Monday, November 28, 2011

Camp Lawton (Millen) Mentioned in Hiram's Pension Files

In the 125 pages of Private Hiram Terman's pension files, I located an 1897 letter to a comrade that described Hiram buying a calf's head from a Confederate guard at Camp Lawton in Georgia, making rice soup with his mess, and then getting sick and vomiting.  He was rheumatic, had scurvy, heart, and intestinal problems from his prison stays that affected his whole life.   Hiram also describes having to leave when the camp commandant told him to "break for the gate".  This he did and left alone without a chance to say goodbye to his comrades. 

Thursday, November 10, 2011

NEW BOOK REVIEW OF HIRAM'S HONOR ON EMERGING CIVIL WAR BLOG

Monument of three comrades at Andersonville National Historic Site. Meg Thompson's well-done book review of Hiram's Honor  for the Emerging Civil War website adeptly highlights the spirit and value of friendship in this incredible story of survival. 
  

Friday, November 4, 2011

Civil War Pension Files from the National Archives


I ordered my Civil War ancestor's pension files from the National Archives and received 125 pages of information like the above documents.  Private Terman was a walking skeleton when he came back from 17 months of prison life at Belle Island, Andersonville, Savannah, and Millen.  Incredibly, he waited until 1897 to apply for a pension that he received until his death in 1926.  His Civil War service gave him heart problems, rheumatism, stomach, and bowel problems his entire life and he also suffered from what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  I am researching these files in hopes of writing a sequel to Hiram's Honor about his and his comrades post Civil War lives.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

NEW BOOK REVIEW OF HIRAM'S HONOR EBOOK ON SALIENT POINTS CIVIL WAR BLOG

Allen's review says Hiram's Honor gives you the view of a common soldier.





A new review of Hiram's Honor, (Ebook version)  by Allen Mesch appears here.  Allen Mesch is a author, educator, and historian. He is a Civil War historian and has visited more than 81 battlefields and museums and taken over 3,700 photographs. Allen teaches classes on the American Civil War at Collin College. He is a 40 year veteran of the oil and gas industry and provides consulting and training services. Allen is a fan of political thrillers and author of The Analyst.  

Thanks Allen for your professional review (from a pdf file) that hits the "Salient Points" of my book--well done.