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…
The 1st Maine Cavalry’s Committee on History adopted a policy “that no unpleasant thing should appear relating to the personal record of any comrade,” in the regimental history prepared by Edward Tobie. Other regimental historians may have followed suit, though I am not aware of another history in which this intention is so clearly stated. Noble…
Imagine you have an ancestor named Samuel Severns, who served in the 1st Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War. Where might you look for information and what might you learn of Severns? Fold3 is a great online resource, but service records for Michigan soldiers are not yet digitized. If you are not close to Washington,…
If the stories are true, William Parnell survived the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava unscathed, only to fall, gravely wounded, in the farms fields east of Upperville, on June 21, 1863. William Russell Parnell was born in Dublin, Ireland, reportedly, on August 13, 1836. An August 1863 account in the Albany Evening Journal…
A few disclaimers are in order – First, the following has nothing to do with cavalry. Second, I recently mentioned that I will not write book reviews, but that I am happy to acknowledge worthy books. I recognize some readers may not see the distinction. Third, it is also my intention to leave political commentary…
I decided early on not to write book reviews on this site. Other sites are dedicated to that noble task and, as the historians and reviewers at those sites do a terrific job, I will leave the book reviews to them. I am, however, happy to make readers aware of new books of special merit. William J.…
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…
The officer was a bit of an anomaly; a Union colonel with a Deep South accent, wearing a Mexican serape against the pre-dawn chill. Shortly after stepping into the saddle he spurred his horse into the Rappahannock River. The placid waters were soon churning, as hundreds of troopers in Union blue followed in his wake. …
As I prepared my last post describing Union attempts to burn the Waterloo Bridge, I was also reading Seizing Destiny, The Army of the Potomac’s “Valley Forge” and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union, by Albert Conner Jr., and Chris Mackowski. One of the first offensive operations described by the authors is the…
My wife and I spent a very pleasant afternoon recently at our favorite vineyard, Winding Road Cellars, on Leeds Manor Road in Markham. On the way home, as we passed through the historic hamlets of Hume and Orleans, we noticed multiple signs announcing the local effort to Save the Historic Waterloo Bridge. There was a time,…
Small But Important Riots 