Our summer break continues but we have some GREAT stuff coming! Jenn is traveling to Normandy, France to attend the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
🤯
When she gets back, we’ll get back on our regular schedule.
In the meantime, we have posted some future content on Patreon…our community there will continue to get exclusive access to any videos and podcasts we make while we get caught up. We hope you can join us! (but don’t worry…a lot of the stuff we post there will eventually be public…but not everything 😉)
We hope you enjoy this podcast preview. 😁
In the meantime, we want to know your favorite episode of Talk with History and why…let us know and we’ll read the feedback when we return from break.
(it will help us know how to shape the show for the future)
You are the absolute best audience and followers ever…thank you!
😊
📧 contact: talkwithhistory@gmail.com
Transcript
109b A crack in the wall at Antietam
[00:00:00] Scott: Two years. Two long bloody years since the chaos at Bull Run. Private John Blake is uniformed now a faded reflection of its former glory crouched behind a crumbling stone wall at Antietam. The air vibrated with the relentless roar of musket fire. Unlike Bull Run, here the fight felt different. No clear lines, just a swirling vortex of death.
[00:00:35] John’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He missed the sight of Stonewall Jackson, the man who had become a symbol of Confederate defiance. Jackson, rumor had it, was delayed, capturing some damned federal outpost. John couldn’t help but feel a tremor of fear without Jackson’s stoic presence.
[00:00:51] Presence, the line felt brittle, easily shattered. Suddenly, a ragged cheer erupted from the Confederate right. John craned his neck, squinting through the smoke. There, amidst the carnage, stood Stonewall Jackson, his weathered face etched with a grim determination. A sense of relief washed over John. It was as if a dam had held and a surge of renewed confidence ran through the Confederate ranks.
[00:01:17] John watched, mesmerized, as Jackson surveyed the battlefield. He pointed, sparked orders, and within moments, Confederate reinforcements were streaming toward a particularly fierce Union assault. John could almost hear Jackson’s voice, a steady counterpoint to the symphony of destruction. It was a far cry from the booming rally cry of Bull Run, yet it had the same unwavering resolve.
[00:01:41] But Antietam was a different beast. The day bled into a horrific stalemate. John, his ears ringing, his body screaming in protest, loaded and fired until his limbs ached. Each time he glimpsed Stonewall Jackson directing troops with the same unwavering determination. A flicker of hope rekindled as the sun dipped down below the horizon, casting long shadows across the battlefield and littered with dead and dying.
[00:02:05] The Union attack finally faltered. John slumped against the stone wall, his body spent. He saw Stonewall Jackson on a nearby rise, surveying the carnage. The man looked older, wearier. Yet his eyes still held that same steely glint. John knew the battle wasn’t a decisive victory, but they had held. And that, in this bloody hell, felt like a triumph.
[00:02:27] As John drifted into an uneasy sleep, he thought of Stonewall Jackson as a symbol not just of defiance, but of resilience. A quality John desperately clung to in the face of an uncertain future.
[00:02:43] Back soon
[00:02:43] Scott: What you just heard is a teaser for our upcoming episode about our visit to the Lexington gravesite of Stonewall Jackson. Make sure you follow us on your podcast player of choice so you don’t miss it.
[00:02:58] Jen and I just finished moving from Virginia to Tennessee and all that activity is finally catching up with us. So I wanted to let our listeners know we will be on a short break, no more than a couple weeks. As we get settled in, unpack the myriad of boxes around our house and figure out the lay of the land in the greater Memphis area.
[00:03:16] And until then, we’re going to ask one thing of our regular listeners. There’s an email link in the show notes that we want you to click. So you can write to us, let us know your favorite episode of talk with history. And why just pick the very first episode that pops in your mind. It doesn’t matter what the reason we will collect those inputs and mention them when we come back from break.
[00:03:38] This is a great way for us to hear about what is working and why you are listeners like a particular episode. Don’t be afraid to be as honest as possible. We really do love hearing from you, and this is a great way for us to get your valuable feedback. Click that one link in the show notes. It should open an email to us.
[00:03:56] Write as short or as long a note as you like. It would mean a lot to us. Thank you, as always, for your support. We’ll talk to you soon.
[00:04:20]