Category: Photography

Civil War Battlefields, Part 1- Vicksburg, Mississippi

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I have decided to start a series of blogs about my other passion, the American Civil War. As an amateur student of history, and having an ancestor who fought in the Civil War, I have had a deep interest in the War for over 30 years. In most of my travels over the past 20 years or so, I have tried to visit as many of the battlefields that are left as possible. There are still some I have not seen, and I hope to see them over the next few years.

The battlefields are part of the US National Park System. While the parks themselves are well preserved, some do not encompass all of the acreage that was fought over. It was not practical for the government to try to turn an established town or city into a National Park, for obvious reasons. But, not long after the war ended, the effort began to preserve as much of the battlefields as possible.

The first installment of this series is about the battle of Vicksburg, which really wasn’t so much a battle as a siege. It is really easy to get to, either by car or plane. I prefer to drive, as I can carry more camera gear with me, and I can stop in Memphis and spend time there to and from Vicksburg.

For an historical perspective, Ulysses Grant had been trying since late 1862 to capture the city. Vicksburg was crucial, as it is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Union naval vessels and northern merchant ships could not navigate up and down the Mississippi while the Confederates held the town. Several attempts to take the town directly had failed, so Grant, during the early spring of 1863, marched his troops through the swamps on the west side of the river, crossed back over the river, and circled aback to surround the town from the east. Once he reached the town, it took another 47 days, but finally, on July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered the town to Grant.

Many of the battlefields are dominated by statues, monuments and memorials. Vicksburg has its share, but you can still appreciate the terrain, and understand why it was such a difficult task to take the town. It is a beautiful place, but as with all of the battlefields, it’s very somber at the same time. When you know what happened there, how many soldiers on both sides were lost, as well as the civilian casualties, it gives you pause. The National Cemetery has a plaque, as they all do at each of the battlefields, telling how many are buried in the cemetery, and how many are known versus unknown. At Vicksburg, there are 18,244 interments, of which, 12,954 are unknown.

The photographs accompanying this are just a sample of some of my favorites that I have taken there during my many visits. Some are infrared, some regular photos. Most of the battlefield on the tour takes you around both defensive positions that were dug into the hillsides, or built on them, by the Confederates. Others are the Union positions. At varying points during the siege, the two lines were less than 200 yards from each other. The townspeople dug themselves into hillsides too, to protect themselves from constant Union artillery bombardment. The Visitor’s Center there gives a very accurate depiction of what the civilian experience was during the siege.

Springfield and Chicago Explorations, Part 1

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It’s not often I get to be a tourist on my home turf, but that’s exactly what I had the opportunity to do earlier this month, when my friend Cathie Crow of CLCrow Photography visited the area. I had been out to South Carolina a few times since April 2014, and Cathie got to show me around. Now it was my turn!

The adventures began in Springfield, on Sunday, July 10. Cathie is a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln’s, and as she has said on many occasions, Springfield is her Disneyland. I drove down early Sunday morning and picked up Cathie at her hotel, and from there, we had breakfast at a relatively famous place in Springfield- Charlie Parker’s Diner (featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). From there, we drove into downtown Springfield and began our tour of the Lincoln sites- Abraham Lincoln’s home, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the old State Capitol Building, and the train station that now houses several props, costumes, and the Presidential Office set from Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln.”  All are worth the visit, you get a genuine look at what life and politics were like in the pre- and Civil War eras. Those of you who know me well know that the Civil War era is the period of American history I am particularly drawn to.

The final stop, somber given its nature, was Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery (and yes, Cathie and I rubbed Abe’s nose, another “must”). Down the hill, behind the tomb, is the temporary vault where Lincoln’s remains were kept until the tomb was completed. Also in Oak Ridge Cemetery, we visited the Illinois World War II Memorial, the Illinois Korean War Memorial, and the Illinois Vietnam War Memorial.

The visit finished with a stop at the Dublin Pub, where I tried in vain to convince Cathie to try another Springfield institution, the horseshoe. I had one, it’s a tradition! From there, the three hour drive up to the Chicago area, where the adventures would continue!

Of Fire Engines And Zombies- June 18, 2016

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Weekends during summer in Chicago offer a lot of opportunities to explore different subjects. The plethora of street fairs, neighborhood gatherings, and civic events usually result in some unusual combinations. Yesterday was just such a combination, as the title of this blog attests to.

The day started with an annual event at the Chicago Fire Academy, near Taylor St and Jefferson. The Academy stands roughly where the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started. This is where Chicago trains its firefighters. The event is a gathering of the Illinois Fire Buffs, who are dedicated to the history of firefighting. They have a show of nearly all eras of fire engines, vintage to current, as well as a flea market where you can buy just about anything related to firefighting, including vintage equipment, books, etc. The event starts with a short parade of the fire engines. They had everything from a 1920s era Ahrens-Fox engine, to a REO engine and Federal Engine from the 1930s, on up to the current engines made by American LaFrance. The older ones are still operational and well preserved!

It was fun seeing these machines up close, and helped me appreciate even more the firefighter’s ability to do their job in an era where technology was nowhere near today’s level. Even so, you can’t help but admire the firefighters of every era, who go into places everyone else runs from. It takes a special person to do this.

Later in the afternoon, I went to Millennium Park, as this was the annual “Zombie March” took place. The march covers a route of 2.5 miles, starting at the Pritzker Pavilion, going up toward the Wrigley Building, back to the Daley Plaza, and finishing at Buckingham Fountain. I got there in time to see the participants getting into character, and prepping their zombie makeup. The work they did was very impressive! All in all, it was a fun day, and the great news is, summer is just starting!

Washington, DC- April 2016

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For my first recreational trip this year, I went to Washington DC to hopefully photograph the cherry blossoms at peak bloom. Of course, when it comes to Mother Nature, she always has her own ideas, and my trip was about 10 days too late. Still, I stuck to my plan, and met up with a friend who drove up from South Carolina. We spent Friday, April 1 through Sunday April 3 in the area. We packed a lot into those three days, a theme I would continue with my Arizona trip later in April.

The first day, we started with the intention of touring Ford’s Theater. However, we were confronted by a huge crowd of school tours (it was still Spring Break time). So, instead, we checked out St. Patrick’s Cathedral right down the street, a great gothic exterior, and a gorgeous interior. From there, we went to the National Mall, and spent some time at both the World War 2 Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We had to get to the other end of the Mall so that we could take a tour of the US Capitol Building, which was great, except for the rotunda being covered by scaffolding and tarp. We finished up at Union Station, which is right by the Capitol Building.

Saturday was spent at the Udvar-Hazy Annex to the National Air & Space Museum, which is where the Space Shuttle Discovery is now housed, as well as a lot of other aircraft and spacecraft that can’t fit in the main Air & Space Museum. From there, we drove up to the Baltimore area for dinner with some friends, and then we went back down to the Mall to photograph the Memorials at night. That turned out to be its own adventure, as a vicious storm hit just as we got to the Lincoln Memorial. Luckily, we had shelter inside, and waited out the rain and wind.

Sunday, we drove to the US Marine Corps War Memorial (aka The Iwo Jima Memorial), as I wanted to pay tribute to a friend and Marine who had passed away from cancer on the Friday we arrived. The temperature had dropped into the 30s that day, with winds gusting 20-30 mph, and naturally, I hadn’t packed cold weather gear. We also went to the National Archives that day, after the Marine Corps Memorial, and then we finished the day at the National Zoo. We saw some lions (no tigers, though, they were camera shy), and the pandas, among many others.