I believe the year was 1986. My parents took my brother and I to watch the reenactment of the Battle of Sabine Pass. Since I grew up in the exotic town of Port Arthur, Texas, it was a very short drive out there. I had no idea that I had grown up just a few miles from the site of one of the most improbable victories in the annals of military history. (Okay, so I may be exaggerating a little.)
I remember watching the recreated battle and being amazed by the sound of the artillery and rifles. They even had a mock ironclad (the USS Clifton, I believe) offshore firing at the Confederates. Afterwards, we walked through the camp and I got to talk to some of the participants and also get some pictures taken.
Fast forward to 1997. I participated in my first reenactment. I was now reenacting the Battle of Sabine Pass just as I had seen done 11 years earlier. What a thrill! I have been reenacting off and on ever since, though sadly not as much as I would like.
Anytime someone questions the money I've spent on Civil War gear, or books, or trips, or movies, or anything else related to that, I look back to the September day in 1986 and blame my parents for taking me out there in the first place!
I am Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.
Showing posts with label Port Arthur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Port Arthur. Show all posts
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The First Step
They say the first step is admitting that you have a problem.
When I was five years old I checked out my first book from the Port Arthur Public Library. It was a picture book about the Civil War. I don't know the name of it, but I do remember that it was a big book (at least in my five year old mind) and had a hard red cover. I have been addicted to the war ever since.
It certainly didn't help matters that I grew up around my great-grandmother who was born in 1898. She knew several Confederate veterans as a child and even attended a United Confederate Veterans reunion with her Uncle. When she wasn't threatening to "settle my hash", she told me stories about the veterans she had known in her childhood. She and I probably watched Gone With the Wind about a hundred times! It was her favorite movie. Thanks to her, I'll never wear a hat inside. She has been gone for 19 years, but I still miss her.
I cannot explain the deep abiding passion I have for the Civil War. It is certainly stronger than my fear of clowns. Or my love of redheads.. Since I first opened that book 30 years ago, I have been unable to escape the hold that the Civil War has on me.
This blog will explore some of the areas of the war that are of particular interest to me. And I will also explore why I have this connection with those traumatic years. Maybe I will find some answers. And maybe I will just end up with more questions.
I have been an occasional adjunct history instructor, though adjuncting is a tough way to make a living. So I work full time in a field unrelated to history by day and study the past by night. I am available to give presentations on Civil War topics anywhere in the Greater Houston/Southeast Texas area. I normally do several each year and I always have room for one more.
My name is Lee Hutch. And I am a Civil War addict.
When I was five years old I checked out my first book from the Port Arthur Public Library. It was a picture book about the Civil War. I don't know the name of it, but I do remember that it was a big book (at least in my five year old mind) and had a hard red cover. I have been addicted to the war ever since.
It certainly didn't help matters that I grew up around my great-grandmother who was born in 1898. She knew several Confederate veterans as a child and even attended a United Confederate Veterans reunion with her Uncle. When she wasn't threatening to "settle my hash", she told me stories about the veterans she had known in her childhood. She and I probably watched Gone With the Wind about a hundred times! It was her favorite movie. Thanks to her, I'll never wear a hat inside. She has been gone for 19 years, but I still miss her.
I cannot explain the deep abiding passion I have for the Civil War. It is certainly stronger than my fear of clowns. Or my love of redheads.. Since I first opened that book 30 years ago, I have been unable to escape the hold that the Civil War has on me.
This blog will explore some of the areas of the war that are of particular interest to me. And I will also explore why I have this connection with those traumatic years. Maybe I will find some answers. And maybe I will just end up with more questions.
I have been an occasional adjunct history instructor, though adjuncting is a tough way to make a living. So I work full time in a field unrelated to history by day and study the past by night. I am available to give presentations on Civil War topics anywhere in the Greater Houston/Southeast Texas area. I normally do several each year and I always have room for one more.
My name is Lee Hutch. And I am a Civil War addict.
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