Comments for To the Sound of the Guns

Comment on Chalk Bluff Battlefield, Part 2 by Craig Swain

Craig Swain — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:19:11 +0000

Mary, Thanks for the note. Next time I am “home” in Kennett I will take you up on the offer!

Comment on Chalk Bluff Battlefield, Part 2 by Mary (Hughes) Branham

Mary (Hughes) Branham — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:13:48 +0000

Hello, First I want tp say thank you for such a great explaination of the events. To introduce myself I am the youngest child of Donald and Marietta Hughes of Four Mile MO. I had the blessed life of growing up in the Given Owen House,or Taylor Hotel and hospital. You truly did a great job. P.S. I am part owner of that private home I bet I have some pull to get you closer to the house, and we have cleared the road since then.

Comment on Introduction – Purpose and Intent by Michael Aubrecht

Michael Aubrecht — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:16:05 +0000

Hi Craig, sorry I did not get back to you on your Facebook message. I am sorry that I have to use the comments block here to contact you, but I am unable to email any other way at the moment. I am swamped at the new USMS job (in a good way). I’ll have to look at doing some b’field hopping with you next year. I simply do not have the time but look forward to when I do. I hope you are well and wish you the best during this holiday season. – Michael

Comment on Harris Farm by Fred and Barbara Myer

Fred and Barbara Myer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:28:16 +0000

Growing up, Barbara knew only that her great-grandfather, John H. Woodbury, was killed in the ‘Wilderness” battle.We learned somehow that he died on May 19, 1864; I mentioned this date to a friend and CW author, Robert Poirier. He immediately said – “Harris Farm”. Since then we have found John’s gravestone at the Fredericksburg Cemetery, #289, and a stone’s throw from the Battlefield Info Center. And! – there is a small, beautiful, little park along Hale Street in Beverly, Mass, with a memorial stone and tablet to John W., accurately describing his unit and the circumstances of his death. Woodbury Park is half a mile away from where Barbara grew up; she never knew the story. However, her mother must have, because we found in the family home a newspaper article reporting the memorial dedication in June 1927. Barbara remembers her grandmother Estella, John W.s daughter, who died in 1950. I found John’s records in the National Archives in DC.

Comment on Use of the 32-pdr Field Howitzer by brian

brian — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:42:41 +0000

Mighty fine, thanks Craig! And I’ll catch up my photo …

Comment on The 32-pdr Field Howitzer Model 1844 by Craig Swain

Craig Swain — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:10:08 +0000

Darn it, Brian! You’re spoiling part two!

Battery D played a role in the battle of Malvren Hill, but as you say was not engaged at Antietam. I’ll cover that in more detail next post.

Comment on The 32-pdr Field Howitzer Model 1844 by Brian

Brian — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:56:06 +0000

Lovely great monsters. One battery of 6 at Antietam. Battery D of the 1st Battalion, NY Light Artillery (later designated 32nd Independent Battery, Light Arty). Posted on the ridge east of the Middle Bridge in V Corps Reserve Arty from 15-18 Sep 1862. No mention of being engaged. ‘Spect same guns at Fredericksburg in December.

Comment on Harris Farm by Todd Bemis

Todd Bemis — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:34:50 +0000

The New York State Military Museum site also lists ‘The Diary of a Line Officer, by Captain Augustus C. Brown, Company H, Fourth New York Heavy Artillery. [New York, 1906]. It’s available at Google Books and the Internet Archive.

Comment on 24-pdr Flank Howitzers by Craig Swain

Craig Swain — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:33 +0000

A comment was made regarding the Flank Howitzer carriage, which I’ll respond to here. The rimbase spacing and preponderance, tell us the Flank Howitzer was not designed for the same type of service as the other howitzers (those used in both field and siege operations). The implications are: 1) the flank howitzer was not designed to be compatible with existing field or siege carriages; 2) the flank howitzer required a different carriage than those standardized for other weapons; 3) the flank howitzer was intended for use with a smaller gun crew (3 according to the manuals).

Nothing earth shattering here, rather a logical “reverse engineering” of the weapons particulars. Better put, the flank howitzer was not designed for field use (either as part of a regular field army or a besieging force), as such it was built to different specifications.

Comment on Big Brass Cannons – 24-pdr Field Howitzers by Charlie Bell

Charlie Bell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:42:01 +0000

The one that got me was the “Dictator” near the end of the Civil War that would power the shells two miles. It is amazing to look at the evolution of weapons. Thanks for the article!

The History Man