Thanks Terry, great find! I just added it to my favorites. I see in the side notes a picture of Mr. Lincoln's first Secretary of War, Simon Cameron. He was so dishonest that the president had to fire him. This was tricky, because the fellow was the most powerful politician in Pennsylvania, so Honest Abe appointed him Minister to Russia...which wasn't as far as the moon, but that was as far away as he could be banished in those days. My favorite story about him goes like this: His fellow Pennsylvanian, Thaddeus Stevens, made a speech denouncing him in the House of Representatives, where he proclaimed that "The only thing that Mr. Cameron wouldn't steal is a red-hot stove." When the Secretary of War heard this, he demanded a retraction. Stevens responded by returning to the floor of the House, where he made another speech saying, "I retract my former comments about Mr. Cameron...I do not think, that he would not steal a red-hot stove." In referring to his generation of politicians, Mr. Lincoln said, "We will be remembered in spite of ourselves."
"Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees." Good question. We actually addressed that in group. From what I can remember about the area (Chancellorville), the foilage in and around the area was very thick and green (early May) as all of the Virginia woods were, but we discussed what the size of the Tree's may have been back then, along with the shrubs, bushes, etc. Pulling from memory, I want to say that Jackson was coming back from a battle site near dusk, maybe just after dark, and the Confederates were scrambled all over the place, trying to organize, but Stonewall, for whatever reason, didn't have an escort(s) and the soldiers that heard him coming said they issued a pass challenege, but that it wasn't returned, so they fired, fately wounding the General. The Confederate Army in 1863 really started their downslide as a effective force at this time. Lack of supplies, military training, and the youth of the soldiers contributed to alot of undisciplined military tactics and communication. Anyway, Gen Jackson was a severe Hardass, but because of his reputation, was admired in a very respectful way by the troops. Kinda like a Patton type; you viewed him as an arrogant pric, but he got the job done.