famous neighbor
After living in the neighborhood for more than 15 years, I finally visited the old St. James Cemetery just over a block from our house. It’s fairly small, maybe 200 yards square, and is tucked in among the homes in a quiet residential area. Established in 1873, it was company to a chapel of that…
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Where the Digital History rubber meets the road
Perhaps the title of this post should be Hardcore Digital History. Englishman Bill Torrens is working on a project to create biographical sketches for each of the officers below the rank of Brigadier General who served in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) during the American Civil War. He’s been at this for over…
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Eyewitness Cavalryman
I’ve recently read a contemporary letter from Confederate trooper James K. Munnerlyn about what he saw in Maryland as part of the cavalry rear-guard of Lee’s Army on and after 9 September 1862. Munnerlyn (above, in 1867) was a Private in Company F of the Jeff Davis Legion Cavalry: the Georgia Hussars. They were nominally…
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More on Moses Luce, late Sergeant, 4th Michigan Infantry
I’m having too much fun pulling the string on one of my guys: Moses Luce of the 4th Michigan. I mentioned him in an earlier post about his alma mater, Hillsdale College. I got a great email from Hillsdale’s archivist, Linda Moore, with some quotes, a new photo, and a pointer to the college newspaper.…
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Go Chargers
I’m sorry to say I’d never heard of Hillsdale College until last week. My loss. In south-central Michigan, Hillsdale was a hotbed of liberal thought, abolitionism, and Unionist sentiment in mid-19th Century America. Because of its dedication to the principle of equality, Hillsdale became an early force for the abolition of slavery and for the…
