The epic, never-to-be-forgotten history of Oyo

OYO Hotel in backwoods Virginia. Bring your own mints for the pillow.

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When we lived in Connecticut, I asked Mrs. B one night what she was planning for dinner.

“Oyo!”

That sounded great. Probably a Brazilian dish or maybe Mexican. I was famished and exhausted, having just completed a two- or three-hour workday and some daydreaming about a Springfield musket or a 100-pound artillery shell. So I started mulling what kind of wine I should have with this “oyo.”

My specialty.

A little cabernet? Maybe a petite syrah? We both like great food, and Mrs. B is an outstanding cook, much better than I am, although I did make her one of my renowned "happy face" breakfast specials one day.

So I finally ask her, "What's oyo?"

"On your own."

Oyo? Oh, no.

So on a recent Civil War adventure, this sign appeared in some godforsaken, backwoods Virginia town I refuse to name because it’s not polite. (Pssst: It’s Wytheville.) Wonder if you must supply your own mints for the pillows.

Oyo? Ho-ho. 😃

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Civil War-related animals (and parts) I've met on the road

I shared a special moment with Nibbles at the Cumberland Church (Va.) battlefield.

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It just occurred to me that I’ve sure met a lot of interesting people recently on my Civil War travels. Shoutout to Barbara, the docent/receptionist in the grist mill “Little Phil” Sheridan tried burn in Edinburg, Va., in ‘64. I’ve also met some interesting animals. So here's my first Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Civil War animal recap: 

Louie, the 325-pound boar, who eats “whatever he wants,” according to his owner, who once found a five-foot black snake next to his bed in the historic Cedar Creek (Va.) battlefield house he leases. Louie, whose gleaming tusks must impress his dentist, is such a boar.  

An unknown bat just hanging out in Harrisonburg, Va., at the Melrose Caverns, where I examined a bunch of Civil War soldier inscriptions on the walls. 

Finn The Groundhog Killer in Columbia, Tenn., site of an epic Confederate wedding attended by notorious ladies’ man Earl Van Dorn. Jason Whatley, the owner, is shown with Finn, who's probably contemplating another groundhog murder.

Cows named Nibbles (left) and No. 3 on the Cumberland Church, Va., battlefield. Cattle farmer Dirk Warner, who owns core Cumberland Church (Va.) battlefield, is a huge Nibbles fan. So the animal will never end up on your kitchen table. As for No. 3 ...  

Jake, who relishes walking the Antietam battlefield. He distrusts journalists.

An unnamed Amish horse somewhere in Virginia. 

A giant turkey (statue) in Rockingham County, Va.

Twin mules at Mule Day in Columbia, Tenn. I was thinking about the Civil War this day, so I'm counting the twins.

Redd (named for Redd Foxx of Sanford & Son fame), Addi and Rooney. Met their master, Myron the Mason, at the Stonewall Jackson's HQ in Winchester, Va. He was prepping for opening day (April Fool's Day).

Courtesy: Old York Road Historical Society, Jenkintown, Pa.

The left (or is it right?) hoof of Old Baldy, the favorite horse of “Old Snapping Turtle,” George Gordon Meade, the commander of the Army of the Potomac. The hoof and I had a “virtual” meeting via email. I also saw a lot of squirrel, skunk and possum parts on rural roads.

 Thanks for all you do, Civil War-related animals. Let’s keep history alive. 👊

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A walk at Andersonville, the Civil War's deadliest ground

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On a gray, gloomy morning in Andersonville, Ga., I walked the grounds of the notorious prison camp where nearly 13,000 Union soldiers died from February 1864-April 1865. “Words cannot describe the horrors,” said 16th Connecticut Private Wallace Woodford of Andersonville, also known as Camp Sumter. Emaciated and beyond help, Woodford died at home in Farmington, Conn. When we lived in Connecticut, I often visited his grave in a cemetery across the road from our house. Dozens of Woodford’s 16th Connecticut comrades were buried in the national cemetery near the camp.

"This," park guide Teri Surber said as we walked in the camp, "is the deadliest ground of the Civil War."

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Antietam: 8th Connecticut monument

8th Connecticut monument at Antietam in early February. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

When the sun is shining and the sky is deep blue, Antietam can be a photographer's dream. One of my favorite spots is the 8th Connecticut monument, near where Lieutenant Marvin Wait and Private Oliver Case, both from Connecticut, lost their lives. My favorite spot is the William Roulette farm, especially early in the morning, when there are few visitors to the battlefield. I've often been the only person walking the field bordering Bloody Lane, a very eerie feeling on a foggy morning.

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FACES OF THE CIVIL WAR: Stories and photos of common soldiers who served during the war.
16TH CONNECTICUT SOLDIERS: Tales of the men in the hard-luck regiment.
MORE ON ANTIETAM: Read my extensive thread on the battle and the men who fought in it
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Antietam: Connecticut captain's gravestone still in disrepair

 14th Connecticut captain Jarvis Blinn's gravestone remains in the same state of disrepair today ...

...as it was when I visited Center Cemetery in Rocky Hill, Conn., in September.

Jarvin Blinn's repaired gravestone in November 2011.  Blinn was 
killed at Antietam.  (Blinn photo: Rocky Hill Historical Society)

On Sept. 12, 2012, five days before the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, I visited the grave of Captain Jarvis Blinn of the 14th Connecticut at Center Cemetery in Rocky Hill, Conn. Sadly, the gravestone of the 26-year-old soldier who was killed at Antietam was broken, the top 3/4 of the stone resting in the grass behind the base. On the way to a research appointment this afternoon, I paid another visit to Blinn's grave, trudging through a foot of snow that still remains from a recent blizzard. Five months later, the gravestone remains in the same state of disrepair. Blinn's death shattered his two children and his wife, Alice. "His wife is heart-broken," Augusta Griswold wrote to her fiance, John Morris, a chaplain in the 8th Connecticut. "Their attachment to each other was unbounded -- he was all to her. Such a sad, hopeless, despairing countenance I never saw." (1) I'll investigate what the cemetery plans to do, if anything, to repair the gravestone.

(1) Letter from Augusta Griswold to John Morris, Oct. 19, 1862

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LIKE THIS BLOG ON FACEBOOK!  It will improve your hand-eye coordination.
FACES OF THE CIVIL WAR: Stories and photos of common soldiers who served during the war.
16TH CONNECTICUT SOLDIERS: Tales of the men in the hard-luck regiment.
MORE ON ANTIETAM: Read my extensive thread on the battle and the men who fought in it