New Market Reenactment


New Market Reenactment from Joshua Horn on Vimeo.

Last Saturday we went to the reenactment of the battle of New Market. Above is a short clip of some video we took there.

Living History
Historic House in New Market



 

Plymouth Civil War Reenactment

On April 30th we drove to Plymouth, NC to film a Civil War Reenactment, which included a 3/8 scale replica of an ironclad ship, the C.S.S. Albemarle. In the original battle, the Confederate troops were trying to capture the Union forts, with the aid of the Albemarle. At first the land attack was failing because the troops were being bombarded from Union gunboats in the river. They sent the C.S.S. Albemarle down the river to drive off the gunboats and help to capture the forts. The Unions tried to trap the Albemarle by tying chains between the U.S.S. Miami and the U.S.S. Southfield. The Confederate ram turned and rammed the U.S.S. Southfield. The Southfield began to sink, and the Albemarle began to sink too because her bow stuck into the side of the Southfield. When the Southfield struck the bottom, providentially she rolled, which released the bow of the Albemarle, just as the water began pouring in. The Miami fired a point blank shell round at the Albemarle, but it bounced of her iron plating and exploded, killing the Miami's commander, Captain Charles Flusser. The Miami's crew attempted to board the Albemarle, but were driven back by musket fire. The Miami then untangled herself from the Southfield and escaped into the Albemarle Sound. With the river cleared of enemy ships, the Albemarle helped to bombard the forts,which were captured by the Confederates. Six months later, the Albemarle was sunk at night in her dock by a steam launch armed with a spar torpedo.

The C.S.S. Albemarle
A replica of one of the launches armed with torpedoes that sunk the C.S.S. Albemarle

The Albemarle firing one of her cannons

Union reenactors
Union Reenactors firing
Confederate reenactors firing
A Cannon
Joshua filming with our camera
A Confederate Battle flag in front of a tent

Charleston Trip

Fort Sumter from Fort Moultrie
A little over a week ago we visited Charleston, South Carolina, to do some filming at the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter. We left Friday morning, and after picking up Stephen Breagy arrived there in the afternoon. We started by visiting Fort Moultrie while we were waiting for the ferry. The boat ride is about 15 minutes out to the small island from which the fort guarded the harbor. Fort Sumter was destroyed by bombardment when the North was attempting to retake Charleston later in the Civil War. Of the original three stories only one remains. A gun position was also built on the spot during a later war, which now has a museum. Many of the fort's original cannon remain in position. At the fort there were several reenactors who demonstrated musket firings and a cannon loading drill. We returned after getting a lot of good footage.

Fort Sumter

Gun at Fort Sumter
Saturday we got up early to go to Fort Moultrie again. Moultrie was originally a log fort built during the American Revolution, and was rebuilt after the War of 1812. When South Carolina seceded, the Federal troops in the area were in Fort Moultrie, but later moved to Sumter because it was more defensible, even though it was uncompleted. Later the fort was improved and modernized at several other times. Today, different parts of the fort are restored to represent different times in its history.

Fort Moultri

Before returning home we stopped by the H. L. Hunley. The Hunley was the first submarine to sink a ship, and was built during the Civil War by the Confederates to break the Union blockade. It sank on the way back to shore after its successful attack, and the cause is unknown to this day. A few years ago the wreck was discovered and raised along with many artifacts. Unfortunately we were not able to see the actual ship, but we hope to at a later time.

Full scale replica of the Hunley
View more pictures here.

Flowers

Last fall Mommy and I planted over 100 tulip and daffodil bulbs in front of the white fence in front of our house, which runs along the road. We love enjoying the spring flowers that God created, and they remind us of the new life we have in Christ each spring. Joshua took the photos and edited them a bit.





Cocoa & Diesel

Recently we got two dogs, Cocoa and Diesel. We haven't had dogs for a long time, and we were planning on getting a dog after we moved. They are a German Shepherd, Collie, and Labrador mix. They are a brother and sister from the same litter, and they are three years old. The black and chocolate dog is the male named Diesel, and the tan and white one is the female named Cocoa. They are both very sweet dogs, and love attention. Right now they are on our back porch, but we are going to set up a trolley soon.

Diesel

Diesel again

Cocoa

Cocoa again

Causes of the Civil War


For those who are interested, I just published a post on state's rights on my Civil War Blog. You can see other posts on the causes of the Civil War here.

As we have discussed on this blog before, slavery was the main issue that caused the Deep South States to secede, but secession did not necessarily mean war. This is a major misunderstanding about the Civil War today. When the North was considering whether or not to attack the South, the question was no longer about slavery. The question was whether or not the Southern states had a right to be allowed to leave the Union peacefully. The South viewed the United States as a confederation in which the states joined together for mutual protection. They joined freely, so they thought they could leave freely. However, the North believed that the states surrendered their sovereignty and could never regain it. It was this difference of understanding that caused the South to fight for freedom and the North to preserve the indissolvable Union.

Read More.

Planting Trees

A few weeks ago we planted fruit trees in the backyard at our new house. We planted apples, pears, cherries, plums, pecans, apricots, nectarines and almonds. In all we had 22 trees. We also have grapes and blueberries to plant  soon. Daddy rented an auger to dig the holes. He did that with Erik Woodard. I dug the dirt out of the holes and mixed it on a tarp with fertilizer. Stephen and Mommy planted the trees.

Apple Tree


Daddy and Erik using the auger

Vision Forum Audio Series Giveaway



We are having a giveaway of one free ticket to Vision Forum's new 20 message audio series on Family Strategies. Every Thursday a new message will be sent out for download. The messages will be:

  1. How to Organize Your Home to Promote Family Unity
  2. How to Cultivate a Love of Reading with Your Children
  3. How to Make Mealtime Meaningful
  4. How to Prepare for a Year of Home Education
  5. How to Take Children Safely Through an Airport
  6. How to Involve the Whole Family in Family Worship
  7. How to Address the Plague of “Jive Talk” in Your Home
  8. How to Encourage Masculinity in Sons
  9. How to Encourage Femininity in Daughters
  10. How to Handle a Social Worker Visit
  11. How to Wage War on Sibling Rivalry
  12. How to Use Household Decorations to Teach Character
  13. How to Talk to Your Children about Miscarriage
  14. How to Involve the Whole Family in Hospitality
  15. How to Build an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Children
  16. How to Watch a Movie As a Family
  17. How to Cultivate a Love of Meaningful Poetry with Your Children, and Why Doing So Is Important
  18. How to Prepare Your Children to Listen to a Symphony
  19. How to Take a Road Trip with Your Family
  20. How to Select the Best Locations for Family Vacations

You can read more about it here.

To enter the giveaway, please fill out the form below by February 27th. One entry per family. Winner will be notified by email.

The contest has been closed and the winner has been randomly chosen. Thanks for participating!

CSS Neuse

Replica Cannon on the ship
A few weeks ago we visited the CSS Neuse II in Kinston, NC to do some filming there. It is a full scale replica of a Civil War era ironclad. It is one of the only ship of its kind. The ironclads changed the way naval ships fought and the advantages the North had in ironclads had an important effect on the Civil War. It is a very interesting ship and will be even better when they finish furnishing the inside.

Looking down the side of the ship past a gun-port

Mistakes of World War 2 - 1943-1945


This article is the last in a series on the most important mistakes that were made during the Second World War. By 1943 most of the mistakes had already been made which caused the Axis’ downfall. But they did make mistakes in the last part of the war that would influence the world for years to come.

Americans Land in Normandy
Fighting to the Last
In 1944 the British and Americans landed in Normandy, France. After gaining a beachhead there they began to drive the German armies across France, Holland and Germany. At the same time, the troops that had landed in Italy in 1943 continued to push the Germans north in Northern Italy. At this point Hitler had two choices. He could order his troops at certain points to fall back so that they could organize and strike with a hard counter-attack, or he could stubbornly hold on to every inch of ground. He chose the second. This meant that although the Allies might have difficulty in conquering territory, they would not have to resist heavy and unexpected counter-attacks. He made this mistake continually as the war wound to a close. He refused to let his troops give up even an inch of ground, and instead he lost it all. He ordered one commander who desired to fall back to a stronger line, “The Fuehrer expects, now as before, the utmost steadiness in the fulfillment of your present mission to defend every inch of the North Italian areas entrusted to your command.”1 Hitler’s incorrect strategy led to the defeat of his armies, and he committed suicide on April 30th, 1945. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8th.

Winston Churchill with crowds on V-E day
Communism
At the beginning of the war the Soviet Union was unfavorable to the British. They were siding with Germany, and almost became an ally with them against Great Britain. But then when Germany attacked them, they wanted to become an ally to the nation they were planning to attack a few weeks before. The British decided to ignore the political, social and religious differences between them and join with them to destroy Germany. But by the end of the war it became clear that unless the United States and England did something to stop it, Russia would make much of Europe their Communist puppets.

Polish Soldier Fighting the Germans during the Warshaw Uprising
One of the first issues that came up was regarding Poland. Poland was one of the the first nations that Germany conquered, and many influential Poles fled to London and established a government there. But when the Soviets liberated Poland they set up a Polish Committee of National Liberation which were really just their puppets. England and the United States did not want communism to be imposed on the Poles, and the Russians agreed at the Yalta Conference to incorporate members of the London government into the new Polish government so that it would better represent the wishes of the people. They also agreed to allow Allied observers to enter Poland to report on what was happening there. However, they ignored their promises and set up a completely communism government in Poland.

These issues continued with the other nations of western Europe. The Russian strategy was described by Stalin when he said, “This war is not as in the past; whoever occupies a territory also imposes his own social system on it. Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach. It cannot be otherwise.”2 Therefore what Winston Churchill described as an “Iron Curtain” came upon Germany because of the alliance that had been made in the heat of war and the failure of the other Allies to deny to Russia the right to overwhelm the other nations.

These problems between the United States and the Soviet Union resulted in the Cold War. While there were military conflicts which resulted from it, the United States and Russia never entered into a full scale World War. The problems existed until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. All this conflict can be traced back to decisions that were made in the aftermath of World War II.

A Street in Berlin
Conclusion
These mistakes from World War II that we have examined through this series of essays are not just interesting facts from a conflict that happened many years ago. Situations like these will happen again, and at that time it will serve us well to remember the mistakes that were made by leaders of the past. Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.


1. The Second World War – Triumph and Tragedy (vol. 6) by Winston Churchill (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1953) p. 522
2. A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin by Robert Service Source. p. 305

The Mistakes of World War 2 - 1942

Mistakes of World War 2
  1. Causes of the War
  2. The Mistakes of 1939-1940
  3. The Mistakes of 1941
  4. The Mistakes of 1942
  5. The Mistakes of 1943-1945
  6. More coming soon
The Three Leaders of the Allies: Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill


This article is the fourth part in a series on the greatest mistakes of World War II. At this point in the war it is 1942 and America, Great Britain and the Soviet Union are united against Germany, Italy and Japan. Many of the great mistakes of the war had already been made, but there were still mistakes that the Axis made that shortened their life, even if they were already doomed to defeat. I will discuss three mistakes that were made in 1942 – the failure of the Germans to press the attack by the U-boats, the Japanese attacks in the Pacific, and Hitler’s refusal to retreat from Africa.

Pennsylvania and Fredericksburg Battlefield

Last week my father and I went up to help bring my grandfather home after his knee replacement surgery. We stayed there for a few days, and had lunch with Dr. James, who is a friend of my grandparents. He was a college professor and was a beach master at several landings in the Pacific during World War II. On the way home from lunch we stopped at the War College in Carlyle, PA where they have built replicas of military fortifications throughout the nation's history. Here are some pictures from that:

Civil War era cannon
A Blockhouse
World War I trenches
World War II tank
Me in the Vietnam camp
On the way home we stopped at Fredericksburg Battlefield. During the Civil War the Confederates occupied the heights above the town of Fredericksburg, and the Unions charged up a long plain towards a stone wall with a sunken road at the top. The Confederates destroyed thousands of men and they did not even make it to within 100 yards of the wall, but they continued to launch waves of attackers for hours. It was probably the most one-sided victory of the war. We were not able to visit the other half of the battlefield where Jackson held off a much more viable Union attack.

Daddy in the Sunken Road
A house from the time of the battle with holes still in the wall from the bombardment
A Monument to a Confederate who gave water to wounded soldiers
The Stone Wall
The impact of a cannon ball hitting a stone pillar

Blogging the Reformers: Martin Luther


Martin Luther was born on November 10th, 1483 in Germany. His father was a miner, but he wanted Martin to be a lawyer, so he sent him to the university. But on July 2nd, 1505 as he was riding through a thunderstorm, he was scared by the lightening and thunder so he vowed that if God protected him, he would become a monk. He survived the storm and entered the monastery against his father's wishes. As a monk he worked hard to gain righteousness through good works.

Luther's German Bible
Martin Luther became a doctor at the University of Wittenberg in 1512, and he remained a doctor there for the rest of his life. He began to resist the Catholic church in the matter of indulgences. John Tetzel was traveling through Germany selling indulgences, saying that the pope would forgive your sins if you bought them. Luther disagreed, and he wrote 95 theses in Latin against them and nailed them to the church door as was customary. They were translated into German, and quickly spread all over the country. The 95 theses acknowledged the supremacy of the pope, but Luther gradually began to see that the pope was opposed to the truth of the Bible. He also began to teach justification by faith alone. The pope excommunicated Luther in January 1521 because Luther refused to recant his writings. In April he was ordered to appear before Charles the Emperor at the town of Worms to defend his beliefs. When ordered to recant his writings there, he said,
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.
After the Diet of Worms Charles ordered that Luther be arrested. But on the way back to Wittenberg, he was captured by Fredrick the Elector and confined in Wartburg Castle to protect him from his enemies. While there he translated the New Testament into German. In 1522 he returned to Wittenberg and continued to preach and reform the church. He married Katharina von Bora after helping rescue her from a convent, and they had several children. He also finished his translation of the Old Testament into German. He died on February 18th, 1546. He had a great effect in Germany, but his writings were translated and he had a great effect wherever the Reformation penetrated.

Wartburg Castle. Source.