"Roundheads and Ramblings"

illustrations

Yankee Reconstructed--Some Images

Posted on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 9:06 AM

By the 1870s cameras were much more available, so it's easier to find photographs of important events. Political cartoons were also popular, so we can get a good "feel" for the period. A talented artist could convey a whole lecture about the dangers faced by freed blacks at the hands of their former owners. The three men on the right were KKK members wearing homemade masks. The visitors to the Grenville porch would have looked very much like these.

Several scenes in Yankee Reconstructed take place at the ruins of the Old Sheldon Church not far from Beaufort, SC. The structures are still accessible today, almost unchanged since the 1870s.

And if you've wondered about the marsh ponies that Mary Sue and Eli were raising, they, too, are still around. These photos were taken in near Hunting Island just a couple of years ago.

To see more pictures --or to see photographs of the real people I used as models for my fictional characters -- please visit my Pinterest pages at: https://www.pinterest.com/roundheadlady/yankee-reconstructed-south-carolina-in-the-1870s and https://www.pinterest.com/roundheadlady/yankee-reconstructed-meet-the-characters/

Damned Yankee -- Some Scenes

Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 7:03 AM

This is a view down Meeting Street after the Charleston Fire of 1861. And the second picture is of the only house on Logan Street to survive the flames--probably because of its "tabby" construction. The Grenville house across the street was not so fortunate.

This is the house on Legare Street that I used as a model for the fictional Dubois Mansion. It was Susan's family home.

And on the right is the guest wing of the Middlteon Place house. The rest of the house was burned at the end of the war.

This is an actual photo of the Battle of Port Royal Sound that Eddie and his father witnessed in the excerpt you will be reading tomorrow. The ships all are part of the 88-vessel fleet that attacked the Low Country in November 1861.

And this one shows General Sherman and his officers organizing the March through Georgia that would later bring them right through the Grenville Farm.

For other scenes and people from Damned Yankee, be sure to visit our Pinterest boards at:

https://www.pinterest.com/roundheadlady/damned-yankee-a-civil-war-novel/

And don't forget that Kindle copies of Damned Yankee are free this week at:

https://www.amazon.com/Damned-Yankee-Marriage-Carolinas-Country-ebook/dp/B00K1P6WI8

The Road to Frogmore -- Images

Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 7:45 AM

In many ways, Beaufort, SC, and nearby St. Helena Island are wonderful places for a historian to catch a glimpse of the Old South. Beaufort has some modern homes, somewhere, but the center of the city is still full of antebellum mansions and giant live oak trees that were there when the Civil War started and long survived it. Take the Hamilton House, for example (sometimes referred to by its original name, Tidalholm.) You might recognize it if you are a movie buff. It played a small role in "Forrest Gump" and "The Great Santini," and it was also the house where the reunion of "The Big Chill" took place.

It was recently listed for sale at a handsome $4.5 million, and one assumes the inside has been renovated, but from the road it looks just like it did in 1862. Here is a picture I took in 2012. And next to it is a tiny treasure of a picture of its front yard, with the Gideonite women who came to Beaufort with Laura Towne in 1862. Yes, it's exactly the same house.

On St. Helena Island, the Brick Church, where Laura taught her first classes, is still being used for services, and in the churchyard you'll be able to find the old school bell and commemorative headstones for both Laura and her partner Ellen Murray. Although the actual wooden building has disappeared, a historical marker shows the location of the Penn School.

Just a mile or so down the road, the burned out remains of the "White Church" still stand guard over a graveyard that holds the plundered crypt built for the nefarious Fripp family of slaveowners. These aren't museum pieces, protected by stanchions and velvet ropes. These are the remnants of the story of "The Road to Frogmore" -- places where you can walk freely and alone, listening for the voices of the past.

Not all the landmarks are so welcoming, unfortunately. The plantation Laura and Ellen bought and used for more classes is now a private residence, reached only by a distinctly unwelcoming dirt road, large "Posted! Keep out!" signs, and at the far end, a fellow standing on guard with a shotgun. We did not visit.

If you're in the mood for more pictures, please visit my Pinterest board dedicated to the people and places of Frogmore. You'll find it at https://www.pinterest.com/roundheadlady/the-road-to-frogmore-a-civil-war-novel/

The Kindle version is on sale for just $.99 all this week.

Click here to purchase your copy.

"A Scratch with the Rebels" -- a Photographic Record

Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 7:50 AM

"A Scratch with the Rebels" is a story of two soldiers--one North, one South--and their experiences at a little-known early battle in South Carolina. it is also the story of an unusual Pennsylvania regiment, known as "The Roundheads."

Here are a few images to whet your historical appetite.

I have found that my writing improves when i have in my mind's eye some clear pictures of the characters and locations. One of the advantages of the first edition of "A Scratch with the Rebels" was its many illustrations, even though some of them came out too small to be appreciated. For those of you who are similarly visually-oriented, I have put up a Pinterest board on the Roundheads and their experiences in South Carolina. I found the maps of the Battle of Secessionville especially helpful. They were drawn for this book by a doctoral student at the University of Memphis whose specialty was geography. You can find all forty-four illustrations here:

https://www.pinterest.com/roundheadlady/a-scratch-with-the-rebels-history/

The story of most wars contains a little violent action, interspersed with long weeks of stand-around-and-wait. The Civil War was no exception. The soldiers joined up in August. Their first view of warfare did not occur until November, but when the time arrived, the sea battle at Port Royal Sound was one to remember. Here's a sketch that appeared in one news account:

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I have not been able to find a photo of the whole Roundhead Regiment, but this picture of the 50th Pennsylvania gives us a hint of what they must have looked like when assembled. Both the 50th and the 100th were in South Carolina in 1862, so it should be a fair representation:

Then, of course, there are the individual people. We always wonder what they must have looked like. The photo below was taken in the spring of 1862 on the grounds of the Leverett House in Beaufort, South Carolina. It shows (looking from left to right) the chaplain , a staff sergeant, a slave, the commander of the regiment, the doctor, and--seated in front--the regimental nurse-matron who mothered them all. We'll learn more about her next week.

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illustrations

Yankee Reconstructed--Some Images

Damned Yankee -- Some Scenes

The Road to Frogmore -- Images

"A Scratch with the Rebels" -- a Photographic Record