Science Forums 2

[lemit]

About my new avatar:

It's my great grandfather's house in Missouri, which has probably fallen down or burned by now.

The picture, taken by my brother, could have been used by Ken Burns for his Civil War series. In fact, it was in the attic that I found my great great grandfather's Civil War uniform and put my four-year-old hands through the bullet holes.

I may have written this elsewhere, but since this is my thread, I'll repeat it here: My great great grandfather's unit was in the middle of the Hornet's Nest at Shiloh, where he was wounded. He therefore was probably one of those left on the field overnight, in the mud, watching by lightning as wild hogs devoured his comrades. His bad luck to have been shot--I believe it's called bravery by patriotic Americans--got him promoted when he was found.

As soon as he had gained enough strength, he escaped from the hospital and went home. When he was found there, he was demoted and spent the rest of the war in kitchens. Some twenty years later, in a drunken rage, he attacked his son, my great great uncle, with an axe. His son, my great great uncle, split his head open with a doubletree. Twenty years after that, the son shot and killed both his possibly unfaithful wife and himself. That ended my family's involvement in the Civil War, in 1909.

That's the only war story I know of from my own history, but I think it does maybe show that the Malthusian effects of war extend beyond the battlefield.

--lemit