Married to a Civil War Addict

Friends,

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be married to a Civil War Addict?  Our special guest poster has graciously offered to share her viewpoint.

Ladies,

My husband and I are considering purchasing a new TV, which in our house is a big purchase.  Today I received a text message about a 1940s Hangar Dance that will be held in our area.  The text message read "I could get a new uniform instead of the TV."  That got me thinking about what it is like being married to a Civil War Addict.

Here are just a few of the things that have come up in our five years of marriage which might be signs that you too are married to a Civil War Addict.

1.  If you have ever heard the phrase "It isn't a costume.  It is a uniform."
2.  If you have ever heard ANY quote from Gods and Generals.
3.  If your Thanksgiving Dinner includes hardtack and/or grog.  
4.  If you have ever heard "It is NOT a man purse.  It is a haversack!" 
5.  If your husband's idea of a romantic getaway includes destinations like Franklin or Shiloh.

Then you will know that you are married to a Civil War Addict.  I have enjoyed being married to my Civil War Addict very much!  It probably helps that I am a history addict too, although I enjoy different time periods.  It isn't everyone who gets to share their passions with the one that they are passionate about.

I am Mrs. Lee Hutch and I am married to a Civil War Addict.

Mrs. Lee Hutch

Teaching the Civil War

Friends,

See, I set a posting schedule and I've already had to break it.  Originally this post was for tomorrow, but I'll be getting another injection in my back tomorrow afternoon.  They give me "twilight sedation" which knocks me out cold.  Rather than run the risk of posting under the influence, I thought I'd just go ahead and do this today.

My normal daily title at work is "Deputy", however, I also have another title.  I have taught US History survey courses for several years now at a local community college, thus also earning the moniker "Professor" which is kind of amusing seeing as how I still remember sitting in those same seats myself many moons ago.  Naturally, I have the term "Adjunct" in front of my name which is almost like an epithet to some.  But not to me.  I'll be branching into Western Civ this fall as well.

Teaching a survey course, be it US, Western Civilization or World History, is rather like firing a shotgun loaded with buckshot at the past.  You'll hit some things and miss others by a mile!  Taking two US history survey courses (divided by the year 1877) in my state is the only history course the vast majority of college students will ever take.  Often times these courses are taught by adjuncts like me.  We impart what little bit of historical knowledge these students will ever get from college.  The rest will come from Pawn Stars and Dan Brown novels.  How do we compete with that?

I have taught, off and on, for six years.  (Including one year of teaching 8th grade social studies and, yes, coaching football.  I do live in Texas after all.)  Though we may bemoan the lack of general historical knowledge in the American public, I have found that students DO enjoy history.  But only if it is taught the right way.  Naturally, this includes the Civil War.  In fact, my students are fascinated by it.  There is not a dry eye in the room, mine included, when I describe Pickett's Charge.  The class erupts with laughter when I tell them about General Sickles and his somewhat amusing life.  When I talk about sacrifice and hardship, they get it.  They can understand that because, in their own way, they have faced it themselves in their day to day lives.  (Particularly our growing population of young veterans attending college.)

Am I "Professor of the Year"?  Not hardly.  After all, despite trying, I have not gotten a full time teaching position at a community college, though I have been a finalist a few times.  Academia says that military history doesn't matter.  I disagree.  When teaching about the Civil War, if they even get to it in US 1, a lot of folks spend their time discussing everything BUT the military.  They talk about politics and society.  It is almost as if the actual war was insignificant.  All those things are important.  But you have to talk about all of them.

Here is what I do and honestly, I do it because it seems to work with my students.  After all, everything I do is for them.  TALK ABOUT THE PEOPLE!  Tell their stories.  Let the students connect with them as individuals.  Make them human, not some black and white picture in a textbook.  You can cover everything and reach the majority of your students by simply talking about the people as if they are alive today.  Don't just tell them what happened.  Tell them about the people who made it happen and who lived through it.  You can't expect a student to give a coyote's rosy red behind about Pickett's Charge unless you tell them SOMETHING about the men who both made and repulsed the charge.  What were their hopes and dreams?  What about their families?  Otherwise, it is just meaningless information and numbers.

You know, I've done a lot of cool things in my day job.  I've gotten to see a lot.  I've closed major felony investigations and sent some bad hombres to prison.  I've been in a few tight spots as well.  But nothing compares to the feeling of walking into a classroom on the first day and seeing all those faces looking at you.  Those of you who have experienced that firsthand know exactly what I mean.

I apologize for delving into matters pedagogical, but if history were taught the right way, there would be more people interested in it.  After all, isn't history really one big reality show!

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict who means no offense to those who don't teach like me since we all have our own quirks!  And the "History Teacher of the Year" award should go to my beautiful wife who is a high school teacher and coach.  And a d--n good one at that.

Humerous Anecdotes

Friends,

Despite all of the seriousness of the Civil War, there were some rather amusing tales to come out of it.  Throughout my life I have heard funny quotes and stories pertaining to the war.  Do any of  you remember the story that the late (and great) Shelby Foote told about the war?  It was in the first volume of his trilogy and he also repeated it on the Ken Burns miniseries.  It involved a young private who was startled by an owl while on picket duty.  When the owl said "Who!  Who!", the young soldier said "I'm Private So and So, a friend of yours!"  Now I don't know Mr. Foote's source for that quote, but it is still funny, even if it is not in fact true.

When I was in college I attended a symposium at the community college in Hillsboro, Texas.  I heard Dr. Woodworth from TCU give a presentation.  He shared a story about General Theopilus Holmes.  One day during the Peninsula Campaign, his troops were being shelled by Federal gunboats.  The noise was deafening.  General Holmes wandered out onto the front porch of the home he was using as his headquarters and asked "Do I hear gunfire?"  Little wonder his troops called him "Granny".

And who can forget General Pope!  When he started signing his dispatches "Headquarters in the Saddle", his soldiers said that his headquarters were where his hindquarters should be.  Robert E. Lee referred to him as a "miscreant" and told General Jackson that "he (Pope) must be suppressed."  General Lee was not known for using language this blunt, so it that should tell you how much disdain he had for the man.  Needless to say, Pope was suppressed at 2nd Manassas!

After the suppression of Pope, Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac and left little impact on history, other than giving us the term sideburns.  (He did sport an impressive set of whiskers!)  After he was fired, Joseph Hooker took command.  He felt the need to continue the foot-in-mouth disease which Pope suffered from.  Hooker declared "May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."  That statement ranks right up there with declaring the Titanic unsinkable!  Of course, as well all know, General Lee mauled Fighting Joe's troops badly at Chancellorsville.

Perhaps he should have stuck with whiskey and.....well.....hookers!

(Though evidence suggests that the term "hooker" did not in fact come from his name.)

Those are just a couple humorous anecdotes from the Civil War.  Do you have any you would like to share?

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict who enjoys telling a good (or inappropriate) joke at the right or wrong time!

Onward Christian Soldiers: Civil War Religion

Friends,

My wife and I are having supper with our priest tonight, so I have been pondering religious matters.  Naturally, anytime I think about any subject, I always try to find a connection with the Civil War.  One of the interesting things about the Civil War is that both sides prayed to the same God.  Both thought that God was on their side.  They both spoke the same language.  Though the first time I met a Bostonian, I wasn't sure that we actually did speak the same language!  I mean no offense to those from Boston.  It is a beautiful city. And they could say the same about my accent.

Consider this.  Northern ministers used the Bible to condemn slavery.  Southern ministers used the same Bible to defend it.  Both could point to passages to support their point of view.  The slavery question caused denominations to split apart.  Some ministers such as Bishop Leonidas K. Polk, joined the fray as an officer. In Polk's case, he was a general.  Polk was far from being the Confederacy's greatest general.  It makes me wonder if it is really true that God called Polk to be his sword arm.  Bishop/General Polk was killed in action  during the Atlanta Campaign.  Along the same lines, another Episcopal Bishop, Charles Quintard, is also well known in Civil War circles.  He was asked to serve as the Regimental Chaplain for the 1st Tennessee Infantry.  He accepted, despite his initial pro-Union stance.  Quintard was also a medical man and helped with surgeries as well.  Several of my ancestors served in this regiment.  They were all Irish Catholics, but I have no doubt that they found something familiar in the 19th Century Episcopal "high church" mass.

And speaking of Irish Catholics, I have to mention my favorite chaplain of the wartime era, Father Corby of the famed Irish Brigade.  He ministered the the needs of one of the elite brigades in the Union Army.  Catholics in the United States, and Irish Catholics in particular, were not very well thought of in the urban areas of the Northeast.  But the same North that despised their very existence relied on the prowess in a tight spot.  At Antietam he rode back and forth on horseback in front of the 69th New York as they advanced on the Sunken Road blessing the soldiers.  He is best known from granting "conditional absolution" to the men of the Irish Brigade, both Catholic and non, on the second day at Gettysburg shortly before they entered the fight at in the Wheat Field.  This scene is immortalized the movie.  There is a statue to him there which you can view by clicking here.  The statue is said to be placed on the same rock where he stood.  There is a similar statue of him at Notre Dame where he served as president.

Irish Brigade Chaplains: Father Corby is seated at the right.

There is an old saying that there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.  Civil War soldiers sought comfort in religion while on battlefields that must have resembled hell on earth.  When we think about the Civil War, we often neglect to mention the chaplains who often braved shot and shell to minister to their flock.  Men like Father Corby and Bishop Quintard are true American heroes and should be remember as such.

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.

What is Your Specific Obsession?

Friends,

I apologize for the lateness of this post.  I was busy buying a car for my wife this evening.  My new posting schedule will be the Civil War blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays and the Great War blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.  (At least that is the plan!)

Now, on to business!  The vast panorama that is the American Civil War gives Civil War Addicts all sorts of areas with which to focus our interest.  You could spend a lifetime just studying one battle and still not know everything there is to know about it.  Some focus their interest on the political arena and others on social aspects.  There are even smaller genres, if you will, such as medicine or even fashion.  Our American Iliad gives everyone plenty of room to carve out his or her own niche.  That is what draws new addicts each generation.

In addition to meeting my beautiful wife, I spent my grad school days studying Military History.  That is not a "cool" specialty in graduate school anymore.  (Though it is more so now than it was ten years ago.)  I loved reading and studying weapons and tactics.  Plus, my time as a reenactor complimented this pursuit as well.  When I taught US History survey courses during my adjunct days, I constantly had to remind myself that it was a survey course, lest I get bogged down in tactical minutiae that perhaps only one student in the classroom actually cared about.

There is one particular subject that I can't read enough about.  That is the Battle of Franklin.  Perhaps it isn't appropriate to say that a battle is your "favorite", but Franklin is the one that holds my mind captive.  What I wouldn't give to see the Army of Tennessee march across that valley with bands playing and flags unfurled.  When I close my eyes, I can see.  Or at least what I imagine it looked like.  I cannot get my hands on enough materials about this battle.  If I had one specific obsession, it would be this.

So my question to your, dear readers, is this.  What is the specific area of the American Civil War that holds you interest the most.  Is it a battle?  Or politics? Or 19th Century music or religion?

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a somewhat poorer Civil War Addict after purchasing the below.  (But my wife's happiness is far more important to me than money.)

Beyond Gettysburg

Friends,

Typically Civil War Addicts have been to some pretty cool sites off the beaten path.  That is the subject of today's post.  Not satisfied with merely visiting the same sites as all of the other tourists, Civil War Addicts seek out new places to see.  I have been to many Civil War battlefields in my day.  Some of the best ones are not National Battlefield Parks, but rather State Parks or State Historic sites.  And I've been to some interesting non battlefield places too.  Here is but a small sampling.

Port Hudson, Louisiana, Nov. 2009

Original Centenary College site, Jackson, Louisiana

And there are several others with no pictures readily available.  They include Sabine Pass, New Market, Perryville, Prairie Grove, and the Myrtles Plantation.  Though if I had to pick one non-national park as my favorite site, it would have to be New Market, Virginia.  I haven't been there since I was a teenager, but I've never forgotten it.  So assuming it hasn't changed in the past 20 years, it still holds that honor.

So I leave you with this question, dear readers.  What is your favorite non-national park site?  (It can be either a battlefield or non-battlefield site.)

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.

(Photo credits go to my wife.  They can be used with proper attribution to this page.)

EDIT:  I can't believe that I forgot to mention that last week I hit the FOUR THOUSAND view mark!  Not bad for the first two and a half months.  Thank all of you so much.  Let's see how fast we can hit five thousand!  (And no, that doesn't count my own views.)

Unvexed to the Sea

Friends,

Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the surrender of Vicksburg.  I'm sure that will be overshadowed by all of the attention focused on Gettysburg this week.  The Western Theater battles often get overlooked by folks who prefer to focus their attention on the Eastern Theater.  However, it is my firm belief that the South lost the war in the Western Theater (or the North won it there, depending on your viewpoint).  I had hoped that the western campaigns would get equal coverage during the 150th, but that may not be the case.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my wife and I spent a lovely week in Vicksburg two and a half years ago.  I really enjoy the town and the people.  My goal is to one day go back and hike the battlefield, but I fear that my back will not allow that now.  Vicksburg happens to be the closest National Battlefield Park to my house...though it is a 7 hour drive.  Pea Ridge is second and it comes in around 8 hours or so.  That is the problem with being a Civil War Addict in Southeast Texas.  It is hard to get your Civil War "fix" by visiting battlefields.

So here are my questions for the day.  1.  Is there an Eastern bias in mainstream Civil War history/students. 2.  If there is, why might that be?  This is what I will be reflecting on today.  Along with the gratitude that I don't have to live in a town under siege.

I will leave you with a quote from this Lincoln fellow who said that "Vicksburg is the key."  The next update may not be until Saturday evening or Sunday.  I have to work 3-12 tonight followed by 730(am) to 4:30 tomorrow.  So if you leave or post a comment and I don't get back to you right away, be not offended!  I will as soon as I can.

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.

Texas Monument at Vicksburg

Photo by N.E.H.

May be used with attribution to this page