In 1864 Rev. Elias Hillard, a Congregational Minister and erstwhile historian, embarked on a “do-or-die” mission. It was the last chance history would have to record by word or photos the last surviving soldiers of the American Revolutionary War.I remember these photos, but I can't put my thumb on where I saw them. I think it was from the July 1976 issue of National Geographic, back when Nat Geo was still cool. The July 2076 issue will probably show the same six men under the heading "BEHOLD THE GENOCIDAL RAPERS OF GAIA!"
Incredible though it may seem, six veterans who served in the Revolution were alive eighty-three years after British General Cornwallis surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown ending the War of Independence. Even more incredible is that, because of Rev. Hillard's efforts, photos of the six veterans are available in the historical record, the only photos of any of the War's soldiers.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The world turned upside-down...
...and these men were there to see it:
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18 comments:
Enjoy as you will:
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please112402.html
Yep, in all probability... sigh... And amazing life spans for that period, considering 40 was considered OLD!
I feel pretty sad for the guy who didn't live to see the end of the civil war. Would be kind of rough to fight to create a country and then have see it falling apart in your last days.
Thanks for the link. It is rather mind-blowing that we can view the men who helped forge the country. Even more so that thanks to the internet, future generations of Americans can do the same.
And I feel privileged to have spoken with a number of WWII and a few WWI vets in my day.
My 4G Grandfather fought at Kings Mountain and lived to be 106, but was slightly older than these guys while the fighting was going on. Musta just barely missed him.
Youtube has a film of the funeral of Hyram Conk, the last veteran of the War of 1812. They made one of the new fangled moving pictures of his funeral procession.
NFO -- It's not that 40 was terribly old, per se.
It's that so many people died before they were 12 years old. Likewise, disease and injury were more often lethal then, because of an inability to treat them adequately.
But, you didn't age twice as fast (although, without moisturizers, sunblock, and plastic surgery, you may well LOOK twice as old. {grin}
If you made it to 20 years old, your maximum lifespan was pretty similar to today's.
Old NFO: I would bet most of them lied about their ages in order to enlist.
But even if they padded a few years on, they certainly did live to a surprising old age.
That is awesome.
This made me laugh: "Bless your body, we had gentlemen to fight with in those days. When they was whipped they gave up. It isn't so now." Nothing changes, does it? I wonder if he followed it up with "Now get off my lawn, you whipper-snapper!"
"BEHOLD THE GENOCIDAL RAPERS OF GAIA!"
Now, that is totally unfair.
Bush was the one that started killing the natives and stripping the forests. I mean, the British. Sorry.
It's possible that by 2076, the Left of that period will find a way to blame environmentalism on conservatives.
One of my favorite trivia to show how young this country is the fact that the grandson of President Tyler is still alive. He was President 20 years before Lincoln!
Nat Geo is actually still pretty cool. And they give away a ton of privately funded research money to scientists in all fields. Which, considering most of us have to suckle the public teet for funding, is even more awesome.
But yes...the 2076 issue probably will have a weeping willow, being nut kicked by Uncle Sam.
-Rob
yrro,
Would be kind of rough to fight to create a country and then have see it falling apart in your last days.
It's hard enough to have been brought up learning about that country and believing in it and now watching it slip away.
thank you
I remember something similar in an edition of Popular Photography from 1976 as well.
I might even still have the magazine (A paper collection of pieces of paper longer than wide, fastened on one edge, published at intervals).
Steve C: And just a few years ago, the federal government was still paying pensions to the widows of Civil War Union soldiers. Of course, those widows were gold-d - I mean generous young women who married octagenarian veterans in the 1920's.
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