Found a chest years ago in my grandma's garage, filled with junk. No one else wanted it. I persuaded Dad to help me strip its paint away to the original finish; it now sits in our dining room.
While cleaning it out, I found two patches of fabric -- one gray, one blue -- and a note that attributed them to cousins' Civil War uniforms. One Confederate, the other Union!
My ancestors weren't the only ones to hold sympathizers from both sides, by any means.
Just ran across this in Ghosts of Williamsburg Vol. II by L.B. Taylor, Jr. He mentions the Battle of Malvern Hill, a Civil War event, and a reference from Nannette Morrison in her book, Warrior Poets and Warrior Saints:
"During the fighting a Union sergeant named Driscoll shot a Confederate officer. He later went to see if the man was dead. As the sergeant turned him over, the young man said, 'Father?' He then closed his eyes. He was dead. Driscoll had killed his own son, who had moved to the south before the Civil War started! Minutes later the sergeant's unit was ordered to charge. He was mortally wounded. Both father and son were buried in a single grave on the battlefield, marked only with a rough cross."
Happy Independence Day...
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