Visit the History Corner with Eric Huebner ~ and YES...I've been tagged!

 

Before I launch the History Corner, I want to address that last week I was tagged by two awesome lady authors –
Brandi Boddie & Jessica Patch.

Please visit their blogs. I guarantee you will find both women ~ inspiring, refreshing, witty, and downright funny at times.

I promised that this week I would play along. The rules were to answer a few questions and a task to upload. (Note – I did not make up these questions, they were passed along from way back) After answering the questions, I'm supposed to tag a few others.

Do you think you’re hot?

What?!? Ask my husband.

Upload a picture of the wallpaper that you are using.

Twilight on Little Round Top ~ Gettysburg, PA
Photo by Loree Huebner

I love this picture. I took it. Little Round Top is one of my favorite places on earth to be at sunset.

When was the last time you ate chicken?

Tuesday. I made an awesome chicken piccata in a white wine sauce.

What song or songs have you listened to recently?

I usually don’ t pay attention to the overhead satellite music pumped in to where I work, but I did find myself humming and singing to these songs yesterday  ~ One Step Up And Two Steps Back – Bruce Springsteen version, Deacon Blues – Steely Dan, The Waiting – Tom Petty, and Jump – Van Halen.

Do you have nicknames? If so, what are they?

Poo (okay stop laughing) – Husboo calls me that.  Also, Mamoo or Moo for short (I said, stop laughing) - The kids call me Mamoo. We were all at a Blues & Jazz fest about 7 years ago where The Mighty Blue Kings were performing. They sang, Big Mamou. I’ve been Mamoo ever since. Now, I love to pick up the phone and hear, “Hey Mamoo…”  My bff calls me L…that’s it, just simply L.

Okay, I know that I am supposed to tag a few others, but I’m not going to. I’ve been around the blogosphere and seen that many people have already been tagged…and retagged...and tagged again.  It’s a holiday weekend, so I will just be IT…and that’s that.

THE HISTORY CORNER

Gettysburg, PA
Photo by Loree Huebner

With 2011 starting the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, I thought on occasion, I would give you a little bit of history of the happenings of approximately 150 years ago - You don’t have to be a buff to appreciate the importance of this time in American History. I want to have a History Corner appear occasionally on my blog along with regular posts. 

This week I am proud to introduce you to my husband and soul mate, Eric. After sharing our love of God, a wonderful family, and our life together ~ we share the passion for writing, and love of American history and the Civil War. I'm hoping to add him on the blog, on a more permanent basis for an occasional History Corner. 

Anyway, for now, please welcome to the History Corner - my husband, life and love ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Eric Huebner.

Thank you, Loree, and thank you to all the readers for taking the time to stop by.
The answer to the tagged first question above is YES. Enough said on that.

Last week Loree and I went to a White Sox vs. Cubs game and had a great time. US Cellular Field in Chicago was nearly full with about 34,000 fans cheering every pitch. The next time you are in a stadium, look around at the crowd so you can get a sense of what 30 thousand, 60 thousand, or 100 thousand people looks like.
    

The reason for my preoccupation with numbers is that this coming weekend is the 148^th anniversary of the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. I am no war monger, but war has been an important factor in the shaping of our nation, particularly the Civil War. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. About 165,000 men from the north and the south (5 full stadiums) fought for 3 days – July 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, 1863 - with 51,000 casualties (or 1.5 times the size of the crowd). Imagine 51,000 people. Now imagine 51,000 men casualties - dead and wounded, strewn across a landscape only a few miles long. How could people do such a thing? We must always keep in mind the tragedy that is war and only engage when there is absolutely no alternative.
    

In 1863 the stakes could not have been higher. After a year of striking success, Robert E Lee led his Confederate army on an invasion of the North. Should he defeat the Union army on Northern soil, he could dictate terms from a position of strength. Would the United States remain united or would the Confederacy become a separate nation built upon a foundation of slavery?
    

President Lincoln said, “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other,” however “God cannot be for, and against the same thing at the same time.” Voltaire wrote, "God is always on the side of the big battalions" which in this case appears to have been true. The Union army won the battle of Gettysburg after Pickett's charge was repulsed on the third day of battle. The following day - July 4, 1863 - 30,000 Rebels surrendered to General Grant at Vicksburg. The war would rage on for almost another 2 years, but the South would never recover from the summer of 1863.
    

This weekend, watch the movie or a documentary about Gettysburg if you can. If you have time, there are scores of books on the shelves at your library or bookstore. When you hear about the incredible numbers involved at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, remember that those stadiums of people were volunteers, people like you and me, fighting for what they believed in - ready to give that "last full measure of devotion." 

Until next time - Three cheers and a tiger,
Eric

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL AND SAFE HOLIDAY! REMEMBER ALL THE SOULS WHO STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR FREEDOM UNDER GOD -THEN AND NOW.

Between you, me and the gatepost, 

~ Loree ~ and Eric