Tag Archives: mcbride

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January 1863: Stones River Part 1 – By Sandy McBride

It has been said that “war is hell”.  The American Civil War certainly was, but it did have its lighthearted moments, too.

In the closing days of December, 1862, Union General William Rosecrans with his 40,000-man Army of the Cumberland was approaching Murfreesboro, Tennessee with a plan to drive Confederate General Braxton Bragg and his 35,000-man Army of Tennessee out of the state.  Bragg’s forces were encamped just north of Murfreesboro astride Stones River. On December 30, even though his advancing troops and supply wagons were under continual raiding from Confederate cavalry units who swept around their rear, Rosecrans, whose army had marched from Nashville, had closed to within two miles of Murfreesboro.  He halted his army to make camp just a few hundred yards from the rebel camps.

 

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LOOKING BACK ON 2012 – By Sandy McBride

 

2012 is in the history books.  It seems that it was a year of really high highs and very low lows, and most people say they are not sad to see it go.

With 2012 drawing the lightning from many angles, I will begin with a brief recap of a few of the events in the wider world that have tested our spirit, our resolve and our ability to bounce back from the lows.  And I’ll add a few of the highs that have brightened our days.

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DECEMBER, 1862 – The BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG PART 2 – By Sandy McBride

After successfully moving troops and artillery across the Rappahannock River and into Fredericksburg on December 11, General Ambrose Burnside failed to press the attack on December 12, doing nothing more than sending more troops across and pondering what his next move should be.  While the Union command pondered, the Confederate command reinforced.  General Robert E. Lee continued to mass troops in strategic places south of the city and on the heights above to await the battle he knew was coming. He brought in Major General D. H. Hill’s and Brigadier General Jubal Early’s divisions to support General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson on Prospect Hill south of the city, giving Jackson a force of 30,000 men defending a 3, 000 yard wide sector.

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This Month In The Civil War-Dec. 1862 By Sandy McBride

 

   As the cold days of December, 1862 descended on Virginia, the Federal Army of the Potomac, under its new commander General Ambrose Burnside, was massed on the hills around the town of Falmouth.  Their objective was Richmond, the capital of the rebellious southern states, some fifty miles to the south.  In their path, however, were the rain-swollen Rappahannock River and the city of Fredericksburg.  Adding to the danger to troops attempting a crossing was a half mile of wide-open ground between the river and the town.

Urged by President Abraham Lincoln to move with haste, Burnside had moved the bulk of his officers, men, horses, wagons and artillery 40 miles in just two days.  But his inability to get them across the river in a timely manner had cost him dearly.  While Union troops waited on the north side of the river for the arrival of pontoons on which to build bridges to move men and arms across, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under General James Longstreet had moved in and taken up a strong defensive position along Marye’s Heights behind Fredericksburg on a four-mile stretch of high ground.

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Mechanicville Elementary Holds Special Assembly Honoring Veterans – by Sandy McBride

   The students at Mechanicville Elementary School arrived at school on Friday morning knowing that it was a special day, that they would have a special assembly that morning honoring veterans.  Imagine the children’s surprise when they climbed down from their buses and filed through the front doors to find their hallway lined with bearded, leather-jacketed and be-medaled, American flag-toting members of the Patriot Guard.  Yes, it was going to be a special day indeed.

   In a moving and meaningful ceremony organized by elementary school teachers and staff, Elks Veteran Chairperson Justine Crowley-Duncan and the students themselves, the assembly featured many honored guests, introductions, music and song, recitations, video, and a panel of military representatives who answered questions from the kids on what serving in the military is all about.

 

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