Hello to all my Civil war compatriots in the New Year.

I hope that this will be a year of change and success for all who are tuned into my little blog here. I don’t know where you all hail from but I am here in the frigid northland known as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Let me tell ya it is colder than a witch’s teat here. It is definitely a fine time to sit by the fire and read about the exploits of our forefathers. I am currently preparing to start a new venture in Gettysburg, It will follow my chosen path of photography, and I am hoping for the success that I spoke of earlier with the venture.

I can’t let too much out of the bag at this time but stay tuned and I will keep you all informed as to the progress of the adventure!

I can tell you that you will all be able to come and visit me when you come to our fair burg to see and hear the sounds of the Civil War.

Remember that the month of July is just around the corner and the big guns will once again be firing during Pickett’s charge around the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Get on your stead jump on the buckboard but make plans to come and visit the historic county of Adams and its quaint county seat of Gettysburg.

Please come and visit me at civilwarblogger.com. I will be posting some NEW input and hopefully will be incorporating a new photo feature to the site as well. So stay tuned folks here we go into 2010!

http://www.aphotographersworld.com/2009/12/10/-photo-canvas.html

This website offers tips for all those folks who want to be better photographers. The site offers tips on photo issues such as how to build your own light box to buying photography equipment on a budget. This particular piece of writing gives a tip on how to high-end photos by adding the artistic flare of being printed on photo canvas. The article mentions many other enhancements you can also apply such as, black and white, sepia, dreamscape, dramatize, oil paint, impasto, as many other conversions as well, which all can add a special dimension to your images. To learn more about photography, please visit www.aphotographersworld.com.

To all my dear friends and Civil War compatriots who visit Civilwarblogger.com It has been a trying year for me and probably for ya’ll as well. But wait I am not complaining about my situation in life folks.

           “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL”


I am most of all Happy!! No I don’t have a cash reserve nor am I getting a multimillion-dollar BONUS. I am just happy knowing that every day above the ground is a good ONE. Just to view the world that lies just outside of my humble window. It is a serene view, all white and wintry, it is nearly blinding as the sun glistens on the icy surface of the remnants of our recent snowstorm.

{Oh to be a kid again with my lighting glider speeding down the mile long Gladhill’s Hill}

I do believe that Christmas is a time for reflections on Peace !

Lord knows how many warriors of countless wars have had a tear in their eye as their thoughts wander to the traditions of Christmas. Simple things such the carols being sung {Oh Holy Night}{Peace on Earth} the familiar smells of the season such as pines boughs and the fresh tree, a sprig o’ mistletoe for a warm kiss of a loved one, the thrill of Christmas morning.

Unfortunately, here Christmas comes once again but we still are no closer to having either PEACE ON EARTH nor Goodwill toward our fellow man.

I want to give you the reflections of some folks who lived in the time of the American Civil War as their thoughts were written in their journals or letters home for the holiday which they all missed so much!

As the war dragged on, deprivation replaced bounteous repasts and familiar faces were missing from the family dinner table. Soldiers used to "bringing in the tree" and caroling in church were instead scavenging for firewood and singing drinking songs around the campfire. And so the holiday celebration most associated with family and home was a contradiction. It was a joyful, sad, religious, boisterous, and subdued event.

Corporal J. C. Williams, Co. B, 14th Vermont Infantry, December 25, 1862:

"This is Christmas, and my mind wanders back to that home made lonesome by my absence, while far away from the peace and quietude of civil life to undergo the hardships of the camp, and may be the battle field. I think of the many lives that are endangered, and hope that the time will soon come when peace, with its innumerable blessings, shall once more restore our country to happiness and prosperity."

* * * * *

Gilbert J. Barton, Company I of Charlotte, recorded some of the hardships of camp that day:

"Dec 25th Christmas. Had hard Tack soaked in cold water and then fried in pork Greece [sic]. Fried in a canteen, split into[sic] by putting into the fire & melting the sodder[sic] off. We pick them up on the field left by other soldiers, also had coffee & pork. Ordered up at 5 this morning with guns ready, as it is reported that there are 400 Rebel Cavalry not far off prowling around. Foggy morning."

* * * * *

Robert Gould Shaw, then a 2nd lieutenant in the 2d Massachusetts Infantry, writes in 1861, about guard duty near Frederick, MD. He would later earn fame as the commander of the heroic African American unit, the 54th Massachusetts.

"It is Christmas morning and I hope a happy and merry one for you all, though it looks so stormy for our poor country, one can hardly be in merry humor."

* * * * *

On December 24, 1861, Captain Robert Goldthwaite Carter of the 22nd Mass. Vol. Inf. 4th U.S. Cavalry wrote:

 "Christmas Eve, and I am on duty as officer of the day, but I am not on duty to-morrow.  As much as I desire to see you all, I would not leave my company alone...I give my company a Christmas dinner to-morrow, consisting of turkey, oysters, pies, apples, etc.; no liquors."

* * * * *

John H. Brinton, a Major and Surgeon U.S.V. wrote:

"During the days preceding Christmas, I received some boxes from home, full of nice comfortable things, and the letter which came to me at that time, you may be sure, made me feel homesick.  On Christmas night, I left for St. Louis as my teeth were troubling me, and greatly in need of the services of a dentist.  I was fortunate in finding a good one, and in a day or two the necessary repairs were made."

* * * * *

From the diary of Private Robert A. Moore, a Confederate soldier:

Tuesday, Dec 24th, 1861, camp near Swan's...

"This is Christmas Eve but seems but little like it to me"

Wednesday, Dec. 25th, 1861, camp near Swan's...

"This is Christmas & and very dull Christmas it has been to me.  Had an egg-nog to-night but did not enjoy it much as we had no ladies to share it with us."

* * * * *

One of the dreariest accounts of Christmas during the Civil War came from Lt. Col. Frederic Cavada, captured at Gettysburg and writing about Christmas 1863 in Libby Prison in Richmond:

"The north wind comes reeling in fitful gushes through the iron bars, and jingles a sleighbell in the prisoner's ear, and puffs in his pale face with a breath suggestively odorous of eggnog...."

"...Christmas Day! A day which was made for smiles, not sighs - for laughter, not tears - for the hearth, not prison."
           

Please! Folks let us not forget our young men and women who are suffering through yet another Christmas away from the Home Hearth on a battlefield with the visions of sugar plums and the like dancing in their heads.

   Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

 Dick Bloom and BuckHorn Design

http://www.controversialpolitics.com/blog/2009/08/18/willful-forgetfulness-with-history.html

{Civilwarblogger.com must offer a disclaimer for this Postzilla input! Civilwarblogger.com neither supports nor advocates for the controversial tone of this article or any other offered on the site being reviewed! Thank you Civilwarblogger.com}

The input on this website is focused on controversial political issues that are brought to bear concerning the President of the United States of America and his various policies and decisions. The articles on the blog cover a wide variety of subjects that include why Obama care is wrong to input on Fox  and MSNBC news issues. This particular controversial article takes on the issue of comparing President Obama and his policies to that of the worst and most deadly tyrant ever known to the world that being Adolph Hitler. The view offered in the article is definitely anti-Obama. To add your opinions or thoughts to the fray you may learn more about this controversy at www.controversialpolitics.com/blog.

At least one Civil War era canned product remains in production, Borden's sweet condensed milk. Sometimes, Federal soldiers got a treat a can of sweet condensed milk and they made a creation they called "milk toast" with hardtack.

Gail Borden was awarded a patent for sweetened condensed milk in 1856. Sugar was added to prevent bacterial growth. Borden first thought the condensing process made the milk more stable, but later learned it was the heating process that killed the microorganisms that spoiled milk. Few Federals drank their coffee with milk; it was not part of the ration and cost too much to buy from the sutler. They cut their joe with sugar. Most soldiers would mix their sugar ration with their coffee when they received it. This ensured a somewhat sweet cup of coffee each time it was made.

There was rarely any shortage of coffee beans in the Yankee camps, and many regiments were actually issued rifles, one per 100-man company, with a coffee grinder built into the stock. The best coffee was slow roasted over a low fire, "until of a chestnut brown color and not burnt, as is so commonly done." It was to be boiled briskly for two minutes, then take from the fire at once, a little cold water thrown in, then the boiler's contents poured through a piece of flannel after it had settled for five minutes."

Needless to say that ol’ staple that we can’t do without to start our day in modern life was not a luxury as it is today it was a necessity for the weary soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Just think what the soldiers of the Civil War would’ve thought about a large mocha frappacino with a dollop of crème on top at $5.25 a cup at Starbucks