Here is a guy only a mother could love. When I saw this image, I just wasn't sure what I was looking at. Is he stoned? Is he a nineteenth century Sid Vicious? I know bleached hair when I see it, and dyed hair as well--this guy is rocking both! Plus the eyes! EEEK!
Turns out I wasn't far from wrong. As long as he was playing with friends he did OK, but give him control and add some "enemies" real or imagined, and the bodies started to pile up. His reputation was terrible. He was even too much for Sherman. I will be writing about him in some depth for emergingcivilwar.com sometime this month, so check back for more info. Hey--It's October!! BOO!
On the Ellsworth front, a kinder, gentler place to be, I am looking for three days alone. The first chapter--well, OK, the second--is proving difficult to finish. The information about the Panic of 1837 is well done, and makes sense--huzzah! Now I have to graft the Erie Canal to the front of the chapter, setting the economic stage for Ellsworth to perform upon.
Prior to the" Canawl," the North was agricultural, and many of its farms were subsistence-based. The Canal made it possible for goods to be shipped from the midwest (which was referred to as "The West"--I keep reminding myself that things were different then) to the great port of New York. The differences wrought by the canal were astounding! The United States underwent an economic sea change, and it has never looked back.
Ellsworth was born and grew up on the banks of the Canal, although by the mid-1800s, railroads were becoming more important for both public transportation and freight. He is definitely a man of his age. Now it is up to me to get that message to readers. So, three days of just plain, uninterrupted writing would be a gift!
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