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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

5 Jul

Judging from the sounds outside, the neighborhood kids are playing "how many roman candles before we lose a finger" and so I therefore deduce it's July 4

And since it's July 4, I've had some gin, and do you have a moment to talk about the Gibraltar of the West?

Of course you do

Look, basic rule of thumb. Unless you're actual no shit Gibraltar, don't call yourself the "Gibraltar of X" it's never a good portent. Ticonderoga, Gibraltar of the north, falls in 1777. Crown Point, Gibraltar of the Hudson, falls in 1779. The trends don't lie

But I'm getting ahead of myself, which is to be expected because alcohol and history. Mixing the two has been known to cause problems, but we're just gonna surge right thru that

We begin with the Mississippi river. It's a bigass river. Like. Big. Ass.

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

1 Jul

It's around 0730 on the sunny, already-humid morning of July 1, 1863. One of the many blue-coated cavalry patrols and videttes posted to the roads surrounding the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania spots the movement of heavy columns of butternut uniforms west of the town

The troopers have had a long night in their outposts, heavy with dew, snatching as much sleep as a saddle and wet blanket will allow. The 8th Illinois Cavalry, nicknamed the Abolition Regiment, is posted on the Chambersburg Pike, which is now in the path of Beth's rebel division

Lt Marcellus Jones borrows the carbine of one of his troopers. He raises it, sights it onto a rebel officer, and fires. He misses. The heavy air echoes with the sound, soon replaced by the morning birdsong of Pennsylvania. But not for long. The crackle of carbines begins to grow

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

30 Jun

PSA: this account is going to be mostly Gettysburg-based for the next few days, with some Vicksburg thrown in, so if that's not your thing, be warned

This begins with the annual re-watch of "Gettysburg," coinciding with the next gin and tonic, in about fifteen minutes

IT IS TIME

This was our favorite movie, dad and I. Practically wore out the VHS tapes. Is a big reason I got into history, and then joined the military

Ironically, I think the Killer Angels -which the movie is based on - is rather a shit book.

Read 67 tweets

Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

20 Jun

Wherever this man is, I hope he's having a Father's Day that involves a newly turned row under a blue sky. I miss him so much.
angrystaffofficer.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/bea…

I have such a clear memory of this time I was doing my homework and dad came home, and hollered for me to come downstairs. He had a really amused tone in his voice, so I knew I wasn't in trouble. I came down a few stairs and looked over the bannisters. Dad put a box on the floor

Inside was a softly grunting pot-bellied pig. Dad thought it was the funniest thing ever. Mom was at work, and probably wouldn't have found this amusing, which I told him. He said it would be ok. He'd been visiting a friend & they were getting rid of it, so he took it

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

19 Jun

Welp, time make some toasted cheese, pour a glass of Madeira, and watch Master and Commander

Seems like the thing to do of a Saturday

Full disclosure, it's port, since the local place doesn't carry Madeira. An utterly sorry state of affairs, I know

Straight into my VEINS

Read 22 tweets

Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

18 Jun

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."
- Frederick Douglass

Sgt William Carney, 54th Massachusetts. Caught up the unit's colors at Fort Wagner when the color bearer was shot down and planted them on the parapet, was wounded twice, and finally carried the colors to safety:
"Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!"

Never forget that it was African-Americans forcing the issue of their humanity onto US Army commanders that led to swifter government action against slavery; and then the actions of the USCT units in battle that helped shape public opinion in favor of Emancipation

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