Historical picture with the story behind it.
Sutlers were civilian merchants who sold provisions to the soldiers. They were also known as victualers. The occupation went back to the French and Indian War and sutlers could be found in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Most of them followed the armies and sold out of Read more…
Foraging was common in the Civil War. It is defined as “living off the land” by confiscating civilian food and supplies to supplement the army’s logistics. It differs from looting which can be defined as the stealing of non-military items. Foraging is sanctioned by military traditions, but looting is not. Read more…
In November, 1862, Lincoln replaced George McClellan with Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Burnside developed a plan to take Lee by surprise by crossing the Rappahannock River and swiftly advancing on Richmond. Easy, peasy. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy raised its ugly head and things moved the Read more…
Or were they traitors? Each had taken an oath to the U.S. when they joined the U.S. Army. Thomas Jackson (he didn’t get his nickname “Stonewall” until the First Battle of Bull Run) voted for the Southern Democratic candidate John Breckinridge in 1860. Although Breckinridge supported secession, Jackson said he Read more…
We see here an American Bison bull. You probably recognize it as a buffalo. Blame the confusion on the French. When French trappers first encountered them in America, they thought they were shaggy cows. So they called them “bouefs” which is French for cattle. Samuel de Champlain was the first Read more…
Howard Brodie transferred to Europe after doing his first combat art on Guadalcanal (see previous posts). He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and sketched this drawing of a German prisoner executed by firing squad. He could be a member of Otto Skorzeny’s commando unit that was tasked by Read more…
This is another Howard Brodie sketch from his time on Guadalcanal. He and his buddy are in a foxhole and while his buddy sleeps, he’s on guard duty. Note the grenades lined up. Nights in the Pacific on the front line could be very scary. The Japanese liked to infiltrate Read more…
Litter bearers (also called “stretcher bearers”) don’t get enough credit. Possibly the most famous litter bearer was Ernest Hemingway during the Spanish Civil War. This sketch by combat artist Howard Brodie (see the previous picture post for more information on him). His words at the bottom say it all for Read more…
Howard Brodie was a combat artist for the Army when he was sent to the island of Guadalcanal. He sketched this drawing for Yank magazine. Brodie depicts five tired infantrymen on the march. Brodie wrote on the drawing “the stench of dead Japanese was nauseating”. You see a dead Japanese Read more…
The painting is called “Sub at Sea” by Adolf Bock. It is a u-boat in the Atlantic in WWII. U-boats like this one sank 175 warships and 2,825 merchant ships in the Battle of the Atlantic. The most successful u-boat commander was Otto Kretschmer who sank 47 ships in 15 Read more…