Life is tenuous for all of us. Life is especially fragile for a soldier in a combat zone. The order or action which may alter a soldier’s life forever is always only a second away. We are, perhaps, lucky we do not possess the ability to see the future, as we might always be running…
Col. Benjamin Franklin ‘Grimes’ Davis, 8th New York Cavalry, remains an intriguing figure, largely because he is so elusive. A Regular Army officer, Davis’s rigid adherence to strict discipline put him at odds with the volunteers who served under him. One perpetually disgruntled surgeon termed him “a proud tyrannical devil.” Upon learning that Davis had…
One of the themes I plan to examine from time to time is the inter-action between the Union cavalry and Southern civilians. This relationship was, understandably, fractious at best and frequently fraught with danger, for soldier and civilian alike. All too often the soldiers and non-combatants were verbally and physically abusive toward each other. Confrontations…
Part 1 of 4 But for his meteoric rise from captain to brigadier on June 28, 1863, and his death five days later in a controversial attack at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Elon Farnsworth may well have remained one of the many thousands of young men who served during the Civil War in relative anonymity. And while…
Small But Important Riots 