Benjamin Butler

1864: “We Have Been In Line Of Battle”

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

In line of battle near Cold Harbor

Monday Morning June 6th 64

My own Darling Sister & father & mother

Last night after being relieved from outpost duty on my arrival in camp a letter from you was handed to me. I asked how it came & was told it had come down from the line of battle, curious way for a letter to come isn’t it? Yet so it is letters are constantly being passed up our lines to some of the different men in different Brigades & also accounts of the different fights pass in the same way, so we always know directly a fight is over at the end of the line we know how it went for us. I have been most anxious to hear from you all having heard that father had been taken prisoner & the town filled to overflowing with Yankee wounded & I was much afraid…

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1864: “Am I The Same Poor Soul…?”

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

March 3, 1864.

…After they left I sat down to Romola – and I was absorbed in it. How hardened we grow “to war and war’s alarms.” The enemies’ cannon or our own are thundering in my ears – and I was dreadfully afraid some infatuated and frightened friend would come in to cheer, to comfort, and interrupt me. Am I the same poor soul who fell on her knees and prayed and wept and fainted as the first guns boomed from Fort Sumter? Continue reading →

10 Things You Should Know About Fort Fisher

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

At the top of the page, it said January 1865. Smoothing the wrinkles, I first looked for the poetry column…

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a poem in this copy. On the back page was a shocking report about some bad Confederate raiders. I didn’t want to read that and turned to the front page. The headline caught my eye. A fort – Fort Fisher – had been captured by Union soldiers. The port of Wilmington closed, meaning no ships could go in or out. The article explained that Wilmington had been an important port for blockade runners, but it didn’t explain what those were. (Lighthouse Loyalty, Chapter 5)

In Lighthouse Loyalty, a historical fiction book, young Susan Rose Arnold reads old newspapers and wonders about the recently ended American conflict, the Civil War. One afternoon she reads about Fort Fisher and Wilmington’s port, which played important roles in the maritime aspects of the war.

If you’ve been curious for details, here are 10 things you should know about Fort Fisher: Continue reading →