Michael Brasher
@2ndMississippi
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Civil War author and historian, veteran, long-time tech "nerd." Writing a regimental history of my great-grandfather's regiment, the 2nd Mississippi Infantry.
Huntsville, Alabama
Joined November 2022
The Life and Death of the Second Mississippi Infantry Regiment (May 1, 1861 - April 2, 1865). "An Army is not merely a large aggregation of men with guns in their hands. To make an army, you must have men and you must have guns, but there is an additional, intangible ingredient
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@iAnonPatriot The French shaved the heads of female French Nazi collaborators at the end of WWII. Odd choice. .
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@Riley_Gaines_ I think it’s a good thing that only MAGA folks will be reproducing for the next four years.
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“No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking when they wanted to talk, rocking, and not talking when they didn't want to talk. Sometimes they just sat there and thought about things, turned things over. My uncle
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Pickett's Charge, July 3rd, 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. “…For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail
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@timfarmer Old Joke: the differences between the branches of the US military. If you tell the Army "Secure that building!" They will surround it with armor and heavy infantry and not let anyone out of it until told to. If you tell the Marines "Secure that building!" They will storm the.
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@BRICSinfo Hmmmm. So, does Syria end up like Iran when the Shah fled? Like Iraq when Saddam Hussein was toppled? Like Libya when Gaddafi fell? Regardless, it’s gonna be a mess.
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@Cobratate @Keir_Starmer “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” . -- Winston Churchill - 1937
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OTD 154 years ago Robert E. Lee died - October 12, 1870.
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@wars An officer’s frock coat. According to the collar insignia, he was a Major (single star).
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@ZOrtiz99 Reminds me of the flag my great-grandfather fought under - 2nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment.
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@shellenberger @realDonaldTrump @AlboMP I began to sense faintly that secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy. censorship. When any government. undertakes to say to its subjects, “This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know,” the end result is tyranny and.
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Even his enemies admired General Lee. The below is an incident from a collection of first-hand accounts found in “Civil War Treasury” edited by B.A. Botkin that speaks volumes to General Lee’s character:. “I was at the battle of Gettysburg myself, and an incident occurred there
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@IanJaeger29 So now I guess we know for sure that at best we have a 51-49 Senate if no one else defects. Looks like VP Vance will have to play tiebreaker in a lot of instances.
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@F530Josh “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.
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@JudiciaryGOP Why don't y'all try actually doing something besides just posting your outrage on X?.
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@EndWokeness The memorial is also the grave marker for the Jewish sculptor, Moses Jacob Ezekiel, who was also an ex-Confederate soldier. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets at VMI and fought at New Market.
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@TRobinsonNewEra “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”. ― George Orwell, 1984
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Going home - April 9th, 1865. Since today is the 159th Anniversary of the surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virgina at Appomattox, did you ever wonder how those paroled Confederate soldiers got home? All that were paroled were presumably issued parole papers that allowed them
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General Robert E. Lee, Gettysburg, and Pickett's Charge. Funny thing - we all have 20/20 hindsight, don't we? Lee failed at Gettysburg. We all know that, but let me give credit to my friend Starke Miller of Miller Civil War Tours (FB account) for reminding me of this.
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Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne – on foot after two of his mounts were shot out from under him -- was killed by a shot to the chest during the Battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864. A modern memorial of cannonballs marks the general area of his death on the east side of
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@catturd2 Is it really Iran? Or will Iran just be the patsy if something happens? I don't take anything at face value anymore.
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The only known photograph of armed Confederate troops on the march was taken in Frederick, Maryland. For many years, it was believed to have been taken during the Antietam campaign of 1862, but recently it has been argued it was actually taken in 1864 during Early's raid on
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@GardensR4Health During Vietnam we could land an entire battalion of troops in the middle of the f**king jungle with Huey's. Where are they and why aren't they being used?.
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@EndWokeness And if you're one of the many millions of descendants of Confederate veterans, things like this might have played a role too.
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The Outlaw Josey Wales - Lone Watie talking to Josie Wales. "I wore this frock coat in Washington, before the war. We wore them because we belonged to the five civilized tribes. We dressed ourselves up like Abraham Lincoln. We only got to see the Secretary of the Interior, and
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@Cernovich NATO became irrelevant the same day the old Soviet Union collapsed. If the Europeans want to form an organization just to keep “poking the bear,” let them. We don’t need Article 5 of the NATO constitution dragging us into a new world war.
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@akafacehots Ah. So now I know which of my Alabama Senators to make sure gets primaried next time. Thanks Senator Tuberville. You kept your word.
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1/3 The great-grandson of Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, General Nathan Bedford Forrest III was killed in action when he went down with his B-17 over Germany. He reportedly stayed behind the controls until the last of the crew was able to evacuate but
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I always thought the painting below was a very good example that illustrates the actual size of a regiment deployed in line of battle. Each man would occupy a frontage of about 22 inches and the line would be composed of two ranks by company. Here we see, it would appear, a part
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"Lee to the Rear". Since today is the general's birthday, I thought a story about the men's love and devotion to General Lee was in order. When Longstreet's Corps finally arrived on the Wilderness battlefield on the second day of the battle, May 6, 1864, the Army of Northern
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The Confederate Monument at Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery - Some 18,000 Confederate soldiers are laid to rest in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery, including several members of the 2nd Mississippi. In the 1870's, funds were raised and as many Confederate Gettysburg dead that could be
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Unfurling Valor: The Unsung Heroes Who Carried the Colors. "The head of a regiment's color company exercised great care in selecting the soldiers who would carry the battle flag. The post of flag bearer was important, not only for the sentimental reasons but for practical ones as
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The Confederate Color Bearer and the sometimes-confusing Confederate rank of "Ensign". "The head of a regiment’s color company exercised great care in selecting the soldiers who would carry the battle flag. The post of flag bearer was important, not only for the sentimental
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@DaleStarkA10 @Yale It'd be nice if they replaced the battle streamers they made National Guard units remove because they were associated with the Confederacy also.
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Arguably the bloodiest “battle within a battle” during the entire American Civil War was the fight in the 24-acre Cornfield at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17th, 1862. It is estimated that about 27,000 men were engaged here from 5:30 am to 9:30 am. Of those engaged, some
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@DaleStarkA10 @Yale Not only the base names - the final 'spit in the face' was the removal of the Arlington Reconciliation Monument, which was, in fact, the actual grave marker for the monument's sculptor and Confederate veteran, Moses Jacob Ezekiel (VMI - battle of New Market, VA - May 15, 1864).
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Pickett's Charge. William Faulkner "Intruder in the Dust," 1948.
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In celebration of William Faulkner's birthday, one of my favorite excerpts from his "Intruder in the Dust" (1948). “…For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in
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Forged in Defiance: How the South Built an Ironclad Navy from Scratch. The Confederacy entered the war without a single ship to its name, but through ingenuity and resolve, it raised an armored fleet of over 20 ironclads to challenge the industrial might of the Union Navy. It was
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Sharpsburg's 24 Acres of Hell: The Battle Within a Battle. Arguably the bloodiest “battle within a battle” during the entire American Civil War was the fight in the 24-acre Cornfield at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17th, 1862. It is estimated that about 27,000 men were
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First of all, happy 249th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!. Most folks don't know that the Confederates also had Marines:. The Confederate States Marine Corps: A Forgotten Force in the Civil War. In the turbulent spring of 1861, as the nation fractured into civil war,
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I don't plan to do any posting tomorrow, so to all my friends and followers and your families, a very Merry Christmas!
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"The Army Asked Confederate Veterans to Teach Soldiers the Rebel Yell for World War I". I'll just leave it there.
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The Mississippi Monument at Gettysburg . There were eleven Mississippi infantry regiments at Gettysburg. Four in Barksdale's Brigade - the 13th, 17th, 18th and 21st. Four in Posey's Brigade - the 12th, 16th, 19th, and 48th. And three in Davis's Brigade - 2nd, 11th, and 42nd.
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We enjoy reading Civil War battle studies. Uncluttered maps showing the units as little rectangles with arrows pointing the way they attacked or retreated. Commander’s after-action reports describing how Longstreet’s Corps rolled up Hancock’s II Corps at the Wilderness, etc.,
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“…For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled
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@defense_civil25 Why are we even still a part of NATO? That organization became less than useless to us after the collapse of the old Soviet Union. Many of the European countries, Great Britain included, have become the very thing they used to fear the old Soviet Union would impose on them by.
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Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I thought it appropriate to take note of the members of the 2nd Mississippi who were born in Ireland. Of course, there was the famous Irish Brigade in the Union army, and many Union units contained large numbers of Irish members. Some
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OTD - 163 years ago - July 21, 1861 - The major fighting at First Manassas took place over a surprisingly small area concentrated on the Confederate left flank. But you really need to walk the ground to gain an appreciation of the topography that impacted the fighting, especially
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1/3 Forgotten Fires: Mississippi's 40 Burned Towns . The systematic destruction of Southern infrastructure and resources became a cornerstone of Union military strategy by 1864, extending far beyond the well-known examples of Atlanta and the Shenandoah Valley. This approach,
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Battle of the Fallen Timbers, Tennessee, April 8, 1862 - epilogue to the battle of Shiloh. Here, some 300 Confederate troopers were acting as rear guard for the Confederate army and protecting a field hospital. Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, being the senior leader present, was
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Civil War Drama: Did Forrest Really Threaten Bragg's Life After Chickamauga?. Many may already know of the reported confrontation between General Braxton Bragg and General Nathan Bedford Forrest following Chickamauga. Other historians have disputed the encounter ever took place,
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@GreatSmokyNPS Oh, so taking it back to the Cherokee term. You DO KNOW that the Cherokee were one of the Five Civilized Tribes that declared for the Confederacy during the Civil War, just as did General Clingman? As long as we're cancelling everything Confederate. Just maybe we should go all.
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@hodgetwins They don't mind literal grave desecration. The memorial itself is also the grave marker for the Jewish sculptor, Moses Jacob Ezekiel. Ezekiel, an ex-Confederate soldier, was a member of the Corps of Cadets at VMI and fought at New Market.
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Running across some recent posts about the Spanish American War reminded me that former Confederates proudly served some 30+ years following the Civil War. This is probably best represented by Confederate cavalry commander Joe Wheeler. He was a Major General of volunteers (later
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With the bitter winter storm sweeping through, I thought it might be an appropriate time to post about:. The Great Snowball Fight of 1863. In 1863, amid the tumultuous backdrop of the American Civil War, the Confederate Army witnessed an extraordinary and whimsical event—the
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I remember as a young boy going to Shiloh and how excited I was to see the park entrance sign come into view. Back then (I don't want to say how many years ago) it showed two Confederate soldiers - one in a slouch hat and the other in a kepi, looking as if they were on guard at
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1/2 To avoid "sensory overload," I'll only post a couple of the Topps "Civil War News" cards a day. As a kid, I remember how I always looked forward to each new set of cards inside the gum wrapper. Most were bloody and gory and very graphic. The art on the cards was produced
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1/2 We're only a week or so away, so to all my followers and friends, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!. 'My Friend, the Enemy' by Mort Künstler
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1/2 Captain Tod Carter and the Battle of Franklin. “Tod Carter was the last, and the men around him also were the last, ghostly remnants of what had once been the mighty Army of Tennessee. Once it had been a fearsome agent of destruction that had almost demolished Grant’s
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We all know most of the "standard" variations of Confederate regimental battle flags. Company flags were a different matter, however. Many company flags have unique designs and mottos. Here is the flag of Co. B, 3rd Florida Infantry, presented by the ladies of St. Augustine.
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I'll probably be taking a bit of an "X" break during the holidays, so before I forget - to all my friends and followers, A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!. And despite the Arlington Monument being torn down and in the spirt of reconciliation. (Painting: MORT
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@Grand_handsomer There were others later on, but from my earliest memory. Annette Funicello.
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1/5 "Campfires of the Confederacy," published 1898, is available from the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) and if you've never come across it, I'd highly recommend you take a look. Here's the link:.
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The Sound of Southern Defiance: Exploring the Legendary Rebel Yell. The Rebel Yell is one of the most enduring legends of the American Civil War. We hear a great deal about it, though no two people seem agreed on the sound, or even on its origin. What did it sound like? Was it
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OTD 161 years ago. The Confederate fortress city of Vicksburg Mississippi surrenders to Federal forces. On July 4, 1863, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton formally surrendered his army of 2,166 officers and 27,230 enlisted men, 172 cannon and 60,000 small arms. Five days
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The "Five Civilized Tribes" - the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole nations - signed treaties with the Confederate States of America and provided cavalry and mounted infantry units in the Trans-Mississippi theater during the American Civil War. The
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OTD, 161 years ago today, Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, the 2nd Mississippi and the fight at the Railroad Cut. My findings researching the fight at the Railroad Cut. The 2nd Mississippi suffered its worst disaster as a regiment at the Railroad Cut at Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863.
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"The Gray Wall". Since the 160th anniversary of the fighting in the Atlanta Campaign has closed, I thought it appropriate to share one of Don Troiani's Civil War paintings, "The Gray Wall." . The scene it represents takes place during the 1864 Campaign in the West showing one of
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@Super70sSports “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”. - Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Casablanca.
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Q&A with Trump in North Carolina just now - Fort "Liberty" gets its name changed back to Fort Bragg. .
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The Confederate States Marine Corps: A Forgotten Force in the Civil War. In the turbulent spring of 1861, as the nation fractured into civil war, a lesser-known drama unfolded within the United States Marine Corps. Sixteen Marine officers and over 100 enlisted men made the
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A rare photo of a Federal artillery crew preparing to defend their disabled gun from capture by charging Confederates - circa 1863.
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My great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy. He served in the 2nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment which was comprised of men from northeast Mississippi. The graphic below captures a quantitative history of the regiment during its four years of existence.
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Gettysburg Colors of the 2nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The colors (battle flag) carried by the 2nd Mississippi at Gettysburg were of the Richmond Depot 3rd Bunting Issue design. The details of the flag are given on the graphic, below:
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"Fight for the Colors" by Don Troiani. Corporal Frank Wallar of the 6th Wisconsin struggles with Color Corporal William B. Murphy of the 2nd Mississippi for possession of the regiment's colors at the Railroad Cut, Gettysburg, PA, July 1st, 1863.
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Ever wonder what the distribution by state was of each major Confederate field army - the Army of Northern Virginia in the Eastern Theater and the Army of Tennessee in the Western Theater? Of course, transfers were happening all the time, so you have to "freeze" in time to
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I remember summer evenings as a kid, watching and listening to the nighthawks from the porch. And if I heard a whippoorwill, my mom would tell me if I could point my finger directly at where it was, it would hush. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn't. I still wonder. .
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OTD 160 years ago - the Battle of Johnsonville, Tennessee. Following a brief but exciting few days as a naval commander of captured Union gunboats, Forrest's command destroyed the huge Union supply depot on November 4, 1864. Losses estimated at $6,700,000 (almost $135,000,000
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"Well, well, General Hill, bury these poor men and let us say no more about it.". -- General Lee to General A. P. Hill, October 15, 1863, while riding over the battlefield with Hill after the battle and seeing the Confederate dead lying on the field. OTD 161 years ago - The
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The Rebel Yell - What did it sound like exactly? No one is really sure. Shelby Foote once remarked that any Union soldier who heard the notorious Confederate battle cry, known as the “Rebel Yell”, and said he wasn’t scared by it had probably never heard it.
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The famous Mathew Brady photograph of the three Confederate Prisoners at Gettysburg. Almost everything about this photograph is speculation. Some say the men are from Louisiana. Others say they are Virginians. Supposedly, due to the mid-July date of the photograph, the men were
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1/9 Of the two great Confederate field armies - the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of Tennessee - have been, in my opinion, unfairly compared and contrasted in favor of the Army of Northern Virginia. My great-grandfather was a member of the 2nd Mississippi that fought
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A Memorial Day post to honor Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest III - the first American general to be killed in action during the war in Europe, June 13, 1943. The great-grandson of Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, General Nathan Bedford Forrest III
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