Scourge of War Boards

jtdragon's and Amish John's post, in the Longstreet's Grave site thread, got me to thinking.

If you could sit down and talk to ANY ACW veteran, who would you like to talk to the most?

Now I know most of us couldn't narrow it down to just one person, so pick a few.


If I could, I would love to talk with:

Abe Lincoln, Gen'l Thomas J. Jackson, Gen'l James Longstreet, Sam Watkins, and William T. Sherman.

I know Lincoln isn't exactly a veteran, but I bet he'd be the most entertaining.

Joshua L. Chamberlain, Winnfield Scott Hancock, James Longstreet, A.P. Hill and Robert E. Lee.

I would first talk to General John Bell Hood. Then it would be D.H. Hill, not alot of people ever mention him and i think its a shame. He did have alot of run ins with other officers but what he did on the field does deserve credit.

Finally I would ask Thomas Chamberlain, it would be enteresting to hear about Joshua Chamberlain from a different perspective.

OF Course the honorable mentions is a huge list including:

General Lee
General Longstreet
General Jackson
General Gordon
General Stuart
General AP Hill
Colonel/General Chamberlain
General Hancock
General Sheridan
and loads of others who I don't have the time to type down.

I'd seek out the common soldiers, those $13 dollar a month heros. What I'd be interested in would be how they lived and survived day to day in blistering heat and frigid cold. It would be interesting to hear first hand what they thought about the war and how they dealt with being away from their families.

Chamberlain, Hancock, Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Armistead and Lincoln

Chamberlain

Lincoln, Grant, Kearny and Reynolds from the north and Longstreet, Jackson and Lee from the south and like AJ said mostly the regular guys from the units specifically the 14th NJ who was raised from this neck of the woods.

Greg B)

Amish John wrote:

I'd seek out the common soldiers, those $13 dollar a month heros. What I'd be interested in would be how they lived and survived day to day in blistering heat and frigid cold. It would be interesting to hear first hand what they thought about the war and how they dealt with being away from their families.

I agree...particularly the direct and distant relatives of one's family. I would love to discuss Stuart's cavalry with a "cousin" on his staff (Major John Marshall Hanger) as well as another "cousin" who deserted the 5th VA after 6 weeks of service! (I am luckier than most as all Hangers in the nation seem to be the offspring of two brothers who came from Germany in the 1750s, settled in the PA Dutch country and then moved to Augusta County, VA prior to the Rev. War....at least according to the genealogists who have researched and published the family history from the 1750's up through the war.)

There are plenty of battle accounts ... with more and more diaries and letters coming to light that sometimes explains how they feel, act, etc. But, these always seem to leave more questions unanswered than are answered. Carlton McCarthy summed it up best in his Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life. For example, McCarthy wrote about his experience at Gettysburg and included: "...when the artillery fire was at its height, a brawny fellow, who seemed happy at the prospect for a hot time, broke singing - 'Backward, roll backward, O Time in thy flight; Make me a child again, just for this fight!' Another fellow near him replied: ' Yes, and a gal child at that.'" These are the people who fought the battles...not the leaders...who have the "tales to tell!" :woohoo:

I'd definitely talk to one of my ancestors who fought in the 17th Maine. He was 18 when he left the family farm in Stowe when the regiment was raised in August, '62. Less than a year later, he was killed at Gettysburg.

i'd love to talk to my ancestor (Louis Roeder) who i've discovered was with Wiedrich's Battery, but was wounded and sent home in '63, so i'm not certain whether he made it to Cemetery Hill for the G'burg action or whether he was sent home beforehand... nevertheless, ole Louie would be the main man i'd want to interview.

I'd like to interview General Hancock, Reynolds, and McClellan. General Anderson for the CS and Longstreet