Wordless Wednesday - Like father, Like daughter

Like Father...

Like Daughter...

The lovely giant foot is from the remains of a giant statue of Constantine the Great and resides in the courtyard of the Musei Capitoline, Rome, Italy.

Military Monday - Determining Civil War pensions

Last week I wrote about receiving the Civil War pension document for my GGG Grandfather, Joseph Creed. Nancy, of My Ancestors and Me, brought up a good discussion point: Could the date of filing for the pension, 1915, really be right? That led me to wonder what the process was for determining pension benefits for Civil War Soldiers.

According to a history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, following the Civil War pensions were only authorized to Soldiers that were discharged due to an illness or injury. Then in 1890, The Dependent Pension Act of 1890 broadened the requirements for pension to include a veteran that had served more than 3 months and was unable to conduct manual labor due to their service-related injuries or illnesses. It stated the following:

"That all persons who served ninety days or more in the military or naval service of the United States during the late war of the rebellion and who have been honorably discharged therefrom, and who are now or who may hereafter be suffering from a mental or physical disability of a permanent character, not the result of their own vicious habits, which incapacitates them from the performance of manual labor in such a degree as to render them unable to earn a support, shall, upon making due proof of the fact according to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may provide, be placed upon the list of invalid pensioners of the United States, and be entitled to receive a pension not exceeding twelve dollars per month, and not less than six dollars per month, proportioned to the degree of inability to earn a support; and such pension shall commence from the date of the filing of the application in the Pension Office after the passage of this act, upon proof that the disability then existed, and shall continue during the existence of the same."

Spouses, dependent children and dependent parents were also allowed to file for the pension. In three years the number of Civil War pensioners rose by 500,000 and the total pay-out amount doubled. The Sherwood Act of 1912 broadened the scope for pensions once again, allowing all Union Soldiers a pension at age 62 regardless of any notable disability. Note that Confederate Soldiers were not authorized a federal pension, but would have instead filed for a pension within the state they lived in. These pensions were often only for indigent or disabled Soldiers.

Sources:
Glasson, William Henry. History of military pension legislation in the United States, Columbia University, 1900, pg. 114
Confederate Pension Records, The National Archives, December 12, 2007

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and happy new year!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Eve

Today I am thinking of a good friend that can't be with her family this Christmas. She is serving her country in Afghanistan, a tour that she volunteered for. Christmas will be just another day at the office this year. Thank you, Wendy, for your service. I'm so glad that I got an opportunity to call you boss and now friend! Merry Christmas!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Music

As I've mentioned before I love Christmas music. One of my favorite Christmas songs is "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day." Originally a poem written in December 1863 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called Christmas Bells, it is the release of personal tragedy and hard times as only a poet can write.

Longfellow had lost his wife in 1861 after her clothing caught on fire while lighting a candle. The family was in the midst of the Civil War and Longfellow was dealing with the realities of raising a family as a single parent. On top of all this his son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, ran away to enlist in the Union Army in March 1863.

Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, Co. G, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment 

Lt. Longfellow was severely injured November 27, 1863 at the battle of New Hope Church, Virginia. His father learned of his wound when a journalist found Lt. Longsfellow and cabled the poet to tell him it was a grievous wound. Longfellow and his son Ernest Wadsworth traveled to Washington, D.C. to find him, spending several days in a search for him not knowing if they would find him alive or dead. After some time they did find Lt. Longsfellow and were able to bring him home to recover. The torment of the loss of his wife, the Civil War and fears for his son come through his poetic words, especially in the sixth stanza.
 

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead ; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

The poem was set to music sometime after 1872 by John Baptise Calkin with later versions by Joseph Mainzer and Johnny Marks. The fourth and fifth stanzas, those that speak directly about the Civil War, are no longer heard in popular renditions of the song.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Holiday Shopping at the Small Mall

My very first job was as an elf at the Small Mall in Antioch Center, a mall in Kansas City, Missouri. The mall was north of the river and was only a few blocks from my house. I don't even know if I could drive that first year. I was even surprised to have gotten the job, but perhaps it helped that several of my friends had already secured a spot and put in a good word.

The Small Mall was a special shopping area built in the middle of the mall's main aisle, made to look like Santa's workshop. Children were allowed to go shopping in the Small Mall, without their parents, to buy small gifts for family members. They entered on one end with a money and a list (made with the help of mom and dad) of who they needed to shop for. As an elf, it was my job to help them determine what they could afford and ensure they got something for everyone on their list. The gifts were all inexpensive, usually plastic animals, picture frames, etc. But the children loved being "grown-up" and doing shopping by themselves. I distinctly remember trying to convince one young shopper that all her recipients would not enjoy small plastic rats, to no avail. After they made their purchases, each one was wrapped in brown lunch bags and they met their parents on the other side.

At the time, I don't think I realized how cool the concept was. Now that I'm a parent I really wish something like my Small Mall still existed. What a great way to teach a child about giving...even if it is just a rat.

There is a Santa Claus



A reprint from 1949.