Archive for Daniel Currell
The Witness Trees
Some trees from the Civil War era are still alive, of course. In some cases, trees that were present at key battles and still survive today can be identified from photographs or written accounts that mention them; they are known as “witness trees”. They are well-known, and sometimes controversial. Well, the two trees shown here […]
Pickett’s Charge
Today we spent much of the morning learning about and walking the route of Pickett’s Charge. Now it’s a large field, but in 1863 it was a noisy and nervous walk that ended badly for about 13,000 Confederate soldiers. This action took place on the third day of the battle, and it was the […]
Burnside’s Bridge and Bloody Lane.
Burnside’s Bridge and Bloody Lane.
Shooting at Close Range
Shooting at each other – at close range. Next step is to fix bayonets . . . but we’re too polite for that.
Teaching, Walking, Learning
During the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), a few thousand Confederates had to hurry from Harper’s Ferry to Sharpsburg – 17 miles – in just a few hours so they could join the fight. Well, we haven’t had to walk 17 miles yet, but everyone’s feet were hurting by the end of the day on […]
Starting Where it Started – And Ended
Most of the Civil War was fought far away from D.C. – but Washington was, in a way, where it started, and of course it was the scene of Lincoln’s assassination at the end. We started with a day in D.C., spending some time talking about the Potomac and its importance throughout the war; visiting […]
James McPherson
James McPherson is an energetic guy. We’re busy chasing him around Mid-Atlantic battlefields this week. And we’re learning all manner of things – from the manufacturing techniques of battlefield ordnance to the relationships between different characters in the Civil War story. Here, we’re talking about how to load and fire a field rifle (apparently they […]