I just finished watching “Civil War,” another great documentary by Ken Burns.  “Baseball” and “The Vietnam War” are the other two that I’ve completed, and have started “Prohibition.”  Each has been an educational experience, but the Vietnam film is definitely the most impactful.  I’ve had a long time interest in baseball and we studied the Civil War in history classes, but Vietnam was hardly ever discussed at home or in school.  I can’t say that all of the television I’ve watched in this first year of retirement has been educational, but I feel that a lot of my time is spent constructively on learning.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

I have also done some reading on Abraham Lincoln, the Revolutionary War, and World War II, in addition to some books on baseball.  As an adoptee, none of my family tree is blood related, but I’ve still tried to find some connections with history, particularly associated with war.  This all started with a trip to Normandy earlier this year.  My adopted Mother’s family lineage dates back to pre-Revolutionary War times (See Post #292).  Hiram Perry Hancher was born in 1808 and would have been 53 years old when the war started.  His son of the same name was only nine, so both of them were probably not of fighting age and their farm in Greenfield, Indiana was not in a direct battle zone.  Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley, is Greenfield’s most prominent citizen, but he too was only 12 years old when the Civil War started, although his father organized and was Captain of the first battle company out of this area.  My adopted Grandfather was Hiram Jr.’s only son, born in 1895 and went on to serve in World War I.

My mother’s married name, Johnston, was very prominent in the Civil War.  Joseph E. Johnston and Albert Sidney Johnston were both high-ranking Confederate generals, but were not directly related to my adopted father or to each other, as far as I could determine.  “Joe” was the commander at the First Battle of Bull Run; defended Richmond, Virginia; and was eventually replaced by Robert E. Lee.  After the war, he served in the House of Representatives and was commissioner of railroads under Grover Cleveland.  Albert Sydney Johnston was considered by Jefferson Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy prior to the emergence of Lee. If my birth mother was indeed from Rome, Georgia as I suspect, then I might have come from Rebel stock, but thankfully was adopted into the Northern branch of the Johnston family and never associated with waving a Confederate flag.

The only “Civil War” that I’ve ever personally experienced is the annual football rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State.  Oregon became a U.S. state just two years before the American Civil War.  At the outbreak, Army troops were withdrawn from their posts in Oregon and Washington and sent East.  Volunteers from California were sent north to keep the peace during the war.  I’m not so sure that the “Civil War” label for a football game would play well in states that were directly affected by the destruction and death associated with the real “Civil War,” although there were some Oregonian casualties for the cause.