The June entries looked scarier -- more fighting and shooting. The last entry was written June 9, 1864. He had to "hide out all day," he wrote.This was absolutely compelling for me. (I can't imagine how a tiny leather datebook from 1864 could survive the Civil War and still be around today in decent condition. I can't imagine what else he wrote in there, or the things he dealt with within the context of the war, or the day-to-day realities of 1864 in general.) And suddenly...
Oldtimey finds a blog (well) from the Civil War for Veteran's Day.
Maciej finds a post from a French blogger that visited an American cemetery from the Great War.
mike whybark. words. Posted at November 12, 2003 05:33 PMSeriously, that Civil War diary was astonishing to read (what I could of it) -- powerful stuff. There was no chance of a helicopter heroic rescue, or a lucrative book deal once the wounds healed, or medical care or any such thing, for that guy. I can never understand why history books try to teach dates/battlefield names/trivialities and never actually give any sense of the *life* back then. History has life inherent.
Posted by: oldtimey at November 13, 2003 10:13 PM
