How Weather Effected The Civl War

[Craig Hipkins]

I can remember reading the following account back in 2006 when I was researching the 6th New Hampshire Regiment. It is taken from Lyman Jackman's History of the 6th New Hampshire published back in 1891. The regiment was marching toward Manassas Junction on August 25th when they encountered:
A fearful thunderstorm. We halted for the shower to pass over, with the ambulances and the baggage and ammunition wagons all around us. The drivers as usual, were sitting on the mules. Just as the rain began to hold up a little, there came a fearful flash of lightning, striking a negro who drove an ammunition wagon and knocking him and his mules all in a heap. The mules soon got upon their feet,shook themselves, and were all right again, but not so was it with the colored driver: he was found stone dead. Ever after that it was a saying with the boys, that "lightning could not kill a mule, for they had seen it tried."
A few days later, a third of the troops who witnessed that deadly bolt of lightning were killed at 2nd Manassas including my Grand uncle Cyrus Clapp.

Craig