Dues

$50.00 family – Includes insurance

Lt. Colonel’s Concerns:

Major’s Minute:

Captain’s Corner:

1^st Lieutenant’s Observation: I would like to remind everyone that we are registered for 140th Gettysburg and if one wants to go they need to let me know ASAP. It is $10.00 per person over 12 YO and is for July 4th, 5th and 6th. This could be THE EVENT of the Century. We will need everyone to attend as we will have three guns. This is a Must Attend Event.

Look What They Found From the Civil War

The USS Monitor, a sunken Civil War battleship, is slowly yielding her treasures after more than a century and a half on the ocean floor. Archaeologists and conservators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have painstakingly dug through more than four feet of silt in the ship's gun turret, reports CNN. They've found numerous artifacts, including three silver spoons, a silver fork, two bone or ivory knife handles, fragments of a wool overcoat, a key, coins, a variety of uniform buttons, a hard-rubber Goodyear comb, a gold ring, three shoes, a boot, fragments of a wooden cabinet and cannon implements such as a sponge, rammers, brass and wooden blocks, and coal.

"We are literally digging through an inverted time capsule from 1862," Wayne Lusardi, conservator of the Mariners' Museum, told CNN. "These artifacts are slowly revealing to us and the world what life was like on one of the most historic naval vessels in this country's history." The gun turret was recovered last August off the coast of North Carolina and taken to the Mariners' Museum for excavation. "The objects we are recovering...provide more insight into the sequence of events that occurred the night the Monitor sank," NOAA's John Broadwater told CNN. The USS Monitor's best known battle was on March 9, 1862 off Hampton Roads, Virginia when it clashed with the CSS Virginia. The so-called "clash of the ironclads" ended in a draw. The Monitor sank nine months later off the coast of Cape Hatteras.

True False

6. The bore should be sponged to prevent a small water puddle from forming in the breech

of the cannon. _____ _____

7. When ramming a charge, the rammer should always place himself directly in front of

the barrel so that he can see that the charge is properly seated. _____ _____

8. When using a linstock, the linstock man should stand one foot to the right of the

ammunition chest. _____ _____

9. When the primer fails, the gunner or gun sergeant should approach from the rear of

the breech to remove the primer. _____ _____

10. When removing a primer, the gunner should look directly into the vent. _____ _____

11. All powder should be made of a single wrap of aluminum foil. _____ _____

12. All powder charges should be made from heavy duty broiler foil with large solid knots

at each end. _____ _____

13. When a cannon is fired, crew members should position themselves on the trail side

of each wheel hub. _____ _____

14. The danger zone for a civil war cannon is a 180 degree arc from the end of the muzzle

to 100 yards down range. _____ _____

15. A civil war cannon fires a 25 foot funnel of flame. _____ _____

16. When firing a civil war cannon, it is not unusual to find burning debris as much as

100 feet down range. _____ _____

17. Powder charges should be made of double wrapped heavy duty broiler foil with

smooth sides. _____ _____

18. Smoking is not permitted within 10 feet of the ammunition chest. _____ _____

19. When an unsafe act is observed, any crew member may yell "Cease Fire" to halt the action. _____ _____

20. Ammunition chests that are not in use should be locked at all times. _____ _____

21. All powder should be transported in a solid non-ferrous container. _____ _____

22. After each firing of the cannon, the cannon should be sponged three times and wormed. _____ _____

23. Once the cannon has been fired, the vent stall is removed until the powder charges enter

the barrel. _____ _____

24. A charge which has a knot of aluminum foil on one end should be loaded into the barrel

knot end first to ensure complete combustion. _____ _____

25. A crew member should always obey the battery officers, even if the crew member feels

the order is unsafe. _____ _____

26. Infantry men are generally smarter than artillery men. _____ _____

27. Horses are generally smarter than Cavalry men. _____ _____

Answers: You tell me.

Here’s some tidbit information from the Civil War Handbook, A Civil War Research Associates Series.

Did you know….

New England poet Albert Pike commanded the Confederate Department of Indian Territory. He wrote the stanzas of the popular Southern version of Dixie, a tune which originated not in the South, but in New York City during the 1850's.

Confederate Private Henry Morton Stanley, of "Doctor Livingstone, I presume" fame, survived a bloody charge at Shiloh only to be taken prisoner. Later he joined the Union ranks and finished the war in Yankee blue.

John Tyler, 10^th President of the United States, was elected to the Confederate States Congress in 1862, but died before it convened. Tyler’s granddaughter unfurled the first flag of the Confederacy when it was raised over the Confederate Capitol at Montgomery, Alabama.

Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard both ranked second in their graduating classes at West Point, and both officers later returned to hold the position of Superintendent of the Academy. Lee’s appointment to the rank of full colonel in the United States Army was signed by President Lincoln.

Of the 2.3 million men enlisted in the Union Army, seventy per cent were under 23 years of age. Approximately 100,000 were 16 and an equal number 15. Three hundred lads were 13 or less, and the records show that there were 25 no older than 10 years.

In 1864 the basic daily ration for a Union soldier was (in ounces): 20-beef, 18-flour, 2.56-dry beans, 1.6-green coffee, 2.4-sugar, .64 salt, and smaller amounts of pepper, yeast powder, soap, candles, and vinegar. While campaigning, soldiers seldom obtained their full ration and many had to forage for subsistence.

In the Army of Northern Virginia in 1863 the rations available for every 100 confederate soldiers over a 30-day period consisted of ¼ lb. of bacon, 18 oz. of flour, 10 lbs. of rice, and a small amount of peas and dried fruit – when they could be obtained. (It is little wonder that Lee elected to carry the war into Pennsylvania – if for no other reason than to obtain food for an undernourished army.)

Of the 46 Confederate regiments that went into the famous charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, 15 were commanded by General Pickett. Thirteen of his regiments were led by Virginia Military Institute graduates; only two of them survived the charge.

At the Battle of First Bull Run or Manassas, it has been estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 bullets were fired for every man killed and wounded.

The largest regimental loss in a single battle was suffered by the 26^th North Carolina Infantry at Gettysburg. The regiment went into battle with a little over 800 men, and by the end of the third day, 708 were dead, wounded, or missing. In one company of 84, every office and man was hit.

The total cost of the war to the South has been estimated at 4 billion dollars.

The pursuit and capture of Jefferson Davis at Irwinville, Georgia, cost the Federal Government $97,031.62.

Soldiers and sailors of the United States received 1.34 billion dollars in pay during the war. In 1861 an infantry private was paid $13 per month. A Civil War colonel drew $95 per month and a brigadier general $124.

During the 1860’s the average cost of a musket was $13 as compared to $105 for an M1 Garand in World War II.

Have you read a great book or even an article relating to the Civil War and would like to recommend it to your BLA friends? Please let us know and I will include a section to our newsletter sharing your recommended reading selection. Send me the name of the book/magazine, the name of the author, a brief review of the book/article if you want to write one; and if possible, where you bought the book/magazine or where it can be purchased. This is just one more way to stay in touch and share with our Bedford Light friends. You can either call me at (585) 659-2240 evenings or email me at ldhenry@rochester.rr.com.

Is there something special you want to see in the newsletter?

Do you have anything to share with our Bedford Light friends?

Do you have any suggestions or ideas to help us to improve this newsletter?

What do you like about this newsletter?

What don’t you like about this newsletter?

Would you like to receive your copy of the newsletter via email instead of snail mail?

We welcome your ideas, comments, opinions, concerns, and/or anything else you may like to express

about the Bedford Courier. Please call us at (585) 659-2240 or email us at bvhenry@rochester.rr.com.

If you wish, you may also contact Roland Meiers at (585) 589-9502 or email Roland at rmeiers@rochester.rr.com.

I understand that the major mission of the Bedford Light unit for next year, besides gettin’ them Yankees, is recruiting. There are several tools that the unit has used for recruiting and some ideas were talked about at events. One of the ideas discussed amongst some was doing a photo album to have visible for "visitors" to look at when they come through camp. If you have pictures of events and people that you would like to share, please bring them to the meeting we will have over the winter months. If you have a photo album that you would like to contribute for the cause, please bring it keeping in mind that we should use albums that "fit" the period. We can assemble the photo album(s) at the meeting if time permits. Ideally, we could have the album(s) ready for the first event in 2003.

I am planning on working on a "flier" that can be handed out at events. This flier will look like a single sheet newspaper from the period. I would like to have this "flier" to be an informational piece to recruit new members. Potential members can take the "flier" home and when they have decided to join us, or have questions, they will know who to call and maybe the flier can help in answering basic questions. If anyone is interested in working on this "flier" with me, I would be more that happy to have your assistance. If you are interested, please call or email me. We can set up a time to pull our ideas together and complete this useful tool; hopefully before the start of the 2003 events.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you-all soon.

Until we meet again,

Miss LuAnn

Pour four quarts of boiling water, upon an ounce and a half of ginger, and ounce of cream of tartar, a pound of clean brown sugar, and two fresh lemons, sliced thin. It should be wrought twenty-four hours, with two gills of good yeast, and then bottled. It improves by keeping several weeks, unless the weather is hot, and it is an excellent beverage. If made with loaf instead of brown sugar, the appearance and flavor are still finer. Miscellaneous Receipts, 1864.

Take three-quarters of a pound of white sugar, one ounce of cream of tartar, the juice and rind of a lemon, one ounce of bruised ginger, put the whole into a pan, and pour over it four quarts of boiling water; let it stand till lukewarm, and then add a tablespoonful of yeast. When it has ceased boiling, bottle it off in small soda-water bottles or jars. It will be fit for use in twenty-four hours. "Our New Cook-Book," Peterson's Magazine, 1868.

Another receipt for a very refreshing and wholesome beverage, if either heated from the weather or feverish from indisposition: Put into a jug that will contain three pints, half and ounce of cream of tartar, the juice of a lemon, and the rind, pared very thin; pour boiling water over these, and add sugar to taste. When cold, it is fit for use. "Our New Cook-Book," Peterson's Magazine, 1868.

To a large grated cocoanut add the whites of 6 eggs, ½ lb of sugar, 6 ounces of butter, ½ a wineglassful of rose-water, and baked in or out of paste.

1860s New Cooking Gadgets.

1870s New Cooking Gadgets.

1870s New Foods.