4th of July

Decided I had to blip something American today in deference to American Independence Day. This was the only thing I could come up with at short notice.

I discovered the art of Mort Kunstler on our first family holiday to USA in 1995 and decided I had to have a limited edition print. I finally bought this one in Lexington Virginia on our last visit in 2001. It measures 3ft x 2ft and is part of a gallery with 4 smaller prints brought back on previous trips. Also as part of the collection I have various brochures from Civil War battle fields I have visited and coffee table books of his works.

This picture is entitled 'The Winds of Winter' and shows General Stonewall Jackson astride Little Sorrel, watching his troops battle the winter conditions.

Federal forces had invaded the Shenandoah Valley and an army of Southern soldiers had been dispatched to protect their homeland. Their objective was the hamlet of Romney, where the Northern army was encamped - but the weather, not the Yankees, proved to be their fiercest enemy.

Despite the almost unbearable conditions Jackson drove his troops forward day and night through the snow, wind and ice. Soon, as if overawed by Jackson's sheer willpower as much as the savage weather, Federal forces retreated without doing battle leaving behind a horde of supplies and weapons to be confiscated by the Confederates troops.

Discover Mort Kunstler here.

I guess you would call me a bit of a Civil War Geek - and you would probably be right!

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends.