On Christmas Eve 1862, orders came in for the USS Monitor to proceed to Beaufort, North Carolina, then presumably to Charleston, though it was not stated in the orders.[1] On Christmas Day, both officers and crew observed the holiday with both work and festive food and drink. Some of the crew had leave to go [...]
On December 28, 1862, Surgeon Samuel Gilbert Webber of the USS Rhode Island wrote his accustomed letter to his future wife Nancy “Nannie” Sturtevant. The sidewheel steamer Rhode Island was in Hampton Roads, preparing to tow the ironclad USS Monitor to her next assignment – Beaufort, NC. The original letter can be found at The Mariners’ Museum Library [...]
Hello readers, and welcome back to the connections blog. As the east coast recovers from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost their lives as a result of the weather. While the Hampton Roads area was spared the brunt of Sandy’s power, our fellow Americans to [...]
Hey there folks and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: like most people, I am perfectly aware that Sunday is technically the beginning of a new week. However, despite the best efforts of calendars, I still occasionally forget that fact and revert to my childhood idea that Monday is [...]
Howdy folks, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: two of my best friends are currently in California, and apparently San Diego has a much higher concentration of British cultural items than I would ever have guessed. 150 years ago today, both Union and Confederate forces were redeploying all [...]
Hello again readers, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: the hottest I’ve ever been is at the 150th Battle of 1st Manassas. Not only was the heat around 104, but the humidity was extremely high – this meant the heat index was up around 120. It was a VERY [...]
Hey there readers, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: I can be awakened from sleep by the slightest noise, but I’m often completely oblivious to loud background noise when I’m awake and concentrating on a task. In my last post, I described the end of the Battle [...]
Remarks Friday June 6th /62 Midnight to 4 AM Wind N & cloudy weather Geo. Frederickson 4 to 8 AM Moderate breeze from the north & cloudy weather William Flye 8 to Meridian Wind N. & cloudy light showers. Gunboats Delaware & Southfield went up the river. Large quantities of [...]
Hello again readers, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and are ready to hear about the exciting conclusion to the Battle of Seven Pines! Today’s tidbit about me is: I once attended a Blackbeard Festival in Hampton, VA, where two sailboats and two sets of [...]
