JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
Hilton Head, General Gilmore's 1864 ball gives away its rustic genesis by stacked wooden chandeliers, not crystal. You can bet crossed swords used as ornaments were back on a battlefield within weeks
We have threads here in Ladies Tea on wives in camp. There was nothing easy or glamorous about living rough or, for that matter getting oneself dressed for a ball. Since it was Hilton Head you'd have to guess most would have had houses to stay in but it's not a given.
Holding a ball where silken gowned ladies toe tripped ' round bewhiskered, braided and puffed chested officers lit by a thousand candles high overhead- while wounded lay suffering and troops ate hard tack in musty Sibleys, might seem decedent. What had wars and balls to do with each other and why, in Heavens name, hold one in the midst of death, carnage and loss?
Clipping from a journal, please excuse the fact I've lost the archived book link, someone who witnessed the ball held after J.E.B. Stuart's Grand Review where a ball was held. It must have been surreal yet stunning and for some the last, soft touch from both lady and musical strains they knew on this earth.
Love this one, 1862's Thanksgiving Ball, held in a casement. War.
Moral, bringing joy and some normalcy back to a blue/gray/khaki world, reminding themselves and each other that, after all, what they saw on the battlefield and in the hospitals and newspapers and on faces everywhere could be put aside while yesterday was remembered. And for tomorrow, hope.
Clip from Harper's coverage, same ball
3rd Corp's Ball was also recorded in Harper's, thankfully, with this crazy good image of ' Going to the Ball '. 1864
Here's a tiny snip, from 3rd Corp, 1864 fighting. They could use a good ball.