Out of Sync

  
     My latest web page is up, Camp at Sharpsburg, Sept. 17th - Oct. 26th, 1862.  Highlights include a short biography of the Three Cary Brothers who were officers in the regiment; a biographical sketch of beloved Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General George Lucas Hartsuff, & a humorous remembrance of Corporal 'Bob' Armstrong, Co. B.

     Yet to come is a page about the Fredericksburg Campaign, Nov - Dec. 1862.  So, I am still building history pages for the year 1862, which I began in May, 2009.  I am trying to get into 1863 before the  150th anniversary of Gettysburg in 2013!

     The Sesquicentennial of the war has brought some notice to my work, particularly in the towns of Natick, and Marlboro, home of Co.'s  H,  I  &  F,  respectively.   I just heard from the town manager of Hancock, Maryland too!

     The towns were recognizing the 150th Anniversary of the war, and the part played in it by their citizens and soldiers.   Early January marked the 150th anniversary of the battle of Hancock, when Stonewall Jackson, rode up from Winchester and shelled the town.  Read More

     Since I am immersed in 19th cent. history, I always feel a bit out of touch with modern life.  Don't try to call me on a cel phone and don't ask me what time it is.  Since my 1917 Illinois pocket watch broke, I don't know.   My '51 Hudson doesn't keep up too well in modern traffic but it does okay.   Even the idea of a non-interactive website, like mine,  is out of date today.  With instant communication devices like twitter, facebook and blogs a staid informational non-interactive site is passez.  Imagine too, corresponding by email, my preferred method, is now considered old fashioned.  But hey, at least I am aware of the new stuff!  I just don't seem to need it.  

     Even my blog is out of sync with the Sesquicentennial. 

     I started the 'blog in real time' experiment last year.  I was able to find and post lots of interesting items, relating to the 13th Regiment, and the build up to the war, that are not on my website.  But when I got to August 1st, 1861, the date the regiment arrived in Hagerstown, MD, something kept me from continuing with the series.   At the time I was struggling to finish my webpage about "Antietam," a milestone in the history of the regiment. I gave that priority.   I've covered the regiment's history in detail over at the website and I didn't want to repeat myself on the blog, which I would've done with frequent real time posts.  So the blog series evaporated.

     The same problem continues, as I strive to keep moving forward with the history pages at the website. I posted about Thanksgiving & Christmas, 1861, here at this blog, a couple years ago.  So I didn't want to repeat myself to be in sync with the Sesqui.  Instead, I've been continuing to toil away at the website, trying to get to the Gettysburg page before the 150th anniversary in 2013.

     Besides, there are others marking time better than I.

      By the way, did you know that Stonewall Jackson, twice, tried to destroy Dam No. 5 of the C & O canal, 150 years ago, this past December?   (At least my cyber friend and fellow blogger Cenantua mentioned it.)  I sent him some more info and he's promised to do a follow up post on it.  You can also find information about it on my website, here

    So, I'm moving into the Fredericksburg Campaign now.  I'm pretty confident  I'll have that page built before Dec. 2012.  I'll probably be working on the website long after the 150th anniversary of the war.

It feels like that bumper sticker my friend had on the back of his rusted out '75 Dodge Colt, many years ago.    "Don't honk, I'm peddling as fast as I can."

Hope you enjoy the new page.