A Stodghill Says So blog:

I don't qualify as a Civil War buff or even someone truly knowledgable on the subject, yet like so many others I have visited a number of battlefields from that war and enjoy hearing about them.
From the time I was a young boy, one thing about that war has puzzled me. How is it that you could enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then set out by car and well before lunch have visited the boyhood homes of three men who played prominent roles in that war and what followed in the Old West? You can do this in a small area of East Central Ohio.
None of these were jovial men or even sociable men by normal standards. Two were poor students at Wes Point and ranked near the bottom of their respective classes. Yet fame awaited.
The first was William Tecumseh Sherman of Lancaster. Unlike the other two, he was a brlliant student. Not as concerned about military customs and protocol as he might have been, however.
Just over thirty miles to the northeast was the home of Phillip Sheridan in Somerset. Like numerous short men, he carried a big chip on his shoulder.
Drive on and you come to a wide spot in the road called New Rumley, at one time the home of an impetuous and impatient young man named George Armstrong Custer. Like Sheridan, he wasn't overly fond of books.
Sherman, an outstanding general, is best remembered for his march through Georgia and the Carolinas. He left a lot of smoke and ashes in his wake, as did Sheridan in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. With Custer leading the way, his cavalry was hot on Robert E. Lee's heels and both he and Sheridan were present when Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
Then all three moved westward. Sherman was in overall command during the Indian Wars but it was Sheridan, closer to the action and a man of many prejudices, who said, "I never saw a good Injun who wasn't dead." This was quickly transformed by others into, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian."
Then there was the man who couldn't wait on others, Custer. With the entire 8th Infantry Regiment close enough to hear the gunfire, he went charging into oblivion at the Little Big Horn.
So was it something in the air of East Central Ohio that made them the way they were? Slash, burn, destroy, throw caution to the wind, that was the way they lived and in one case died. Whatever it was, it made for some interesting stories in the history books.

Interesting connections, Dick. And interesting personalities, too. In this group, I would put your Cousin Phil at the top of the list.

Ann

Those were bad times for our country. I hold a certain fascination for the Civil War, but there is not much glory in it, only sadness.

Carol

Is this the Custer of Custer's last stand?

Yes, at the Little Big Horn.

Custer's Last Stand was about our last stand.

We were on our way to Michigan in Mother in-law's 88 Oldsmobile and it was hot. 2007 was the year.

I wanted to get a dvd of Custer. I was driving and we were at the entrance to the visitor center.

Dave asked, 'Is the air conditioning working ?"

"Probably not, the car feels like it is on fire." I answered.

He looked out the window , so did I. We both saw a puff of smoke.

"It is on fire," ' he exclaimed.

Fortunately it was not on fire our conditioning had just gone away.

We boiled down the road and couldn't meet Carol and Tom as we had planned.