This lady has been previously mentioned on this forum. In 1865, when asked if a certain individual (male) were handsome, she responded by saying in Washington she had not seen any remarkably handsome men. Who is she?

(05-07-2019 03:40 PM)GustD45 Wrote:  Isn't he the one that trained the Continental Soldiers at Valley Forge during the Revolution?

Absolutely.

(05-09-2019 05:56 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  This lady has been previously mentioned on this forum. In 1865, when asked if a certain individual (male) were handsome, she responded by saying in Washington she had not seen any remarkably handsome men. Who is she?

Anna Surratt.

Kudos, Susan! Anna Surratt it is. On April 28, 1865, Anna was being questioned by Colonel John A. Foster. She was asked if Lewis Powell were a handsome fellow. She responded, "I would not know - I have not seen any remarkably handsome men since I have been in Washington. I didn't like him."

Let's try this -- without help at first: What was a "Galvanized Yankee?" I expect Wild Bill to be the first with the correct answer...

Coated Yankees? (Principle of galvanization...) Pseudo-Yankees? Like Trojan horses? Or all that glitters is not gold?

(05-13-2019 08:57 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Coated Yankees? (Principle of galvanization...) Pseudo-Yankees? Like Trojan horses? Or all that glitters is not gold?

You are very close to the answer, Eva, but not quite. Maybe expand on your term "pseudo-Yankee?"

Southerners who took the loyalty oath?

"Galvanized Yankees" were former Confederate soldiers who switched sides and joined the Union army after becoming POWs. They were mostly sent to units out west to deal with Indians during the war, away from other Confederate units.

The term is also sometimes, confusingly, used for Union soldiers who joined the Confederate army while POWs. "Galvanized Confederates" might be a better term for them.

I should also point out there is a group of former Confederate soldiers who joined the Union army, where the term "Galvanized Yankees" is less used - Confederates, usually conscripts, who deserted their units and subsequently enlisted in Union regiments. Here's an article from 12 years ago about the fight over the grave marker over one such soldier:

https://web.archive.org/web/200807050335...staff.html

(05-14-2019 02:04 AM)Steve Wrote:  "Galvanized Yankees" were former Confederate soldiers who switched sides and joined the Union army after becoming POWs. They were mostly sent to units out west to deal with Indians during the war, away from other Confederate units.

The term is also sometimes, confusingly, used for Union soldiers who joined the Confederate army while POWs. "Galvanized Confederates" might be a better term for them.

I should also point out there is a group of former Confederate soldiers who joined the Union army, where the term "Galvanized Yankees" is less used - Confederates, usually conscripts, who deserted their units and subsequently enlisted in Union regiments. Here's an article from 12 years ago about the fight over the grave marker over one such soldier:

https://web.archive.org/web/200807050335...staff.html

Very good, Steve. This term applies only to Confederates who joined the U.S. military before the war was over or at the end. Many were recruited from Union prison camps and chose to take the offer rather than endure the hardships. Quite a few of these dated back to 1862, when the U.S. sent them to put down the Santee Sioux uprising that we have discussed here.

There was a verbal understanding that they could only be posted on frontiers and could only fight against Native Americans. They ended up being some of the best U.S. soldiers and most were cavalrymen who were especially useful on the Great Plains.

No former Confederate officer was to receive a commission in the U.S. Army, but some did. The best example is Gen. Joseph Wheeler of Alabama, who entered politics there after the war and became a brigadier general in the U.S. Army while fighting in the Philippine-American War at the turn of the century -- and yes, there was such a war that followed the Spanish-American War.

Here's an article on Wheeler if anybody is interested:

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2140

Which "Galvanized Yankee" famously met another person who was born in Blantyre, Scotland?

Sir Henry Morton Stanley?

mate, you're supposed to make it seem difficult.
Yes, ok. You've got it in one. Would you like to tell the others the background?

No, its ok ... you are probably busy and it isnt much of a prize if you have to cut and paste lots of info,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morton_Stanley

He had a very eventful life ... he found/met African explorer Livingstone 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' (who was born in Blantyre)
(from wikipedia ...
"Stanley reluctantly joined in the American Civil War, first enrolling in the Confederate States Army's 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and fighting in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. After being taken prisoner at Shiloh, he was recruited at Camp Douglas, Illinois, by its commander Colonel James A. Mulligan as a "Galvanized Yankee." He joined the Union Army on 4 June 1862 but was discharged 18 days later because of severe illness. After recovering, he served on several merchant ships before joining the US Navy in July 1864. He became a record keeper on board the USS Minnesota, which led him into freelance journalism. Stanley and a junior colleague jumped ship on 10 February 1865 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in search of greater adventures. Stanley was possibly the only man to serve in the Confederate Army, the Union Army, and the Union Navy."

(05-15-2019 06:03 AM)AussieMick Wrote:  mate, you're supposed to make it seem difficult.
Yes, ok. You've got it in one. Would you like to tell the others the background?

Generally I like to guess without research, but since I was clueless on this one, I thought a little research would be OK. I typed 'famous people born in Blantyre, Scotland' into Google, and this page came up as the first listing:

https://www.who2.com/famous-people-from/blantyre/

Once I saw Livingston's name the rest was simple. If you had not been nice enough to mention Blantyre, Scotland,....well, I would have never had a chance on this one.