A great gift

An old college professor of mine contacted me via email the other day and offered me the 1953 set of "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln." I want to thank Dr. Danziger for this gift which has found a new home in my hands. I have already delved into the works and found some classic speeches, letters and drafts of speeches that made Lincoln one of the greatest and most overlooked writers in American history.

Cool books that I want to read

Two books that I need to check out this summer are


Recarving Rushmore which researches the Presidents, presidential rankings and so forth.

http://www.amazon.com/Recarving-Rushmore-Presidents-Prosperity-Independent/dp/1598130226

The other book is about Lincoln. (Big surprise!) This one is called "Summers with Lincoln"

http://www.amazon.com/Summers-Lincoln-Looking-Man-Monuments/dp/0823228959/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Mary Lincoln's lost brothers, brothers-in-law, etc

Mary Lincoln's brother George R.C. Todd and her half-brothers Alexander Todd, David Todd, and Samuel Todd all fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Alexander Todd was killed at Baton Rouge.
Samuel Todd was killed in the Battle of Shiloh.
David Todd was wounded at Vicksburg.
Her half-sister Emilie Helm's husband was a Confederate general killed at Chickamauga.
The husbands of her half-sisters, Martha White and Elodie Dawson were ardent supporters of the Confederacy.

Forgotten Generals of the Civil War: Confederate General William H. C. Whiting

William Henry Chase Whiting was born on March 23, 1824 and was an excellent student. He was educated in both Boston and what would later become Georgetown University. Later he graduated West Point in 1845. After graduation he joined the prestigious Army Corps of Engineers and help construct seacoast defenses in both Maryland and Florida. He later served out west for several years aiding the construction of defenses on the West Coast. By 1858 he was back east improving canels and harbors when the Civil War exploded onto the public consenice.

Just a few weeks before Fort Sumter he resigned his commission and joined the Confederate service. He was appointed chief engineer under Joseph Johnston and helped the Confederates defeat northern forces at the First Battle of Bull Run. After being promoted to brigader general in April 1861 he commanded a division at Seven Pines and led some forces under Stonewall Jackson during Jackson's famed Valley Campaign. When Union General George McCellen slowly pushed his forces to Richmond, Whiting and his men traveled by rail to reinforce newly appointed Confederate General Robert E. Lee. After fighting at Gaines Mill and Malvern Hill the Confederate high command saw that Whiting's past as an engineer was far more valuable to the Confederate cause then his leadership on the battlefield. He served the defenses at Petersburg and Wilmington and was promoted to Major General in 1864.

During the Battles at Fort Fisher he was wounded and was take prisoner. Whiting died while a prisoner of war at Fort Columbus in New York Harbor on March 10, 1865. He was buried there until his widow had his body transferred to North Carolina in 1900.

Sources:

Boatner, Mark Mayo III, The Civil War Dictionary

Interesting Blog

This blog was really interesting to me. I found it while searching Civil War blogs and believe me there are so many of them. This sit has pictures of every Gettysburg monument. Really interesting stuff!!

http://www.encounteratgettysburg.com/

Interesting side note on Longstreet

Actor Tom Berenger has stated that one of his favorite roles was that of General James Longstreet in the 1993 hit Gettysburg. I was never a big fan of the film because it plays too into the spirit of the Lost Cause and overplays Josh Chamberlain as the savour of Little Round Top. I always felt that Strong Vincent's role is vastly underplayed in documentaries on the subject. He gave his life to save that rocky hill. Anyway, I thought that Berenger's comment on playing Longstreet was cool.

Lincoln's Last Photo????????????????

The following message related to the above photo is related to the Associated Press

This detail of a March 6, 1865 photo by Henry F. Warren, provided by the Collection Keya Morgan/LincolnImages.com, shows the White House with several figures standing in front of it. Photography collector Keya Morgan says the photo is the only known photograph of Lincoln standing in front of the White House, and the first photo ever to have been taken of a President in front of the White House. Morgan added the 6'4 to reference which figure he believes in Abraham Lincoln.
(AP Photo/Collection of Keya Morgan, LincolnImages.com)

Lincoln meets Obama via cartoon

I found this today, its really funny.




Expect a forgotten generals blogger shortly. I haven't posted one in ages and all of my readers have been begging for them.