Lincoln and Washington at Ball's Bluff...HUH????

How could I possibly tie both Washington AND Lincoln to Ball's Bluff when neither one was actually at the battle? But I can do it.

First Washington: Did you know that the name "Ball" is George Washington's mothers maiden name. The property in and around Ball's Bluff is the ancestral home of her family and the Bluff takes its name from the family.

Now Lincoln: There was a little boy, born in England and moved to Philadelphia when he was 4. From there, he moved to Springfield, Ill. As an adult, this little boy decided to become a lawyer. As a lawyer, he came to know many of the lawyer's in and around the Springfield area. One of his friends was Abraham Lincoln. The little boy became U. S. Senator Edward D. Baker. The friendship between Lincoln and Baker was so close, that the Lincolns named their second son Edward Baker Lincoln.....also known as Eddie. Eddie died young....but the namesake was already there.

Now, about Edward Baker. There are a few things that you should know about him. 1) He moved to Oregon later on in his life. In Oregon, he ran for and became U.S. Senator (I always say that he pulled a "Hillary"...moved to where he KNEW he could become senator). 2) When the Civil War broke out, he decided to organize a brigade of men from California....to bring the west coast into the Civil War. However, there were not enough people living in California to form a brigade (he couldn't even raise a regiment)....so he ended up recruiting men from Philadelphia to form his "California Brigade". 3) Baker was killed at Ball's Bluff....the only acting Senator in U.S. history to ever get killed during a war. 4) After Baker's Death, the California Brigade became known as the "Philadelphia Brigade".....and they fought at the Angle in Gettysburg.

And so, as Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story. When you really start investigating these battles, suddenly you realize how small this country really is.....just because it's 3000 miles from coast to coast doesn't mean that you can't connect things. When you realize how small this country really is, that's when it hits you that it really was brother fighting brother. It's a shame that as much as they hated each other, they also were exactly alike and more alike than they ever realized. I just hope that in today's society, we can get past our physical and cultural differences to realize that we are still....exactly alike.