I'm Still Here, Still Researching, Still Blogging

 I know that blogs are now a thing mostly of the past as podcasts (even via video) and live streaming have come into vogue and are the major tools of social media and communication, as well as new apps and, honestly, probably some things of which I have not heard yet, but I'm still here, as is this blog. 

I know my activity here has slowed down considerably. I mostly regret that. Last year just was not a productive year for me from a  research or writing perspective, but things have improved in 2022. I have resumed doing research for my book (or website)  project, and have started writing more. Now, that will include this blog. It may not be a daily thing, but I do hope and intend to write much more frequently. 

Many of my entries will probably focus on my current research, mentioning interesting stories I find, roadblocks that confound me and other  issues that come to mind, including my attempt to figure out what the final product will be and  if there is any end  in sight.,

Anyway, I have found more good information for my Campbell County Civil War Soldiers project. I even found a few new names in the last week or so, and have determined to write many more individual stories than I originally anticipated. These men deserve to be remembered for their service.

Recently, I created a document for the 23rd Kentucky Infantry regiment. I have over 120 names for it. My current plan, always subject to change, is to write several stories on many of these men, but also to  have a separate story just on the regiment. I know of no regimental history for this group, so this will be a challenge, but I should be able to put together at least a few  hundred words of a high-level look at the experiences of this unit. I think that will help me, and hopefully others, to understand better what the individuals went through during the war.At least that is the goal.

I may do something for the 53rd Kentucky as well, especially company F, another unit with many Campbell County men in it. This unit formed late in the war, but were involved in the Second Saltville Raid in late 1864, and I've found several names of men who were killed, captured, or wounded during that expedition.

Another recent addition to my  project is to take a closer look at the sailors whose names I've found. I assembled a list of ship names I've found associated with these sailors and surprisingly came up with more than 50 ships. Several of these men served on multiple vessels, but I do see at least one of them was a "receiving ship" for new sailors, a concept new to me. This part of the project will probably be quite educational to  me as I look into the navy and these individual ships. It will certainly be a challenge even to do a high-level, not-too-detailed study like this, but I think it has potential to be interesting to me and to improve my understanding of  the war. 

Several of the ships I've found were either built in Cincinnati, or the  navy purchased them there, so I like the regional nature of that. It should fit in well with the scope of my book since Cincinnati is right across the river from Campbell County (though I believe Cincinnati's ship-building area was a bit further west than where Campbell County is.)

At one glance, this seems to me more like a county history than a war book and perhaps that is accurate and maybe even desirable, but it has already changed how I  look at the war and study it. I may never be an expert in military tactics, strategies, and operations.

This project still comes down to studying the individual men who fought the war and who lived in my home county before, during, and/or after the war, including their lives inside and outside of their military years. There is a lot of good information that I believe is worth finding and sharing and I'm hoping this little project of mine can contribute to the understanding of Campbell County history, the Civil War, and/or the men who fought it and the people who lived through it. If I advance the understanding or knowledge of even one piece of these areas, it will be a good thing.

I'm going to go ahead and just post this now, on a Friday afternoon, without thorough proofreading or checking it on for a couple of days before I post it. Enough with such delays (though I do have another family-history post related to the war that has been in "draft" mode for a while. I'll have to complete it soon, but I do plan to come back and post more about what my research finds and where my plans and goals head in the future. This has research has been a very positive experience for me.