#73 Making Due

As commodities became scarce in the South, men and women made due with what they had. Soap, for example, was produced from home out of water, lye, and grease. To produce lye, water was filtered through a tray of wood ash. When meat was scarce, china berry and cottonseed oil was used as a grease-substitute.

Toothbrushes and tooth powder were highly valued and in short supply. Such things as arrowroot, chalk, charcoal, cuttlefish bone, honey, myrrh, orris root, and salt and soda were used as tooth powder. Hog bristles, twigs, or the licorice roots were used as toothbrushes.

Rice flour was a substitute for face powder and melted lard mixed with rose petals was used as hair oil.

When paper was scarce, individuals made the most of what they had. They would write a full page and then turn the paper 90 degrees and fill the paper that way. It made the letter difficult to read but not impossible. Ink was made using dogwood extract or elderberries.

(Source: Varhola, Michael J. Everyday Life During the Civil War: A Guide for Writers, Students, and Historians. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books. 1999.)

#72 The Ballad of Widow Fritchie

Barbara Fritchie, age 96,  of Frederick, Maryland, was immortalized in a poem for something she had nothing to do with. In September 1862 Lee's army was heading northward through the town. As they marched, so the story goes, they dragged a captured American flag through the dirt. Upon seeing this, Mrs. Fritchie, otherwise bedridden, hobbled out of her house and began to curse at the soldiers and their leader, Stonewall Jackson. According to the ballad by John Greenleaf Whittier this is what happened:

"Shoot, if you must, this old gray head

But spare your country's flag," she said."

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred
To life at that woman's deed and word;

"Who touches a hair of yon gray head
Dies like a dog! March on!" he said.

All day long through Frederick street
Sounded the tread of marching feet;

All day long that free flag tost
Over the heads of the rebel host.

The real Barbara Hauer Fritchie stayed in her bed during the entire Confederate occupation. Jackson had entered the city in an ambulance as the result of being thrown from a horse. When he left the city, Jackson had taken a different route than his troops, who passed the Fritchie home.

After the Confederates left and the Union soldiers entered the city, the sweet old woman got out of her bed and appeared in her doorway waving an American flag that had been stored between the pages of her family bible. Her niece thought the woman's patriotism would make a good article for the newspaper and passed it along. The story, however, evidently became mixed with a third-hand account mentioned by a doctor in Fredericksburg who heard from a clergyman that an unidentified old woman berated the Confederate troops for their mistreatment of the flag.

Like wildfire, the story-turned-legend raged through the Union ranks, adding details as it went until it reached the ears of the Whittier. For decades afterward, its origins and validity were studied and questioned.

Fritchie died in December, 1862, and never knew of the immortal fame she had earned.

(Source: Davis, Burke. The Civil War: Strange & Facinating Facts. New York: Wings Books. 1960.)

#71 "That Is What He Said..."

On May 14, 1942, the Cincinnati Orchestra played music that had never been heard before, but would become one of the most popular orchestral works of all time. Under the direction of the composer, Aaron Copland, the orchestra played "Lincoln Portrait" which included excerpts from speeches--including the Gettysburg Address--that were spoken by William Adams.

Copland was commissioned by Andre Kostelanetz to write the piece as part of a three-part presentation lauding some of the nation's most important individuals. Jerome Kern wrote a piece about Mark Twain and Virgil Thompson highlighted New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and journalist Dorothy Thompson. At first, Copland wanted to compose a piece about Walt Whitman, but Kostelanetz asked him to choose a statesman instead. That's when Copland chose Lincoln. I, for one, am glad he did.



Here's the text of the narrative to accompany the orchestration:

Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history."

That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said.

"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility." [Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862]

He was born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, and lived in Illinois. And this is what he said. This is what Abe Lincoln said.

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we will save our country." [Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862]

When standing erect he was six feet four inches tall, and this is what he said.

He said: "It is the eternal struggle between two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says 'you toil and work and earn bread, and I'll eat it.' No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation, and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle." [Lincoln-Douglas debates, 15 October 1858]

Lincoln was a quiet man. Abe Lincoln was a quiet and a melancholy man. But when he spoke of democracy, this is what he said.

He said: "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."

Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of these United States, is everlasting in the memory of his countrymen. For on the battleground at Gettysburg, this is what he said:

He said: "That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

(Sources: Pollack, Howard, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of An Uncommon Man. New York: Henry Holt & Company. 1999. Child, Fred. "Copland's 'Lincoln Portrait.'" Transcription of National Public Radio broadcast. Aired November 10, 2004.)

#70 Subversive Explosives

General Gabriel J. Rains, CSA



In January 1864 a small, black, iron object was placed on the desk of Jefferson Davis. The confederate president picked it up, turned it in his hands, and said, "Perfection itself." It was a bomb. The bomb was designed to be thrown into a stack of coal on a coal barge, which would be shoveled into a ship's boiler. The captured blockade-runner Greyhound was the first casualty of this secret weapon. It was designed by CSA General Gabriel J. Rains.

The coal-bomb was not the only weapon designed by Rains. Together with his brother, George Washington Rains, they created landmines composed of an iron cylinder with a conical top. On the top was a plank that, when pressed by marching soldiers or a horse, would activate the fuse and cause an explosion.

(Source: Davis, Burke. The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts. New York: Wings Books. 1960.)

#69 Layman's Poetry

Here is some poetry by a Union soldier:

I bring thee no riches
No wealth from the sea
But the heart in my bosom
Sighs ever for thee.
[P.S.] How can a fellow help it.

Here is some by a Rebel:

The rose is red,
And the villets blue
And hant give me nary present
That is purty like you.

Another Rebel wrote:

Green is the vine,
And red is the Rose;
How I love you,
Nobody noes.

(Source: Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Bell Irvin Wiley Reader. Edited by Hill Jordan, James I. Robertson, Jr., and J.H. Segars. Louisiana State University Press. 2001.)

#68 Pregnancy by Minie Ball

In the American Medical Weekly dated November 7, 1874, a doctor relates an unusual story of a confederate war soldier during the battle of Raymond, Mississippi in 1863. During the battle, a minie ball crashed into the soldier's tibia, ricocheted through his scrotum and then subsequently penetrated the abdomen of a 17 year old girl who was occupying a nearby farmhouse with her mother and sister. After dressing the girl's wound, the doctor explained, he visited her over the next few months and realized that her abdomen continued to swell as if she were pregnant. Upon examination, he determined that she was still a virgin and that the bullet had impregnated her with the unfortunate soldier's sperm. What was more, the bullet was found in the baby boy's scrotum following his birth.

Though a fascinating, yet slightly disgusting, story, it was later discovered that a story was all it was. In the editor's note section of the November 21, 1874 issue of American Medical Weekly, it stated that the doctor, one L.G. Capers, "disclaims responsibility for the truth of that remarkable case of impregnation by a minie ball." It also described the article as "contemplated fun" and admonished the reader not "to cut capers" after reading it.

In addition, the popular television show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel disproved the myth by putting it through a simulated test. They found that the ball could ricochet more than 100 yards, but the heat of the minie ball would have been sufficient to destroy the sperm if it had carried any in the first place.

(Sources: Capers, L.G., "Attention Gynecologists: Notes from The Diary of a Field and Hospital Surgeon," The American Medical Weekly, November 7, 1874. Editor's Note, The American Medical Weekly, November 21, 1874. March 30, 2005. Mythbusters, "Son of a Gun," Discovery Channel. Aired March 30 2005.)

#67 The Slavery Quilt Code: Fact or Fabric-ation?

When the book Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad hit the shelves in 2000, it began a debate that still continues to this day. The book was based on an oral history passed down to Ozella McDaniel Williams, who said that specific symbols were sewn into quilts to help runaway slaves escape through the underground railroad. Without documented proof, however, some historians—specifically quilt historians—believe that quilt codes are a complete myth. Others believe that the quilt code theory is plausible, and that no documented proof exists because white men predominately wrote history, whereas women—especially illiterate black women— passed information through oral history. Regardless of whether it is true or not, the idea of hiding directions in a quilt hanging in the plain sight of an ignorant slave master makes for a compelling story.

(Source: Stukin, Stacie. “Unravelling the Myth of Quilts and the Underground Railroad,” Time. April 3, 2007. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1606271,00.html.)

#66 Nathan Bedford Forrest: KKK Grand Wizard or Civil Rights Promoter?

During the war, Nathan Bedford Forrest was a brilliant calvaryman for the Confederate Army. Following the war, however, the facts about Forrest became obscured. Some historians say that he became the first grand wizard of the original Klu Klux Klan, organized in 1866. The purpose of the original klan, which was disbanded in 1869, was to convince former slaves that it was in their best intrests to return to their home states in a "near-slavery" condition. Forrest later denied his involvement with the klan, and even promoted rather progressive ideas. In 1875 he spoke at the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association, comprising black individuals who promoted freedom and equality in the South. During his speech, Forrest said, "I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment.... Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I'll come to your relief." Following his remarks, he kissed a young black girl on the cheek as a thank you for a bouquet of flowers, which was unheard of at the time.

(Source: http://www.tennessee-scv.org/ForrestHistSociety/forrest_speech.html; Wills, Brian C., "Nathan Bedford Forrest," in Tennesee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=F035)

#65 Underestimated Sharpshooters

Good-natured U.S. General John Sedgwick (pictured) was walking with one of his adjutants along the battle line near Spotsylvania, Virginia, when a sharpshooter's bullet whizzed by. Men around him dived to the ground. The surprised general politely reprimanded them for dodging single bullets. A short time later, while another soldier walked by the general, another bullet whizzed by. The soldier dove to the ground, receiving another remonstrance from the general, who said, “Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Just then, another bullet whizzed by, this time ending with “a dull heavy stroke,” according to the adjutant. When the adjutant turned to speak to the general, he noticed blood just below the general’s left eye. Then the general collapsed to the ground and died.

(Source: "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," Castle Books)

#64 A House Divided

Senator John J. Crittenden (KY)

Maj. General George Crittenden, CSA

Maj. General Thomas Crittenden

The Civil War had an impact on the entire country, but it may have been a particular hell for John J. Crittenden, a seasoned U.S. senator from Kentucky. Not only had his efforts to preserve the Union through a series of compromises failed, but his sons, George and Thomas, ended up on opposite sides of the battle lines once they had been drawn. Both were veterans of the Mexican War, but George distanced himself from his heritage and fought for the South while Thomas grew closer to his father and fought to preserve the Union. What was more, the examples of the two warring brothers spread to the entire family. The two eldest sisters sided with the rebellion while the younger siblings supported the Union. Both men became major generals.

(Source: Eubank, Damon. In The Shadow of The Patriarch: The John J. Crittenden family in War and Peace. Macon: Mercer University Press. 2009)

#63

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

There is a story that on Thanksgiving Day, 1863, two children knocked on the door of the governor's mansion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They explained that the death of their father, a Union soldier, left them penniless to wander the streets and beg for food. Moved by their plight, the governor, Andrew Curtin, established 15 schools for war orphans. Eventually that number grew to more than 40.

(Source: Marten, James, "Orphans from the Civil War, Cobblestone magazine, December 1, 1999.)

#62

Spectacles were worn by many soldiers and officers during the Civil War. But did you know that sunglasses were also used? Those who contracted diseases that made their eyes sensitive to the sun were required to wear tinted glasses. It is also believed that sharpshooters wore tinted lenses as well perhaps to see more clearly over longer distances.

#61

Today's civil war fun fact is a presentation of some rare motion picture footage of the 75th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. It's hard to believe that these kind-looking old men witnessed so much violence and hardship.

#60

Ball of 2nd Corps--Washington's birthday, Morgan collection of Civil War drawings (Library of Congress)

Dancing was a large part of the recreation of the Civil War. Various dancing manuals existed, some small enough to fit in vest pockets. H.G.O. Washburn gave some hints on ettiquite in his book about Spanish dances:

"Ladies should avoid affectation, frowning, quizzing, or the slightest indication of ill-temper. Command the unlimited attention of your partners, but impose the task upon them in such a manner as to make it delightful rather than onerous."

"A gentleman should never allow himself to lose his temper in a ball-room, nor show that he has taken offence at any supposed slight; it places him in a very disadvantageous position, betraying an absence of self-respect--or, at least of self-possession."

#59

The most widely used horse used during the Civil War was the Morgan breed. Among the first horses bred in America, the Morgans were known for being both swift and hardy animals. Nevertheless war took its toll on them. In the First Vermont Calvary in 1862, 1,200 Morgans were assigned and only 200 would survive battle, disease, and the ignorance of their caretakers.

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#58 One of my favorite civil war quotes is by William Tecumseh Sherman and is about war in general. "Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is Hell." Sherman is credited for being the father of "total war," in which civilian infrastructure is destroyed.

‎#57 The phrase "In God We Trust" was first placed on U.S. currency in 1864. It first appeared on a 2-cent piece designed by James B. Longacre, the chief engraver of the U.S. Mint.

#56 The world’s first machine gun was used during the civil war. Named the Gatling Gun for its designer, Dr. Richard Gatling, the piece featured six barrels and could fire 600 rounds per minute. It wasn't very accurate, however. When it was unveiled by Gatling, it failed to catch the interest of the U.S. government until 1864, when it was used at the siege of Petersburg by Benjamin Butler.

‎#55 The Confederacy’s Andersonville Prison was built to accommodate a maximum of 10,000 captured soldiers. But by February 1864, it was jammed with over 32,000. The prison was little more than 20 ft-tall log walls that enclosed a space of 26 acres. Prisoners were forbidden to construct shelters. As a result of the horrible conditions, more than 1/3 of the prisoners to pass through there died while in captivity.

#54 Soldiers were not the only enemy during the CW. Ticks, flies, and other insects were rampant. The worst pest, however, was the louse. Lice infested the camps of both sides and plagued the lowliest privates and the high ranked generals alike. To assuage boredom, the soldiers would place lice from themselves in the middle of a tin plate and place bets to see which louse would scurry off the plate the fastest.

‎#53 Union soldiers got paid depending on their rank. 3 star generals: $758 per month; 2 star generals: $457 per month; 1 star generals: $315 per month; colonels: $212 per month, lieutenant colonels: $181 per month; majors: $169 per month; captains: $115.50 per month; 1st and 2nd lieutenants: $105.50 per month; privates: $13 per month; Black soldiers: $0.

‎#52 During the C.W., Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, the citizen's right to be presented before a judge to determine the legality of arrest. Lincoln suspended the law based on a section of the Constitution that states it may be suspended only “in cases of rebellion or invasion.” This enabled Lincoln to arrest members of the Maryland legislature, who were pushing for secession. It was reinstated in 1866.

‎#51 Other names for The Civil War: The Late Unpleasantness, The Late Friction, The Late Ruction, The Schism, or The Uncivil War, The War, The War for Constitutional Liberty, The War for Southern Independence, The Second American Revolution, The War for States' Rights, Mr. Lincoln's War, The Southern Rebellion, The War for Southern Rights, The War of the Southern Planters The War of the Rebellion, The Second War for Independence, The War to Suppress Yankee Arrogance, The Brothers' War, The War of Secession, The Great Rebellion, The War for Nationality, The War for Southern Nationality, The War Against Slavery, The Civil War Between the States, The War of the Sixties, The War Against Northern Aggression, The Yankee Invasion, The War for Separation, The War for Abolition, The War for the Union, The Confederate War, The War of the Southrons, The War for Southern Freedom, The War of the North and South, and The Lost Cause. (Whew!)

#50 Jefferson Davis married Sarah Knox Taylor, the on June 17, 1835, against the wishes of Sarah's father, future U.S. President Zachary Taylor. The marriage wouldn't last long, however. Three months later Jefferson and Sarah contracted malaria during a visit to Louisiana. Sarah died three months after the wedding on September 15, 1835. Ten years later Davis married Varina Howell.

‎#49 It is believed that Abner Doubleday, a Union general who defended Fort Sumpter, invented baseball. Evidence, however, shows that that is just a myth originating with the vague testimony of Abner Graves, who claimed that while attending a school in Cooperstown, NY, in 1839, he saw Doubleday draw a diamond. (Graves would have been 5 yrs old at the time and Doubleday was a cadet stationed at West Point).

‎#48 On July 9, 1861, the wife of Henry Wasdworth Longfellow was burned to death from an accident in her home. His son, Charles, ran away from home and joined the U.S. Calvary. He received several wounds. His father was grateful that his son lived, yet never fully recovered from his wife’s death. He penned “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” which includes two heart-wrenching verses that are not well known.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

‎#47 Future supreme court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was wounded not once, but three times during the war. He was shot in the chest at the battle of Ball's Bluff (Leesburg), in the back at the battle of Antietam, and in the heel at the battle of Chancellorsville. He reportedly shouted, "Get down, you fool!” to Abraham Lincoln when the latter was being shot at by snipers while visiting Fort Stevens.

#46 Lincoln, the 1st bearded president, received a letter from 8-yr-old Grace Bedell: "I have got four brothers and part of them will vote for you anyway and if you will let your whiskers grow I will try to get the rest of them to vote for you; you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President."

#45 The 43rd battalion, 1st VA Calvary, “Mosby’s Rangers”, were a menace to the Union throughout northern Virginia. Once Mosby gave a lock of his hair to a woman going to Washington, D.C. “Please take this lock of my hair right into Lincoln and tell him that I am coming in to see him soon and will expect a lock of his hair in return." The lock and message was delivered. Lincoln reportedly laughed out loud.

#44 Widows were expected to mourn their husbands for 2½ years. Immediately after the death they were to wear only black clothing and a black crepe veil. This “heavy mourning” was followed by “full mourning” in which they wore lighter shades of lace and cuffs. Then came “half mourning,” which enabled widows to wear dresses of solid colors like lavender, gray, and subtle purples. Widowers mourned for only three months and wore black armbands, badges or rosettes.

#43 Women’s hairstyles during the period were vastly different from today’s hairstyles. There were no bangs. During the day most women would slick hair back into a bun or part it in the middle. Hairnets or ringlets were en vogue for going out. Women also saved hair from the hairbrushes and formed what were called “rats”. These were placed under their normal hair give their hair an extra bump on the sides.

#42 The names of battles differed between the North and the South. The union usually referred to battles by prominent landmarks and the confederates by nearby towns. Here are some examples: Bull Run (north)=Manassas (south); Antietam Creek=Sharpsburg; Seven Pines=Fair Oaks; Ball’s Bluff=Leesburg; Chicahominy=Gaines Mill; Pittsburgh Landing=Shiloh. Some names became universal, including Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

#41 The saying, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,” was not spoken by someone worried about submarines or who was planning to ram someone. It was spoken by Admiral David G. Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay. A “Torpedo” in civil war speak was actually a tethered mine. The ironclad Tecumseh had just hit a mine and sunk to the bottom of the bay. Farragut said the words to spur his fleet on and into the bay.

#40 U.S. Grant was a brilliant general, but he did have his demons. During the prolonged Vicksburg siege, his reputation was saved by a reporter for the Chicago Times, Sylvanius Cadwallader. Grant drank for three days during a trip upstream. To save the general from himself, the reporter threw whiskey bottles out steamer portholes, tried to get the General to sleep things off, and kept the entire escapade a secret. Abraham Lincoln, who had heard other rumors about Grant's drinking said if he could find the brand of whiskey Grant drank, he would promptly distribute it to the rest of his generals.

#39 When Gen. Lee joined the Confederacy, his wife Mary Custis Lee had to leave her home at White House Landing, where George Washington courted her great grandmother, Martha. Mary hung a note on her door: “Northern soldiers who profess to reverence Washington, forbear to desecrate the home of his first married life, the property of his wife, now owned by her descendents. A Grand-daughter of Mrs. Washington.”


#38 Famous Last Words: Oh me-J.E.B Stuart; Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees-Stonewall Jackson; Forward men, forward! Let it not be said Texans lag in the fight!-Hiram B. Granbury; Surrender!-A.P. Hill; They couldn’t hit an elephant at that distance!-John Sedgwick; Forward, my brave men-Turner Ashby; Oh, hell!-Ben McCulloch; Tell my father I died with my face to the enemy.-Colonel Avery; Tell Hill he must come up. Strike the tent-Robert E. Lee. Water-U.S. Grant; Helen, we shall be happier in this post-James Longstreet; "Forward! For God’s sake, forward!" - John Reynolds; Hello Sam, I'm dead.-Jesse Reno.

#37 Abraham Lincoln was calm, thoughtful, and often thought morose. In contrast, his son, Thomas, or "Tad", at eight years old had the run of the White House. Tad’s escapades included spraying dignitaries with a fire hose, setting up shop and selling food in the lobby, breaking mirrors and locking doors indiscriminately, interrupting important cabinet meetings, and drilling the servants as if they were soldiers.

#36 Here are some nicknames soldiers had for their generals: Bad Old Man, Old Jube, The Black Knight, Bloody Bill, The Fighting Bishop, Fighting Joe, Grumble, Little Billy, Little Mac, The Marble Man, ,The Marble Model, Old Reliable, Old Flintlock, Old Rock, Old Stars, Old Wooden Head, Prince John, Rooney, Rum, Sally, Stonewall, Wizard of the Saddle, Uncle Billy, The Swamp Fox, Whiskey, The Snapping Turtle, Sam.

#35 Soldiers often battled hunger as much as they did the enemy. Hard tack, crackers made with flour and water, was a despised staple. Wounded soldiers received gingerbread to boost their morale. Fruit was not common. Men were beat up, court-martialed, or even shot, over an apple. When they could, they would make Idiot’s Delight, a deep dish of biscuits floating in a thick cinnamon-raisin sauce.

Here's a recipe for Idiot's Delight that I found online. I think I might try it. (Yes that's seven tbsp. of butter)

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. raisins
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. water
7 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 c. flour

Boil together the first 5 ingredients. Make a batter of the second 5 ingredients. Drop the batter in a greased pan by spoonfuls. Pour first mixture over it and bake in a moderate oven until golden brown.
This recipe was given to my mother many years ago by an old lady who said her family used it during the hard times after the Civil War. It was popular because it used only a few, inexpensive, easy to obtain ingredients and is fool-proof. Even an idiot can make it. My kind of cookin'.

#34 Most Civil War leaders attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. U.S. Grant was nicknamed "Sam" and graduated 21st in his class. Robert E. Lee was 1st in his class and later became superintendent of the academy. Jefferson Davis was almost thrown out and graduated last in his class. George McClellan graduated 2nd in his class. George Pickett, of Pickett's charge, graduated 59th (last) in his class.

#33 In November 1863 Pres. Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to dedicate the area as the final resting place of the soldiers that fought there. Around that same time, the Leonid meteor shower occurred and hundreds of meteors streaked through the Pennsylvania sky.

#32 The poem "Oh Captain! My Captain!" is a metaphorical poem about Abraham Lincoln's death. It was written by Walt Whitman (my fav poet) in 1865 following Lincoln's assassination.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths--for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You've fallen cold and dead.
My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

#31 Some former slaves returned to the South as spies. Their reports were classified as “Black Dispatches”. One such spy was Mary Touvestre, a housekeeper for one of the engineers constructing the first confederate ironclad. She stole a set of the ship’s plans and went to Washington, where she met with U.S. Navy officials. When they saw the plans, they sped up the design and construction of their own ironclad.

#30 Mathew Brady is considered the father of photojournalism and was Lincoln’s favorite photographer. He was nearly captured at Bull Run for getting too close to the action. Most his time was spent in Washington, D.C., organizing his collection. He hired more than 20 assistants to take their cameras and darkroom-tents out among the Union Army. Despite his incredible talent, he died penniless in New York in 1896.

#29 The reverent bugle call "Taps" has been attributed to Union General Daniel Butterfield, who is said to have created it with Oliver Norton, a brigade bugler, following the Seven Day's battle. After Norton used the tune in his own brigade, other bridgade buglers asked for copies of the music. Soldiers sang their general's name to the first notes of the call: "Dan, Dan, Dan. But-ter-field, But-ter-field."

#28 The youngest boy to enlist in the Union Army was Avery Brown, age 8. He was a drummer boy for Company C, 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He lied about his age, claiming to be 12 on his enlistment papers. The youngest brigadier general was Galusha Pennypacker, who received his commission at age 20. The oldest general was John Ellis Wool, age 79, who retired in August 1863.

#27 Lincoln on July 4, 1861: "This is essentially a People's contest. On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men – to lift artificial weights from all shoulders – to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all – to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life."

#26 Many regiments both north and south had mascots. Dogs were the most common, with names like Calamity, Sallie, York, Jack, and Grace. Other animals, included a pig named Jeff Davis, an eagle named Old Abe, a raccoon, a donkey, gamecocks, a badger, and a tame bear. The most unusual however was a camel with the 43rd Mississippi Infantry. His name was Douglas.

#25 Wounded soldiers did not just bite a bullet during medical procedures. Most surgeons used chloroform or ether or a mixture of the two. Nevertheless, surgeons used it only during the severest part of the operation. A cloth or paper was folded into a cone and a sponge soaked with the anesthetic was placed in the bottom. Then the cone was placed over the nose and mouth of the patient while he breathed deeply.

#24 The first national flag of the Confederacy, affectionately known as the “stars and bars”, was designed by Prussian artist Nicola Marschall in Marion, Alabama. It was so similar to the U.S. flag, however, that soldiers became confused during the first Battle of Bull Run. As a result, a second flag, which we all associate with the Civil War (and Harley bikers), was designed by William Porcher Miles for battle.

#23 It is believed that as many as 50 Chinese immigrants fought during the Civil War. One important individual was Edward Day Cohota, who had been unofficially adopted in 1845 by a ship’s captain traveling from Shanghai. Cohota was in the Battle of Drury’s Bluff and found seven bullet holes in his clothes, but wasn't wounded. Despite serving in the army for 30 years he was never allowed to become an official U.S. Citizen.

#22 Those who picture the beautiful southern belle of 1860s with her hair up, sipping lemonade in her hooped dress, and fanning away the heat may be missing a detail: a chaw of tobacco in her cheek. In letters home, many shocked and disgusted union soldiers serving in the South described beautiful young southern ladies engaging in “snuff dipping” tobacco and spitting its juice into a spittoon or on the road.

#21 Booth’s assassination of President Lincoln was obviously the only successful attempt, but there was another attempt that was close. In 1864, as Lincoln traveled to his summer home, called “Soldier’s Home” on the outskirts of Washington D.C., A shot was fired that made his horse, Old Abe, bolt and Lincoln lose his hat. The hat was found later, with a bullet hole shot right through it.

#20 Prior to the Civil War the only recognized paper currency was bank notes. These could easily be counterfeited. In 1862 U.S. Notes, commonly called “greenbacks” were placed in circulation, but these too were easily counterfeited. By 1864 it was believed that nearly half of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. To catch counterfeiters, the Treasury established a special organization: the Secret Service.

#19 Colonel Benjamin Butler (USA) commanded the force occupying New Orleans. His orders and regulations were so strict and the New Orleanians hated him so much, when he left, they made bedpans with his picture engraved in the bottom.

#18: By 1861 Rose O’Neal Greenhow was a member of Washington, D.C.’s, social elite. She often entertained presidents, cabinet members, and congressmen. No one knew that she was actually a spy. She got maps, troop movements, and other info that contributed to the CSA victory at Bull Run. Captured in 1862, she was sent to Richmond. From there she traveled to Europe and visited Napoleon III and Queen Victoria.

#17: Lincoln was not the only one who spoke after the Battle of Gettysburg. He was preceded by a man named Edward Everett, a senator from Massachusetts and a celebrated minister and orator. Everett spoke for two hours, reciting 13,607 words. Lincoln spoke 246 words in two minutes. After being congratulated by Everett, Lincoln replied that he was glad the short speech wasn't a "total failure".

#16: General Robert E. Lee had a pet chicken. Originally brought along to be a chicken dinner, the hen began laying an egg per day beneath Lee’s cot, so he kept her as a pet. When the Confederate Army traveled, the chicken was nestled in a wagon among his personal belongings.

#15: In the latter part of the war, those who didn’t want to fight could pay others a bounty to fight for them. This attracted thieves who would take the bounty and then desert only to repeat the process. One of these bounty jumpers did this 32 times before he was caught. Another became an international thief and stole Thomas Gainsborough’s famous painting Duchess.

#14: CSA Private Henry Stanley was captured during the Battle of Shiloh. He secured his release by pledging to fight for the Union. Realizing war wasn’t his thing he deserted and became a journalist for the New York Herald. His first assignment was to find a Scottish explorer missing in Africa. After a long search, Stanley found the doctor and greeted him, “Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”

#13: Clara Barton was among the most important women in the Civil War. Nicknamed “The Angel of the Battlefield,” she revolutionized battlefield medicine and later founded the Red Cross. She was also fearless in taking care of the wounded. At the Battle of Antietam, Clara worked so close to the enemy lines that a bullet passed through her sleeve and killed the soldier that she was treating.

#12: Women during the Civil War wore the following: Layer 1--underwear made of cotton or linen and trimmed with lace, a chemise made of linen, and stockings held up with garters; Layer 2 --a corset or stays stiffened with whale bone, a hoop skirt or 1 or 2 petticoats; Layer 3 -- a petticoat bodice, corset cover, or camisole; Layer 4 -- a bodice
or skirt held up by suspenders, a belt, and slippers; and Layer 5 -- a shawl, jacket, or mantle, gloves, button up boots, a parasol, a bonnet, a purse, a handkerchief, a fan, and a watch pocket.

#11: The U.S. Navy's first submarine, The Alligator, was launched in May 1862. Designed by Frenchman Brutus DeVilleroi, it was propelled by oars until July 1862, when it was replaced by a screw propeller. The sub was cylindrical, 30 ft long, and about 8 ft in diameter. Designed to ram bridges and ironclads, the sub never actually completed a mission. As it was being towed back to the Naval Yard[not completed]

#10: Albert Sydney Johnston, the head of the Confederates, died in 1862 by a minie ball that passed through his leg at the Battle of Shiloh. He didn't think the wound was serious, but it clipped a vital artery. Finding him slumped on his horse, his adjutants had to search for the wound. By the time they found the source, however, he was dead. Ironically, they found a tourniquet in his coat pocket.

#9: The Minie Ball bullet that was used during the civil war was neither small nor spherical. It was named for Claude-Etienne Minié, a frenchman who designed the bullet to be more accurate for muzzle-loading rifles. When it was fired the soft lead bullet would expand and engage the rifling in the barrel (grooves that make the bullet spin). It was particularly effective at shattering bones.

#8: After the confederate steamship "Red Rover" was captured in 1862 by the Union Navy, it was refitted and became the navy's first hospital ship. It served forces along the Mississippi River. Its compliment consisted of Catholic nurses and surgeons.

#7: To help others identify them if they fell during a battle, soldiers would write their names on pieces of paper or fabric and then sew them to the inside of their clothes. Later in the war, old coins were stamped with the soldiers name and hung on a lanyard around the neck. These were the predecessors to today's "dog tags."

#6 Julia Ward Howe, a prominent abolitionist from New York City wrote the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in 1862. She was also the first person to call for a special day for mothers: Mother's Day.

#5 Soldiers on the march to battle would make their 50 lb packs as light as possible, sometimes leaving overcoats, blankets, canteens, and other heavy equipment. This probably wasn't a particularly good idea in the wintertime.

#4: It has been said that the Civil War started in Wilmer McLean's front yard and ended in his front parlor. The first skirmishes of Bull Run were fought on his property. Fearing for his safety he moved to Appomattox Courthouse. Several years later, however, Lee's army surrendered and the meeting was held at McLean's. Souvenir hunters ransacked the place, tearing pieces of wood from the walls.

#3: Most Union soldiers were not abolitionists and many could not even identify characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Most soldiers joined up because of peer pressure or the promise of glory. Others fought solely for the political principle of keeping the Union together. Some didn't really know why they were there.

#2: Military doctors didn't do physicals very well. Most docs tapped you on the chest a couple of times, listened to you breathe, and told you that you were fit as a fiddle. No wonder so many women were able to sneak in the ranks and become soldiers!

#1 Early in the war some Union regiments wore gray uniforms. This was really bad during the Battle of Bull Run because the other regiments couldn't tell who was the enemy and would fire on their own men.