May « 2009 « History Rhymes

14May/092

Remains of Civil War Solider Found

The remains of a Civil War Union Solider were found in Franklin, Tennessee by work crews digging a sewer line. Here is the full article:

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Construction crews digging a sewer line made a historic discovery in Franklin on Thursday.

While digging near a Burger King restaurant at the corner of Columbia Pike and Southeast Parkway, the body of a Civil War Union soldier was uncovered.

The remains of the soldier were found scattered in a 2-foot grave.

Curators and historians from the Carter House and Lotz House arrived at the location to analyze the body. Bones and well-preserved buttons were recovered from the site.

State archaeologists will take the remains to a lab and then have them reburied.

An estimated 2,000 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Franklin, which took place in November 1864.

The original article.

Tagged as: Soldier, Union 2 Comments

12May/092

Biography on Jesse and Frank James

This is a very interesting show done on the James brothers, Jesse and Frank. You can either view it on Hulu or view it here:

7May/092

Wyoming Territorial Prison

Well, the internship that I was going to start at the Wyoming Territorial Prison Museum fell through unfortunately, but I am going to write about it anyway.

Wyoming Territorial Prison in the 19th century

Located in Laramie, Wyoming, the Wyoming Territorial Prison was the result of the need for a penitentiary for convicted felons after Wyoming became a territory of the United States. Legislation for the creation of a prison in Laramie, Wyoming was approved in 1869. With federal funding, the prison was opened two years later in 1871 with a total of 42 cells. When Wyoming became a state in 1890, the prison officially became the Wyoming State Penitentiary. During the facility's 30 year run as a prison, it held notorious prisoners such as Butch Cassidy and Dan Parker. In 1892, a broom factory was built within the stockades of the prison in which prisoners would make brooms.

In 1903, prisoners were transferred to the new prison in Rawlins, Wyoming. At this point, the University of Wyoming, also located in Laramie, began using the old facility as an experimental stock farm. It was not until 1989 that restoration began and the prison was converted into a museum which opened to the public in 1991.

For more information about the Prison Museum, visit their website.

Tagged as: American West, Butch Cassidy, Prison, Wild West, Wyoming 2 Comments

5May/092

Reinhard Gehlen – Conclusion

Reinhard Gehlen in 1945

I have finally finished up my paper on Reinhard Gehlen. The final version was due today and it is a great relief to have it finished. I wrote up a brief summary of how the Gehlen Organization came to be on my German blog, but I will write a rough translation of it here.

Gehlen was a very interesting man. During the Nazi-period in Germany he was the head of the General Staff division, Fremde Heere Ost (Foreign Armies East). The division dealt with the condition of the soviet military. Just before the end of the war he foresaw that German was going to lose and thus decided to hide the information collected by his division in Bavaria. He wanted to give all of the information to the Americans so the Americans could be more prepared to fight against the Soviet Union in the upcoming battle of ideologies he saw coming.

After the war, he was taken prisoner by the Americans which is when he began to work for the Americans. In 1946, the Gehlen Organization was founded by the American Army and Gehlen. Gehlen worked with his colleagues from the Fremde Heeren Ost for the Americans until 1956. The Gehlen Organization was taken over by the new West German government in 1956 and the Bundesnachrichtendienst(Federal Intelligence Service) was born.

Tagged as: Reinhard Gehlen 2 Comments

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