The Weekly Fireside 13 Nov 2005

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NOTES FROM THE HELPERS OF THE CIVIL WAR HISTORY CHATS
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If you haven't gotten your newsletter, PLEASE do check your Spam Folder just in case it's there.

IF you respond to anything in they newsletter, PLEASE send it to [CWWeeklyFireside@aol.com] screen name.

Thursday and Friday, we talked about honoring our Veterans. We read a poem about the "History of Veterans' Day" and my favorite of all the Civil War letters, Sullivan Ballou's last letter home to his wife.

We have MANY internet subscribers to the newsletter who can't access our AOL rooms, and I was wondering whether you all would like to have a Civil War chat scheduled on the internet, available to everyone. We've had several replies regarding the internet chat and they've been positive, and I thank you for your feedback. Anyone else have any ideas??

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You can visit the Genealogy Schedule by going to

[http://journals.aol.com/gchjenna/AOLGenealogyCommunityNews/] which includes our Civil War chats. Watch there for announcements for special programs in the chats... Enter your surnames, your brickwalls, Need help, GENTREK announcements, our Chat schedule, Your hosts can even let you know if they can't be in their chat and who might be subbing for them. Put this in your favorite places and visit if often.

You can also check out other Civil War chats,

Mondays 9-10 PM ET Trivia

Tuesdays 10-11 PM ET with FOREVERPATS

Wednesdays 9-10 PM ET some weeks there is a specific topic

Thursdays 9-10 PM ET Trivia

All are in the Mason Dixon Room (aol://2719:3-508-Mason%20Dixon%20Line) (on AOL only) They have some great Trivia quizzes

I have had comments from some of you that you won't go to the Mason Dixon Line room because of previous bad experiences. I think if you visit on the nights of the trivia, you'll find a great group of folks there.

Stop by the NEW Genealogy Community Website. [http://www.genealogycommunity.com]

Please register and be sure to post your queries on the message boards. More content is being added all the time. Once you get register, (it really is painless) try visiting one of the chatrooms to see what they look like. If we have enough interest, we could schedule a Civil War chat.

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"THE BOOK SHELF"
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OK folks I know there are those of you who read Civil War books all the time... How about taking a few minutes and telling us about them. It doesn't have to be long. Send your review to along with the title, author to [ CWWeeklyFireside@aol.com]

Civil War Book Review [http://www.cwbr.com/]

Hi Jayne,

I enjoyed looking a the portion of the latest newsletter with the Generals of the War. I have two books that may be of interest to your readers on Major General Bryan Grimes of Pitt County, NC, who happens to be the Great Grandfather of my wife. The two books are "Lee's Last Major General: Bryan Grimes of North Carolina" and "Extracts of Letters of Major General Bryan Grimes to His Wife."

The first book listed, written by Professor T. Harrell Allen of East Carolina University is a book that tells of Grimes' rise from Major to the Major General, the last Major General in the Confederacy to be appointed by Lee. As noted by Civil War historian Robert E.L. Krick, it's "a biography of unusual relevance. Because Grimes was neither a career soldier nor a bombastic politician, some readers may reach an empathetic understanding with the general. A man of modest background and firm beliefs, he found himself sucked into a situation in which his natural talents emerged to an uncommon degree. The fascinating story of that blossoming, together with Bryan Grimes' singular battlefield record and tragic postwar death, unite here in a meaningful and deserved biography." While at Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862, after his second horse was killed underneath him (he had 7 horse shot out beneath him), he said "I continued on foot, driving the enemy from his breastworks, through his camps, taking his artillery and supplying myself with another horse. Fortunately, I was unhurt, a ball passing through my overcoat and a grape shot carrying away my knapsack which left me minus a supper that night." At Chancellorsville, when a line of men in front refused to charge the enemy, he stated, "We had to climb over the men.....[and] were entirely disgusted by their cowardly conduct. I put my foot in the back and head of an officer of high rank and, through very spite, ground his face in the earth." When his close friend Junius Daniel was killed at Spotsylvania, he stated, "General Daniel, was engaged on our left, was wounded through the bowels and yesterday I was assigned to the command of Daniels' Brigade. The poor fellow died last night from his wounds. He was decidedly the best general officer from our state. Though in all probability I gain a brigadier at his death, I would for the sake of the country [have] always remained in the status quo than the country should have lost his services." In one letter to his wife, Charlotte, on the capture of George A Custer's captured mail, he wrote, "In capturing a mailbag of the enemy, we found some of the most obscene letters that would disgrace any person, and those captured from Genl. Custer were vulgar beyond all conversation and even those from his wife would make any honest woman blush for her sex." This book also has number of pictures, including his home, his grave, and some family pictures. One note of interest: General Grimes' uniform and items are on display at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond. The most notable thing people will notice are his belt buckle which was hit and badly dented by a fired round.

The second book listed is compiled of extracts of letters he wrote home to his wife, Charlotte. These first hand accountings bring the war to life, giving a realistic view of what he experienced, his thoughts, and how he conducted himself throughout the war. I won't go into a lot detail on this book as readers can also find it online at [ http://docsouth.unc.edu/grimes/grimes.html]

I would suggest both books as excellent reading, not because of my prejudice of him being my wife's Great Grandfather, but because of his life and the way he was raised to think, act, how he conducted himself as an officer, and most of all, because of excellent firsthand knowledge of what he saw and experienced during the war.

Edward Harding

Washington, NC

[http://ehardingwbtsancestors.homestead.com/Index.html]

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--------OUR WEEKLY READING--------
(items from our Letters, Songs,
and Poems evenings)
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This was sent to me by MM3C11259

From the NY Sunday Mercury of March 23, 1862

as reproduced by Wm. Styple in

"Writing and Fighting the Civil War".

LINES

{ For the Sunday Mercury}

Written on the death of Corporal Edward Carroll, of Co. H, Eighth Regiment, Washington Grays, N.Y.S.M ., killed at the Battle of Bull Run, Va., July 21, 1861.

By J.V.V.

We are waiting for thee, loved one,

But O! we wait in vain

Too well we know, alas! that thou

Wilt ne'er return again.

Life's mission is accomplished;

Ended all care and toil,

Far from us thou art sleeping

Beneath a Southern soil.

But 'tis hard to think thou must die,

With prospects here so bright,

That hopes that bid so fair as thine,

Should know so sad a blight,

No friend was near in that dreaded hour,

Not e'en thy gentle wife,

To wipe the death- damp from thy brow,

As thou breathed away thy life.

But we've looked our last upon thee,

Will see thee no more,

Yet we trust that we again shall meet

Upon a happier shore;

There the cry of war is never heard,

No parting there is known;

Loved one, we hope to meet thee there,

Around our father's throne.

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THE HELP DESK
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Do you have a question that you didn't get to ask in the chatrooms??
Send us and email [CWWeeklyFireside@aol.com] and we'll post it here to see if some of our readers can help you. If you get an answer to your question, please let us know.

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DID YOU KNOW?
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If you have something we could use here, PLEASE send it along. Thanks!!!!

Did you know graham crackers were considered a health food during the Civil War period? These crackers were invented in 1829 by a Presbyterian minister named Sylvester Graham. He was unusual for his day an age, being a vegetarian. He promoted the use of whole grains for the sake of health. he believed that a high fiber diet was necessary to good health. At that time, he considered a bit of a crackpot................

Check out these websites :

The History of vegetarianism
[http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.ivu.org/history/usa19/graham.html ]

"The Stomach First":
Sylvester Graham, Grahamism, and Dietary Change in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s
[ http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www2.h%2Dnet.msu.edu/%7Eshear/s2000.d/ab/LobelCindy.htm]

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Did you know the grandson of Revolutionary War General Nathanial Greene, fought at Gettysburg? His name was George Sears Greene and he was a civil engineer and a General himself during the Civil War. He fought on the side of the Union. To learn more, check out: [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Greene]

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Weekly Web Sites we've received
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If you have a favorite Civil War site, please send them to [CWWeeklyFireside@aol.com]

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From WBIsaacs

Civil War Forts and Cities

{http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Civil_War_Forts.htm]

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From bitsobluengray

Civil War Generals from West Point

[http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/wpclasses.html]

Fort McHenry - Civil War - Baltimore Bastille

[http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/cw2b.html]

Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C.