General Information – A Thousand Thunders

7. Some Background – Jacob, the 89th and the letters

I still pinch myself at my good fortune – not just in having access to my ancestor’s relatively unfettered thoughts and feelings through years of deprivation and war, but for the wealth of supporting extant documentation. My family’s collection of unpublished letters (over 125) with supporting documentation staggers me. The letters are outstanding, but theyContinue reading “7. Some Background – Jacob, the 89th and the letters”

6. To the Defense of Cincinatti

This is Jacob’s first numbered letter, consisting of several sheets over several days. This letter includes a hand drawn map of the defensive fortifications they were building to secure Cincinnati against the impending Confederate invasion. Letter No. 1 Camp Tailor, KY Sept 4, 1862 Dear Mary, I am thankful yet toContinue reading “6. To the Defense of Cincinatti”

3. Shively Presentation & Transcript – Recorded in March of 2021 on my most recent deployment

Meet Jacob. Jacob is my 5th Great Grandfather’s Nephew. This is a photograph he had taken in December of 1864 as a Christmas gift for his wife. Just a few weeks prior to this photo, he was charging with his fellow warriors up the ridge he’s sitting on in the Union Army’s breakout from theContinue reading “3. Shively Presentation & Transcript – Recorded in March of 2021 on my most recent deployment”

1. Note on the Transcriptions

For a semi-educated farmer, Jacob was an extraordinary writer. His writing skills improved through the war. As with any warrior, he lost his innocence in combat. If he lamented that loss, he did so later in life (and I do think he did – at some point and time he redacted some of his notesContinue reading “1. Note on the Transcriptions”