"Up the Street Came the Rebel Tread" and Winston Churchill

A little later today, I will write about Winston Churchill and FDR riding through Frederick, Maryland, in 1943 on their way to Shangri-La (now called Camp David).  Churchill was a huge fan of American history, of course, and wanted to see the home of Barbara Frietchie, because of that famous poem.

It is an interesting story, so check it out in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

"Shoot If You Must...."  --Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 3: A Poem and a Horse

4.  HE BECAME FAMOUS, IN PART, BECAUSE OF A POEM

During the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864,  his army came under surprise attack at the Battle of cedar Creek while he was away from his troops.  When he heard the artillery  he raced to the battle, rallied his troops and won a victory.

Sheridan received a letter of thanks from Lincoln and a poet, Thomas Buchanan Read wrote a song about his actions that day called "Sheridan's Ride."

The poem made both the horse, Rienzi, and rider famous.

Some of the poem:

Then, striking his spurs,  with a terrible oath,
He dashed down the line  'mid a storm of huzzas,
And the wave of retreat  checked its course there, because

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5.  HIS HORSE WAS STUFFED AFTER ITS DEATH

After Rienzi died in 1878, he was stuffed and mounted and presented to Sheridan.    The horse is now in the collection of  the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

--Old Secesh

That Civil War Reading Thing-- Part 2: "Would Become As Rusty As A Boy's Jack Knife"

**  "You see I must read something, or my mind would become as rusty as a boy's jack knife that has been lost in a rubbish pile for a year or two, and in the absence of anything better I devour every novel I get hold of."

Major Thomas A. Connolly, 123rd Illinois Infantry, explaining why he had read "David Copperfield" and "The Confessions of Con Cregan," in a letter to his wife, February 14, 1864.

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**  "I wish I had some books.  The best I can do now is to repeat over and over such pieces of poetry as I have committed to memory."

Charles B. Hayden, 2nd Michigan Infantry, in his diary, June 21, 1861.

Read Them Books.  --Secesh

Barbara Fritchie House for Sale

From the September 13th WJZ 13 CBS station.

The house, located in Frederick, Maryland, is now on the market for $185,000.

The two-story, red brick house is a replica of where the 90-something widow defiantly waved a US flag at Confederates under Stonewall Jackson in 1862 during the Antietam campaign.

Poet John Greenleaf Whittier came across the story and wrote a poem about it.

"Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, but spare your country's flag," were her words according to the poem.

However, the incident was never documented and was based on several incidents Whittier had heard about.

Well, You Own History, Or Maybe Not. --B-R'er

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "A Nameless Grave"

Came across an Historical Marker database entry for a plaque regarding this poem in Newport News, Virginia.

This is an excellent poem for the fallen, especially those that are listed as unknown.

I'm not sure when he made it, but it might have been in a collection of poems called "Masque of Pandora and Other Poems" published in 1875.

A NAMELESS GRAVE

"A soldier of the Union mustered out,"
Is the inscription on an unknown grave
At Newport News, beside the salt-sea wave,
Nameless and dateless, the sentinel or scout
Shot down in skirmish, or disastrous rout
Of battle, when the loud artillery drave
Its iron wedges through the ranks of the brave
And doomed battalions, storming the redoubt.

Thou unknown hero sleeping by the sea
In thy forgotten grave! with secret shame
I feel my pulse beat, my forehead burn,
When i remember thou hast given for me
All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name,
And I CAN GIVE THEE NOTHING IN RETURN.

Quite a selection of poetry; the last part especially. Definitely puts into words my feelings whenever I see the graves of the unknown, especially military.

Well-Done Longfellow. --Old B-Runner