Regarding Henry

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Found item while looking for something else: the original sketch submitted to Century Magazine for one of the illustrations for the Civil War history series, later collected into "Battles and Leaders." I'll have to look to see if this illustration actually made it into that collection, but I know for sure it was at least published in Porter's Naval History of the Civil War, and is the basis for a watercolor painting that I have a print of... (Carondelet shelling Fort Donelson alone on February 13, 1862, the day prior to the main gunboat attack.)

 

[TinCan]

Mark,
Just a reminder, we all must have signed copies of the Walke bio (just as we require from Nate) cause it's always better to know TWO soon to be famous authors instead of one.

 

[georgew]

Found item while looking for something else: the original sketch submitted to Century Magazine for one of the illustrations for the Civil War history series, later collected into "Battles and Leaders." I'll have to look to see if this illustration actually made it into that collection, but I know for sure it was at least published in Porter's Naval History of the Civil War, and is the basis for a watercolor painting that I have a print of... (Carondelet shelling Fort Donelson alone on February 13, 1862, the day prior to the main gunboat attack.)

Has anyone seen any reports that the Confederates placed an obstruction below the fort? I ask because you can see a suspiciously linear line of "drift wood" to the left of the gunboat. It's possible that they drove posts into the riverbed to catch drift in an attempt to build up a "raft." Tactically this would be a good idea. The fort's guns would cover the obstruction (if present) to prevent removal, and it would also provide a reference point for the gunners.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Yes, there were definitely obstructions in the river, covered by the fort's water batteries. It was (as shown later, a number of times) an effective combination.

For a contrast, on Red River, Fort De Russy was too far above the obstructions in the Red River to cover them, and they could simply be removed.

The 'magic formula' was obstructions covered by fire-- the obstructions prevented the boats from running above the batteries and bypassing or enfilading them, and the batteries made it much more difficult to remove the obstructions.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I've been stalled for a while on the Walke bio. I can't seem to work up the energy to drive on with it. I have enough material to do it, and I have the overall plan of organization pretty well set... but when I sit down to write, I immediately get bogged down in details. My intent is always to do a 'first pass' without extensive footnoting, but I keep getting distracted and disappearing down this or that side trail.

Sigh.

 

[AndyHall]

I've been stalled for a while on the Walke bio. I can't seem to work up the energy to drive on with it. I have enough material to do it, and I have the overall plan of organization pretty well set... but when I sit down to write, I immediately get bogged down in details. My intent is always to do a 'first pass' without extensive footnoting, but I keep getting distracted and disappearing down this or that side trail.

Writing can be hard, especially at the beginning. Hang in there.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

It's not like I'm published, but sometimes it helps to hear how other people do it- especially when stuck. I almost never write linearly ( who saw that coming? ) , will write chapters or even parts of them just because that's what's 'working' at the time, go back and kind of glue them together later. Have learned also to just abandon any single sentence I'm stuck on for more than a minute- poor thing gets left dangling, new one started, otherwise you get distracted cleaning up that rough draft, lose the train of thought. Of course, probably depends on how one's head functions! That might make some folks crazy. I'm guessing you also have a tidy desk!

And maybe it's ok to disappear down a side trail, might be writing something you'll end up using later.