Jeff Davis and Baseball

Not much to say today. Got some good sleep last night, little ones cooperated during the breakfast rush, and had a productive day at work. For lunch, I scarfed down a sandwich in my car and thumbed through a Civil War illustrated encyclopedia. Two bits of trivia have been floating about my consciousness ever since.

First, General Grant named one of his horses, “Jeff Davis.” I absolutely love that fact, and I’ve read it before. I don’t know what part of it tickles my fancy. Not only does he name an animal he rides after the (civilian) leader of the forces he’s fighting, but he uses the familiar “Jeff” instead of the formal “Jefferson.” Love it.

Second, and this is a new one to me: Did you know the man who fired the Union’s first cannon response after the Confederate forces opened up on Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war? No? Well, it was a Captain named Abner Doubleday. Yes, that Abner Doubleday, the man who later tradition ascribes as the founder of the sport of baseball. Amazing, huh? The coincidences I’ve learned reading a few books on the Civil War simply amaze me.

Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. And by “regularly”, I mean “weird.”