Hendrickson and Sumter

ole · #1 12-29-2005, 12:48 PM

Has anyone read Sumter; The First Day of the Civil War, by Robert Hendrickson? It's apparently a minor work as I've seen no reference to it on this forum and I don't remember where, when or why I have it.

Hendrickson is a writer -- not necessarily a historian -- and the work is notable for a rich load of hitherto unknown (at least by me) details and a complete lack of sources.

It is a highly interesting read but, alas, almost totally useless as a resource.

Ole

samgrant · #2 02-14-2006, 08:44 PM

I googled "the first casualty of the american civil war" and found claims it was by a venomous bite of a Coral snake, and also this odd version of the battle:

"I'm Dan Norton welcoming you to Back to the Bible and today we'll rejoin Dr. Woodrow Kroll for another look at the life of Elijah. This time Elijah is challenged to seek God when the going gets tough.
Dr. Kroll recorded this study when he spoke at a Word of Life Conference in Schroon Lake, New York. Let's join him now for more from 1 Kings. Woodrow Kroll: Chapter 19 of 1 Kings is a chapter all about Jezebel and about Elijah, and about a man of steel turning to a bowl of jelly. If I were looking for a title for this chapter, my title would be "The Empire Strikes Back" because this is a story about a man who is at the top of his game and loses it all.
1 Kings 19: 1. By the way, do you remember reading from American history, the first battle of the civil war? The point of this chapter, I think, is that it's usually not in the heat of battle but in victory that we are most vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.
The first battle of the civil war was at Ft. Sumter in South Carolina. The date was April 12, 1861. It's considered to be, that battle was considered to be, the beginning of the American Civil War. And the battle raged on for some 34 hours, 33 hours of which was continuous cannon fire.
Do you know that absolutely no one was killed at the battle of Ft. Sumter, not a single person? The first battle of the American Civil War, no one was killed.
Two days later, April 14, after the Union soldiers moved in and they were celebrating, they were taking down the flags so they could move on to their next battle, they fired a round of shells into the air and one of the Union soldiers was accidentally killed as a result of that. The first casualty of the American Civil War was this person who was killed in the process of enjoying victory."

ole · #3 02-15-2006, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Two days later, April 14, after the Union soldiers moved in and they were celebrating, they were taking down the flags so they could move on to their next battle, they fired a round of shells into the air and one of the Union soldiers was accidentally killed as a result of that. The first casualty of the American Civil War was this person who was killed in the process of enjoying victory."

Sounds like the good Doctor hasn't kept up with his history. May we assume the doctorate is an honorary degree?
Ole