Tag: American Civil War
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We’ve Arrived!
Last week, I went to Mount Eagle for a retreat and forgot to let my wife know that I arrived safely. Whoops… My wife simply texted me to see if I arrived, and within seconds, I was able to let her know that I had done so. This is nothing compared to the “timely” importance of…
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The Whole Shebang
So, I’m having a conversation one day with my firstborn daughter (4 years old) when she realizes that a “navel” can be your belly button or a type of orange. Likewise, in reading American Civil War diary entries, I recognized that “shebang” can mean “a matter, operation, or set of circumstances” or “a rough hut…
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Hot Letter Abe
I’ve heard of this practice before and have even written a “hot letter” myself, but I never would have expected to hear that good ole’ Abe (President Abraham Lincoln) made a habit of doing so! I recently finish reading Incarnate by Michael Frost, where he points out that Lincoln was a great leader primarily for his…
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Garage Sale Find!
This past weekend, we had a neighborhood-wide garage sale. In sifting through things my mother-in-law gave us to sell, I found a book called Stringtown by Zora M. Talbot. Man, have I stumbled on a rarity! Aside from being out of print on Amazon and out of stock on Half.com, this book is entitled after a…
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Don’t Complain; Count Your Mercies & Be Thankful
I worked for the grocery store Kroger just before I became a pastor. One particular day, I did not want to go to work. Instead, I wanted to have a bad attitude for the day ahead. Photo Source: Herald-Review Instead, like David Lane who served under the 17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, I…
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Washita River or Ouachita River?
Reading history, especially hundreds of years prior, I notice words spelled differently sometimes. I recently observed that Ouachita used to be spelled Washita. I realized this occurrence while reading Frank Moore’s The Rebellion Record – A Diary of American Events: The Washita River expedition, consisting of the greater part of General Logan’s old Brigade, a…
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Kill Count Vs. Wounded TBR Mentality
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the medical aspect of the American Civil War, and I’d like to share some thoughts floating around in my mind. To start off with, I often imagine that soldiers went into battle with the mentality that Legolas and Gimli, (from The Lord of the Rings) have, which is…
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Saturday Night Live: Talk About a Solid Oak Tree
I’m all verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic. [A solid oak tree] is neither [solid] nor [oak] nor [tree]. Discuss. (Source: SNL Sketch) Solid oak trees are profoundly amazing to me. A few months back, I took my family to the New Orleans Audubon Zoo, a place that I grew up going to over and over again. I didn’t…
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Even Male Nurses Need a Place to Sleep
Male nurses are an interesting subject to discuss, especially these days. However, I want to point out a story of one particular male nurse in the American Civil War who deserved to lay his head somewhere. Union officer David Lane served as a nurse for a time in the 17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He provided…
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Beating a Dead Horse, Literally!
This has been a week of reading about how dead horses were handled in the American Civil War. The first case of dead horse I read about was from my boy, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, who I’ve posted from before. He mentions how 8 of their artillery horses died on the road, where an even greater…
Hardtack Rat 