Welcome to the Campfire!

[Jas. Watson]

Seems to me that when something is 'trashed in a knee jerk reaction' (I like that phrase--so true), folks at a later date regret the action...someday when all this PC crap dies down us taxpayers will be funding some grand conservation effort to save what's left of these things under their coating of black paint, new PC painting, or whatever. Why not just hang a curtain over the thing if it bothers people so much.
Bah, Humbug!

Jas~

[Tricia]

Jas--

I'm not so certain it's just PC that hurts the preservation of history. The Hagia Sophia is a testament to how a monument can be destroyed by whoever is in charge ... no matter how well-meaning they are.

But that is one of the major problems with "public" art. It falls too often to the whims and beliefs of the well-meaners.

[markland]

Of all things, the side-view of a naked woman surprises me most. Granted that the "situation" was contrived, but still....


Billy

[elisabeth]

Jas, you're so right. Over here, we went through exactly that in our Civil War: the Puritans trashed any number of priceless mediaeval church paintings and statues on the grounds of "idolatry". Most were destroyed for ever. A few were simply whitewashed over, and it cost a fortune to discover and restore them.

Some of the evidence of destruction (headless statues, hammer marks in church walls, etc.) is itself of historic importance, of course; but it doesn't reflect any credit on the generation that carried it out. Bah, humbug, indeed!

[markland]

Yesterday morning while entering information into the database about the 4th Cavalry, I ran across a reference to a military installation that I could not find any mention of in my resources. The installation was Cantonment Sweetwater in Texas, circa 1875-1876. I did a Google and found this interesting article that I thought you all would be interested in. Not LBH but definitely about the West.

Billy

www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west/3026881.html?featured=y&c=y

P.S. Cantonment Sweetwater later was renamed Ft. Elliott, TX.

[elisabeth]

Well, it does tie in a bit, as the 7th helped set up Camp Supply ... And Rath was up to no good around Fort Zarah in 1866. Small world, the West.

Lovely article, Billy; a great illustration of how legends grow.

Another from the same site, this time about Gettysburg:

tinyurl.com/h8yls

[markland]

I didn't realize until a few minutes ago while puttering around the History Channel web site during a particularly tedious conference call that today, 9/5, is the day which Crazy Horse was bayoneted at Ft. Robinson in 1877.

Billy

[markland]

And who said baseball doesn't go with GAC? From the on-line edition of the Aug./Sept. issue of the Army Museum Memo, p. 6:

"Fort Sill Museum Celebrates Baseball

The Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum, Fort Sill, OK, hosted a special exhibition of a 19th century baseball game on 8 July. This event was straight from the history of this frontier Army post where the first recorded baseball games were played in Oklahoma. From January to March 1869, the 7th Cavalry under the command of Gen. George A. Custer played ball routinely with the 19th Kansas Volunteers. Maj. Gen. David C. Ralston, Commanding General of Fort Sill, was the pitcher in the re-enactment game and an enthusiastic participant.

Congratulations to Towana Spivey and his staff on this outstanding educational event."

[elisabeth]

And the Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, NY, which ties in nicely with the Edgerly's Retirement thread ...

Isn't there a rather splendid photo somewhere of Benteen playing baseball?

[harpskiddie]

I think that the men played ball on virtually every lengthy campaign. I'm pretty sure that there is a photo or photos from Illingsworth covering a game, which may be where Benteen was noted by Elisabeth. I know that I have seen photos, I'm just not sure where.

As old Ernie used to say: "It'e a beauitiful day. Let's play two!!!"

Gordie

[Hostler]

Jas. Watson,

I agree with your post on P.C. 100 percent!

Elisabeth and Gordie, I sure would like to see the pictures of Benteen playing baseball if anyone knows where they are posted.

Regards, Hostler

[Tricia]

harpskiddie said:

I think that the men played ball on virtually every lengthy campaign. I'm pretty sure that there is a photo or photos from Illingsworth covering a game, which may be where Benteen was noted by Elisabeth. I know that I have seen photos, I'm just not sure where.

As old Ernie used to say: "It'e a beauitiful day. Let's play two!!!"

Gordie

The two teams during the Black Hills campaign were named the Athletes and Actives. I don't believe there is an Illingworth photo of either of the two games played--though they may be in a background of one of the photographer's images. One player actually got hit in the eye by an errant throw, but put a neckerchief about the injury and played on ...

Regards,
Leyton McLean
(Ryne Sandberg fan)

[harpskiddie]

I'm more of the Frankie Baumholtz [it's all yours, Frankie!] and Hank Sauer era, but I gotta say that Sandberg could do it all. A very underrated second baseman, even though he made a bunch of All-Star teams.

Aside from a new manager, which they have needed for a couple of years now, the Cubbies need several nods from the Goddess of Fortune. Let's all do our best Saveourpitchersfrominjury dance, and see what happens next year.

Gordie

[elisabeth]

Hostler --

I may be dreaming, or I may (heaven forbid) be thinking of the baseball scene in SOTMS ... but I'm almost sure I've seen the photo somewhere. On the web, I think. I'll do some googling and see if I can find it ...

[George Armstrong Custer]

Western artist Lorence Bjorkland's rendering of General George Custer's 7th Cavalry playing baseball in the Black Hills while being watched by two Indian scouts. The original pencil drawing was used as the dust jacket for the book Private Theodore Ewert's Diary of the Black Hills Expedition of 1874.

Ciao,
GAC