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34 Hours of Hell
On Friday, April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries in Charleston, SC opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, which had remained under Federal control. At 4:30 AM the first cannon fired....
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Anaconda Strike
In 1861, Winfield Scott was Commanding General of the US Army. This old hero of the War of 1812 remained strategically sharp, though he became infirm and obese. Yet, as the painting shows, in his...
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A Fish Named Hamilton
Hamilton Fish was a boyhood chum of my great-great-grandfather, Abraham Van Orden, in NYC. They remained friends throughout life. As fortune would have it, his friendship not only helped Abraham in...
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Crossroads of Life
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, but it was not to go into effect until 100 days later on January 1, 1863. If slave states in rebellion returned to the Union before...
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Crossroads of Death
My last post was entitled “Crossroads of Life”, focusing on the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, forever changing America for the better. This post is entitled “Crossroads of Death”, for a...
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Yell Like Furies
None of us alive today has ever heard the screech of a rebel yell at the point of attack in the Civil War. But many veterans of those times recounted its effect. For Confederate soldiers, while at a...
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Unconditional Surrender Grant
Most Americans did not know the name Ulysses Simpson Grant in early 1862. However, by late 1868, all knew who he became: President of the United States. The man known as U.S. Grant seemed destined for...
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Escaping From Bandit’s Roost
When my great-grandfather, Archibald Van Orden, arrived at New York City in late 1861, he was 15 years old. Alone and with few funds, he sought shelter in an area called Five Points. Though the center...
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Whipping Bobby Lee
Robert E. Lee was among the great officers in the history of the United States Army. Undoubtedly, Lee was the greatest officer in the Confederate States Army. My great-grandfather, Archibald Van Orden,...
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Lincoln Lives
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” This wisdom from Abraham Lincoln continues to inspire many lives. My great-grandfather, Archibald Van Orden,...
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