The Civil War thing doesn't surprise me. Those then young ladies were "pension hunters" who would marry the old goats to get the pension benefits. As the legal widow they collected the pension for life. One got her claws into my Grandpa's great-Uncle which caused nearly a century of knockdown, drag-out fights. Uncle Charlie rode along with his neighbor to get revenge for the sacking of VMI during the War. They invaded Chambersburg, PA., told the residents they wouldn't harm the town if they put their valuables in the wagons. After things were loaded up, they set the town on fire and headed back to Virginia.
His old house collapsed in the late 1960's, about the time metal detectors got cheap. To this day you'll still spot people on that lot, going over the same ground hundreds of others have swept for 50 years. Happy hunting, that silver and gold went straight to Richmond after the raid.
One of my illustrious ancestors was teen militia man in the Revolution, one of "The Overmountain Men." British Major Patrick Ferguson started talking crap about them on his march into the Appalachian foothills where he met his end. A bunch of the militia fired a volley at him from nearly 200 yards with their long rifles. Ol' "Feather Hat Ferg" didn't stand a chance. That ancestor was also at Yorktown. When I was about 8 we stopped at Kings Mt. Battlefield, on the way to Florida. As was customary, we all pissed on Ferg's grave. I think park rangers keep a closer eye on it now, but I recommend it highly.
I'm fairly sure there is a photo of the ancestor in the State Archives. He and the handful of Revolutionary soldiers left were invited to see this thing that ran on rails called a "steam locomotive" in the 1850's They had a group pic taken beside of it. The city big-wigs asked him what he thought of it, He said, "Not a Helluva lot.", mounted his horse and rode the 20 miles back to the farm.
Topic: Rare Photos of Revolutionary Veterans Who Lived Long Enough to Have Their PIC's! (Read 4057 times)