text:
Back to the Protoball Chronology
Back to the Protoball Home Page
Version 3
This file was last updated in July 2009
Ballplaying in the Civil War Camps
A Working Chronology
Note: This chronology lists known reports of ballplaying by soldiers during the Civil War years. Where details are uncertain or missing, an entry's "Note" mentions that. Additional information is welcome from users. To supply such data, or to comment on errors in the text, contact Protoball via Larry McCray at firstname.lastname@example.com. Entries are listed by first year of the event[s] reported in a source. Where possible, they are listed chronologically within the cited year. When a year is estimated, a "c" is added; thus, entry "1862c.23" is the 23rd listing for the year 1862, which in this case is inferred and not specified in the source document.
Many of the more informative and interesting Civil War entries are included in the current version of the full Protoball chronology, which will ultimately trace data on safe-haven ballplaying up to the beginning of the professional era [1871].
A 5-page inductive summary of these accounts, and how they affect our general understanding of ballplaying in the Civil War camps, is here.
[1] First Sunday in the Service: "Ball-playing, Wrestling, and Some Cards"
early May 1861, the new 13th Illinois Regiment assembled in
History and Reminiscences of the Thirteenth Regiment of the
[2] Regiment Plays "Favorite Game" After Dress
Parade in
"After [the camp's dress] parade, which generally lasted about an hour, the camp was alive with fun and frolic . . . leap-frog, double-duck, foot and base-ball or sparring, wrestling, and racing, shared their attention."
Harrison Mills, Chronicles of the Twenty-First Regiment,
[3] Awaiting Deployment to
1861: While the regiment trained at an
1863: The regiment was near Culpepper in September. "Capt. B. K. Kimberly was an experienced and skillful base ball player and took the lead in inaugurating a series of games of base ball" [page166].
Eugene A. Nash, A History of the Forty-fourth Regiment, New York Infantry
1864: In a May 25th letter to his sister from "Near White's Tavern," Sgt Orsell Brown noted "Monday [May] 2d I felt poorly. . . . The officers of he Brigade had a great game of ball in the afternoon, in front of our Reg't." Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. PBall file: CW-124.
[4] Future Nurse Muses on Enlistees Playing Ball
At the very outset of war, Sophronia Bucklin [born 1828] felt herself driven to serve future wounded soldiers in the Union Army: "From the day on which the first boom of the first cannon rolled over the startled waters in Charleston harbor, it was my constant study how I cold with credit to myself get into military service to the Union." She does not cite a date for this scene.
subsequently got her chance. "Sitting at
a window at a window in the Orphan Asylum at
E. Bucklin, In Hospital and Camp: A Woman's Record of Thrilling Incidents
Among the Wounded in the Late War
[5] Lieutenant Views Ballplaying at
"As I look out of our window to the West . . . I see on the green sward, a hundred men laughing, talking, playing ball, cards and leap-frog, drilling and doing a hundred things for this or that purpose of pleasure or profit."
a May 5 1861 note by Lt. Willoughby Babcock, in Babcock, Selections from the
Letters and Diaries of Brevet-Brigadier General Willoughby Babcock of the
Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers, Bulletin 2 of New York State's War of
the Rebellion Series, 1922, page 92.
[6] American Guard [71st NY Regt] 42, Nationals BB Club 13
"The National Base Ball Club requests the pleasure of your company on their grounds at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and 6th Street, East, on Tuesday, July 2d [1861], at twelve o'clock, to witness a match game with the 71st Regiment Base Ball Club"
The 71st had the duty to protect the Nation's Capital against rebel incursions, and fielded a picked nine to play a National BBC nine. After three innings, they led 12-2, and coasted to victory. A familiar name for the 71st was 3b Van Cott, and for the Nationals French played 3b. The regimental history later reported that the game "was witnessed by a large number of spectators." The Philadelphia Inquirer announced the contest on July 1 under the headline "The New York Seventy-First Despairing of Work, Going to Play Ball." Note: Frank Ceresi reports [19CBB posting of 2/28/2009] that the French collection of the Washington Historical Society includes a handwritten scoresheet for the match, which describes a 41-13 Army victory.
The two sides played again a year later. On August 7, 1862, the Nationals won a rematch, 28-13. The regimental history says that "the game was played on the parade ground; the result was not as satisfactory to the boys as the year before. There was quite a concourse of spectators on the occasion, including a number of ladies . . . . At the close the players were refreshed with sandwiches and lager." On June 25th, 1862, and the regiment's company K took on the rest of the regiment and lost 33-11.
71st Regiment Veterans Association, "History of the 71st
Regiment, N.G., N.Y.,"
[7] Knocker Plugged in Head in 6-on-6 Game at
In an August 2 1861 letter to his brother, a soldier in the 48th NY Volunteer Regiment wrote: "Yesterday we was playing ball 6 on a side, all good players. Their [sic] was but one man hit. He was running across the lower bases [? – LMc] and I was throwing ball. So I caught the knocker out and throwed the ball at him. It hit him on the head and knocked him down on the spot. His head swelled awful. The Capt. Said I was a good shot as it was about 45 yards off. About 200 laughing at him. He stood it like a soldier."
from J. G. Abbott at
October 1861 a 'bold soldier boy' sent the Clipper
an account of a baseball game played by prominent
Attributed to a soldier, apparently, in an article in the New York Clipper, October 26, 1861, page 220, [[[per Kirsch book]]] PBall file CW-5.
[9] Confederate Soldier Reports "Several Kinds of Ball"
troops enjoyed a variety of sports, 'some of which are harder than any work I
ever saw,' observed a
J. Daniel, Soldiering in the Army of the Tennessee: A Portrait of Life in a Confederate Army
[10] Confederate Base Ball Players Finds Field "Too Boggy" in VA
troops played townball as well as more modern versions of the game in their
army camps. In November 1861 the Charleston Mercury of
[11] Second NJ 27, First NJ 10, in Virginia Camp
six-inning game of base ball was played at
"A Game of Ball in the Camp,"
[12] 2nd NJ Forms "Excelsior Base Ball Club"
of the 2nd
may infer that the 2nd NJ remained at winter quarters in
[13] 3rd NH Celebrates Thanksgiving in
SC "In Playing
to the editor of the
Source: "Our Army Correspondence: Letter from the N. H. Third," Farmer's Cabinet, December 12, 1861.. Accessed via Genealogybank subscription, 5/21/09. PBall file: CW9.
[14] Imprisoned Maryland Senator Notes Ballplaying
"December 12 [1861]: "Another beautiful day, intensely cold in the morning, but moderating towards noon, the ball players enjoyed it very much" [page 114]. PBall file: CW-36.
"December 19 [1861]. Another warm and pleasant day, of which the ball-players took advantage." [page 117].
[15] Confederate Soldier's Diary Reports on Town Ball Playing, 1861-1863
December 1861
January 1862
March 1863
March 1863
Source: W. W. Heartsill, Fourteen Hundred and 91
Days in the Confederate Army: A Journal Kept by W. W. Heartsill: Day-by-Day, of the
[16] RI Soldier Mentions Game of Ball
18th: Many of the boys had a revival of their school days in a game
of ball. These amusements had much to do
in preventing us from being homesick and were productive, also, of health and
happiness." The unit was stationed at
Source: George Lewis, The History of Battery E,
First Regiment,
[17] Union General Refers to "Long Ball"
"Our light artillery rapidly gained position within range and the firing became general. The main body of our army [were] passive spectators of this game of 'long ball,' but not without partaking of its dangers."
Hays, "Letter from Alexander Hays, 1861," in Life and Letters of Alexander
Hays, Brevet Colonel United States Army
Query: Was Hays using a literal reference to the game of long ball, or was this a general analogy used at the time?
[18] Survey Finding: Common Athletic Games Forestall Woes of Gambling
examining nearly 200 regiments, the Sanitary Commission was reported to have
found that "in forty-two regiments, systematic athletic recreations
Miscellanies. Interesting Army
[19] 22nd MA beats 13th NY in Massachusetts Game
L. Parker and R. G. Carter, History of the Twenty-Second Massachusetts
[20] MA Regiment Plays Daily Intramural Games in Spring Months
Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War
[21] Southern Newspaper Urges: "More Manly Sports Like Cricket and Base Ball, Less Cardplay"
"'Every volunteer who has been in service, has realized the tedium of camp life . . . there is waste time, which might be used advantageously at such manly exercises as cricket, base ball, foot ball, quoit pitching, etc.' That paper lamented the shortage of sporting goods available for the men and called for hardware dealers to supply quoits and also cricket and base ball bats. 'For want of such things,' it concluded, 'the time of the soldier is mainly spent playing cars.'"
[22] NY and MA Regiments Play Two Games Near the Front
Jewell, from the 13th NY Regiment's Company A, provided a generous
[15 column-inches] account of two regulation NY-rules games played on April 15,
1862, near the Confederate lines at
[23] Rebel Prisoners Seen Playing Ball in WI Prison Camp
Wisconsin newspaper sent a writer to the nearby
[24] Game Suspended When BIG Fight Breaks Out
"Sometimes the war disrupted these pastimes . . . . In the spring of 1862 a game between the Fifty-Seventh and Sixty-Ninth Regiments of New York Jacob Cole was lying on the ground watching the match when he heard a 'rumbling noise.' When Cole and his friend stood up they heard nothing, but when they put their ears to the ground Cole told his friend that 'our boys are fighting.' He remembered: 'Hardly had I spoken before orders came to report to our regiments at once. So the ball game came to a sudden stop never to resume.'"
Source: Kirsch, Baseball in Blue and Gray
[25] Officer's Wife Reports on an Evening at Camp with 16th NY Regiment
"The evening parade was an uncommonly nice one . . . . The new colors were all brought out and the effect was very pretty, as they were escorted out and back and saluted by all the officers and me. After parade came a game of base-ball for the captains and other officers, and in the sweet evening air and early moonlight we heard cheerful sounds all about us at the men sang patriotic songs, laughed and chatted, or danced jig to the sound of a violin."
Howland, "Diary of Eliza
[26] Thirteenth
"In the afternoons, after battalion drill, the game of base-ball daily occupied the attention of the boys. On one of these occasions, General Hartsuff riding by, got off his horse and requested permission to catch behind the bat, informing us there was nothing he enjoyed so much. He gave it up after a few minutes and rode away, having made a very pleasant impression."
E. Davis, Jr., Three Years in the Army:
The Story of the Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteers
also mentions a game of ball being played in April 1863 as large numbers of
troops were awaiting a formal review by President Lincoln and Secretary of War
Stanton near the Potomac River, "to the no small amusement of the lookers-on"
[page 198]. In November 1863, still in
In March 1864, the 13th played the 104th NY and won 62-20. "As opportunities for indulging our love for this pastime were not very frequent, we got a deal of pleasure out of it." [page 309.]
that month, the regiment celebrated the escape and return the colonel of the 16th
[27] Ballplaying Frequently Played at
in 1862, prisoners' diary accounts refer to a number of base ball games [by
an unattributed and undated passage in Wells Twombley's 200 Years of Sport
Boetticher, a commercial artist before the war, was imprisoned at
Adolphus Magnum, A visiting Confederate chaplain, noted in 1862 that "a number of the younger and less dignified [Union officers] ran like schoolboys to the playing ground and were soon joining
In high glee in a game of ball."
extended account of ballplaying at Salisbury, along with the Boetticher
drawing, are found in Patricia Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and
the Civil War
[28] 51st
regimental history has four references to ballplaying. In July 1862, the unit arrived at
H. Parker, History of the 51st Regiment of PV [
May: "One of the boys in a letter home vividly describes a hailstorm . . . 'one day we had a regular hailstorm . . . The boys were out playing ball when it commenced sprinkling, and they thought it wasn't going to be much of a shower, they kept right on playing, when all of a sudden came the [hail] stones, and the boys put for their tents . . . Queer weather here!'"
July 4: "Some of the officers played baseball and drill was neglected."
S. Roe, The Twenty-Fourth Regiment,
[30] Hawthorne Sees Ballplaying at Washington-area Camp
upon visiting a camp near
Hawthorne, "Fortress Monroe," in
[31] Photo Caption Sings of "Marvelous New Game," Doesn't Deliver
BIRTH OF BASE-BALL. Some of the men who
went home on furlough in 1862 returned to their regiments with tales of a
marvelous new game which was spreading though the Northern States. In camp at White Oak Church near
Miller and R. Lanier, The Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume
Eight, Soldier Life,
[32] CT Boys Play Ball on March to
a lay day during a long October 1862 march from Harper's
Story of the Twenty-First Regiment,
[33] Thanksgiving and Foot-ball . . . and Base-Ball
soldier in the
H. Lynch, The Civil War Diary 1862-1865
[34] The 39th
regimental history of the 39th MA has two passing references to
ballplaying. On Thanksgiving Day of
1862, "There was a release from the greater part of camp duties and the time
thus secured was devoted to baseball, football and other diversions so easily
devised by the American youth" [p. 50].
The regimental camp was in southern MD, within 15 miles of
S. Roe, The Thirty-Ninth Regiment.
[35] Vermonters Play Manly Sport
of Football,
G. Benedict, "Letter from George Grenville Benedict, December 6, 1862," Army
Life in
[36] Pork, Hard-Tack, Beans, and Baseball in the 5th Mass Artillery
"We had plenty of pork and hard tack to go with the beans. We amused ourselves when the weather would permit by having a game of baseball."
A. Waugh, Reminiscences of the rebellion or what I saw as a private soldier on
the 5th Mass. Light Battery from 1861-1863. Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15
2009. Waugh is here describing life in
winter quarters near
[37] Wisconsin Man's Diary Included a Dozen References to Ballplaying
Jenkin Jones sprinkled 12 references to ballplaying in his Civil War
Diary. They range from December 1862 to
February 1865. Most are very brief
notes, like the "played ball in the afternoon he recorded in
Lloyd Jones, An Artilleryman's Diary
12th Michigan Regiment had the task in December 1862 of guarding a
supply railroad in
Robertson, compiler, Michigan in the War
[39] Crowd of 40,000 Said to Watch Christmas Day Game on SC Coast
Hilton Head,
Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War
[40] Soldiers' Christmas in Virginia – Ballplaying
"on Many a
correspondent near
in the Army,"
[41] Southern Brigade's Play Base . . . Somewhere
"On Christmas Day 1862 the officers of Manigault's brigade had a footrace, and afterward the colonels 'chose sides from among the officers and men to play base[ball].'"
J. Daniel, Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee: A Portrait of Life in a
Confederate Army
"The report of musketry is heard but a very little distance from us . . . yet on the other side of the road is most of our company, playing Bat Ball and perhaps in less than half an hour, they may be called to play a Ball game of a more serious nature."
to "an
[43] Ball Game Photographed at
ball game appears in the background of photographs of the 48th
[44] Monotony and Base-base in the 48th NY
J. Palmer, The History of the Forty-Eighth Regiment New York State
[45] Officers Play Base Ball on Some Parade Ground, Somewhere
"Lieutenant Charles P. Klein documented an engagement between officers on January 10, 1863: 'Saturday afternoon is allotted the men for necessary washing and cleansing, at which time the commissioned officers of the regiment indulge in a game of base ball on the parade ground.' The score was 32-14 'up to the fifth innings, other duty then interfering.'"
Barash, "Base Ball in the Civil War, National Pastime, January 2001, pp
18. Barash gives no citation for this
item. A Lieut. Charles P. Klein, of
[46] Diarist Records 12 References to Ball-Playing, 1863-1864
A. Haradon, a member of the 86th NY infantry [possibly from the
Most are simple diary notes like the first entry: "Staid around camp and plaid at ball and had a good time nothing else going on."
other examples: "April 2 [1863] "went on picket plaid ball at the reserve
10:00 till 1:00 o'clock" April 6 [1863]
"plaid at ball and saw the boys play drop ball." April 15 [1864] "plaid ball some jumped
some" April 30 [1863] "Laid around
Civil War Diary of Edwin Albert Haradon. Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 2009.
[47] MA Regiment Organizes a Baseball Club
even regular guard and fatigue duty, drill and digging in the trenches could
exhaust all of the energies of thee
S. Roe, The Fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
[48] NJ Regiment Plays Ball on the
regimental history, writing of winter camp on the
Baquet, History of the First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers
[49] NY Private Plays a Lot of Ball Over Seven Weeks
1863 diary of George Brockway includes 10 entries on ballplaying from February
27 to April 17 1863. Most are terse,
along the lines of the March 11 entry: "played ball." On March 2 Brockway elaborated a little: "In the afternoon the Company played base
ball. O yes made a batter club
also." Two entries cite extramural
play. April 11: "The boys play a game of ball with the 77th
N. Y. V and beat them 12 members." April 14:
"The boys play a match game of ball with the
George F. Brockway, Diary of 1863. Unpublished. Provided by Michael Aubrecht May 15 2009. The diary does specify Brockway's location in spring 1863. PBall file: CW-39.
[50] PA Unit Tries Cricket and Base-ball
February 1863 the 48th PA took a steamboat to
C. Bosbyshell, The 48th in the War
"March 2 [1863]. Jas Mitchell falls. Died while playing wicket."
entry, presumably by Captain Milo E. Palmer, 12th Regiment, in
Deborah B. Martin, History of Brown County Wisconsin
[52] First and Second Nines of 9th NY
Prevail an
'first team' of the Ninth New York Regiment beat the Fifty-first New Yorkers
31-34 [sic] at Yorktown
Irvin Wiley, The Common Soldier in the Civil War, Book One, "The Life of
Billy Yank," page 170. Unavailable
online in full text June 2009. Wiley's
footnotes are complicated, but it seems most likely the this account comes from
"diary of Charles F. Johnson, March 4, 8, 1863, manuscript Minn. Historical
Society." It is unclear that the 9th
was near
[53] In Coastal SC: Union Men Played Ball "In Almost Every Camp"
[54] 5th
history of the Fifth MA Battery has four brief references to base ball from
March 1863 to February 1864. Two
soldiers' diaries note games on March 11, March 29, and April 11 1863 in
of the Fifth
[55] 23-Year-Old
"Mar 13 [1863] Wrote a letter to George and one to father. In the afternoon played a game of ball. Mar 14 Played a game of ball in the afternoon. Bill rode my horse on the forage guard."
H. Cowan, "Cowan's Civil War Diary," transcribed by Juanita Lewis, accessed
6/7/098 at http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/regiment/cavalry/01st/cowan.html. The diary, noted as volume 2, covers from
September 1862 through April of 1863.
The website notes that Cowan was from northernmost
[56] Line Officers of 17th
"What think you, man of pen and scissors, of our hardships and sufferings, including the rigors of a winter campaign and other poetical ideas, when I tell you that the line officers of our Regiment played a match game of base ball last Saturday. The contest was between the right and left wings for the purpose of ascertaining which party should pay the expenses of an oyster supper." The Left Wing won, 24-21, in a game evidently played by NY rules – nine players played nine innings and with 27 outs.
the 17th Maine Regiment,"
[57] Diarist in 8th
C. Paxson left
He very briefly refers to "playing ball four times: on March 16th 1863, September 16, 1863, September 22, 1863, and March 2, 1864. His most expansive entries were his first, "There was ball playing upon the west camp" [p. 113], and that for September 22, "Played leap frog. Played ball." He called the game "baseball" in the 1864 entry.
Paxson also referred to wicket: On April 30 he wrote "We were mustered. Cronin hurt in playing wicket by being run against." His entry for the next day was "The mail did not come. Cronin dies." Caution: It is unconfirmed that "playing wicket" in this case referred to ballplaying. It seems plausible that wicket was played in the 1850s-1860s in MN, but it hardly seems a mortally risky game, and it seems possible that "playing wicket" has a military meaning here. Input from readers on this issue is most welcome.
Source: Collections of the State Historical
Society of
[58] Sergeant from 15th MA Plays Round Ball with 34th NY
historian, Andrew Ford, writes 35 years later that "[during March and April
ball playing is frequently mentioned in the diary. The game played in those days was the
old-fashioned round ball. Practice games
inside the regiment occurred almost daily, and there were several great games
with the New York Thirty-Fourth. Our
boys were so successful that the captain of the
E. Ford, The Story of the Fifteenth Regiment,
[59] Soldier Under General Rosecrans Sees
Ballplaying in
L. Tabler's Civil War diary runs from January 1863 through May 1864. In March 1863 he was camped near
"1998 Transcription by William E. Henry of a Civil War Diary,"
http://www.51illinois.org/TablerDiaryRaw1863.pdf, accessed 6/8/09. PBall file: CW – 48.
[60] In VA Camp, "Base Ball was the Popular Amusement"
"On the 25th [of March 1863] all cartridges were taken up, and fresh ammunition issued. From this time till after the fist of April, 'base ball' was the popular amusement in camp, and a select nine from our regiment played many games and return games with the 32nd New York Regiment, the 27th winning a good share of the games. The sharp exercise put the men in good condition after the winter of idleness in their tents and cabins."
Fairchild, History of the 27th Regiment N. Y. Vols
[61] Vermonters Play Ball in
diary of Benjamin Franklin Hackett, of
of Benjamin Franklin Hackett, provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. An article based on the diary appears as Elna
Rae Zeilinger and Larry Schweikart, ""'They Also Serve . . .': The Diary of Benjamin Franklin Hackett, 12th
Vermont Volunteers, Vermont History, Volume 51, Number 2
[62] In 19th MA Camp, "Base Ball Fever Broke Out" in 1863
G. B. Adams of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment: "While in camp at
John G. B. Adams, Reminiscences of the Nineteenth
[63] Base Ball [and Wicket] Played by the 10th
April 1863 to May 1864, seven mentions of ballplaying – one of them a game of
wicket – appear in the account of the 10th
"Considering the momentous interests at stake and the dread record that was to be written for May, 1864, it seems not a little strange that the beautiful month was ushered in just as April went out, with baseball. While a game of ball and shell of terrible import was pending, these men of war, after all only boys of a larger growth, happily ignorant of the future, were hilariously applauding the lucky hits and the swift running of bases clear up to the day before the movement across the Rapidan. It was on [May] 3rd that Company I played Company G and won the game by twelve tallies, and with that day came orders to march in the morning at 4.00 a.m." [p. 253].
The wicket games also occurred at Brandy Station in April 1864;"With the advance of the season came all the indications of quickening life, and athletics became exceedingly prevalent, and one item among many was a game of wicket on [April] 13th, between a picked team in the 37th [MA] and one drawn from the Tenth, resulting in a victory of two tallies for our boys" [p.251]. In a rematch 10 days later, the 10th won again [p.252].
S. Roe, The Tenth Regiment
[64] Eventual National League Prexy Sticks with Cricket in War Camp
E. Young, later a president of the National League, was a cricketer from a town
in upstate
Baseball in Blue and Gray
[65] Soldier: "Our Camp is Alive with Ball-Players"
letters home written on April 6, and April 10, 1863 from
"On November 20th [1863] there was a baseball game between the Tenth and Thirty-Seventh, and the Thirty-Seventh won. [page 125]"
He wrote from Brandy Station VA in January 1864 to report on his recent reading, he added, "Sometimes we get up a game of ball, and now we have some apparatus for gymnastics, that occupies some of my time." [page 131"
W. Tyler, Memoir of Mason Whiting
In a diary extending from 1862 to 1864, Sgt. Franklin Horner referred to ballplaying only on April 11, April 13, and April 18, 1863. The entries are brief: the most informative is: "April 11 Saturday – Warm and pleasant . . . . no news from our armies all quiet in front the boys are enjoying themselves by playing ball the health of the men is good I am well."
of Franklin Horner, Company H, 12th PA reserves regiment volunteers. Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15,
2009. The file states, "The diaries, in
their original form, are part of the Curatorial Collection at the
[67 Chaplain Reports Many Games
of Ball in 16th
Frank Hall of the 16th New York Infantry mentioned games of ball 10
times in his journal and letters home. [Note: we need to ascertain the range of
actual dates; all seem to be for Feb. –April 1863.] All are passing references, like "Saturday,
they had another splendid game of ball."
The men played on February 11, 1863, and Hall notes that "Gen. Bartlett
came out . . . and played too & men
from nearly the whole Brigade entered into the game.
an April 11 1863 letter to his wife he describes the scene at camp. "I thought I would just write out the sheet
to try & give you a picture of
things a bit. I am sitting in the tent
by the table on one of the three legged stools which I fixed with straps the
other day. The day is delightful. The wind is pleasantly flapping the
tent. The
Frank Hall file, #BV-419-01, provided by Michael Aubrecht May 15, 2009. The 16th NY was drawn from northern counties, and included men from Plattsburg and Ogdensburg. The 16th was in northern VA in early 1863. PBall file CW-55.
[68] Sgt. in the 6th
Sgt. Sewell G. Gray, 23, wrote in his diary entry for April 10, 1863: ". . . inspected at 1 o'clock p.m. by Captain Totten. This ended the duties of the day. I participated in a huge game of ball in the afternoon that proved disastrous to my powers of locomotion as it so lamed me that I can hardly stand on my pegs. Weather fine." No other references to ballplaying are found.
of Captain Sewell Gray 1862 to 1863," page 12.
The 6th
[69] Massachusetts Private Notes Eight April Games of Ball [One was Wicket]
Berea M. Willsey kept a diary in 1862, 1863, and 1864, and noted ballplaying
succinctly 8 times, all in the month of April.
In April 1863 there are entries for April 9th, 14th,
18th, 20th, and 22nd. On the 14th, when hostilities
seemed near, he wrote "Eight days rations were given out to the different Regts
& all surplus baggage sent away.
Prepared myself as well as I could for the coming struggle & then
had a good game of ball." Willsey
mentions a match against the 35th NY on April 20th and
one against the 36th NY on April 22nd. The 10th was in a
In 1864 Willsey reports on a match game with the 2nd RI on April 26 and another against the 1st NJ on April 30. "We have never been beat, he says. On April 23, he records a "game of ball" that was wicket. "The dust has been flying in clouds all day, yet it did not prevent the game of Ball from being played. Our boys were opposed by the 37th Mass at a game of wicket making 337 tallies, while the 37th only made 200." In 1864 the Regiment was in the vicinity of Brandy Station VA.
H. DeMay, ed., The Civil War Diary of
[70] Men in 59th NY Play Ball, Run, Pitch Quarters, Etc
"Dear Wife . . . . The boys have had fine Sport this Spring, playing Ball pitching quarters and other Sports, it has been fine weather for some time and the ground dry and hard. Last Evening after Dress Parade I could not resist the temptation of joining with the men in there sports. After playing ball for some time I changed the sport by running a foot race with Lt. Murphy, which created a considerable fun after which the whole Redg. joined with the 127th Redg. in the same Sport, officers as well as men."
Letter from Ambrose F Cole to his wife, Jane Utley Cole, April 14, 1863. Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. Note: can we determine where the 59th was formed, and where it was in April 1863? PBall file: CW-58.
[71] 19th MA bests 7th MI, Wins Stake of $110
from James Decker to Francis Decker, April 1863. Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15,
2009. Other Decker letters suggest that
Decker may have been from the
[72] Weary Soldier Plays Ball a Little While
"April 26th 1863. "Another day has passed and I have made a full day in the pay rolls. I heartily wish they were finished for I am tired of them. After parade played ball for half an hour . . . I think we will certainly march in a day or two:
French, Diaries for 1862 and 1863.
Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. French was a sergeant in the 105th
NY. Note:
we need to re-examine the context for this reference; where was the 105th
in April, where was French from. The
regiment had some soldiers from
[73] Box Score Shows D Company Over H Company, 40-15
handsome account of the game's context, with the box score, is found in John W.
Kuhl, "The Game," Military Images, Volume 25, Number 3
[74] From Union Camp, Rebs are "Daily Seen Playing Ball"
New Haven Palladium said that "a
letter from an officer of the 27th Regiment . . . goes on to
say: from
[75] Herald Reports
[Presumably] NY/NJ Match in Army of the
Herald headline for an April 1863 article about Hooker's Army of the
Potomac promised "Fun and Sports in the Army: Base Ball Match –
from Hooker's Army,"
[76] New Jersey Eighth Trims New Jersey Fifth, 50 to15
"A match game at Base Ball occurred between selected nines of the Fifth and Eighth New Jersey Regiments on Tuesday last, resulted in favor of the Eighth by a score of 50 to 15. . . . On the second innings the Eighth Regiment made 14 runs."
Ball in the Army,"
[77] Championship Game for Army of the
April 1863, "the Third Corps and Sixth Corps baseball teams met near
History. The First National Bank of
[78] Twenty Sixth NJ 20, Second NY 12, in
"On Saturday the 11th inst., a match game of 'base ball' came off upon the drill ground of the 1st N. J. Brigade, in Virginia, between the players of the 2nd Regt., and the 26th, the former being the challengers. It was witnessed with much interest by most of the Brigade . . . . "A challenge from the 26th is expected soon, when the 2nd hope to carry off the palm."
Matters. Base Ball in the Army,"
[79] First
Spring 1863: "The boredom became unbearable s the winter wore on. Mud was everywhere, limiting outside activities . . . . By the end of February, they walker a mile for wood, and the distance increased each day. During the long days the men also played chess, checkers, cards, and, when weather permitted, baseball and other athletic pursuits."
Spring 1864: "The men played baseball and football as the weather moderated. 'The exercise will do more toward restoring health in the regiment than all the blue pills in the medical department,' noted Lucien Voorhees. Some men secured boxing gloves, and daily fights were all the rage.
M. Gottfried, Kearney's Own: The
History of the First New Jersey Brigade During the Civil War
[80] Correspondent Sees Playing Base Ball and Cricket As Common Pastimes
"The health of the entire Army remains good, and the men enjoy themselves by athletic exercises and other amusements between parades and drills, pitching quoits, playing base ball and cricket, and horse racing are their every day pastimes."
[sic?] in "Our Army Correspondence," [
We two Compnys do is to drill 1 and ½ hower in th mornig gon gard once in two
Weaks We play ball pitch quoits the rest of the time. We play the New York Gam most of the
time. Mass Game some We Changle other Regement and thay us the 25
Mass is the Best plays 46 next 44 next 51 Nex Battarys Next 5 R.I. Last some
exciting games to. Have a Greesy pole
Grees Pig all sorts of games you can think of Card Domonuse, &c. . . . But
How are the girls in M [
from Ora W.
[82] Diarist at
April 17, 1863 Quite a fine day. Boys all playing ball.
"Wednesday, April 22, 1863 Cool with some appearances of a storm. Played ball today and got somewhat tired."
S. Stuart and A. M. Jakeman, Jr., eds., John H. Stevens: Civil War Diary
[83] In 10th MA: Ballplaying Has "Become a Mania" in 1863 Camp, Wicket Also Played in 1864
"The parade ground has been a busy place for a week or so past, bal-playing having become a mania in camp. Officers and men forget, for a time, the differences in rank and indulge in the invigorating sport with a school-boy's ardor. [The account lists two recent inter-company games.] The game is the fashionable "New York Game," played by nine on a side, and nine innings making a game. An undecided game is now pending between the Tenth Massachusetts and Thirty-Sixth New York regiments."
Alpheris B. Parker, of the Tenth Massachusetts, on April 21, 1863, as cited [in
part] in Ward and Burns, Baseball
April 1864 the 10th was camped near Brandy Station VA. Ours [page 256] suddenly lists
ballplaying on seven days between April 13 and May 3. Wicket was played on April 13 [10th
vs, 37th] and April 23rd [10th vs 37th]. Base ball was played on April 18 [10th
vs. 2nd RI], April 26 [10thj vs, 2nd RI], April 28
[officers of 120th vs. officers of 37th]. April 30 [10th
vs. 1st NJ, and May 3 [Company I vs. Company I]. The next day they all left for the
Ours was accessed 6/14/09 at Google Books via "ours annals" search. PBall file: CW-71.
[84] 2nd NY Plays 9th NJ for $300.00
22d pleasant. On wood detail this
morning. This afternoon the 9 best base
ball players of the 2 New York Troy regiment play with the best 9 Jerseymen in
our brigade for 300.00. The
Emmell, Journal, April 22 1863. Provided
by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. It
would seem that Emmell was not familiar with base ball, or the game was played
by unusual rules. A NPS research note
places Emmell in the 7th NJ regiment, which may have been in the
same brigade as the 2nd MY and 9th NJ. Note: the men were about to fight at
[85] Bettors Beware: NJ Soldiers Upset 2nd NY, 34-11: Daily Inter-regimental Play is Reported
the Rappahannock, April 24, 1863: Sports
in Camp,"
Trenton State Gazette carried a brief account of this game on May 2,
1863. It reported the final score as
34-14, the stakes were $100 a side, and
noted that the 2nd NY was from
[86] High-Stakes Matches
thought we should have been half way to
Gaines, 7th NJ, to his sister from "Camp near
[87] Union Army Captain Sees Base Ball Good for Morale, and Health Too
Rochester Evening Express published a letter from a soldier dated March
31, 1863, saying the Union Troops near what is now Leeland Station in Stafford
were amusing themselves by running races and 'playing ball, the latter being
the favorite amusement or our correspondent.
'We played nearly all day
yesterday, our gallant Colonel looking on with as much pleasure as though he
had a hand in . . . .
Michael Zitz, "Soldiers Recount Stafford Baseball Games," carried on the Fredericksburg.com website, accessed 6/14/09. Google search "'of the veteran 13th.'"
a 2001 article, Allison Barash cites parts of this communiqué, and adds that
the writer was "Captain Patrick H. "True Blue" Sullivan of the 140th
New York Volunteers, who had played for Rochester's Lone Stars Club before the
war and was obviously hopelessly addicted to the game, [who] left many written
statements of Civil War ballgames." She
does note give a source for this passage or the other writings. Allison C. Barash, "Baseball in the Civil
War, The National Pastime
[88] Floridian: "Game of Ball . . . Has Become a Great Amusement Here"
"William D. Rogers closed a letter to his parents by confessing he was stopping to 'join the Boys in a game of Ball which has become a great amusement here.'"
S. Sheppard, "'By the Noble Daring of Her Sons; The Florida Brigade of the Army
of Tennessee,"
[89] 10th
"Occasionally they indulged in the amusing and time-honored game of base-ball, but not infrequently they were called from this pleasure, to some arduous and important duty."
Whitman and Charles True, Maine in the War for Union
[90] NJ Artillerymen Play Ball in
[On April 29, 1864] "It rained some during the day, regular April showers. The men amused themselves, jumping, wrestling, running three-legged races. One lot was playing ball. At night there was a drizzling rain."
Hanifen, History of Battery B, First
[91] Two NY Regiments Play "Grand Game on the Parade Ground" in VA
"During the winter the ground was occasionally covered with snow and battles with snow balls took place, different regiments challenging each other. When the weather was pleasant baseball became popular, and there were many excellent players on the Third Brigade. These games were watched by great crowds with intense interest. On April 18th, the 49th and 77th Regiments played a grand game on the parade ground."
D. Bidwell, History of the Forty-Ninth
[92] Future National League Prexy Learns Baseball in Army
I played barn ball, one old cat and two old cat in early boyhood days, Cricket
was my favorite game, and up to the time I enlisted in the army I never played
a regular game of base ball or the
E. Young, letter to Spalding, December 2, 1904.
Accessed at the
May 16th, 1863. "We have had a fine game of Town Ball which gave me good Exercise, and I was on the Side that beat." May 28th, 1863. "We have [jus]t had a fine game of Town Ball and I was on the Beating Side. Nothing can beat me and Sergeant. Jones. He is a first rate man."
from Corporal William Harden, Company G, 63rd Infantry Regiment,
Georgia Volunteers, to his wife, written from just east of
[94] Ballplaying on the Lines at the Siege of
civil war, however, arrested the development of the new game [base ball] for a
time. It was played during the war in camps all over the south. Regiments and
companies having their teams. Sergeant
Dryden, of an
"'We were throwing and catching the ball belonging to our company ne day,' he relates, 'when firing commenced afresh and the men dived into their holes. There was a big fellow named Holleran who, after we got to cover, wanted to go over and whip the 'Johnny Reb' who hd stolen our ball. The next morning during a lull in the firing, that 'Reb' yelled to us and in a minute the baseball came flying over the works, so we played a game on our next relief.'"
Evers and H. Fullerton, Touching Second:
The Science of Baseball
[95] Ballplaying Watched by "Great Crowds of Soldiers,"
and Some Play at Verge of
"Another favorite amusement in the corps was the game of base ball. There were many excellent players in the different regiments, and it was common for the ball-players of one regiment or brigade to challenge another regiment or brigade.' He added: 'These matches were watched by great crowds of soldiers with intense interest.'"
T. Stevens, Three Years in the Sixth Corps
[page 191] also reports that, awaiting the assault on
[96] Southern Soldier Notes Repeated Ballplaying, Including Game of Cat
on the
"May 26 . . . Quite pleasant this afternoon. Played a game of ball with my friends in the 40th Va. Reg." "May 27. . . . Relieved from guard this morning. Out in the field playing ball with a portion of the 40th Reg." "May 28. . . . Played ball." "May 30. . . . Played ball this evening for sport as I had nothing else to do. Bad news from home." "June 2. . . . Played ball this afternoon. No news in camp of any importance." "June 11 . . . . Played a game of ball called cat." Douglass returned the diary to its original owner in 1867.
Provided by Michael Aubrecht, May 15, 2009. The diary is also found online: Google web search: "douglass diary morrisville." Note: Douglass' unit appears to have stayed near the Stafford/Chancellorsville area in May and June. His diary entries continue through 1863 but have no additional ballplaying references. Accessed online 6/15/09. PBall file: CW-76.
"Roddie Shaw wrote that baseball fever also swept through his regiment, mentioned 'while I write the Regt. Is engaged in a game of town-ball one of our greatest sources of amusement.'"
S. Sheppard, "'By the Noble Daring of Her Sons; The Florida Brigade of the Army
of Tennessee,"
"A sergeant from the 62nd N.Y. Volunteers wrote to the New York Clipper sporting weekly on May 30 of 1863 to clarify the rules as he knew them: 'That in making a home run in a game of baseball the runner is allowed to run 2' either side of the bases without touching them. I claim that he is obligated to touch each base as he passes it; . . . To play now in N.Y. is to touch the base in all cases; so that the matter is settled, and the rules can now be interpreted correctly.'"
Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War
[99] In
match game of base ball was played near the banks of the
[100] 11th MA and 26th PA Play by Mass Game Rules for $50 a Side.
June a correspondent to the [
B. Kirsch, Base Ball in Blue Gray
[101] Union Men Celebrate Thanksgiving with "Grand Game of Townball"
the [Thanksgiving] holiday of 1863, twenty picked men from the brigade [2nd
Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac] and some of the members of the old
'Honey Run Club' from the
Millen, Passion to Pastime: Baseball
and the Civil War
[102] Rebel Soldier Plays "Fine Game of Town Ball"
Confederate soldier Corporal William Harding wrote while stationed in
Millen, Passion to Pastime: Baseball
and the Civil War
[103] Minnesotan's Diary Shows Ballplaying on Ten Days Over Ten Weeks[
Clason, of Company B in the 2nd Minnesota Volunteers, made 10
minimal references to ballplaying from January 29 to April 16, 1864. No more appear to the June end of the
record. A typical entry was "Had a fine
game of ball this afternoon" [March 17].
On January 29: "Spent today
playing ball, pitching anvils and everything to amuse myself." On April 5: "Had a fine game of ball and in the evening
went to the Boulten Minstrels performance.
Not very good entertainment." The
diary refers to "Ringgold" [and to peach trees in bloom in March] and it would
seem that Clason spent his winter in the area of
Diary of Isaac W. Clason, accessed online at ancestry.com by Google web search "clason diary." PBall file: CW-86.
[104] New Yorker Plays January Games of Ball
In a diary extending from January 1864 through January 1865, James Lormor of the 103rd New York Infantry made passing reference to having a "game of ball" on three dates from January 27 to February 6. The least laconic: "Saturday February 6 – Got up at five as usual went to work and fixed our tent The 89 and our boys had a game of ball Weather warm and pleasant" He mentions shelling Charleston and serving as picket at Pawnee Landing – was he on the Carolina coast east of Charleston SC?
Civil War Diary of James Cordin Lormor, 103rd New York Infantry, at civilwararchive.com, accessed 6/16/09 via Google web "stormo inlet" search. PBall file: CW-87.
[105] 10th Vermont Lieutenant Describes
Ballplaying in
In his diary for the year 1864, Lieutenant Lemuel Abbott [10th VT] includes six entries on ballplaying. One involved a challenge from the non-commissioned officers to the officers to play for an oyster dinner [January 29], and another in which his Company challenged the regiment to "play a game of ball for $50 [March 19]. One day he reports that "a game of ball came off this afternoon in which the commissioned offers won. Two more games are to be played Monday if a good day. [January 30]" All ballplaying entries appear between January 29 and April 29.
A. Abbott, Personal Recollections and Civil War Diary 1864
[106] "Base-Ball and Foot-Ball Were Favorite Amusements"
"[Horse] [r]aces were a favorite amusement of the men in this camp . . . . Foot-races among the men wre frequently indulged in, not for the purpose of developing any retreating qualities. These were always exciting, and usually afforded themes for discussion and conversation for one day at least. Base-ball and foot-ball were favorite amusements among the soldiers, and afforded recreation which was highly appreciated."
Geo. W. Bicknell, History of the Fifth Regiment
[107] Army Base-ball, the Light of Day, and the Southern Soul
A CSA Chaplain wrote: "At leisure hours I frequently engaged with the young men on my regiment in a game of base-ball, for exercise in part, but principally to effect what it was ever my purpose to do, viz., to draw men out from their tents into the light of day, where evil practices are discouraged or corrected.
A. C. Hopkins [Chaplain, 2nd Virginia Infantry], in "Appendix: Letters from Our Army Workers," J. W. Jones, Christ
in the Camp, or Religion in Lee's Army
[108] Officers in 30th MA Play Base Ball
"February 12, 1864. Officers played a game of base ball this afternoon."
Howe "Diary of Henry Warren Howe, February 1864," Passages from the Life of
Henry Warren Howe
game between the Eighth and the 114th Vermont Regiments near
Irvin Wiley, The Common Soldier in the Civil War
[110] At Winter Camp, Pleasant Days Saw Base-Ball or Wicket
"[T]he Thirty-Seventh provided liberal physical recreation. Nearly every pleasant day in the intervals between drills a game of base-ball or 'wicket' formed a center of attention for the unemployed members of the brigade; these games were becoming largely inter-regimental, a variety of 'teams' were organized throughout the brigade, some of which became very proficient. If a fall of snow prevented the regular pastime, it only furnished the opportunity for another, and many a battle of snow-balls was conducted. . . . "
L. Bowen, History of he Thirty-Seventh Regiment, Mass. Volunteers
The regiment was in a camp at Warren Station VA [near Petersburg], the 37th history [page 406] paints this early spring 1865 tableau: "As the warming weather of early succeeded the interminable storms of the severe winter, and the hoarse voice of the frog began to resound from the surrounding marshes, games of quoits and ball became possible on the color line and mingled with the good news of the collapsing of the rebellion in other directions." PBall file" CW-93.
"March 1 . . . I played wicket ball, pitched quarters and stayed with Smith." "March 2 . . . Helped get dinner, drilled, played ball, got some water to drink . . ."
Miller, "Diary of Alonzo Miller, March 1864," in Alonzo Miller, Diaries and
Letters, 1864-1865
[March 3] "Went on shore at 10 ½ o'clock this morning and played base ball for about 3 hours. At 3 p.m. practiced with revolver."
[March 10] "Went out in the afternoon and exercised my men in company drill. Played a game of ball."
Jones and E. Keuchel, eds., Civil War Marine: a Diary of the
[113] PA Soldier Records Ballplaying in NC
"Monday, March 7, 1864. Warm again as usual to day. Great and exciting game of Ball in which Chaplain Rowlings figures conspiculously."
War Diary of Charles Lepley, 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry," online at
www.civilwararchive.com as
accessed 6/19/09 via "charles lepley" Google Web search. Lepley's diary covers
the first nine months of 1864. His camp
was at
[114] NJ Regiment Takes on
28, 1864: "Supply train went to the station but did not get any soft
bread. The 2nd Regt boys and
a Massachusetts Battery had a game of base ball today. The 2nd Regt boys were the
winners." April 8, 1864: "Went to corps headquarters to see a base ball
match between the 2nd Regt and the 77th
of Stephen Gordon, provided by Michael Albrecht May 15, 2009. The 2nd NJ, 77th NY,
and 1st MA artillery were in the 6th corps of the Army of
cancelled April 8th 1864 game was also noted in the New York
Clipper of April 30, 1864. As noted
in Patricia Millen, From Pastime to Passion
[115] In
"7th [April, 1864]. Fine weather. Drilled. Great base ball game between ours and the 143rd Regiment."
of John Bodler, 149th
149th regiment's history also records this game. "The first days of spring [1864] weather
greeted the legions of the vast army gathered around Culpeper that March and
the men found a new activity to enjoy: baseball. Letters and diaries recorded the great fun
the game brought in camp. Men gathered after the evening meal to lay
the game for pleasure but soon there were games of competition between
companies. Samuel Foust admitted losing
a $20 bet when the team of the 149th lost to the 143rd
regiment [page 125]." The history also
refers to baseball games when the regiment was in
E. Matthews, The 149th
[116] NY Artilleryman Notes Two Inter-regimental Games
"[Illeg. Date ] April 1864. Base ball match between the 9th NYSM and 14th Regt. Score 9th Regt [illeg.] and 14th Regt 59 runs. . . ." [Illeg. Date] April 1864. Return match between 9th NTSM and 14th Regiment score 9th Regt [illeg.] and 14th Regt 33 runs"
of Henry C. Sabine of the 14th NY Infantry, provided by Michael
Aubrecht May 15, 1864. Sabine was near
Clipper ran box scores of these games, fixing the dates as April 20 and
25, 1864, and noting them as the regiments' first matches of the season. The scores were Ninth 36, Fourteenth 29 in
the first match, and Fourteenth 38, Ninth 33 in the second match. Facsimile supplied by Gregory Christiano,
June 15 2009. "Ball Play in the Army,"
[117] Players "Lamed Badly" at Ballplaying
baseball must have been vigorous. One
Yank noted after a contest in
Irvin Wiley, The Common Soldier in the Civil War
from Eugene B. Kelleran, 20th
[119] 14th
"We went back to our camp and stayed there all winter and until late April 1864. Only doing picket duty on the banks of the [Rapidan] River and playing base ball. During the winter, we fought a snow-ball battle with the Brigade of North Carolina and Virginia."
of W. P. Snakenberg,
"The boys are killing time in camp by playing ball, which is such good exercise that it will fit them for the fatiguing marches to be taken this summer. The Soldiers here are undoubtedly, at this time more lighthearted and like schoolboys than I ever saw them. Maj. Lash and Col. Badger often play ball with the men."
from Washington Ives, 4th FL regiment, April 14, April 17, May 3,
and May 7 1864, as noted in J. Sheppard, "'By the Noble Daring of Her Sons':
The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee," [FSU Dissertation, 2008), pages
291-292. Some of these letters, and
evidently another written by Archie Livingston on April 24, further describe a
series of games involving the 1st FL, the 3rd FL, the 4th
FL, the 6th FL, and the 7th FL regiments in this
period. The Sheppard thesis was accessed
6/20/09 on Google Scholar via "'noble daring' Sheppard" search. The regiments were camped at
[121] RI Soldier Cites ":A Game in Our Regt, Nine Innings a Side"
"We are enjoying our share of April showers . . . the soldiers prayer is that it may continue to rain until the 5th of June. When it is pleasant the boys are at their games of ball. Yesterday we had a game in our Regt 9 innings to a side. One side got 34 tallies the other 28. There was some fine playing. [4/15/1864]."
from Corporal Henry Blanchard, 2nd Rhode Island, as cited in an
auction lot accessed online June 20, 2009, by a Google Web search for "'lot 281
civil war' RI". Blanchard was at
[122] Waiting for
"Captain James Hall of the 24th Alabama Regiment observed his men playing [. . . ] 'just like school boys' while waiting for the advance of Union General Sherman."
Millen, From Pastime to Passion
[123] In
"A game between the 'first 9' of the 1st New Jersey and the 10th Massachusetts was also recorded in the New York Clipper as being played near Brandy Station [VA] on May 14, 1863 – the 1st New Jersey losing 15 to 13."
Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War
[124] 150th
"Orders to be in readiness to move were received every day . . . . From their very frequency the regiment soon came to regard these orders with serenity, and in the first days of June abandoned itself in unclaimed hours, to the pleasant pastime of cricket – a game very dear to Philadelphians– for which a complete outfit had been ordered some time before."
Thomas Chamberlin, History of the One Hudred and Fiftieth Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteers
[125] Match at
the Fourteenth Regiment returned to Brooklyn in June 1864 a comrade in arms
from the Thirteenth Regiment wrote to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle: 'Among
the returned heroes of our gallant Fourteenth are some well known ball players
who, while devoted to the use of more deadly weapons, have not forgotten the
use of bat and ball, as the many games played by them during their three years
service will prove.' He proposed an
'amalgamated match' between the two regiments to inaugurate a new ball ground
Millen, From Pastime to Passion
[126] Union POWs in SC Given "Plot of Ground Where They Could Play Ball"
"Vegetable and market wagons were allowed to visit them every morning; a pint of rice, a slice of bacon, and usually a small loaf of bread, with some salt, were allowed them as a daily ration; and a plot of ground where they could play ball and exercise themselves was set apart for their use."
E. Tremain, Two Days of War
[127] Southern Officers Play Ball in
the best documented instance of ballplaying in the Civil War occurred near
coverage of base ball at Johnson's Island is found in John R. Husman, "
[128] Ohioan in
"Tuesday [September] 27 [1864] pleasant weather, I was detailed for Camp guard the A.M. we had a game of ball this afternoon, I stood two tricks of guard only."
War Diary of Samuel Whitehead, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center MS
collection, Ac #4248. Accessed 6/21 on
Google Web search with "'samuel whitehead' diary" search. The diary covers about May through November
1864. In September the 100th
OH was at
[129] The Hothead Union Captain and the Foul Ball
"The prison guard, Captain] Hogendoble, struck by a foul ball from a prisoners' baseball game, approached the batter, drew his pistol, and threatened to 'blow their d-----d brains out.'"
[130] Union Prisoners in
new person being put in command of the inside [of the
J. M. McCulloch, 77th
escapee from
[131] NH Officers and Men Together on the Ball Field
"During some portions of the winter of 1864-'65, in fine weather, the officers and men of the Eleventh often indulged in a friendly game of ball together. As they were playing one day, some general officers passed them on horseback, and one of them was overheard to remark, 'That's a good regiment, for the men and officers play ball together.' Whoever that officer was, he never uttered truer words."
W. Cogswell, A History of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment
[132] NY Artilleryman Sees Ball Games, Maybe "Cricket or Wicket Ball"
January 2, 1865: "No work done. Boys playing ball. Captain says we might lay abed until sunrise hereafter." January 3, 1865: Not much going on. Boys playing cricket or wicket ball. A small mail."
War Diary of Henry M. Dryer, June 1864 through July 1865. Accessed 6/22/09 with Google Web search: "'henry m dryer.'" Dryer's 18th New York Artillery
[The Black Horse Artillery] was organized in
[133] Illinois Soldier Plays Wicket Near War's End
[134] Bay Stater to Wife: "We had a gay old time playing ball . . . send me five dollars"
"My dear wife, We were drawn up in line this afternoon and informed we would be discharged and sent to our Regiments in ten days. We had a gay old time playing ball. . . . You must send me five dollars without fail. I am almost distracted by the want of tobacco."
home from
[135] On Last Day of Service, PA Soldiers Play Ball
[Thursday May 4, 1865] "Not much to do in camp. Most of us playing ball."
Civil War Diary of Dr. William McKibbin, covering February to August 1865. Accessed via Genealogybank subscription 5/19/09. McKibbin wrote this entry in Carlyle PA. He mustered out of the service on the next day, and three days later "Ella and I married at 7:00 in the evening." PBall file: CW-118.
[136] Minnesotans Play Ball in
"Wednesday [May] 17 [1865]: Laid in camp. Boys playing ball. Weather fine and warm with breeze. David reported captured."
War Diary of William Johnston Dean, August 1862 – September 1865. This entry was written near
[137] Detachment Forms BB Club in
Reporter: The game of ball spoke of in
the Gazette on June 5th, as between the Model School B. B. Club
and the Veteran Corps, is a mistake. The
players belonged to the Old Detachment N. J. Vols., and are men detached from
different New Jersey Regiments in the field, and have been doing duty at
[138] Awaiting Release, Soldier in DC Plays and Watches Base Ball
"This afternoon I played 'base ball' for four hours a 1st baseman in a match game between the Officers of the 12th V.R.C. and the Officers of the 24th the game – after seven innings – standing in favor of the former club, the score being 53 to 23"
October 2, 1865, from
[139] General Supports Ballplaying by RI Unit
The regimental history of the First Rhode Island Artillery, covering 1861-1865, contains 13 references to ball-playing between August 1863 and January 1864. It also shows several other more general references to playing games, some of them pitting different regiments, starting in August 1861. A General Hayes is mentioned as watching several games, sometimes along with his wife.
The most detailed of the ballplaying entries occurred on January 25, 1864, in winter camp near Brandy Station VA: :On the 25th we had a fine game of ball in honor of General Hays, who had sent to Washington for balls and bats to enable us to play to good advantage. When the general and his wife came galloping into camp, with a number of officers and ladies, our captain went out to greet them and said: 'Ah! general, I suppose you would like to see the battery on drill.' The general quickly replied: 'No; I want to see them play ball, which they can do better than any men I ever saw.'" Few other entries are more than minimal references. A typical example is for August 21, 1863: "The 21st was another fine day. The men continued to engage in different sports, and there were ball games, jumping, putting the shot, and other amusements."
M. Aldrich, The History of Battery A:
First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery
[140] Union Prisoner Reported Shot While Playing
Ball in
"One after another, the men rapidly died off. On the 26th of September, some of the prisoners obtained permission to play ball. One of them, in chasing the ball, ventured within a few feet of the camp lines, when he was short by the guards, and nearly killed."
Death of Lieut. Matthew Hayes, New York Times, January 1864. Accessed 5/21/09 via genealogy
subscription. The story depicts health
conditions in
[141] New Bats and Balls Arrive, But 91st NY Loses Again
"Saturday, November 21, 1863. Fine and cool. The Base Ball match comes off and the 91st gets beat by two runs and the[y] come home jolly."
a telephone auction offering that has this description: "Fascinating personal journal was carried on
the person of 91st New York Volunteer Infantry Private Edwin Keay
during the Union Army campaign of 1863 through the bayous and battlefields of
[142] Trophy Ball Kept in 22nd MA Regiment
"657a Scarce Civil War era inscribed
an undated and unidentified auction catalog page accessed 6/26/09 at the
[143] NY Horseman Gets Banged Up Playing Ball
an auction listing: "Includes Civil
Diary of H. E. Randell of Co. L, 3rd Regiment of the New York Cavalry
. . . . The multi-page hand-written
diary gives a highly literate soldier's accounts of life in the field during
the Civil War. Randell's entry for
February 2, 1864 reads, in part, 'Played Base Ball nearly all day and
experienced a 'chapter' of accidents.
Got a severe blow with ball to the face, and a finger almost broken . .
. for it is a healthful sport and quite exciting.' Randell's reference to being struck by the
ball also corroborates the contention that the game, played between
an undated and unidentified auction catalog page accessed 6/26/09 at the
[144] New Yorkers Lose Their Only Ball, and Their Centerfielder
remember helping to organize for our own regiment as baseball nine which won
the championship of the read-guard, defeating some active nines from
"The baseball contests were, however, brought suddenly to a close through an unfortunate misunderstanding with the Rebels, upon whose considerateness in this matter of sports we had, it appeared, placed too much confidence. We found no really satisfactory ground for baseball within the lines of our fortifications and, after experimenting with a field just outside our earthworks, we concluded that risk of using a better field which was just outside the line of the pickets. It was, of course, entirely contrary not only to ordinary regulations but to special orders prohibiting any men from going through the picket lines. It was particularly absurd for men without arms to run any such risk. I do not now understand how the officers of the 176th, including the major commanding, could have permitted themselves to incur such a breach of discipline, but the thing was done and trouble resulted therefrom.
were winning a really beautiful game from the 13th
H. Putnam, Memories of My Youth 1844-1865
[145] Tenth MA Plays Inter-regimental Games of Base Ball and Wicket in VA
"[The 10th and?] the 2nd RI are to have a grand match of Base Ball to day. a few days ago they played a game of Wicket with the 37th and our boys beat them handsomely . . . .[Source letter not available on Google Books.]
"Our Regiment played another match game of Base Ball with the 2nd RI to day and beat them as usual. They played a second game of Wicket with the 37th last Saturday and beat them again worse than the first time.
"I was out with the Officers of our Regt and the 7th this morning playing Wicket when I got hit in the eye with the ball which has blacked it most beautifully. My eye is ornamented with a black spot as big as a silver dollar, if you can remember the size of one of those, I had almost forgotten it." The last two passages are from an April 26, 1864 letter home.
Harvey Brewster, When This Cruel War is Over: the Civil War Letters of
Charles Harvey Brewster
[146] Texas Ranger Plugs Waaay Too Hard
"And the game might become so rough as to necessitate precautionary steps. 'Frank Ezell was ruled out,' wrote a Texas Ranger in his diary, because 'he could throw harder and straighter than any man in the company. He came very neat knocking the stuffing out of three or four of the boys, and the boys swore they would not play with him.'"
Irvin Wiley, The Common Soldier in the Civil War
[147] 4th NY and 13th NY Play Base Ball in VA
Over five years after the fact, the Ball Players' Chronicle evidently dug up an old CW letter and published it:
Ball Reminiscences," The Ball Players' Chronicle, November 28,
1867. From the
[148] Base Ball Listed Among Sports in NH Regimental History
"There was, also, no lack of athletic sports, such as jumping, pitching quoits, wrestling, etc., with now and then, in the regiments favorably stationed in forts or on garrison duty, a game of base ball, although this game was not then, as now [1897], the craze of the day."
[149] CSA Prisoners Said to Learn Base Ball from "
Irwin, Collier's Weekly, May 8, 1909, as attributed in A. G. Spalding, America's
National Game
[150] Marylander Sees Officers Play Base Ball
wheelbarrow race and a contest to catch two greased pigs rounded out the
Christmas Day festivities for a soldier from
Millen, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War
[151] Drawing Shows 1st NJ Artillery Playing Ball Game on a Diamond
large drawing reposing in the Civil War file at the
[152] Zouave Pitcher Baffles Batters With "Weak, Puzzling" Delivery
"On Roanoke Island Hawkin's Zouaves formed two scrub teams. A young volunteer pitcher won for his side by a weak, puzzling delivery which baffled the batsmen. It was Alphonse Martin, first in line of great American pitchers."
G. Spalding, America's National Game


text:
What Is a Debate?
Basically, a debate is an argument with rules.
Debating rules will vary from one competition to another, and there are several formats for debates. Debates can involve single-member teams or teams that include several students.
Typically in a debate two teams are presented a resolution or topic that they will debate, and each team is given a set period of time to prepare an argument.
Students typically don't know their debate subjects ahead of time. The goal is to come up with a good argument in a short amount of time. Students are encouraged to read about current events and controversial issues to prepare for debates.
Sometimes school teams will encourage individual team members to choose special topics and focus on them. This can give a team special strengths in certain topics.
At a debate, one team will argue in favor (pro) and the other will argue in opposition (con). Sometimes each team member speaks, and sometimes the team selects one member to speak for the entire team.
A judge or a panel of judges will assign points based on the strength of the arguments and the professionalism of the teams. One team is usually declared the winner and that team will advance to a new round.
A typical debate includes:
- Students hear the topic and take positions (pro and con)
- Teams discuss their topics and come up with statements
- Teams deliver their statements and offer main points
- Students discuss the opposition's argument and come up with rebuttals
- Rebuttals delivered
- Closing statements made
Each of these sessions is timed. For instance, teams may have only 3 minutes to come up with their rebuttal.
Debate Facts
- By participating on a debate team, students learn the art of persuasion.
- Research has shown that participation in debates increases students' academic performance and increases their chances of earning a college degree.
- Urban debate teams are making a strong comeback.
- A school team will prepare to compete in local, regional, and national tournaments.
- Many colleges offer summer programs that teach debating skills.
- Students benefit from preparing for debates by honing their research skills.
- Students also benefit from the experience of speaking in public.
- Students can start a debate team in their own schools. If you are interested, you should do some research to find out how to start a club in your school.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Telly Star Tamsin Wows Finchley
More than 100 members of Finchley Progressive Synagogue (FPS) packed out the shul hall this weekend, for a special talk from TV star Tamsin Greig.
Tamsin, famous for hit TV comedies Friday Night Dinner and Episodes, delivered the 2011 Rose Segal Memorial Lecture on Sunday September 11. The talk took the form of a conversation with Russ Kane, Capital Radio's Flying Eye for 20 years and currently a presenter on BBC London Radio. Russ took Tamsin through her various roles on radio, television and the stage, starting with her part as Debbie Aldridge in BBC Radio 4's The Archers.
Tamsin's character, who first appeared in 1991, was brought back to the show after the controversial 'death' of Nigel Pargetter caused a downturn in listening figures. Her return to the programme was broadcast just hours before she took the stage at FPS. Tamsin, who is a devout Christian, discussed her strong bonds with the Jewish community and how she went about playing the roles of the mother of Anne Frank and the atypical Jewish mum in Friday Night Dinner.
Describing herself as "the only non-Jewish Jewish mother", the actress then delighted her audience with tales of the making of Episodes in which she starred alongside Matt Leblanc, famous as Joey from Friends.
She told at her amazement when intelligent and sophisticated people should question her about "making out" with Matt, especially since she is happily married to Rick Leaf with who she has three children. Tamsin also spoke of her critically acclaimed work outside of comedy, including winning an Olivier Award for her performance in Much Ado About Nothing.
The audience for the lecture – dedicated to the memory of former FPS president Rose Segal – included Liberal Judaism's chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich and Finchley's Rabbi Rebecca Qassim Birk. Maureen Lipman, Nicholas Hytner, Henry Goodman, Ronald Harwood and Janet Suzman have all spoken in previous years.
Sheila King Lassman, who organised the event, said: "Tamsin's warmth and humour, plus the food and wine after the talk, created a party atmosphere and ensured the success of a memorable event."
To see The Jewish Chronicle's report on this event, click here


text: The USF Infectious Disease Association (IDA) was established as a USF student organization in the spring of 1997 after several semesters of being an informal discussion group in the College of Public Health. All students are welcome to participate in association activities which in the past have included World Aids Day and flu-shot give-away. Meetings are generally held monthly and include guest lectures, group discussions, student presentations and organization business.


text:
404 File Not Found
Host by NetBox Version 2.8 Build 4128
Gift Wrap Available
Experience truly clean skin with Replenishing Foaming Cleanser. The perfect remedy for dry skin, this formula not only washes away impurities, it also hydrates, softens and soothes.
Embracing the meaning of natural beauty, Jurlique has pioneered pure, high performance skin care products since 1985. At the heart of each is a powerful blend of herbs and flowers, brought to life in impeccable formulas and delivered to your skin.
Especially Suited for: Dry skin
Essential Elements: Marshmallow intensely hydrates and softens, while violet and calendula soothe and rebalance skin sensitivities. Macadamia and avocado oils protect against moisture loss during the cleansing process.
For Best Effect: Shake before use. Gently lather a small amount of Replenishing Foaming Cleanser between moist hands and massage the soft foam over your face, avoiding the eye area. Rinse thoroughly.
Product Notes
|Unit Price
|Replenishing Foaming Cleanser
Please choose which cart you want to add the item.
By choosing one of the above, you are able to shop for both yourself and a registrant at the same time. Once you are ready to checkout your items will be waiting for you in both your personal and registry shopping carts.
Still need assistance?
Please contact us at (1-888-696-0423)
© 2005 - 2014, Quidsi, Inc. or its Affiliates. BeautyBar.com is operated by Quidsi Solutions LLC. Unless otherwise noted, products on BeautyBar.com are sold by Quidsi Retail LLC. Gift Cards and E-Gift Cards sold on BeautyBar.com are sold by Quidsi Gift Cards, Inc.


text:
Diversified trade is the need of the hour
Juan Carlos, 76, has been on the throne since 1975 and oversaw his country's transition from dictatorship to democracy.
Brazil and India are countries of immense cultural richness, that can learn much from each other, Carlos Duarte said.
He will sign an act of parliament clearing the way for Felipe, 46, to assume mostly ceremonial role in the first royal succession of the post-Franco era.
Resentment grew as king's elder daughter was formally named a suspect in an investigation into her husband's alleged business malpractices.
Slim suggested that the workforce could be spread over a full week, with employees working up to 10 or 11 hours a day.
The two countries have developed substantive cooperation in areas that not long ago were almost completely lacking in the bilateral sphere, such as defence.


text:
Erin Fairchild
Erin is the blogger behind Girl Gone Veggie, a blog that takes a balanced approach to healthy living. Professionally she is a Marketing and Sales Coordinator while personally she is a newlywed and lover of all furbabies. She recently moved with her husband from Pennsylvania to Omaha to start their happily ever after. She strives to eat clean and sweat daily while blogging about the journey along the way. She's constantly updating Twitter and Instagram with random musings and pictures of delicious food. Stop by and say hello!


text:
[I had actually drafted this post awhile ago, forgot about it, thought I'd accidentally deleted it, but later rediscovered it. In light of the recent TrueHoop article, I thought I'd give it a post.]
Is it wrong to like more than one team? I don't think so. I think it's ok to pull for a few teams. For me, obviously, my favorite team is the Spurs. But if the Spurs are not playing in the game I'm watching, or I miss the game due to location, I'll pick the lesser of the two evils. (League Pass, here I come!)
There are certainly a few teams that I absolutely refuse to root for - no exceptions. Well, now that I think about it there is actually just one. I had to drum up a few scenarios in my head (i.e. if 'Franchise X' were playing the Wizards, Clippers, Bucks or Timberwolves, I'd be a Bucks fan for a day!). I also need to figure out if the outcome of the game will affect the Spurs in both the Southwest and Western Conference standings. That will affect which team gets my support.
But let's get to the point. Which NBA franchise is your second favorite, and why? The Spurs are an option too! There can be any number of reasons. Are they your home team? Do they have an organization or a winning (or losing) tradition unlike any other team that you just cannot help but admire? Maybe your favorite player(s) growing up played for them? Or maybe they are the bitter rival of the team you despise the most (Yankees/Red Sox, Cubs/White Sox, Bears/Packers, Lakers/Celtics). Heck, maybe you just think they have a neat looking logo! The choice is yours, my friends. I've listed them alphabetically by division.


text:
Progress towards the European 2010 biodiversity target — indicator fact sheets
Published by
- EEA (European Environment Agency)
- Published: 07 Jul 2009
Do something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
Personal tools
Write to us
For the public:
For media and journalists:
Contact EEA staff
Contact the web team
Call usReception:
Phone: (+45) 33 36 71 00
Fax: (+45) 33 36 71 99
Skip to content. | Skip to navigation


text:
'Holidays' and 'homeless' don't go well together.
But Director Mac McLeod says the Minot Area Homeless Coalition is still functioning at capacity.
In an effort to continue the mission of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition, the Community Leadership Institute presented a trailer full of dry goods, gas cards and monetary donations from area businesses today.
The grand total is not yet complete but Megan Laudenschlager says it could be well over $5,000.
(Megan Laudenschlager, Community Leadership Institute) "To pull together for one common goal and to actually make an impact is a great achievement no matter what organization you're raising funds for."
(Sheila Johnson, Community Leadership Institute) "The perception in North Dakota is that there is no homeless here and I think that's a misnomer. Especially with everything that's been going on in our state."
The Community Leadership Institute is a nine week course hosted by the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Minot Area Homeless Coalition donation was one of the many projects the 23 students achieved this fall.
The course is designed to introduce people to what Minot has to offer in an effort to support community involvement.


text:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+
The Brentwood Library in Brentwood, TN is a very popular facility as it accomodates 1000 visitors each day.
Crockett Park in Brentwood, TN gives visitors a chance to listen to live music, bike on trails, and play indoor and outdoor sports.
Shopping in Brentwood, TN includes many boutiques, a mall, and many independent local stores and shops.
Brentwood, TN is home to a great arts and history community which includes, the WSM Towers, Primm Park, Town Centre Players, Brentwood Library, and Dyer Observatory.
Brentwood, TN offers a wide variety of local restaurants.
The parks of Brentwood do a lot in enhancing the quality of life for city residents.
Brentwood, TN, recreation option consist of the YMCA, D1 Sports Training, and The FiftyForward Martin Center.
Brentwood, TN, is full of outdoor activities including many parks.
The well-known barbecue and live music joint Judge Bean's in Brentwood, TN, is famous for its Texas barbecue dishes.
The Chill Spot in Brentwood, TN, is an Asian restaurant known for its wraps, sandwiches and bubble tea.
Dyer Observatory in Brentwood, TN gives visitors a chance to stargaze during observation nights and school tours.
Brentwood, TN has a top library for children.
The CoolSprings Galleria Mall in the Franklin, TN and Brentwood, TN area attracts shoppers from all over with its wide range of shops and restaurants.
There are many things to do in Brentwood, TN such as outdoor parks, nature centers, indoor sports, shopping, and more.
Soccer Leagues in Brentwood, TN have developed through indoor facilities and outdoor fields.
There are many golf courses in Brentwood, TN such as Brentwood Country Club, Nashville Golf & Athletic Club, The Governors Club, and more.
Arrington Vineyards gives guests a chance to taste wine, have a picnic, and listen to live music.
The Towne Center Theatre in Brentwood, TN is a state of the art facility that hosts local plays, meetings, and events.
Brentwood, TN bike trails are prevalent with a variety of parks and levels for bikers.
Brentwood's Diamond Antenna may not sparkle or shine, but it's certainly one of a kind.
Boiling Spring Academy in Brentwood, TN brings schoolhouse history from past to present.
Cal Turner Farm in Brentwood, TN is an iconic landmark in the town and offers a great Christmas display every year.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure takes place in Brentwood, TN and residents host other fundraisers throughout the year for breast cancer research.
Brentwood, TN businesses support local artists in the community by hosting art shows and displaying art around the city.
Brentwood, TN is known for it's active lifestyle which includes many parks, races, and expos that encourage healthy living.
Brentwood, located in scenic Williamson County, is considered one of the most desirable suburban locations in Tennessee. Home to one of Livability.com's Top 10 Libraries for Children, the city is also known for its strong business community and high standard of living. Residents enjoy quality schools, abundant recreational amenities, and easy access to all the sights and sounds of next-door Nashville.
© Copyright 2014 livability.com. All rights reserved.No portion of this website may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.


text:
By Michael Gioia
13 Mar 2014
Joining Sarnak at the 9:30 PM concert — which is being recorded as a live concept album — are Aaron Albert, Allison Case (Hair), Lilli Cooper (Threepenny Opera), Laura Dreyfuss (Once), Meghann Fahy (Next to Normal), Jason Gotay (Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark), Julia Mattison (Godspell), Grace McLean (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Marcus Paul James (Rent), Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot), Taylor Noble (A Lasting Impression), Preston Sadleir (Next to Normal) and Kacie Sheik (Hair), among others.
Mia Walker (assistant director of Pippin) directs The Years Between, which is produced by Jen Hoguet and 54 Below.
Click here for the Playbill Playlist, where Sarnak and members of the cast picked songs that define the Millennial Generation — individuals born between birth years from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.
54 Below is located at 254 W. 54 Street. For more information and tickets, visit 54Below.com.


text:
The most unusual news item today is that the Taliban has announced its support for mining the country. That is mining as in mineral extraction from the ground, not blowing up everybody. The Taliban says it will wait for all foreigners to leave the country before it fully supports mining. (more…)
Archive for August, 2011
Taliban to go Afghan Mining
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged afganistan, mining, Taliban on August 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Henderson Mine Tailings Impoundment
Posted in Tailings, tagged hendrsom mine, Tailings, USSD on August 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The field trip for the USSD conference on dam break analysis applied to tailings dams was to the Henderson Mine TSF. We owe a vote of thanks to the USSD and those who manage and operate the Henderson TSF for making it possible for us to visit the mine and the tailings impoundment. (more…)
Holiday Inn Bullshit and False Advertizing
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged holiday inn on August 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I stoop to swearing to write about the Holday Inn at 3333 Quebec Street in Denver Colorado. In summary they are guilty of false advertizing. My advice is to never stay here and probably avoid Holiday Inn nationwide if this one hotel is an example. (more…)
Tailings Dam Break Evaluation
Posted in Tailings, tagged dam break analysis, tailing, USSD on August 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Denver and the USSD Workshop on Dam Break Analysis Applied to Tailings Dams. In the past two days, we have heard many fine presentations on the evaluation of what happens when a tailings dam breaks, fails, or otherwise allows water and tailings to flow out. (more…)
Jack Layton and Canadian Mining
Posted in About the news, Oil sands, tagged canadian mining, juack layton, Syncrude on August 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The following blog posting at this link has nothing to do with mining—or has it? Today I heard an advert on the radio in which Syncrude, one of the big two oil sands companies, noted that they are the largest employer of aboriginal peoples in Canada. Syncrude has made many rich, but it has also provided work and opportunity for many who would otherwise be dirt poor. They do it out of commercial best interest, but still they do it.
On which a short note to pay tribute to Jack Layton who died today. I may not agree with his party's policies, but he was a great man and his passing is a true Canadian loss. We will never know what he may have done to benefit Canadian mining and the countries where Canadian companies mine. But I believe that he would have acted wisely and would have been a prudent man, upholding Canadian ethics. (more…)
Junior Mining Company Careers & Salaries
Posted in British Columbia, Investing & Finance, Jobs and Salaries, tagged career, CEO, COO, geologist, junior mining company, salary on August 23, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The folk in mining that I most admire are the people who run their own junior mining company. To start, persevere, and succeed as a Junior Mining Company executive or employee takes a ruggedness and individuality which few of us possess. You need nerves of steel to weather the ups and downs of the market, of skittish investors, and the vagaries of drilling to confirm an ore body. (more…)
Sierra Leone Diamond Mining as an Inspration for Tea Pary Politicians and Republican Presidential Hopefuls
Posted in About the news, Africa, Diamond, Investing & Finance, mining, tagged Alaska, artesianal mining, Diamond, Sarah Palin, sierra leone on August 21, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The news this week has been mainly bad: more crashing stock markets, more idiotic statements from Republican hopefuls, more countries seizing the mines of the country. The saddest part is that the only idea Republican hopefuls have about resuscitating mining in the US is to abolish the EPA and treat companies like individuals. (more…)
Unusual Careers in Oil Sands Mining
Posted in Jobs and Salaries, Oil sands, Tailings, tagged bear, career, deer, marine, Oil sands, Tailings on August 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The sign on the door of the trailer proclaims MARINE ENGINEERING. There is no ocean around Fort McMurray, I commented. I was soon informed that this is the headquarters of those who go out on the tailings impoundments on boats. Thus they are mariners. (more…)
US Mining employment up since 2008–Why mining is good for the economy and for a recovery
Posted in About the news, Jobs and Salaries, tagged career, economy, employment, jobs, mining, recession on August 17, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I have been busy at the job of mining. Instead of writing something original, I post as follows an email I received which give numbers to prove what I have previously written: mining is good for the US economy and more mining is essential if we are to pull out of current economic slumping. In brief, to get the economy going again, we need to mine and make more. It is as simple as that. (more…)
Young women in mining who will rule the future
Posted in British Columbia, consulting, People, Tailings, tagged environment, Libertarian, mine closure, mining, women on August 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today I had lunch with one of those people whom you just like. (The picture above is not of the person I had lunch with—it is just somebody climbing a hard rock.) No explanation for liking my lunch companion is necessary; you know you just like them. Conversation over a shared meal just flows, ideas are easily exchanged, stories told with no embellishment, and the doings of the mining industry deeply analyzed. (more…)


text: Finally, a whole round worth watching! Not just cheering for the lesser of two evils, all these fellas are playing well and we've got three likable teams with one bona fide villain. Plus we'll have the lottery! And we have an elimination game between one of those rare "I can't decide which one of these teams I want to win because they're so damn likable!" matchups to kick us off. Oh, and the last time an 8 seed made the Western Conference Finals? Never.


text:
FORREST, Ill -- Scott Saffer loves the working mind of a seventh grader.
"They like to get out and explore the world and they're brave enough to do it at this point," said Saffer.
In the classroom his roughly 160 students are always doing experiments.
"We did a chicken wing dissection and an eyeball dissection this year," said 7th grader Sage Osborn.
They say they learn so much more by doing rather than reading about things in a textbook.
Osborn adds, "We learned that the inside of an eyeball is a lot more juicier than I would expect it to be."
Saffer takes his students outside the classroom to explore the world, looking for frogs and fossils. He has even hosted several star gazing parties at night.
"When you see Jupiter for the first time, you see Saturn, you see the rings, it's gotta have a lasting impression on you," he said.
Saffer's fellow teachers know he is always trying to do more. He even goes to garage sales to find items for a new experiment, but they thought $1,000 can go farther.
Fellow teacher Karen Steidinger said, "He is very enthusiastic, always wants to teach the kids things and doesn't always have the budget to buy the things that he needs."
Saffer was caught off guard, and says he's overwhelmed with the possibilities for his grant money.
"I'd love to do some more field trips with them. Get them out to do some bird watching. This year we got a grant from the DNR to do some fossil hunting, but next year that would be great," said Saffer.


text:
6x6 Series
6x6 Series presents the work of emerging photographers dealing with important themes in innovative ways.
There are seven books in the series.
There are seven books in the series.
My Body, Your Body
featuring the work of
Whitney Bradshaw
Jen Davis
Robin Hann
Eliza Kostrzewa
Jason Lazarus
Maria Paschalidou
Kerry Skarbakka
|Home Life
featuring the work of
Tim Gallagher
Ben Gest
Christy Karpinski
Stephanie Land
Surendra Lawoti
Scott Nava
Corrie Witt
featuring the work of
Rachel Bank
Erick Dennis Rowe
Justin Schmitz
Matt Siber
Bryan Stieff
Brian Ulrich
Paul Yurkovich
featuring the work of
Heidi Beach
Susan Coolen
Christine DiThomas
Mary Farmilant
Heather Johnson
Jennifer Keats
Angela Watters
featuring the work of
Gideon Barnett
Jessica Bruah
Liz Cockrum
Jennifer Litterer
Colleen Plumb
Suzy Poling
Thomas Tukiendorf
|About Her
featuring the work of
Sarah K. Bierman
Cecil Mc Donald Jr.
Gabriela Duffy
Aron Gent
Sarah McKemie and
Terttu Uibopuu
Katie Toscano
Ashleigh Brickley
|About Him
featuring the work of
Johanna Wawro
Rick Smith
Jason Reblando
Lisa Lindvay
Lauren Swihart
Jack Edinger
Greg Stimac


text:
ATO casts loving eyes over cybercrime intercept powers
Hot on the heels of the passage of Australia's Cybercrime Amendment Bill – which expands Australia's interception regime in an effort to bring it into line with European practices – the Australian Taxation Office is reportedly looking for more interception powers as well. If this report in The Australian is accurate, it appears …
>the Australian Tax Office is reportedly looking for more interception powers as well
No time like the present to ask for it then. We have two major political parties that are committed to throwing any remaining Australian civil liberties under a bus just as quickly as they can - either to bring us into line with someone or the ever ready child porn defense. One of the supporters of these new powers, the opposition party, is even going to go to the election on a free speech platform - monitored free speech of course, but that has got to be better than nothing. Strangely enough, with all these demands for subjects to surrender information to the state including mandatory strip searches at international airports, the state itself is quite opaque and becoming more so.
Kiddy porn and terrorists are the most wonderful things to happen to governments. You can remove all sort of rights under the guise of protecting us from one or the other. Of course once we're "protected" other government branches can use said protections for their own benefit.
Most read
- Nokia: Read our Maps, Samsung – we're HERE for the Gear
- Ofcom will not probe lesbian lizard snog in new Dr Who series
- Kaspersky backpedals on 'done nothing wrong, nothing to fear' blather
- Too slow with that iPhone refresh, Apple: Android is GOBBLING up US mobile market
- Episode 9 BOFH: The current value of our IT ASSets? Minus eleventy-seven...


text:
Before Common Core, teaching the Metric System to 5th grade students was not part of the 5th grade math curriculum in Kansas. So, last year was the first year I taught the metric system to my students. That experience turned out to not be a pleasant one. I think several things came into play: First, I, as a citizen of the United States have not been exposed to the metric system a lot. That unfamiliarity leads to an uncomfortableness when trying to teach. Second, students get bogged down with the Customary Measurement System (making conversions in particular) that they try to make the metric system more difficult than what it really is.
Fast forward a year and it is time to teach metric system conversions to my students. This time, however, I am ready. For one thing, I, myself, am much more comfortable with the content. In addition, what I didn't realize is that I had been laying the groundwork for the concept all year long.
Let me explain. With the new Common Core standards there is a real emphasis in looking for patterns and to embrace more than one strategy to solve an equation or problem. Manipulating numbers so that one can us mental math is also a big idea. All year long we had been practicing these very skills. When I realized I could apply what I'd been teaching all year to metric conversions, my life and my student's lives got a whole lot easier.
Back in September, we spent a great deal of time looking at multiplication and division patterns when working with multiples of ten. I even created 2 different sets of materials--Zero Can Be Your Hero - Multiplication Patterns with Multiples of 10 and Zero Can Be Your Hero - Division Patterns with Multiples of 10 for practicing the skill. After introducing early in the year, I then made a conscious effort to point out those types of problems anytime they showed up anywhere. After a month or two, all I would have to say is 'it's a Zero the Hero' problem and my kids knew exactly how to apply the pattern to solve the problem mentally.
And, then I had a 'light-bulb' moment...making metric conversions is like a big ole' Zero the Hero problem...well kind of...I had to call upon another source of groundwork that had been laid earlier in the year...'the invisible decimal'.
When we worked on multiplying and dividing decimals...I once again referred to Zero the Hero. I told them that you can apply the multiple of 10 pattern but instead of adding or subtracting zeros, you move the decimal. So, what happens if you divide or multiply by a multiple of 10 and the number being dividend or the factors don't have a decimal? That, my friends, is where the 'invisible decimal' comes into play. I told my students that every number has a decimal point. Some you can see (1.24) and some you can't see (124). When a number doesn't appear to have a decimal, you must locate the 'invisible decimal' (124.0) Again, I referred to the 'invisible decimal' any time it was appropriate.
So, here is what my metric conversion lesson using these two groundwork pieces and the top part of my Metric Measure Conversion Mat sounded like in my classroom yesterday...
Example Problem - 5000 kilometers = how many meters
First we looked at the metric measures mat. I had pointed out that the center box is our starting point, anything to the left of that starting point is larger and increases by 10 times (a multiple of 10 number) in size with each box. Moving right does the opposite. Then I reminded students what we learned when making customary conversions...to go from a large to a small, multiply. From a small to a large, divide.
I had them identify the measurements in the problem by placing a 'red marker' (small counter) on the kilometer box and a 'black marker' (small counter) on the meter box. Next, identify the fact that we are going from large to small so we will multiply. To determine what we will multiply by, I had them 'hop' the 'red marker' to the 'black marker' and count those hops as they go. There were 3 hops, so I asked them "What is the third power of 10?" 1000. So, I wrote the problem will be 5,000 x 1000, pointed out it was a "Zero the Hero" problem and they had 5,000,000 in no time.
Then I suggested another way...this uses both Zero the Hero and the Invisible Decimal...they liked this even better. Here's how it works...
Look at the number we are converting and find the 'invisible decimal'. Once you've found it, make it visible (5000.) Now look at your metric measures mat and find kilometers and meters. Which direction will you hop to make the conversion? (To the right.) How many hops? (3) Hop the invisible decimal 3 hops to the right and insert zeros to fill the gaps as you go (a skill we practiced earlier in the year). Stop after 3 hops. What number did you get? (5,000,000).
Easy as that! Now remember, my kids understand why this works because we have been doing this all year long. I would not recommend just showing this strategy without your students having an understanding of the pattern or concept.
I'm not going to lie, some students picked it up right and others took longer. As with any new math concept the key is to practice the skill over and over. But oh my, how much smoother it went this year as opposed to last. This summer I will be designing a bundle of products that will help you lay the groundwork and teach metric measure using this strategy. Frankly, I can't wait to get started :)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Metric System--Laying the Groundwork
Posted by Mrs. B Best at 11:23 AM
2 comments :
I love this!! I have taught my students mental math about adding the zeros to the end, but haven't connected it to the metric system! Thanks for the light bulb moment!ReplyDelete
I would like to say that your post is wonderful. We can learn many things from it. You have done a good work. Thanks for posting. If you are interested in learning some serious fighting skills please visit our website.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )