Bugle Briefs...

BORA collects, delivers 450 pairs of socks
to Salvation Army for area distribution

The Battle of Richmond Association (BORA) collected and delivered more than 450 pairs of socks for the Salvation Army during December.

Collected within three weeks, the socks were distributed to those in the Army’s Richmond shelter, in children’s Christmas stockings and to anyone else in need, particularly individuals in emergency situations.

BORA also forwarded more than 500 Christmas cards and several dozen new DVDs to U.S. military personnel serving overseas.

Dyer named honorary member of heritage council

Susan Dyer, president of the Friends of the Holt House in Hardinsburg, has been named an honorary member of the Kentucky Heritage Council and State Preservation Office.

The author of “Lincoln's Advocate, the Life of Judge Joseph Holt,” has been a major influence in the restoration of the Breckinridge County home of the first U.S. Judge Advocate General. She received the honor from Craig Potts, executive director of the council, at the Sixth Annual Holt Home Community Day on Sept. 27.



Ramer named president of VisitLEX organization

Mary Quinn Ramer, vice president of marketing for VisitLEX, was named president of the Lexington-Fayette County Tourist and Convention Commission Dec. 17.

A member of the organization since 2007, the Danville native will be responsible for the overall management of VisitLEX and its efforts to promote Lexington and the Bluegrass Region to local, state, national and international audiences. VisitLEX also promotes Civil War sites and activities as part of its program.

Ramer is a Centre College alumna.

UK professor featured in Civil War documentary

Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor, associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky, is featured in a five-part public television documentary that has made the rounds of national public TV.

Taylor offers commentary throughout “Civil War: The Untold Story,” a presentation by Great Divide Pictures that examines the Civil War through the lens of the Western Campaign. She also served as a historical consultant for the feature that initiated viewing at major public broadcasting stations last spring.

The UK professor has researched and written extensively about the Civil War and its effects on families.

Bid accepted for Battle of Richmond renovation

A bid of $489,500 for the renovation of the Pleasant View House at Richmond’s Battlefield Park has been accepted by Madison County fiscal court.

The bid from Mitchell Construction company was some $15,000 more than the grant-funded project’s budget, but was approved by a 4-1 vote at a specially called meeting. Ninety percent of the work will be for such utility renovations as electricity, plumbing, heating and cooling. When work begins, the project is expected to be completed in 180 days.

The two-story structure was built in approximately 1825 as a family residence and was temporarily vacated when the Battle of Richmond took place Aug. 29-30, 1862. The Battle of Richmond Association (BORA) has used the home since 2001 to house events and activities associated with its living history and battle re-enactment programs.

Work underway at Lincoln Knob Creek Farm

The National Park Service has begun restoration and improvements at Knob Creek, the boyhood home of President Abraham Lincoln near Hodgenville.

The Knob Creek Farm where the Lincoln family lived from 1811-16 is part of Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park.

About those Civil War color photos…

Reddit is an entertainment, social networking service and news website that, among other things, has used photo manipulation to add color to historical black-and-white images.

The Civil War photos of the staff of Brig. Gen. Andrew Porter and the one of Gen. Robert E. Lee are examples of the service’s expertise. It has taken a number of War Between the States photos from the Library of Congress and turned them into realistic color images.

Photography was non-existent until the 1820s and color images weren’t readily available until the 1930s.

And, a bit of Confederate trivia…

• Nine-year old Woodrow Wilson saw the captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis as he was brought through Augusta, Ga., on the way to Fort Monroe.

• As Secretary of War for the United States from 1853-1857, Jefferson Davis strengthened the United States Army by increasing its size and by adopting the rifled musket.

• George Armstrong Custer was promoted to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers at age 23, making him the youngest officer to obtain this rank during the Civil War.

• At the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run), it is estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 bullets were fired for every man killed.

• Robert E. Lee’s father, Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, wrote the famous Washington eulogy: “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”