Confederate Desertion Desertion was a tremendous problem for the Confederate army. At General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia in April 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia was as much as 1/3 below its official strength due to desertion.   Confederate newspapers howled for strict and harsh punishments for deserters until late 1863. July 3rd, 1863 saw Lee's defeat at Gettysburg and July 4th, 1863 General Grant conquered Vicksburg, closing the entire Mississippi River to the Confederacy as well as cutting it in half. Sober military men from general to private could see the Confederacy was doomed. The question of who wants to be the last man to die for a real “lost cause” arose. Who wanted to die so draft exempt rich slave owners could continue to be rich slave owners. At first, desertion was often a matter of obtaining leave and then not returning. By late 1864, large areas of the Confederacy not under Union control were actually controlled by organized bands of de...

  Fiat Lux! Camphene & Burning Fluid for Sale There is darkness behind light. We take it for granted—lighting is cheap, easy, and quick. It was not always so. In a survey carried out by a newsmagazine in the late 1850s, people were asked to list the most important and useful things invented in the previous two decades.   At the top of the list: matches .  Matches made starting light so much easier and faster.   They were referred to at the time as "lucifers" from the devil angel's name which means in Latin "bringer of light."  Now, with lucifers, there was no more careful tending of a fire not to go out, or the difficult journey to a neighbor’s farm for a bit of fire to carefully take home.   Candles, lamps, and cigars could now be lighted anywhere. Matches were so cheap they were available to all levels of society. Originally made from phosphorus, matches could burst into flame with the slightest friction—in a pocket, scuffed on the floor, or simp...