Sunday, August 28, 2011

Civil War Sunday - Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and the Civil War

I was going to write about something totally different - but I am putting this up yesterday (Saturday) as by tomorrow we will be in the "fringe" areas of Irene and perhaps without power.  And my sister in law (and faithful reader of my blog) who evacuated from the NYC suburbs will be visiting our house in the Binghamton, NY area shortly.  So, this will have to be short in between getting ready for her visit.

I got to wondering, did any hurricanes affect military activities during the Civil War?  And the answer, of course, is "yes".

This National Geographic article talks about the "hurricanes of history" including a hurricane that disrupted Civil War naval operations in November of 1861.  As all those who follow the weather know, November is pretty late for a hurricane.

And, back to the present, a 150th anniversary Civil War event on Hatteras Island in North Carolina has been postponed to October - when a hurricane will be unlikely.

Unless the same thing happens that happened in 1861.....just showing how we are still just as much at the mercy of the weather as we were during the Civil War.

And not only that, what about earthquakes?  We had one earlier this week, with an epicenter in Virginia. Were there any during the Civil War?  Yes, and apparently it was centered in Virginia, too.  (this same site gives more information regarding hurricanes during the Civil War.)

What a difference (or not) 150 years makes.

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