the civil war

[dep]

this is utterly off-topic, but i thought it was at least a little 
interesting and i wanted to write it down, which is only satisfying 
if it is sent to someone who might read it.

tonight i watched the first installment of ken burns's remastered "the 
civil war" on pbs. i'd seen the old version several times, and 
tonight i did something that made it somewhat more real: i took out 
the colt's model of 1851 "navy .36" that was carried through the war 
by my great grandfather, titus cummings, an officer with the 81st 
indiana volunteers. titus was quite a fellow, and the very old people 
in the family when i was very young, the ones who knew him, would 
talk of his various exploits. early in the war his company was on the 
receiving end of a cavalry charge and titus got a sabre in one cheek 
which came out the other cheek. when my father was tiny and asked 
titus what he did then, the reply was, "why, sonny, i bit it in two!"

i brought out the old revolver, which is still in fine working 
condition, because i thought it would provide a tangible connection 
to what i was seeing. here, in front of me, sometimes in my hand, was 
something that had been fired in anger in that war, that in all 
probability had killed people in that war, conceivably someone whose 
picture i would see on the screen, though of course i would not know 
one way or the other. and it did add to the experience.

afterwards, i thought i'd see if i could find out a little more about 
titus. i have the standard family genealogy stuff here, but that's a 
tree with few leaves. so i poked around a little on the web.

i knew that he had been terribly wounded at chickamauga, but i did not 
know until tonight that he had received the musket ball to the gut on 
his 33rd birthday. i also knew that he had been expected to die and 
therefore was tightly bandaged and left to "stew in his own juices," 
as the term of art was called. (he survived and lived until 1907.) 
and i knew that he had been promoted to captain, but i did not know 
that it was as a result of his behavior at chickamauga. from his 
commanding officer's report of the battle:

"It is due under the circumstances that I should speak of the conduct 
of the officers and men of the Eighty-first Indiana. With scarcely an 
exception they behaved in the most gallant and admirable manner, and, 
though comparatively a young regiment, conducted themselves with the 
coolness, steadiness and, precision of veterans on the field of 
battle. Captain Mitchell, a brave and efficient man, was mortally 
wounded, and Lieutenants Northcutt, Cummings . and Zimmerman were 
wounded while gallantly leading their men, in the discharge of their 
duties. They battled as brave men, worthy of the best government ever 
instituted among men, and the Republic may feel confident when its 
interests rest in the hands of such defenders. . . ."

also, i found this:

CAPT TITUS CUMMINGS

1st Lt Co G at muster. Age 30. Boatman from Derby, Perry County. 
Commanded Co C Feb 23/63 - Apr/63. Court martial, pay stoppage of 
$45. Wounded left side at Chickamauga Sep 19/63. Capt Nov 8/63 vice 
Mitchell (died of wounds at Chickamauga). Detached as military 
conductor, Louisville and Nashville RR Apr 8/64. Resigned disability 
Jul 9/64.

and this:

http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/indiana/civilwarex/images/cummingstitus.htm

which to me is pretty cool.
-- 
dep

http://www.linuxandmain.com -- outside the box, barely within the 
envelope, and no animated paperclip anywhere.