I have just finished reading this book.  Usually diaries are a little dry and hard to keep my interest but this one was so detailed and interesting.  Cornelia McDonald lived in Winchester Virginia when the Civil War began. Her husband went into the service as did, I believe, three of her sons.  She was left with eight children to care for and feed with the burden of not knowing if she would ever see her husband again.  She writes of watching the troops march off in March of 1861, of the women sewing up the "stars and bars" and of the towns excitement as their sons, husbands and fathers went off to fight "the invaders".  Her experiences were severe at times.  Watching numerous battles nearby with the artillery shaking her house.  Having to care for grossly wounded soldiers.  Dealing with Federal occupation and of theft of property, of soldiers coming in and taking over her home, taking food meant for the family.  All this she managed to handle while taking care of her children and any others she could.  Her descriptions of the issues were particularly enlightening.  The justifications for slavery, the reasons they saw the need to break from the Union and how they viewed the intruding Federal troops.  It was as if the north were a foreign country to them.  As they discussed the firing on Fort Sumter she inquired"what if there is war and war means misery, deserted and desolate homes and the loss of all we hold dear."  Her husband replied  " there will be no war.....we will have the world on our side for the world will have cotton."  She refers to President Lincoln as "that vulgar rail-splitter" and writes about achieving their independence.   I found this first hand account of what it was like to live as a middle class wife and mother in the South to be very eye-opening and am glad I took the time to read it.

We think of the women of the 1860's as meek and subservient to the men in their families so I was quite surprised at the number of women who served during the Civil War in so many different ways.  Some embraced the freedom and challenge that was now available to them.  Many wanted to fight for their ideals and values like their male counterparts.  Ellen Goodridge of Wisconsin joined her fiance in the Army and served by his side for three years and nursed him back to health after a serious illness.  Catherine Davidson of Sheffield Ohio enlisted in the 28th Ohio to be with her fiance.  Her fiance was killed and she was wounded at the battle of Antietam.  Lizzie Compton enlisted at the tender age of fourteen and served with no less than seven different regiments before being seriously wounded.  Mary and Molly Bell served with Jubal Early's command before being found out and sent home.  And the list goes on.

I've been to Gettysburg a couple of times but this time it was more of a quest.  In my History studies and in my search for family history I have become more and more interested in the Civil War and went this time to locate the place on this battlefield where two young men fought and where one gave his life for the Union.  My two great-great uncles, John and George Bell joined the 140th Pennsylvania volunteer regiment in 1862 following Lincoln's call for troops.  Of scotch-irish decent and farmboys from Beaver County,  they and many of their neighbors joined up to serve.  They were assigned to Company F under the command of former lawyer now Captain Roberts and were sent to Camp Curtin to drill and train and become soldiers.  Then the rebel army began it's move into the north threatening Washington and creeping into Pennsylvania.  The 140th, part of Hancock's First Corp,s were part of the force sent to confront Lee and his troops.  They  marched quickly into John and George's home state. They were sent in to reinforce beleagured troops fighting in the wheatfield on that hot July day.  John never left the battlefield  At the age of 21 he was killed there on July 2nd.  George was captured at Deep Bottom Virginia and at the tender age of 18 was sent to Andersonville as a prisoner of war.   I feel somehow strangely fond of these boys who had no opportunity to grow into men.  No chance to go home, farm their own place, fall in love, have a  family, grow old together.  There isn't anyone to remember them now.  So I will.  I found their battlefield, the monument to their brave units of farmboys turned fighting men.  I'll write their story to pass on.  Rest in peace John and George.

Julia Ward Howe, the daughter of a well to do New York banker and the mother of six children, is credited with penning the immensely popular and stirring rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.     Julia was married to Samuel G. Howe and together they published an abolitionist journal called Commonwealth.      
She was an advocate for women's rights, for abolition and wrote several articles and books.  The story goes that in 1861, she visited the Army of the Potomac while camped in Massachusetts.  Troops marched past her singing the John Brown song.  Back in her hotel room, she wrote down the words to the battle hymn using the tune from John Brown, saying that these were more fitting.  The words were first printed in February of 1862 in an issue of Atlantic Monthly.  It gained popularity and soon became the most enduring song of the Civil War and can still stir the soul today.

yelling at Jeopardy

We watch Jeopardy almost every weeknight, playing against one another and testing our knowledge.  The History categories are usually flipped to my daughter Stephanie or myself.  The other night I entertained the crew by yelling at Alex Trebek.  One of the questions was roughly asking where the Confederate Army marched looking for shoes.  The answer given was Gettysburg.  Now there are several reasons why Lee marched his Army of Virginia all the way to Pennsylvania but rest assured, not one of them involved shoes.  Yes they needed supplies, as all armies crossing the country on foot needed.  Robert E. Lee made to marches into northern states to attempt to relieve the suffering of the people of Virginia where the bulk of battles had been fought.  He wanted a victory on Union soil to push the northern people to seek a peace with  the south and to rally the people of the south.  He planned to strike at Harrisburg, to destroy bridges and communication and to force the Union army to attack him, giving him the defensive position.
When Lee finds out their are five Union Corps moving towards him under the direction of the new commander of Union forces, General George Meade, he consolidates his forces around Cashtown PA.  He is unfamiliar with the terrain, his cavalry is suspiciously absent and as such decides to stand and fight.  This is the setup for the Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg

July 1, 2 and 3 of 2013 is the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.  I've been there a couple of times and took the kids along, but they were small.  We are taking another trip there the end of July.  I have two great-great uncles who fought for the 140th regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, company F.  John Sunderland Bell was 21 and his brother George was all of 18 yrs old.  John was killed today, July 2nd, 150 years ago.  George was captured and spent a year in the horrible Confederate prison called Andersonville.  Their names are supposed to be inscribed on the Pennsylvania monument on the battlefield.  I am looking forward to sharing this experience about the Civil War with my children when they are now old enough to remember the trip.

I have been doing some background research on some influential women in Cleveland for the Woodland Cemetery Association.  Very interesting work.  Many of these women were wealthy and had homes on the famous Millionaires Row on Euclid Avenue.  Many were of New England backgrounds and puritan ethics.   they put their efforts, influence and money toward social improvements.  They built schools for women, they campaigned against alcohol, child labor and for women's suffrage.  They created orphanges for those whose parents were taken from them in cholera epidemics.  they left their carriages and drivers and walked the poor neighborhoods offering food and bible readings.  They convinced their husbands and his business partners to donated land and money to build structures like the Salvation Army hospital,  The Western Reserve school for Women, Friendly Inns settlement house; institutions which still serve the citizens of Cleveland to this day.  They were positive forces for change.  Bravo ladies.