John Pelham - Artillery Man - Gallant Fool

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https://emergingcivilwar.com/2018/0...elham-artilleryman-gallant-fool-splendid-boy/

Great article with copyright pictures in it.

"...have seen what Romancers call glorious war. I have seen it in all its phases. I have heard the booming of cannon, and the more deadly rattle of musketry at a distance—I have heard it all near by and have been under its destructive showers. I have seen men and horses fall thick and flat around me. I have seen our own men bloody and frightened flying before the enemy. I have seen them bravely charge the enemy's lines and heard the shout of triumph as they carried the position, I have heard the agonizing shrieks of the wounded and dying—I have passed over the battle field and seen the mangled forms of men and horses in frightful abundance. Men without heads, without arms, and others without legs. All this I have witnessed and more, till my heart sickens; and war is not glorious as novelists would have us believe. It is only when we are in the heat and flush of battle that it is fascinating and interesting. It is only then that we enjoy it. When we forget ourselves and revel in the destruction we are dealing around us. I am now ashamed of the feelings I had in those hours of danger. The whistling bullets and shells were music to me, I gloried in it—it delighted and fascinated me—I feared not death in any forms; but when the battle was won and I visited the field a change came over me, I see the horrors of war, but it was necessary."

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John Pelham
 
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We've had many threads here in the forums about The Gallant Pelham; above, his stand at Fredericksburg by Don Troiani.

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The site as it appears today is becoming engulfed by Fredericksburg's urban sprawl.

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Below, monument to Pelham originally erected near the site of his death at Kelly's Ford, now located at the Graffiti House at Brandy Station.

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Love him or hate him, the young man seemed to be naturally gifted as an artilleryman. And as a sidelight, the artillery range at Fort McClellan is named after him and when the big guns roared; they could be heard both at his birthplace and at his gravesite. I always found that rather fitting.
 
Ironically the young man who lived to fire his cannons was killed by cannon fire. He was a decent young man, like many others on both sides, caught up in a sectional struggle who gave his life for his cause and country. I have often wondered how much this nation and the world lost because of this Civil War? How much longer would Lincoln had lived, when would slavery been abolished are just among the many what ifs I am curious about.
Regards
David
 
Capt. Morton, Gen. Forrest’s Chief of Artillery was known to outshine cavalrymen.
Referred to as “that boy” by Forrest, but he came to trust his instincts and abilities as evidenced by his performances in battles such as Brice’s Crossroads.
 
Capt. Morton, Gen. Forrest’s Chief of Artillery was known to outshine cavalrymen.
Well what do you expect from someone who continued to wear a feather in his hat after it became less than fashionable, (him discarding it at Fort Donelson), and would literally charge infantry with nothing but a cannon!:D
 
https://emergingcivilwar.com/2018/0...elham-artilleryman-gallant-fool-splendid-boy/

Great article with copyright pictures in it.

"...have seen what Romancers call glorious war. I have seen it in all its phases. I have heard the booming of cannon, and the more deadly rattle of musketry at a distance—I have heard it all near by and have been under its destructive showers. I have seen men and horses fall thick and flat around me. I have seen our own men bloody and frightened flying before the enemy. I have seen them bravely charge the enemy's lines and heard the shout of triumph as they carried the position, I have heard the agonizing shrieks of the wounded and dying—I have passed over the battle field and seen the mangled forms of men and horses in frightful abundance. Men without heads, without arms, and others without legs. All this I have witnessed and more, till my heart sickens; and war is not glorious as novelists would have us believe. It is only when we are in the heat and flush of battle that it is fascinating and interesting. It is only then that we enjoy it. When we forget ourselves and revel in the destruction we are dealing around us. I am now ashamed of the feelings I had in those hours of danger. The whistling bullets and shells were music to me, I gloried in it—it delighted and fascinated me—I feared not death in any forms; but when the battle was won and I visited the field a change came over me, I see the horrors of war, but it was necessary."

View attachment 418210
John Pelham
We are all distant cousins of Neanderthals, (not the Neanderthal, there was more than one)
DNA research proves that that we are.
Ancestry.com gives you the percentage of your chromosomes that are Neanderthal.
I am 3.6 percent, according to their latest report

In 1994, on my way to Stratford Hall, I walked through muddy woods quite a distance to reach Kelly's Ford. It meant a lot to me as Pelham is one of my greatest heroes.
 
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The closest I've ever felt to Pelham, or probably any other Civil War personage for that matter, was to see an example of his handiwork where he inscribed his signature on the glass windowpane above in one of the front windows of Welbourne House in the Virginia Piedmont. It's a bit hard to read, especially in my photo, but it had been scratched onto the glass with a diamond ring, a popular practice then and earlier. For more about Welbourne House below, please see: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/welbourne-house-loudon-county-virginia.139476/

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