Week 1 - Question #2 - Pat Asks You - The Civil War
The author of Guerrilla Season, Pat Hughes, will ask the readers of the novel questions throughout the book blog project and comment on the answers. Her first question focuses on the historical aspect of the novel. She asks: "Do you know what role (if any) any of your ancestors or members of your family had in the Civil War?"
Please describe any background your family may have had in the Civil War in the comments to this blog post. Please remember to use correct grammar and post only as "anonymous" or by using your first name only.
posted by Eric Langhorst | 8:25 PM
13 Comments:
My last name has existed for hundreds of years, before the sixteenth century. The only relative of mine, that I know of, that was part of the Civil War was a great great great.......grand uncle. He was a priest or minister or something along those lines and he married many African couples as they went through the Underground Railroad.
~Candy Apple
My great, great, great, uncle severed in the civil war and died at Andersonville Prison camp. When my mom told me about I became reall inerested in the subject. Then in fith grade I did a project about Andersonville Prison it was really interesting. I also got help from my family telling me about what my great, great, great, uncle went through out the time he spent at the camp.
No i don't have any ancestors that thought in the civil war in my knowledge but, I do have 2 ancestors fight in world war 2.
mrcardinal1202
Being the first generation of my family to be born in America, none of my ancestors fought in the civil war. Although, my grandpa did fight in the Korean Civil War, but that's not exactly the same thing.
~Sugarpie
My ancestors were living in India at the time of the civil war. We had nothing to do with the civil war at all.
~Dhruv the Dominant
Interesting how few people responded to this question. It's kind of what I suspected: We Americans as a whole have really lost touch with our past, and beyond a couple of generations ago very few of us know how our ancestors struggled and died for this country.
That's not a criticism - it's just a fact.
These were real flesh and blood people who had children who had children who had children ... right on down to all of you, who are the beneficiaries of all they fought for.
Just for the record, I'm Italian American, and my ancestors didn't start arriving in this country till about the 1890s. My husband and children have ancestors who fought on the Union side, in a Pennsylvania regiment. I'm pretty sure they have Confederate ancestors, too, because my husband's paternal grandmother was from Virginia. But because she was raised in an orphanage I'm having trouble tracking down what her father or grandfather might have done during the Civil War.
- Pat, blogging at 6 a.m. because daylight savings woke me up too early!
I am also the first generation from my family growing up in America. My mom is from China and my Dad is from Switzerland. I know that my mom's side didn't participate in any wars in China, but my great grandfather from my dad's side was sort of participated in World War II. Although Switzerland is a neutral country, they had people patrol the borders, so that's what he did in World War II.
~MC Concertmaster
Same with the MC Concertmaster, I am part of the first generation growing up in America. I was actualy born in Hong Kong, China, so technically, my kids would be the first to actually be born in America. Both my parent's family is from China, so my families had no relationship to the Civil War whatsoever.
~MC The Pink Penguin
The North and South met when my grandparents married, some fifty years after the war. She came from Pennsylvania, while he was a native of the Alabama. Her family were staunch Unionists; his were committed to the Southern, not so much because they were huge slave owners, but because the South was where they had family and property. Both sides of the family can claim distinguished soldiers regardless of which cause they served. When my grandmother moved to Alabama in the 1930's, one topic of conversation that was never broached was that of her great-uncle who had fought in many battles; worst of all, from a Southern viewpoint, he served had under Sherman on his March to the Sea. Feelings still ran deeply about the losses causes during the war.
I have been to the Clay County Historical Society Museum with Mr. Langhorst. I have been asking around, and I have figured out that None of my relatives were in the civil war. I wish there was. I am extremely interested in history. Moreso american history. My favorite is actually the civil war. I also was talking to my friend and i told him how great it was to live in Liberty because of it's history. I love living here. I also think i want to be a historian when i grow up. Also i love to write books. Mainly about history and historical fantasy. I love the book!!
- The Magicians Prodigy♠
To Anonymous, from above:
Very interesting about your ancestor being on Sherman's march. It really is so telling that the feelings from the Civil War continue to run deep today. I totally agree with you about respecting everybody's right to honor their ancestors' sacrifice, North and South.
Defending the South gets me into trouble sometimes but I know in my heart (not to mention from my research!) that most Southern soldiers were not fighting because they wanted to keep slavery nor even the intellectual cause of "states' rights," but to defend their homes from the invaders. Most people today don't know that the vast majority of Southerners did not even own slaves.
- Pat
Magicians Prodigy -
Oh, your comments made me so happy! It is really rare to find kids your age who are that interested in American history, and to know also that you appreciate living in an area rich with history is fantastic. I live very near Philadelphia, and I appreciate the history here very much ... but I think you're particularly lucky to live in Liberty because your area is, to me, THE most interesting aspect of the Civil War.
I also think it's great that you like to write! Maybe you'll write a novel about Missouri's Civil War one day ...
- Pat
I hope to write a novel on the Civil War. It would be so fun to me and it is easy to learn the history where i live . . . so i should try to get started. My only problem is that when i read a book like yours then start my own i notice that it sounds like the book i just read . . . so it is hard for me!! Anyways i will try to get it started. Thanks for commenting me back!!
- The Magicians Prodigy♠
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