Wanderlust… The call of the open road… Mid-life crisis… Insanity.
Maybe.
Wanderlust
Posted in Random Thoughts
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National Museum of Civil War Medicine – Walking Tour
For a year and a half I was a volunteer at this Frederick, Maryland museum. On Saturdays and Sundays during the Spring and Summer, the museum offers one-hour walking tours called “One Vast Hospital”. I really enjoyed giving these tours and admit my one-hour tours often took upwards of two hours. But I didn’t get any complaints. At least I don’t think anyone complained. And if they did, I didn’t hear them.
Union General George McClellan, commanding the Army of the Potomac, knew there would be intense fighting near Frederick and so did his Medical Director, Dr. Jonathan Letterman. Frederick was the closest large town. When Dr. Letterman arrived, he immediately set to work commandeering and converting 27 buildings into general hospitals. Of those 27 building, 13 were churches.
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National Museum of Civil War Medicine – Part I
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
I spent the last 2 years living in Frederick, MD, a small city that has plenty of history behind it. One of my volunteer jobs was at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, where I conducted museum and walking tours. The museum is right in the heart of old town Frederick.
The museum has 8 galleries. This post covers the first four galleries. Another post will cover the last four galleries.
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Posted in Civil War, History, Museums, Volunteering
Tagged american-civil-war, Civil War, History, Maryland
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National Museum of Civil War Medicine – Part II
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
The museum has 8 galleries. I covered the first four galleries in a previous blog post. This post covers the last four galleries.
NOTE: A full-strength regiment consisted of 1,000 officers and men. Each state recruited men for its volunteer regiments. Those men were typically recruited from the same area of the state. Ideally, three regiments formed a brigade (3,000); three brigades formed a division (9,000); and three divisions formed a corps (27,000). Casualties (killed, wounded, sick, captured) quickly reduced these numbers. A regiment’s replacements often came from the same area of a state as that regiment’s original volunteers. As the war progressed, a regiment’s strength might be reduced by casualties to 200 or fewer men present for duty.
Dr. Jonathan Letterman is known as the Father of Modern Battlefield Medicine. His three-step plan is still in use today. The next three galleries give you a peek at how each step worked during the Civil War.
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Posted in Civil War, History, Museums, Volunteering
Tagged american-civil-war, Civil War, History, Maryland, military
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Ribault Club and Kingsley Plantation
January 29, 2022
Before the Ribault Club on Fort George Island became a rich man’s paradise, the Kingsley Plantation was a slave’s hell.
The two sites may only be a few miles apart, but were worlds apart in what life was like.
Ribault Club
National Civil War Naval Museum, Columbus, GA
January 12, 2022
National Civil War Naval Museum
This not-so-little museum is another one of those gems that you really have to look for. We’ve gotten into the habit of using Google Maps to search for interesting things to do near our current location. We just type in “things to do near city, state” and Google Maps returns a nice list of possibilities. That’s how I found this museum.
 CSS Jackson Deck |
 CSS Jackson Propellers |
Gulf Islands National Seashore and Fort Pickens
January 16-23, 2022
We spent a week at the Fort Pickens Campground which is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. We’d been here once before and enjoyed it enough to come back.
Gulf Islands National Seashore
We explored Civil War era Fort Pickens and early 20th century coastal batteries, learned about the area at the Fort Pickens Discovery Center, walked the beaches, hiked the trails, watched wildlife, and thoroughly enjoyed our time here.
Jimmy Carter NHS, Plains, GA
January 6, 2022
Plains High School and Jimmy Carter NHS Visitor Center
Most National Park sites represent “old” history, i.e., events that happened before I was born. The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site is different. I was old enough to vote in the presidential election that pitted Jimmy Carter (D) against Gerald Ford (R). I remember many of the key events, both good and bad, that happened during the Carter administration – OPEC-caused gas shortages, the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement, and the Iran hostage crisis.
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Andersonville NHS, Andersonville, GA
December 31, 2021
The day we visited was cloudy and dozens of vultures circled above us. While that felt eerie it also seemed fitting.
The Andersonville National Historic Site encompasses a portion of the notorious Civil War Andersonville prison camp. A road winds around the prison’s perimeter. As you walk the site make sure you listen to the audio recordings that describe the prison, the prisoners, their captors, life and death in the camp, and the good and evil that existed side-by-side here.
Only a few remnants of the original prison camp remain. But there’s enough left that you can imagine what it must have been like to be a prisoner here.
Map of Prison Camp
Posted in Civil War, Museums, National Park
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National Prisoner of War Museum, Andersonville, GA
December 31, 2021
Every war-related museum – from the Revolutionary War to Iraq and Afghanistan – that I have visited celebrates our armed forces strength, power, bravery, and perseverance.
Except this one.
The National Prisoner of War Museum, part of the Andersonville National Historic Site, focuses on and commemorates American prisoners of war, both military and civilian.
This one brings you face to face with those men and women who fought on or were caught behind the front lines and were captured by the enemy. This museum tells their story poignantly and well.
Memorial to American Prisoners of War
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Allatoona Pass Battlefield State Park, Georgia
December 20, 2021
Union
Commander: Brig. Gen John M. Corse
Troops: 2,000
Casualties: 706 (35%)
Confederate
Commander: Gen Samuel French
Troops: 3,200
Casualties: 897 (28%)
The Battle of Allatoona Pass was fought on October 5, 1864. While the battle was small by Civil War standards, the casualty rate was much higher. Its location tells you why.
The Western & Atlantic Railroad ran from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia. As the Union army fought its way from Chattanooga to Atlanta in 1864, this railroad was its lifeline. Protecting the railroad was critical to the Union army’s success. One chokepoint was at Allatoona Pass where the railroad traveled through a very steep, narrow gorge.
Union troops were determined to defend their tenuous supply line. The Confederates were equally determined to sever it.
Allatoona Pass
Spirit of the Woods 