1863 blog post

November 29, 1863

Dear Mary,

I hope all is well with you and the children, they are probably very worried about me. I have sent them parcels filled with goodies for Christmas I hope they enjoy it. Anyway, once i tell you about the Battle of Gettysburg, you could probably tell it to them for story-time. Oh and I really did like the picture of Traveler that the kids made for me. I always keep it in my haversack. Okay, I've been off topic too much O_O. So here we go. It was five months ago when we marched up to Pennsylvania- July first. We arrived at the outskirts of Gettysburg and we started to come at them and they started shooting at us, but we overpowered them to the point where they were running backwards in the streets of Gettysburg-it was hilarious!! Oh gosh if only I could send you a picture. I really wanted to make the South very proud when I won a battle in the North, but I guess I was wrong. All I did was lose the battle and let the North take control of the Mississippi, it split us in half. I guess it was arrogance that ate me up, egging me to march up and fight in the North and win, but alas no, that would never work. I could try again but that would be too risky.  I should probably defend instead of assault. Also, slightly off topic, I think the North's president is trying to steal your pecan pie recipe- I know its been passed down, but from where?

-Robert

P.S. I really liked the haversack that you sent me. It made all the other soldiers jealous.
P.P.S. I believe Carter wants to speak with you about coming over in my place for Christmas dinner to surprise the kids- you should talk with him, he'll be glad to see you.

PIE PIE PIE! (bonus)

The other day we were celebrating Thanksgiving in the mess hall. When one of the lieutenant colonels brought out some fresh peaches and bread. He claimed to have obtained them by raiding a farm of a Northerner, he said the farmers' faces were priceless. I wish i could have been there anyway, seeing the peaches reminded me of my wife Mary's peach pie that she always bakes on Thanksgiving. She also bakes the best pecan pie. I'll leave the recipes here in case you want to try...

To make the peach pie you will need:

1. 2/3 cup sugar
2. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4. 5 to 5 1/2 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium)*
5. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
6. 1 unbaked pie crust
7. patience and time :) 

Steps:
To start off, mix sugar, flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Spoon into crust. While second crust is still in pan, remove crimp with sharp knife. Remove crust from pan and center frozen crust upside down on top of filled pie. Let thaw 10 minutes; crimp edges together. Cut 2 or 3 slits in top crust. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice is thick and bubbly. Cool at least 2 hours.

*dried peaches work too!

I saw Abraham Lincoln's pecan pie recipe, it looked quite similar to Mary's. I think the North is trying to steal our recipes! Anyway here's the recipe:

To start off you must gather your ingredients:

1. 1 cup Dark Corn Syrup
2. 3 eggs
3. 1 cup granulated sugar
4. 2 tablespoons butter, melted
5. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6. 1–1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans
7. 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust

Then mix the corn syrup, eggs, sugar butter, vanilla together in a bowl. Then stir in your pecans. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

1862 Blog

25 October 1862

Dear Mary and Carter,

I hope ya'll are doing okay. My troops and I decided that we should go ahead and march into Union territory and fight them. And we did just that in the battle of Sharpsburg. I decided it was a good idea since I was on a win streak that summer. We were trying to invade them. See the tide kept changing throughout the day. We had a big advantage over the Union. 1) they had no leader  2) they have no battle experience. and 3) we chose better fighting positions. The Union claimed they won because they "stopped an invasion" but we were more strategic throughout the battle. Did I mention that there were many times where McClellan could have beat us but he never took the opportunity so they fired him. I would have paid to see Lincoln yell at him, it must have been funny.

All the best,

Robert

Glossary Words #37-47 (bonus)

1861 Blog

23 December 1861

Dear Carter,

It looks like we are on equal terms now big brother. Remember how you used to boss me around as a child? Well now I boss around an army (an army that allows you to have your little cotton farm), so who's better now :). That's beside the point, I was going to tell you about the Battle of Manassas

So basically what happened is the Union-scumbags of the North come down to Manassas- about 30 miles from D.C. with all their little recruits. And then they start shooting at us and we trick them into thinking we're scared of them by "retreating". Then we started shooting at them and their puny recruits got scared and started to run. The Union lines started to deteriorate. Oh and did I mention people from the North came to picnic and watch us kick the North's butt (I think they thought the North would win, but they had no idea that it would turn out in the opposite way). Anyway, the civilians fled with the recruits and oh god it was hilarious. There was one regiment that stood out to me.  It was Stonewall Jackson's regiment- they held strong the WHOLE TIME!! Once we one we took all the civilian's left over food and ate it. Honestly there was one moment I won't forget, when one of the regiment leaders found a Union top hat and threw it into Bull Run creek because it was 'contaminated by its Northern owner for living in D.C.' and we all laughed it was great.

Your Little Brother,

Robert
P.S. the Union had more casualties that us (914 more)
P.S.S. Thank you for the cotton blanket you sent me it's super soft and looks amazing and works really well-your slaves really did do a good job. I hope they made one for you too :).

Civil War Vocabulary #25-36 (bonus)

Enlistment Blog

Seventeenth of November 1860

Dear Mary,
I guess I'm going to war again. I thought the Mexican-American war would be the last one I'd fight in, but I was wrong. Luckily I get to lead the entire army this time.
As far as I can tell the regiments have a good group of soldiers. I strongly believe the Confederacy will defeat the North. Their generals are not very effective. And Lincoln has no military experience unlike our president, Jefferson Davis.
How is it back at home? I hope the kids are making good grades at school.
All the best,
Robert
P.S.: Mary, please get well soon.. the kids need you more than ever now that I'm away.
P.S.S. You pecan pie at Thanksgiving is amazing. Will you eat some for me?