Tag Archives: Almira Russell Hancock

On The Eve Of War: Los Angeles, California

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Sarah Kay Bierle

On April 24, 1861, a Pony Express Rider carried the news into San Francisco, California: Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina had been fired upon. The account was not unexpected and released a flurry of activity along the coast … Continue reading →

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Generals in the Garden?

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Sarah Kay Bierle

The first day of spring was March 20, and signs of spring are definitely starting in Virginia. As I’ve been watching my little window-box plants sprout, I remembered some stories about Civil War generals who liked to garden. I’m sure … Continue reading →

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Hancock’s Response To The 1880 Election Results

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

As I’m writing this on the evening to November 4 to be published in the morning of the 5th, the modern presidential election remains undecided. I’ve spent the day keeping an eye on projections and results until my head was … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership--Federal, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

“To Defy The Predictions Of The Universe”: A Wedding Goes Crazy, The Love Story Goes Well

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

It’s February 14 and Valentine’s Day… So that means I get to bless (or torture) you with a blog post about a historic love story. Now, did you know that February 14 also happens to be a Union general’s birthday? … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilian, Leadership--Federal, Primary Sources | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Historic Pianos and Music – Postscript

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Sarah Kay Bierle

There’s one more story about music and a piano in Mrs. Hancock’s book. It’s not quite clear when this event took place, but since she references President Pierce, it probably happened in Missouri when Winfield Hancock was still a captain. … Continue reading →

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Historical Pianos in Civil War California

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Sarah Kay Bierle

Last Saturday I had the privilege to continue my yearly tradition of performing Christmas carols with friends in the officers’ parlor of the Drum Barracks out here in Southern California. It’s an absolutely wonderful way to really launch into the … Continue reading →

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Almira Hancock: An Officer’s Bride, Adventuress, & Homemaker (Part 2)

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Sarah Kay Bierle

She opened the telegram, took a deep breath, and read aloud in a low voice: “I am severely wounded, not mortally. Join me at once in Philadelphia. Parker and Miller, I fear, are gone up.”[i] Wounded, not mortally. Join me … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilian, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Federal, Personalities, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Almira Hancock: An Officer’s Bride, Adventuress, & Homemaker (Part 1)

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Sarah Kay Bierle

As the officers congratulated her husband and the ladies offered advice for folding dresses in traveling trunks, she glanced up at the map of America and shook her head resolutely. She had already lived in dilapidated military barracks in Missouri, … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilian, Leadership--Federal, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments