Man Born in 1846 Talks About the 1860s and Fighting in the Civil War - Enhanced Audio

Julius Franklin Howell (January 17, 1846 - June 19, 1948) joined the Confederate Army when he was 16. After surviving a few battles, he eventually found himself in a Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Maryland. In 1947, at the age of 101, Howell made this recording at the Library of Congress.
My new history channel "The History Zone"
Historical videos from all time periods
/ @thehistoryzone272
Our new music channel - Life in the Music
/ @lifeinthemusic9399
Pictures were colorized and enhanced using AI optimization software. For the audio, I remastered it using noise gate, compression, loudness normalization, EQ and a Limiter.
This video is made for educational purposes for fair use under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976.

[@Lifeinthe1800s]

Lifeinthe1800s is not monetized. To help keep the channel going, please consider supporting it on patreon.com/Lifeinthe1800s or www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=K9FRYU2E9LTU8 Thank you.

[@christianweatherbroadcasting]

Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way. We deserve Hell because we've sinned. Lied, lusted stolen, etc. But God sent his son to die on the cross and rise out of the grave. We can receive forgiveness from Jesus. Repent and put your trust in him. John 3:16 Romans 3:23❤😊❤❤

[@James-kv6kb]

First time the Australians fought alongside Americans and every war ever since

[@MatthewB-Kornafel-xv6oi]

What about the millions of orphans that arrived by trains ? After the reset ?

[@Simple_Jackass]

Why not monetize? It's another source of funds for your work, right? If it's political and/or social disagreements with Google/KZbin I definitely understand that....

[@paul-u2y9y]

Today a person could say in all truth, "my father met Thomas Jefferson ", the 3rd president of the U.S. Jefferson died in 1826, if a newborn was laid in his arms and introduced then in 1926 that newborn would be 100 years old, and if we can agree that it's possible for a 100 year old man to father a child then that child born around 1927 would be around 98 years old today and make the statement. just an illustration of how young our country really is.

[@seandelap8587]

Its incredible how he mentions the 50s and you realise he's talking about the 1850s and we are hearing him speaking on KZbin in 2022.

[@grantsmythe8625]

Yes, we're he living here today, he wouldn't even know how to turn on a light switch. It's amazing how things change but how humans remain the same.

[@100percentSNAFU]

@@grantsmythe8625 That was always my grandfather's signature line..."times change, but people don't". So true.

[@grantsmythe8625]

@@100percentSNAFU Yes, we have the same emotions, the same temptations, the same fears, the same joys and sorrows today that men and women have had since time began. I really do appreciate modern technology, conveniences and medicine, especially at 69 years of age but I do wonder if people in the past weren't better as people than we are today....in terms of character and honor and integrity and decency.

[@stog9821]

@@grantsmythe8625 as this was recorded in1947 I’d guess he’d learnt to turn on a light switch and possibly even a radio. I wonder if he ever learnt to drive.

[@majorpayne608]

The first "quick break" electric light switch was invented in 1884. Well within his life span.

[@diegowhite9689]

And this is exactly why it is so important that the youth listen and talk to our elderly. Once they are gone, part of our history dies. This is priceless!!

[@bradleyniven7942]

Its also exactly why you shouldn't trust someone just because they are ederly. His guilty conscious and others like him created a false narrative to justify their actions that people spew still today. "States rights"

[@brianb7869]

I like how he recollects the fact he wasn't it in any large battle, 'fortunately, or maybe unfortunately' with a slight chuckle.

[@theredboneking]

It was never about freeing the slaves. Lincoln made it clear that he didn’t give a shite about them. The North was losing until they switched to the inhuman scorched earth policy. Bigger population, bigger government, means bigger theft. Mark Skidmore conducted a independent audit of the USA and found $90 trillion stolen that congress never approved.

[@Syphon05]

One of my biggest regrets, not asking my great grandparents, and grandparents more questions about their lives.

[@beautruex7012]

I built a Time Machine! Makes talking to folks of the past or future, much easier!

[@TylerWest1776]

This is utterly incredible. I'm honored to be listening to this fine gentleman. It's November 2nd 2024 whilst I'm typing this. History is beautiful. God Bless.

[@consco3667]

As a teenager I shared a hospital room with a WW1 vet. He was credited with shooting down a German plane. He was a machine gunner. I was 15. He was 81. That was 1976. I am 61 now. He was a fascinating guy

[@benjo33]

Incredible story sir, remarkable to hear such things, when we seem so detached from history. We’re not the far apart in truth.

[@Dr.Madd138]

I had the honor to meet a WW2 vet that drove a landing craft on D-Day, he told me it was truly a come to God moment watching the 8mm rounds fly overhead while his craft became a meat grinder. He told me he’d be more than happy to do it all over again for this country.

[@benjo33]

@@Dr.Madd138 a generation above the rest, men who believed in America. I wish we had the same patriotism today

[@alanwright7819]

One of my uncles fought in WW I. I never had much opportunity to talk with him about it, so I still have no idea what he did, but I do know that he earned a couple of medals. As a child, I was always told that he didn’t like to talk about it.

[@finddeniro]

I met several WW1 veterans.. Early 1960s ..a Spanish America war Veteran..dying.. He want to show the charter of Arm to young boys..to be remembered..

[@chadinmich1]

This guy was extremely coherent at 101 years old. This is so cool to hear him speak all these years later.

[@tomasparkington4400]

His mind is so clear because he is not exposed to all the toxicity of today.

[@banjiman9869]

Yep now they pump us with chemicals and metals. Now we suffer even more health wise. These men ate fresh deer hearts raw hunting, and ate the freshest produce and meats you could imagine. All natural and original. Were mutants now, and now people wanna implement transhumanist agendas to further skew our nature.

[@ortho-g9826]

101 and unvaccinated! I wonder hmmm....

[@SuperDrLisa]

I can't remember what I had for breakfast!

[@markbelot3350]

@@ortho-g9826 That's what you get out of this? It's time to retire your tinfoil hat.

[@atrainradio929]

He was born in 1846, only 70 years ago was the US founded in 1776. And 200 years after his birth we’re listening to his voice. Quite possibly the most amazing audio ever recorded.

[@barnsleyman32]

there's a recording on youtube of pt barnum's voice, who was born in 1810. crazy

[@patriciavicari7002]

Nearly 200 years

[@xxyyzz8464]

@@patriciavicari7002 Commenter could be a time traveler from 2046.

[@SStupendous]

@@xxyyzz8464 Dislike when people round like that, almost purposely makes stuff sound more distant. So WW2 was well over 100 years ago, and Gen Z born in the mid 1990s would be over 50 years old if this man was born 200 years ago.

[@virginiaspeciale8641]

There is also a man who witnessed the assasination of Abraham Lincoln on KZbin.

[@RedcoatsReturn]

Incredible! 😲 The voice of a man who experienced the American Civil War, WWI, WWII and all the great changes in 100 years. A time machine in one man!

[@jeffhester1443]

Astonishing. Imagine if we could hear a witness of the revolution and declaration of independence.

[@ramongonzalez2112]

Hopefully there’s video of this man describing these events; truly incredible.👏

[@Jack-th9zg]

When he went to war the fastest vehicle was a steam powered locomotive, traveling about 35 mph. When he died we had jet planes and nuclear bombs.

[@g.davidlawrence8471]

@@Jack-th9zg And today, I have experienced the personal computer, and cell phone... Among other things...

[@g.davidlawrence8471]

Yes... "Have you ever sat down with an old man, and let him speak his mind?"...

[@freyalw326]

I just researched this man and his father was born in 1797 and his grandfather was born in 1750. Mad. That's 270 years and we're listening to the grandson of a man born in the 1750s. A bit like John Tyler's grandsons.

[@PrincessAmanda2290]

what is his name?

[@freyalw326]

@@PrincessAmanda2290 Julius Franklin Howell

[@SalomonEspinosa70]

As a child my great grandmother told stories of meeting and knowing dozens of Confederate veterans (Louisiana). Crazy to think about. She had stories of her mother talking about growing up in Reconstruction in Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast (Biloxi to Mobile)

[@michaelwoodard5808]

Its really crazy, i didnt even think about it till it was too later but the stories and tells about our past we heard as kids or saw on tv, lets see how do i put this... my great grandfather and grand father was alive at the same time bill the kid was making news... someone said raking about how screwed up as america is right now, america is only about 250 years old average man lives 100 years america is 2 and a half people old​@SalomonEspinosa70

[@EattheApple666]

I've been to the Tyler's house as a kid, it was so cool. I remember being blown away trying to understand that he has a living grandson.

[@merlepatterson]

Imagine this man served in the Civil War and then lived to witness the creation of the automobile, the airplane, WWI and WWII and then after the end of WWII he gave this interview on an electronic recording machine which used electric power which was also invented long after he was born.

[@joeblog2672]

Who said the transistor era of the 50's till now has seen the most excitement?

[@user-wi9hv2pb2q]

Anyone from the 1800s lived through the greatest upheavals in history, especially if they made it to the 1950s. When he was born Native Americans in some areas would still be living in the stone age and most of the world lived the same as they had for since the middle ages. He saw the birth of the atomic age and the anthropocene. Who knows what we may see in the future?

[@Elvis_Pond5]

​@@user-wi9hv2pb2q Inflation 😆

[@joes5192]

​@user-wi9hv2pb2q the birth of Humans as interplanetary beings for one

[@SStupendous]

-Invented only a decade after the war he fought in, to. Go back 20 years before the US Civil War and 20 years after, the 1840s and 1880s. HUGE technological difference. Go back 50 and even larger, a century and even larger. It seems there was more change then in technology than now.

[@danielanthony8373]

It's amazing I'm hearing a voice of a man born in 1846 that fought in the Civil War on my phone in 2023 in Melbourne Australia

[@777dragonborn]

It's shows how much more liberty there's was in independent states before the federal union engulfed them. Now today we pay local state and federal taxes . It's better to be a undocumented illegal migrant Than a American citizen . Thats how bad taxation is.

[@gregorymanson1015]

I know its mindblowing

[@Felipe-mg1pw]

As somebody from New Earth, Mars I can confirm in 2601

[@letmebereal]

Where's Australia??

[@carlmorgan8452]

And at the time didn't understand why or what the fight was about ? Looking back on it he considered it was about states rights. History can and is manipulated sometimes to suit the propaganda and narrative wanting to be pushed. Often by greed. ❤✌ Morgan living in Virginia 2024 / ask for wisdom and God will meet the need 🙏

[@tacfoley4443]

In 1897, my grandmother, then seven years old, got a 'birthday hug' from a man who had been a drummer boy at the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815. Although badly injured, he'd survived the night after the battle kept warm in the arms of his own father, and thereafter, passed down the memory of those safe arms to anybody who would listen. My grandmother passed on the hug to her daughter - when she turned seven - and she, in turn, passed it on to me. I've passed it on to my daughter, and she did the same to her daughter...

[@alexanderwhite1171]

So cool

[@jesusissalvation74]

My grandfather was born 1892 he fought in WW1 he had a piece of metal shrapnel in the back of his head they couldn't surgery to get it out. He passed in 1968 still metal shrapnel in his head he had a lot of problems with his head. Miss him and loved him very much.

[@nicholasmartin297]

Incredible story! It’s one thing to see records of births and deaths on paper, but what you described is real, living history. Thank you.

[@nerifterafrnam4682]

Pass the hugs y´all

[@rickclark4112]

That's simply great....

[@amyhodges959]

I never thought I would hear a first hand account of the Civil War. Cannot thank you enough for posting this.

[@DBEdwards]

This is the year 2024. AMAZING

[@crmay72]

I know, right??! It's incredible!! ❤️👍

[@stovepipe9er]

It’s really something to hear a recording from 1947 from a 100+ year old civil war veteran.

[@jasonsphinx8461]

~

[@bamaraiderable]

This is real history; not a stale textbook, but life and experience.

[@2pugman]

My great uncle 1847 to 1947 was in the 1st NJ Cavalry. We have film of him doing his sword drill practice in 1946.

[@tommas2674]

there are many on here earlier than that, an ex "slave" of Jefferson Davis, who loved Davis. ... and much more.

[@tommas2674]

it would not have done the north any good to let out that the south wanted to secede due to gross unfair taxation.

[@philipswain4122]

The diction and clarity of speech is astonishing. No filler words. Utterly poetic

[@Lar308]

He's probably reading from a teleprompter.

[@ThePolypam]

​@@Lar308 in 1947? 😂

[@thepervertedmonk2353]

@@Lar308 whew.. 😅😅

[@squeakybiki7821]

"Uh" is a filler word. He is utilizing them.

[@notonyourlife7939]

​@@squeakybiki7821 And there it is... there's always one. Congratulations, you're it. 🤣👍

[@TheOpinionator450]

Poor guy lived through the Civil War, WWI, AND WWII. He deserves an eternity of peace

[@rostam79]

Yes, but in the USA...so only the civil war was important for him. My grand grandfather was in ww1 and ww2 soldier in the german army

[@saabsk5955]

Kelly where you from the south?

[@jamesrogers4674]

Probably not ww2.

[@sc2win]

And the Great Depression.

[@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596]

The world wars are also very important to us here in the US. I had family in both

[@MichaelBoelton]

to think this man lived through the civil war and both world wars is incredible.

[@tarasmithskitchen2614]

I remember talking to my great grandmother, who was born in 1880, and the amazing stories she would tell. She outlived 7 husband's, and was 40 before penicillin was a thing. I feel privileged to have known her, she passed away in 1987.

[@seth1704]

Boy, who would want to marry her? she's the black widow. If I was #7, I would have had cold feet.

[@theredboneking]

Tara, that’s my Irish wife’s name as well. My grandfather was born in the late 1800s as well. He served in WW1 and like many soldiers, he refused to talk about it. He lived through the Great Depression and said that people in the 70s wouldn’t be as charitable if it happened then. I cringe to think what will happen when the famine hits.

[@TheErik249]

She outlived SEVEN husband's. How did these men pass away?

[@tarasmithskitchen2614]

@@TheErik249 wars, illness, ect. Most were when she was older. She even got married again in her 90s, and the last was in her 100s to a young fella in his 90s... she, like my grandmother, was married at 12, raising kids at 14, and had a bunch of kids, in a time when all that was normal. My great grandfather died of tb a decade before we really had any treatment for it. Vaccinations were not really a thing, rudimentary, other than sharing smallpox scabs, i think there were 1 or 2, but nothing like today....Times were different. She wasn't a black widow, she just had a really long life, and kept getting married. She worked until she was 106, and died at 107. She was awesome!

[@seth1704]

@@tarasmithskitchen2614 Tara I think it's neat how you posted your comment four months ago, and now within the last day, you've had four comments to start this thread. I was not trying to insult you, or your now deceased grandmother, by calling her a black widow, I apologize for this. I was just in awe that a woman could be married seven times with out a divorce being one of them. There should be more women like your grandma in this world, and if there were, I am sure this world would be a better place!

[@Tellemore]

What an honour to hear this gentleman speak. My own grandfather was born in 1857 in Tipperary, Ireland and he died the day after Christmas 1957. He was considered too old to enlist for WWI and even too old for the Boer War in !899 in South Africa. When my late father was born in 1913 my grandfather was already 56 and my grandmother was (1870) 43 years old by then. She died on July 13, 1971 just short of her 102nd birthday (today is the anniversary of her passing. Imagine having seen the transformation of society from sailing ships, pony & trap, steam engines to motor cars, jumbo jets and men walking on the moon!

[@59Alaskan]

Wow, impressive!! True about living all that time to be in the "future".. but, may I ask how old YOU are..??

[@scottpreston5074]

The changes now are even more insanely fast.someday we will be reminiscing in a hologram and people will be saying"they actually spoke that way before time travel."

[@karlabritfeld7104]

You got some good genes on your family. My grandparents were also born in the 1850s. From Scotland and Germany.

[@hdn4nd]

You are going to live a long time.

[@ancesthntr]

My great grandfather in Russia had a cousin who was born in 1873. The guy served in WW1, which started when he was 41. Come the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, he volunteered. As bad off as they were, they said, “Go home, grandpa, we don’t need you.” He insisted, and because he knew how to drive and shoot, they used him to drive around some general. One day, while driving across a bridge, the Luftwaffe shot it out from under them…at which point this 68-year-old man swam across the river with the non-swimmer general in tow. On a separate note, I remember sitting in our living room as a kid with my grandfather, born in 1901, when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. He told me of seeing the first planes in Russia as a kid of my age (in 1969). I cannot imagine what was going through his mind - having grown up with horses and carts , and living to see men on the Moon.

[@johnnyy5327]

Never in my 21 years of life I’d ever thought I’d be able to listen to this man talk about something that happened over a 160 years ago

[@chaplainmattsanders4884]

Me, too…in my nearly 60 years! Cool that a young adult like yourself has the interest in something like this. Compliments!

[@davids8449]

I am 251 years old today and can remember the event as if it was yesterday......I never thought I would live long enough to see the end of the IKEA furniture sale we use to refer to the sale as the matchstick sale

[@hourglasstarot3717]

Well sad enough it had a lot to do with slavery. This boy probably couldn’t even imagine a life without slaves. How sad that his parents were the same. Freedom from slavery was not even important enough to discuss. - never really expected to happen Not even noteworthy. So sad this stuff. Death for nothing. And that’s why we are hear now. To learn our lessons.

[@diggerpete9334]

The recording is much later. He was old by then.

[@SR-iy4gg]

@@diggerpete9334 Obviously, it wasn't recorded in the 1860s! The person didn't say that. He said, " talk about something that happened over a 160 years ago."

[@solinvictus39]

For 101 years old, this man was incredibly lucid and his memories are surprisingly clear for a man of that age.

[@bartjoy5179]

Probably had better food and water. Obviously less pollution and no genetically engineered crops.

[@cherryjuice9946]

Some people today are the same way. I have a neighbor whose 98, and his mind is still clear. His wife is about 10 years younger, so she's still a "young thing". She's very clear headed too.

[@serenitynow288]

They also kept diaries in those days, but he is sharp!

[@sherila4834]

My grandfather was born in 1898 in Baltimore MD, where he lived his entire life till he passed in 1983, at the age of 85. His vocal mannerisms, especially in the pauses between phrases and emphases of words, were very much the same as this Civil War veteran. (My grandfather was conscripted into the army for WWI but the war ended soon after he was issued a uniform.) He was a quiet man but had learned public speaking during high school & college (he graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1920). When he spoke in front of others, his cadences were much the same as this man. I wonder if public speaking was a skill this amazing 101 yr old learned also. Their accents are also similar. Maryland was a slave state too, south of Mason-Dixon. But my grandfather's voice lost its oomph after a mild stroke in his early 80s. I just can't imagine how this man who grew up during the horse & buggy era, without electricity & indoor plumbing, who was wounded & imprisoned during that cataclysmic war & who lived to see the industrial revolution, the rise of automobiles & skyscrapers, vaudeville, radio, silent films, sound films, the Great Depression, 2 world wars, the time of an Atomic bomb and the start of the Cold War could speak with such clarity, spirit, thoughtfulness, & energy. We are so lucky to hear him. This is one of those rare moments when the internet feels like a profound gift to humanity.

[@SammyAmy-un8bi]

His accent sounds much closer to British English people than Americans do now. It's fascinating how mannerisms and ways of speaking not to mention behaviour and culture, have diverged. This is without thinking about all the technological changes he saw and we have seen since. Fascinating!

[@GregMillerVideos]

@@SammyAmy-un8bi ...almost like what they call a 'mid-atlantic' accent.

[@mjrose]

@@GregMillerVideos The ccc

[@MasterBlasterSr]

@@GregMillerVideos it is the same in Shenandoah today

[@erisgh0sted961]

The internet has always been a profound gift. It's the whole worlds knowledge made accessible to everyone. Unfortunately there's also a wealth of lies, porn, and garbage. My generation were the first to have access to it. We are able to parse the gold, from the garbage easily. Every generation before us, are susceptible to all the lies. They'll believe anything with 40 likes on Facebook. The ones that came after us, susceptible to all the garbage. They'll spend every waking minute watching porn, mindless, senseless prank videos, and garbage. In betwixt lay all the knowledge, and wisdom of the ages.

[@GothamStatePolice]

Never thought I'd be able to hear the voice of a Confederate veteran. This is treasure.

[@therealivydawg]

Voice of a traitor.

[@arthurroberts9462]

@@therealivydawg a traitor to who? His State or yours, or are you uneducated and indoctrinated enough to believe that there was such a thing as an American military?

[@ubinidewheresmyride]

@@therealivydawg So is the United States.

[@nathanv4320]

@@therealivydawg 😢

[@williamjones11]

@@therealivydawg Just because someone no longer wants to be part of an organization does not make them a traitor to that organization. The country was very young, and many of the Confederates thought they were the ones who were more in keeping with the spirit of the American Revolution. Would you also say those soldiers were traitors? Unlikely. And “I think they’re all a bunch of racist meanies” can’t be the standard for what makes a traitor.

[@talentlessproductions819]

Holy shit, he was 101 years old when he recorded this, and speaks more cognitively then some people I've met.

[@susan2310]

Better than Biden born 100 years later.

[@andrewgonzalez4230]

Speaks more cognitively than the current POTUS.

[@josewong5412]

@@andrewgonzalez4230 lol... You beat me to it!

[@silasmarner7586]

Cornpop dog pony soldier Biden comes to mind

[@ryanshepard1838]

YA LIKE FJB😂!!!!

[@tillik1004]

You can hear in this man's accent how the English accent morphed into the American Southern accent. His accent is closer to the English accent than the speakers of today, still recognizable even as English.

[@coburna5]

I thought that very same thing in other civil war interviews.

[@jginther1981]

Speed a southern accent up and it sounds very English. You can hear this mans southern on words that have R or end in ER.

[@lornaharrington1885]

😂

[@jchastain789]

I sped the video to 2x sounds like a dude from the south I know. Lol I'm in nc

[@IveJustHadAPiss]

I'm not sure this comment is particularly accurate .19th Century English accents were heavily rhotic, and not dissimilar to the accents one might hear in a series like _John Adams._ They eventually lost their rhoticity over the duration of the century, and - of course - the Southern accent was also widely influenced by Scottish and Irish brogues which never lost their "hard r". You also have to take into account the natural evolution of this man's accent over the course of time. He may have sounded slightly different during the height of the war. Accents generally don't shift much during the course of a lifetime, but they can (and do) adapt to geographical and cultural changes. To me, it sounds like he'd adopted many of the nuances of the _Eastern Standard_ accent used by the likes of Edison, McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt, which might be on account of his class background or status he assumed after the civil war.

[@buckrepublican8782]

I remember at 6 years old I talked to an old man, 102 years old, who was sitting on a courthouse bench in Bolivar, Mo. He was with others and they were referred to at the time as the "spit and whittle" club. He was the oldest there and was a drummer boy in the Civil War, saying he was just a little older than I was. Two other men confirmed his participation as their fathers had known him during the time, all being from Polk County, Mo. They were Confederates in an area that divided the local population on both sides. From battles he saw he described the smoke and gun fire and would just say men died, most of his stories were about fetching horses, supplies and helping the cooks. He talked about there being no food, having to hunt and forage and how sick they were.. He carried with him a Confederate pin that had been attached to his drum. That was 1955, he made quite an impression.

[@belle16117]

That is incredible!

[@richard6133]

I had a similar experience, but with a WWI aviator. Invaluable. I just wish I could have been old enough to realize to pay better attention.

[@JS-wp4gs]

Thats an interesting story considering it couldn't have happened. in 1955 there was a grand total of one surviving civil war veteran left and he was union

[@syrenasketches6902]

@@JS-wp4gs he said he was a Drummer boy in the war, not a soldier.

[@lindak1768]

I’m a little younger than you. My Grandparents lived in Bolivar Mo. I remember the old men sitting on the benches and window sills around the square. A lot of them whittled. Lol Lots of fond memories of Bolivar and my relatives. Most of them buried there in Greenwood Cemetery. I went to a horrible dentist there on the square, that was not a good memory and I’ve been paying for that for years with bad teeth. Jack Hacker was his name and he lived up to it!

[@89128]

When I was growing up in the 1950s, we had several elderly neighbors whom I knew about, but that was all of my interest in them. My loss. Our next-door neighbors were two retired schoolteachers who never married. Decades later I found out the eldest lived to be 103, dying in 1977, the younger dying at 97. All the history they saw, and I wasn't interested. But their next-door neighbors were an elderly couple who were personal friends with the Wright Brothers. The wife had accompanied them in 1903 to Kill Devil Hills in N C that fateful week as an assistant. Close cousins of mine saw many photos of the brothers with the couple in their home. We are the losers when we don't allow the elderly to tell their stories. So much eyewitness history gone forever.

[@jb47vintage]

I've done the same. History was sitting right in front of me.

[@claudiabottom4086]

I love listening to older people and their stories I always did

[@lindaanthony7890]

As a very young child, I loved listening to my Grandmother (born 1898) tell me stories about her early life and stories about my Grandfather (born 1887). As a very young child, I had no real concept of time, but still found the history exciting and I could listen to her all day.

[@Britspence381]

I know what you're saying, you just don't think of the value of their knowledge and experiences when you are young. My parents died when I was in my early 20's and there are so many things I wished I had talked with them about. Dad was a U.S. sailor in WWII, South Pacific, but I didn't have much interest in the War then and didn't ask him about his experiences. Mom once told me all of the places her family had lived in the rural South during the Depression, wish I had written that info down. What a loss.

[@TaigiTWeseFormosanDiplomat]

@@Britspence381 We can still tell ours, the future is there.

[@HalkerVeil]

It's not until you get old when you realize how short a year really is. And how recent his time was.

[@susanbiggs5505]

What an amazing man. My dad is a WWII vet. He is 97, and one of the 7/10s of 1 percent of US WWII vets still living. My dad is still so sharp like this man. Every day with him is a gift. I try to visit him and hang out several times a week.

[@CatsClaw44]

I don't know of he is an amazing man and gift. He fought for the Confederate army and fought to maintain slavery.

[@YoMomsDaBombDotCom]

@@CatsClaw44just like not every German fought ww2 to kill Jews, not every confederate fought for slavery. War is much more complicated than a single focus issue. Obviously, it went the way it was meant to go, but to demonize the man isn’t really necessary.

[@tylernaturalist6437]

@@CatsClaw44 1) she’s talking primarily about her WW2 veteran father 2) the man speaking in the interview speaks of how blessed he was to have raised his children in a society that no longer practiced slavery, and that he was but a child when he was recruited to fight. Simpleton 😂

[@matthewblack111]

Please take some time to record his history. You never know if 150 years from now it'll be worthwhile to others.

[@riobabic8960]

I remember just a few years ago when just a handful of ww1 vets were left !

[@TheBassgoddess]

“We never counted distances or time…” What an amazing story from someone who was a soldier in the Civil War !!

[@SirManfly]

It's so cool, in 2022, to actually HEAR from someone in who lived back then instead of just reading about it or just seeing photos !!

[@russellking9762]

exactly…i was watching a documentary about Niger in Africa where a woman was asked her age..she had no idea..even of what the current day of the week or year it is…explaining it was totally irrelevant to her everyday life…which consisted of the day to day struggle to gather food and water for her family

[@reviewguy3024]

I also noted his admission of his youth in relation to not fully comprehending important political issues.

[@NYC1927]

Yes! I caught that part too! If ONLY we could live like that today.

[@johngaither9263]

No speedometer on a horse and watches were expensive and fragile.

[@noelleagape8684]

Wow! It's amazing hearing the voice of someone who actually experienced the Civil War!

[@haroldbidwell3079]

Yes yes it is

[@vm.999]

❤

[@juanhernandez2907]

Exactly what I was thinking!!

[@KingoutlawLXXII]

This is amazing

[@johngaither9263]

Who know? There's a chance some of what he said might even be true. Entering the army in 1862 and not being involved in a battle in that amount time makes me wonder. After Gettysburg the confederacy was desperate for men. I cannot imagine an entire cavalry regiment North of Richmond being ignored.

[@JS45678]

Never in my entire 50+ years of existence would I ever have guessed to actually hear a real human being who lived through the Civil War…It suddenly became more than something I learned back in school…It became horribly REAL. A battle that saw Americans fight fellow Americans to the death. Wow! Respect to the person who posted this; Thank You! 🙏♥️

[@beautruex7012]

We need a civil war nowadays!

[@tonyaharmon1383]

@John Smith Your Comment, Your Shock & Your Amazement Have Really Mystified & Horrified Me! I'm Sincerely Wondering If You Sir Are You From These United States Of America? Because Myself, I Am A 58 yr old Disabled Grandma. So We Are Of A Similar Age. I'm Actually Stumped & Need To Figure This Out.... 1. Never Thought You'd Hear From Someone Who Lived Through The Civil War? Did You Never Hear Readings Of Actual Civil War Soldier's Letters To Their Families? Read Any Of The Overwhelming Number Of Biographies Written By or About These War Soldiers? Read Any True History Stories? Heard, Read About Or Visited The Internment Camps of The "Prisoners Of War" Taken From & Kept In Custody By Both Sides? Are You Aware of The Numbers Of Soldiers Who Fought In The Civil War? Do You Realize That Not Only The Actual Soldiers But Their Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children & Extended Families Alive At That Time, They ALL Survived The Civil War? Do You Realize That Any Book, Article Or News Papers Written For A Long Time After The Civil War, Were ALL Written By Survivors Of The Civil War? You Said "It Suddenly Became More Than Something You Learned Back In School...." It BECAME Horribly REAL? These MANY Civil War Battles Went On For Numerous YEARS, Through Some of The Hardest Winters & While Most of Those Soldiers Were Traveling On Foot, Underclothed, Sick & Undernourished! SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST ONE BATTLE! You Seem Amazed That Americans Were Fighting Fellow Americans To DEATH! Then You Comment "WOW!" Are You Not Aware This War Was Known As "The War Of Brother Against Brother"? In An Extremely High Number of Cases, Those Very Brothers Shot & Fought Literally FACE To FACE! Some Then Holding The Brother He Had Just Killed! I Have A Few Questions For You: 1. Are You Really In Your 50's As I Am? 2. Are You From America? 3. If Yes To Both, What Kind Of Bad History Teacher Did You Have At School? 4. What About Family & Local History? I Just Don't Get You, How & What You Said In Your Comment! You See, I Love History! I'm From A Family With Many Military Members Over The Generations. I Was Raised To Believe That If We Don't Remember Our History, We Are Bound To Repeat It! My Father Was Not Only A Military Officer for 24 Years But Also A Military War Hero! I Had Wonderful History Teachers Too! As A Parent I Went Above & Beyond What the Schools Were Teaching My Children, Due To The Constantly Changing "Standards of Learning"! So I Made Sure My Children Knew, Understood & Respected Their History. To Me, That's How All Children Should Be Taught. Maybe Once You've Read My Reaction To Your Comment & My Questions, You Will Understand What I Mean! This & Every War Are Extremely Serious & Painful! Maybe You Just Chose Words Which Generalized The Subject Matter You Wrote About. Anyway, Have A Safe & Happy Holiday Season & A Good New Year!!

[@JS45678]

@@tonyaharmon1383 I meant no disrespect by my posted comment. I am, indeed, a United States citizen and highly educated in sciences and mathematics (not history). My comment was meant to convey my genuine surprise (shock) to hear a recording from a real person who actually lived so long ago describing details of the era compared to reading about the Civil War in a history book. In conclusion, this audio recording put a real human “face” (voice) on what were merely events and famous dates documented in a history book I had to memorize as a child. Again, I meant no disrespect and apologize, in advance, if my post felt that way to you. 🇺🇸🙂🇺🇸

[@tonyaharmon1383]

I'm Thankful This Was Posted Too!!

[@JS45678]

@@tonyaharmon1383 Me too! 🇺🇸😃🇺🇸

[@yeedbottomtext7563]

This is such an unfathomably valuable firsthand account of that time

[@cropcircler]

What a fabulous storyteller and what a fabulous voice. Listening to him is like taking a time machine back to a long gone past.

[@joelashdod7712]

When I was a child in Brooklyn in the 1950’s and 60’s, an elderly doctor lived on my street, I used to walk his dogs and he took me to see his horse. He had quite a history, and at age 16 he rode up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt, left the Army and trained as a doctor. Reentered the Army in 1910 and was a military doctor in four wars, in Mexico, WW1, WW2 and Korea. He had a great love of animals and I believe he was the model for Colonel Potter in the tv series Mash.

[@michaelwalters7333]

Wow, Badass

[@PPISAFETY]

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and in the early 1980's I made my way through college as a paramedic. We received many calls for service to a stately old building that looked like a smaller version of the White House, known to us as the Confederate Home For Ladies. This was actually called the Home For Needy Confederate Women. It was essentially a nursing home established for the widows, sisters, and daughters of men who had served in the Confederate Army and Navy. By the time I started going there for work, all that was left were essentially women who had been the much younger post-war brides, sisters, and daughters of older Confederate veterans. Some of the ladies were still quite lucid, and often lonely. I visited there off duty several times just to talk to some of them. While none were old enough to remember the actual Civil War, they told amazing stories of their lives in its aftermath with their husbands and fathers. I wish I had thought to record some of the conversations with them. The Commonwealth of Virginia paid for their care until the last one died, and the place was closed in 2008.

[@jancoley9051]

That is fascinating. So good a place of refuge and help existed and for so long. That is what you call good people. I am sure they appreciated your visits. Recordings would have been nice, at least you have your memories, their stories. In my city we have an organization called "Daughter's of the Confederate" They do many services, donations, and help in various supportive ways in Mobile, AL Thanks for sharing.

[@sarahflanagan9345]

These women were treated better than the slaves their husbands and fathers wanted to keep enslaved.

[@carlafward2744]

There was a novel by Allan Gurganus which came out in 1989, called The Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All. I got it as a birthday gift from my mother. It's quite good, told in the voice of a woman who was married off while a teenager to a middle aged Confederate veteran. She tells his story from her recollections of what he used to talk about, and describes the society of the day, and brings it up to the present day (1989, I guess). She touches on race and racial history a lot, and marvels at what has changed, and what has remained the same. I wish you'd recorded your conversations, too!

[@jgrysiak6566]

Dud anybody talk about Richmond being burned to the ground?

[@wolfeinhorn4661]

Amazing. Thank you so very much for sharing !

[@richardhall206]

What an extraordinary treat to hear this. Thank you. Any one else notice how different his accent is to modern American? So much closer to British, specifically English, pronunciation than is the case. More emphasis on last vowels and precise annunciation of consonants.

[@Ickie71]

After all is said and done most of you all hail from the British,as it was British settlers that settled in America long before America was created.

[@richardhall206]

@@Ickie71 Of course, but this recording concerns events 200 years after British colonization started and recorded only 1 or 2 generations before 'talkies' started where distinct American accents are discernible.

[@GreetingsandSalutations4007]

@residentzerothat’s a very regionalist and bigoted statement. Accents develop regionally and all are legitimate.

[@nutterbuttergutter]

@@Ickie71 the bulk of European Americans are german in descent.

[@Ickie71]

@@nutterbuttergutter still no where near as many British though,i dont care what anyone says.I have family that have moved over there too in last 25 years and they say the same,inc my dad.

[@handymurray]

This is pure gold. His first hand recollections are priceless. It's fascinating to hear the strong English and Irish accents in his speech patterns.

[@edwardburroughs1489]

I just hear an American accent - albeit an old fashioned done - but I'm English so we must hear differently.

[@theredboneking]

Assuming this is real, the civil war was never about freeing the slaves. If it was recorded in the late 40s, Black people still had separate entrances in many northern establishments. The South was still a nightmare for African Americans in the 40s. I highly doubt this is legitimate.

[@henryofskalitz2228]

This is actually the old English accent before everyone wanted to become royals

[@theredboneking]

@Dirk Diggler In the 40s, you were a thousand times more likely to hear a Caucasian openly discussing how Black people shouldn’t hold any positions of power. Even actor John Wayne said as much. Lincoln himself said African Americans are not equal, and should never be equal to White people. Heavy weight champion Jack Johnson was denied entry into the Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in the early 1900’s. Yet we are led to believe a Caucasian being recorded, telling us he was the champion of freeing African American slaves, when it wouldn’t be popular to do so. I don’t buy it for one bit. Sweet Home Alabama - “I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern Man don’t need him around anyhow”. ☝️When was that written ☝️

[@Bella-fz9fy]

His accent sounds half the time English and half American.When he said “cavalry” it sounded so English😂

[@hinkapuss3675]

As a kid in the early 1950's I went with my Dad to an Independence Day parade in a nearby town In Maryland. WWII was barely over and many of the heroes of that war were marching, in uniform, in the parade. WWI vets, now old men got to ride in beautiful restored antique cars. And the oldest vet was in an elegant carriage pulled by a team of black horses. I remember like it was yesterday, my Dad leaning down to tell me excitedly, "That's the last surviving CIvil War veteran! As a boy, just your age, he ran away to fight in the war. He is over 100 years old."

[@phantomlord5707]

that’s awesome! and now 70 years later WWII vets are reaching that point 😔

[@josephclift3662]

Thanks for sharing this precious memory

[@beepbop6697]

​@@phantomlord5707 only 167,000 WW2 vets alive as of 2022.

[@mirandahotspring4019]

@@beepbop6697 They would all be 95 or more by now!

[@hinkapuss3675]

@@josephclift3662 You are most welcome!

[@b.a.d.2086]

My grandparents who raised me were born in 1898 and 1900. My grandfathers father was a detective on the early Union Pacific Railroad and my grandmothers mother saw 5 of her sons fight in the Civil War for the North, losing one. She nursed people after the Allegheny Arsenal exploded. My mother in law, a nurse, skipped the entire 20th century on her headstone! I was born in 1944 before D Day and have pictures of me sitting on the floor with my grandfather looking at the headlines announcing the end of WWII. Grandma went from horse and buggy to an airline trip around the world with me. She passed in 1998 age 98. They were amazing people!

[@lash3630]

They called them gum shoes.most were cruel to hobos.some beat them to death.gumshoes,well hells only half full,union Pacific,figures.

[@vieskow9544]

Remarkable

[@Hanzey1966]

@@lash3630 Interesting . . . We use to call Cops/ Detective"'s on ,,Sluipers,, (Dutch Slang) wich freely translated means ,,Sneakers'' , due to creeping/sneaking up on people without making any sound by footsteps.

[@oggjoshua]

You're saying your mother in law was born in the 1800s and died in the 2000s?

[@Hanzey1966]

@@oggjoshua That could be true , If i.e. born in 1899 and passed in 2001. I mean there are certainly people becoming 102 Years of age.

[@Dreadnought16]

He was obviously a very intelligent man. Fascinating hearing him speak with such detail. I wish my mind was as sharp as his!!

[@aragorn1780]

what's really interesting to me is the accent... you can tell there's the beginnings of an Appalachian/Southern drawl, yet there's also an element of Englishness/Transatlantic, like you can clearly hear the transition where the American accents became more distinct from British English (keep in mind I'm a language/linguistics major so this strikes me particularly xD)

[@godsdj7316]

I love that. ^^

[@stephenmani8495]

Absolutely. Fascinating to hear that. It gives the goosebumps to hear live how new accents evolve! Beats anything you can read in a book.

[@MarkKelly-rc6pg]

As an Englishman I was struck by how English this gentleman sounded; to be precise a south of England accent.

[@janettedavis6627]

I think he is of Irish Decent . The Soldiers are receiving Holy Mass and Communion from a Roman Catholic Priest. My Priest wore these vestments when I made my Communion I'm now 75years old. The Latin Roman Rite Church still wears them. I will show this video to my Priest.

[@RonnieWaynesGarage]

Doesn’t some of the southern slang words come from the aristocrats across the pond? I remember reading something about the word “ain’t” being a word the aristocrats used.

[@paragontim]

Utterly fascinating. I’m amazed how lucid he was at the age of 101 and how much detail he could recollect. Thank you for sharing!

[@Noway673]

I didn't even exist in 1947 but this man was 101yrs old in 1948.Amazing how I can see and hear him at my old age of 54 in 2024! 70 something years later I see him on KZbin time machine.

[@BELCAN57]

What a well spoken man.

[@markwood3389]

Well spoken or extremely deluded. It’s still interesting.

[@tomwiggins1225]

Well, spoken, period.

[@rotunda57]

Very well spoken bless him

[@Johnny-ip4mk]

@@markwood3389 Deluded? What part didn’t you understand? I think you’re the one that’s having a hard time understanding what the man said.

[@markwood3389]

@@Johnny-ip4mk I was talking about the Lost Cause. He was a Confederate soldier, fighting for slavery, and against the U.S. government. After the war, the Lost Cause was the way they rationalized it.

[@coltonwarner7886]

“We didn’t count distances or time in those days” I don’t know why that hit me so hard but it does.

[@Sillysoft]

Both used to keep people busy and unaware what the government is doing

[@automan1591]

Yep that struck a note with me too. It may not be practical but somehow it feels comforting.. and vaguely familiar..

[@svachalek]

“In the state of Virginia. I didn’t know about states before that time.” Mind blown!

[@gr8tbigtreehugger]

Without a time piece, it's hard to set a baseline for distance i.e. 'six hours from here' as time is a factor in determining speed ('3 miles per hour.') Travel estimations are more likely "the better part of a day" kind of thing.

[@leeschmidtracing7751]

Caught that also

[@louisskulnik7390]

Wow he sounds so strong for a 101 year old man. He sounded like he had another decade in him.

[@NorEEzta]

@@Jj-gi2uv 50x more testosterone, too.

[@theredboneking]

No aluminum filled chem trails either.

[@Emily-fo2xo]

still alive !

[@trey7772]

@Theredboneking That is not a thing. 🤦‍♂️

[@michaelnoronha1383]

I feel overwhelmed to hear this gentleman speak and I thank the one for posting this recording.

[@zigzag2211]

When I was about 7 years old, I sat and listened to my great uncle and my great aunt tell stories about their life. They were Norwegian immigrants that came to America as teen agers and homesteaded in Minnesota in the early 1880's. He was born in 1862 and his wife was born in 1864. They were married for over 80 years and he died at 105 and she died at 104. I wish I had recordings of the stories that they told, but listening to a man who fought in the Civil War is truly amazing! There's no better way to learn about history than from a person who lived it.

[@shann940]

My Norwegian great grandparents in the 1800's were potato farmers in MN. They came in winter and were sold bad land. The snow covered fields in spring were filled with all rocks but because they were Norwegians they knew how to clear the land of rocks.

[@TommyD1213]

Dang how old are you now? My maternal great-grandparents were Swedish immigrants and we found some letters my great-grandfather had written my great-grandmother during WWI but they weren’t in English. I should use Google translate to figure out what they say. He died 5 days before turning 100. Something about those Scandinavians, huh?

[@MrTruckerf]

Everybody talking here about this guy dying at 105 and this guy at 101 and this gal at 102, etc. Yet when you go to a cemetery and look at the stones it is very unusual to find one who died at 100+. My own paternal g'father was born in 1899, and lived a busy, full life, dying in 1965.

[@RichLclips]

@@MrTruckerf thats pretty young tho to die at 66

[@seanparker4461]

I knew an old man who passed a while ago. We'd watch the history channel and he'd give me the Paul Harvey when they talked about something that actually happened while he was alive. It all started when I walked in on him watching that channel and he got furious! "That never happened! They're lying!!" That began a pretty important change in my life. A pragmatic distrust of media. Yes, I realize I'm in the comment section of a youtube video.

[@smudgey1kenobey]

This guy is great! My grandmother saw the last of the covered wagons cross the Kansas prairie AND the first man walk on the moon in her lifetime.

[@JokerFace090]

Thats cool. I still remember seeing the last 56k modem and the first rich dude go to space.

[@p1randymarsh618]

Nobody’s walked on the moon

[@Arete37]

My mother is 102 and her family owned a Model T Ford. These days she is still texting daily and buying stuff on Amazon.

[@stevefaure415]

Now this is a real treasure. Whoever had the good idea to start making historical recordings like this should really be honored. Amazing the old American accent too, it's not just the choice of words but the way he pronounces them, it's actually very different from how we speak now.

[@grumpyglyn1065]

I agree. I am from the UK , and it struck me how similar is his speech to my Great Great Uncle, who I remember from the 1970s. He was in his late 90s at the time, so would have been born just after your Civil War. If I heard this gentleman speak today I think that I would quite confused by his accent, it sounds much closer to a British accent , than modern American does.

[@niklase5901]

He sounds very British to me. Did he with his family emigrate from England perhaps?

[@claudiabottom4086]

Yes I noticed that dialect.

[@maid4thelamb85]

I have lived in southeastern Virginia most of my life. He sounds very much like some older people I knew back in the 1980s. We call it the "old Virginian accent". It is remarkably similar.

[@souta95]

My grandpa had a somewhat similar accent, though he was much younger (born in 1925). That being said, his ancestors came from Ireland to Spotsylvania, VA in the early 1800's then ended up in Southwest Michigan in the 1830's, where many of us still are today.

[@cindyjones3216]

He was 101 years old when this was recorded! Absolutely amazing!

[@tommas2674]

fewer vaccines people lived longer.

[@salar1586]

@@tommas2674 exactly, 2024 newborns gotta take 40 now or more.

[@salar1586]

@@tommas2674 Its very simple, Its Not Natural, why do people fall for it we are sheep we deserve to ☠. Survival of the fittest

[@tommas2674]

​@@salar1586 yes. cold virus mutate too fast to make a vac so every year people are pressed to put more in themselves. Dr. Salk vaccine for polio worked thank God because it didn't mutate or mutate fast. My dog a little died from I believe his 16th rabies vac, at 16 the day of his shot he picked out his clothes and we did zoomies and ran around outside, then went for the "vaccine" that night it was all down hill>>>> Who needs it after so many and not outside on ones own even but that and "fixing" animals is guaranteed money for vets,...lobbyist,...too like big corps, pharma...

[@mf--]

​@@tommas2674 That ignores the millions dying from polio, terberculous, etc. The smallpox vaccice came to the US in the 1840s saving millions.

[@kentuckycrittercamera9407]

I had a great uncle who was born in 1905 and died in 2000. He was a WW2 Veteran and was a fascinating guy to talk to. He could tell you what the first car and airplane in the county he grew up in in the 1910s and 1920s.

[@jackprecip5389]

Here's a man who fought in the Civil War with bayonets, single shot rifles, and horse cavalry, and lived long enough to witness the horrors of an atomic bomb dropped from an airplane.

[@oc2108]

Makes a person think technology has been suppressed, and hidden.

[@_Nonplussed]

So much poetry in his words he’s talking about being in a war and has to take a second to say what a beautiful day Sunday was.

[@JohnDoe-cv8iw]

weird to think in the future it will be nothing to hear someone from 1000 years ago!!!! we feel soo lucky for anything like this!

[@123canadagirl]

This recording is a priceless gem! What a privilege to hear his first hand account of a seminal period of our history. His story should be told in schools.

[@michaelpollard9791]

My great great grandfather was a confederate soldier from Mississippi. He would be very sad to see the condition of our country today. The word HONOR has lost it's meaning since those days!

[@rachelcody3355]

what amazes me is I am sitting here in the year 2022, listening to the recollection of an old man, recorded 20 plus years before I was born about a war that happened over 160 years ago and through this technology it's as if I am sitting in the room with him listing. God bless and thank you.

[@NYC1927]

Totally! Born in the late 60s here as well and to hear him talk about a war that took place 100+ years before we were born is a total trip!

[@squidy4082]

It’s beyond me

[@maryvaughn816]

It's amazing hearing this man born 100 years before me. I was born in ,1946. I am a history buff.

[@JCtheROD]

He doesn't sound 101 years old, he sounds more clear than most people do today.

[@christianfreedom-seeker934]

I know, this is why I said "he is an "old joker" you get enough of them and you get a local liars club. He was probably just a man in his 70's trying to get attention. Voice and mind were too clear to be over 100. Truth is, most folks over 100 are drooling on themselves and have lost the willpower to talk.

[@judyholiday1794]

@@christianfreedom-seeker934 My Gran was a nurse,and one of her clients was a man that when he died at 98 was alert and had his full thinking process just the day before.. I was only 9 or 10 but I remember him vividly describing his childhood in Holland.

[@felixmadison5736]

Not quite as easy to listen to as Herschel Walker.

[@SarahK86]

@@christianfreedom-seeker934 hahahah.

[@tmckmusic8584]

He still has his faculties because he drank pure spring water, ate from a farm, walked every day, didn't have WiFi radiating his body, and wasn't vaccinated his whole life. Just sayin... We aren't so healthy these days.

[@rhonda8231]

I do hope that history teachers play these in their classes. It is so important to know your history, and what better way than to hear it from someone who was there. I feel like I found a rare gem on youtube.

[@chiaralistica]

You should see the holographic interviews with Holocaust survivors. Preserving these stories forever is a wonderful gift to the future.

[@rhonda8231]

@@chiaralistica where can you see that? I have never heard about it, I would love to see it.

[@fjb3544]

History teachers? What’s that? And if there is any left they certainly aren’t going to play the part about the war not being over slavery

[@chrisboyd168]

States rights? Please.

[@rhonda8231]

​@@chrisboyd168 No I am Canadian

[@michaelwoodward5787]

A voice that makes it all real . Not pictures and words in a book. Priceless.

[@dstorm7752]

Fabulous that somebody had the brainpower to get this gentleman on audiotape in 1947

[@cuebj]

In early days of tape recording, even before, with acetates, there was a lot of recording of folk memories, songs, stories now in various archives and digitally enhanced

[@richardcarpenter158]

I have a photograph on my wall of my great grandmother holding my sister on her lap. My great grandmother's father was in the 12th Virginia Infantry CSA. My sister is named after Robert E. Lee.

[@itsnerfornothing7554]

​@@richardcarpenter158 traitors all

[@FrostRare]

I notice that all of these interviews with Civil War veterans feature men who speak with a sense of dignity, rectitude, nobility, unashamedness, eloquence, deliberateness, carefulness, sensitivity, they never say “um” or make sarcastic, self-deprecating remarks. There’s only truth and respect in their speech. Not only respect for others, but respect for themselves.

[@jancoley9051]

Well said

[@solidkreate5007]

Our ancestors were not stupid people. I wish Americans would still speak this way instead of Ebonics slang mixed with retardation.

[@juliaussery4303]

Totally agree.

[@FrostRare]

@@juliaussery4303 glad you do! I wish actors who play in historical films would actually reference footage from the time they’re portraying. Maybe they’d capture the compelling nuances and style of this self-expression. Instead, we get characters wearing old style costumes moving and talking like people from 2023 lol. They change their accent, but for the most part they speak in this hushed, staggered, self conscious way that in no way represents the history.

[@sfperalta]

Amazingly well-spoken for a man of 101 years! Amazing eyewitness of history. We are lucky to have recordings like this to allow us a deeper connection to the events of the past.

[@comettamer]

I hope to be able to recall things as clearly at 101 as this man did. Truly it brings a tear to my eye to hear these words so clearly, memories of the Civil War from a man who LIVED through it.

[@cvent8454]

What a gift to have these recordings. Thank you Library of Congress and those with the foresight to capture these memories for future generations. My grandfather lived to 101 and he was as sharp as a tack till the end just like this gentleman. How I loved talking to him and having him share his memories of WWI, the Depression and life as an immigrant. I still miss him but know I'll see him again. Love you Nonno.

[@72markmiester]

Wow, I can’t believe I’m hearing a man that actually fought in the civil war. Wow. To me this is incredible. This is all very significant historical evidence of our country. I find this very fascinating.

[@NickMak-m2c]

it is seriously blowing my mind, that they managed to find someone very, very old, on a very, very new piece of technology and just by a hair, caught what is to us now, something that feels like 'relative ancient history' in permanent wave form.

[@LimitlessThinker]

General Grant set up at City Point, on Eppes Manor. It's right along, where the Appomattox and James meet. That area of the river was the busiest port during the Revolutionary and Civil War. It's very peaceful and scenic, but a historic landmark.

[@ElusiveMasquerade]

An extraordinary man from an extraordinary time. If only he would have known we would be listening to his voice filtering from our phones in the distant future.

[@Patrick3183]

He would assume someone is holding their phone receiver up to the record player so someone else can hear it down the line.

[@mariahwhitneycelinejanetmadona]

Extraordinary?

[@ElusiveMasquerade]

@@mariahwhitneycelinejanetmadona 🇳🇴

[@mariahwhitneycelinejanetmadona]

@@ElusiveMasquerade 🏁

[@bumboclat]

the recording is from after ww2. So he has a concept of radio, phone and television. From there it's not too absurd to imagine youtube.

[@hcellix]

I find it incredibly emotional because My family lost two brothers on the same day. I do remember that as a child there were a few people that were over 100 that were born around that time. It's amazing how much has changed in just a 150 years. I know change is happening so fast that people are having problems finding a hold on something to grab on to. I am 66 and it has changed so much just in the last 25 years. Scary...but hopeful...we as a species can adapt but we need to find ways to slow down and enjoy life with our love ones.

[@Donovan_Walker]

“We didn’t keep track of distance or time, in those days.” That’s awesome. This world would be a great deal better off if we didn’t worry about such things nowadays.

[@richardarrington5992]

I picked up on that too. That really shows such a different perspective of that era.

[@fanatamon]

So much cruisier.

[@ericpadilla2454]

No it wouldnt

[@cz2165]

Um… he didn’t worry about time because slaves did all the hard work.

[@AntQuick1102]

Lol distance and time are overrated?

[@andrewgraulich6602]

This type of historical evidence is invaluable and powerfully compelling---thank you for sharing it.

[@sidneyblackwelder3540]

My great, great grandfather was Sidney Bryant. He was shot and captured at Petersburg at a battle called, "The Battle of Burgress Mill". He was also imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland. I can't help but wonder if the two of them knew one another or crossed paths at Point Lookout.

[@seanrussell6184]

I used to go to Point Lookout many sunsets. It's a beautiful place, & said to be one of the most haunted places of Maryland. This recording is amazing. 😊❤

[@ImSpun13]

The quality of this recording is phenomenal! So glad this was preserved and is now available for everyone forever. What a gift to mankind!

[@rcpmac]

It was enhanced. You should read the blurb

[@100percentSNAFU]

Crazy to think as you listen to a Civil war vet speak about the war that we are to the point now where WWII vets are becoming few and far between and that took place about 80 years later. The youngest you could be now as a veteran of WWII would be about 95 years old, maybe 93 or 94 if you lied about your age and joined young right at the end of the war.

[@jelly7310]

The last MOH recipient from WWll just past recently.

[@k1ng401]

There was so many of them around when I was a young man but I never took the time to seek them out and ask them about their experiences. Lost opportunities.

[@volks-jager]

the Germans and Soviets had some child soldiers, but even those have got to be around 90 by now

[@silaschildress]

The majority of Vietnam vets are well into their 70’s. In another 15 years Gulf War vets will all be retiree’s as well

[@C.M.30337]

@@silaschildress - no, the Vietnam War ended in '75, so a lot of Vietnam Vets are in their 60's too. My husband was in Vietnam and would've been 69 had he lived. My Dad was in WWII and my Grandfather and Grandmother were in WWI out of Scotland and England.

[@smartacus88]

My Great Grandmother lived to be 102. She was spry and mentally sharp until the day she died. She never went to the hospital, she was able to live at home all her days. She was born in 1919, and her accent and speaking cadence was a lot like this mans.

[@mrgreenelander4952]

My great uncle who had fought in WW1 had enlisted when he was just seventeen. My mother told this now sixty-year-old man, that he had been severely wounded while in combat. When he finally made it back home, he had been so traumatized from his wounds and fear, that he developed a terrible stutter that never left him his whole life. I remember when I was like five or six, hearing Edward John talk, he used to scare the $ out of me, but now i realize just how scared he must have been at such a young age

[@CYCLONE4499]

Just...wow. Its so rare to have an actual recorded first hand account of a man who played a part in one of the most seminal moments in American history. We owe a debt of gratitude to the individual who documented these accounts.

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

History takes on a much more intimate message when I think about three of my 3x great uncles who died in the Civil War and a great grandfather who survived, but was a prisoner of war. It is like hearing from them. Thank you for producing this video and thanks to the spirit of Mr Howell for sharing his story.

[@SomeGuy-hd4cn]

Time really is so condensed. He fought in the american civil war but lived through the first world war. I met a man in the mid 1980s who was a mechanic on the sopwith camels in the first world war. That war ended over 100 years ago now but I still remember stitting with the gentleman and listening to his stories.

[@hairblairbunch]

It is just incredible to look at the photo of him as a teenager in the 1860s and realize that that same guy was alive and with his full faculties after WW2!

[@NYC1927]

Just wow!!!! What a true American treasure!! Amazing hearing a person born in the 1840s speaking. Also, with him being a southerner, it was interesting how he felt about slavery!!! Thank you for this! My great x 3 grandfather was born in 44' (1844 that is). Funny to think that he and this gentleman were both on the planet at the same time and same age and witnessed many of the same things. Back when I was 10 years old back in 1977/78, my aunts neighbor was 101 years old (born in 1876) and his sister who lived with him was born in 1877. I remember shaking his hand and thinking "wow, he's from the days of Jesse James". Lol. I was at that time becoming fascinated with those kinds of stories and tales. They were both very nice and soft spoken I recall. I just wish I was mature enough to ask him the right kinds of questions about his generation.

[@journeyman378]

He was OK with slavery and Jim Crow, the only reason he claimed to be against slavery is because they lost the war. Had the Confederacy won he would have gone along with it. Notice he doesn't talk about being against Jim Crow!

[@backwardsbandit8094]

He said at the end of the video that hes against slavery and that he was a Confederate for "states rights." This argument is used pretty disingenuously these days, although he would know which rights, other than slavery, the south had lost, so hed be interesting to talk to about it.

[@journeyman378]

@@backwardsbandit8094 he said that he didn't raise his children like he was raised under slavery . That's only because slavery was broken at the point of guns. Do you really think most white southerners were against slavery?

[@1pinestreet]

So many POVs for why people fought in the Civil War. The soldiers fought for various reasons: because it was the thing to do, because they were bored, because they believed in states rights and were defending their homeland, because they wanted to end slavery. The Confederate politicians used war to retain slavery, and all you have to do is read Alexander Stephens cornerstone speech of 1861 to confirm this. I'm amazed at how many "states rights" people don't seem to acknowledge that speech. The Union politicians used war to keep the Union together.

[@1pinestreet]

@@journeyman378 I suspect that non-slave owner southerners didn't give much thought to slavery one way or the other.

[@Gizathecat2]

Impressive! That recording is a national treasure!

[@nassermj7671]

He saw not just the civil war but also the entire Wild, Wild West. Reading about such like Wyatt Earp, Billy the kid, etc. Lived long enough to ride in cars and witness aviation. Encyclopedia would be an understatement!

[@FlinthillsFloyd]

Sounds a lot like my grandfather who was born in 1892. I was fortunate to know him because he lived to be 100. The way this man talks, vocabulary and his phrases and accent sounds very similar to grandpa. Their way of communicating is talking and writing letters. They didn't have all this social media crap or email. This guy is like all those folks back then and tell their stories. It's amazing to hear him. I'd love to hear more about what his days and activities were like.

[@davegordon3935]

My grandfather was born the same year! My grandmother was born in 1894. Her grandfather fought in the Civil War and she gave me his diary. He was with the 30th Iowa Infantry from Vicksburg till the end of the war. Fascinating stories he wrote matter of factly about battles and death when he was 19-23. Saw General Grant near Vicksburg on Feb 3, 1863. My mom's parents outlived her. They were 102 and 100.

[@TSnowy23]

Hi Stevo, in the mid 1800s they spoke with a few different words, batty fang and such, similar to old Southern Appalachian mountain talk. I myself feel old cause kids these days freak out over nothing and clap like autistic seals when talking. None the less, this video was very informing and confirmed what I heard confederates fought for.

[@knocksensor3203]

Exactly! Old timers were all about talking and writing..

[@joannepicciano2668]

I noticed that too.... the way he phrases sentences is different than today. You can tell this guy no nonsense and logical..

[@j.jacobson]

Exactly sounds just like my grandpa born in 13

[@rickclark4112]

This audio should be played in ALL history classes in America.... absolutely wonderfully enlightening....

[@rcpmac]

It’s banned in the southern states because it brings up uncomfortable truths

[@eddieb9930]

@@rcpmac Man just look at the uncomfortable truths going on today , If something don't change soon the average American will be eating hominy and crickets ! People need to go back and look at all world history and they would realize this has been the best place to live in all of history and does it have faults hell yeah plenty It's ran by humans .

[@Ninnjette-]

@@rcpmac People are so fragile they can’t handle history anymore, that doesn’t look good for America.

[@zvotaisvfi8678]

YES GREAT IDEA LETS TIE THE CHILDREN DOWN AND PUT ON A STROBE LIGHT WHILE WE DO IT TOO!!!!

[@laurajanesherman9126]

My local community college which was practically on the battle of 1st battle of Manassas and the history professor refused to teach or discuss this war… take a guess what would follow in 2014-15.

[@jackblackpowderprepper4940]

So glad this was a recorded for history. The things this man has seen. I had a great Uncle that lived to be 104 years old. He smoked and drank beer every day. He died in 78. He told a few stories of life during the depression but loved to speak of the Indian Wars his Dad fought in.

[@cashkitty3472]

When you compare how he talks with a lot of people today you realise even with limited education he still speaks better than most living today.

[@JC-em4tx]

Perhaps today, we are indoctrinated more than we are educated

[@hillbilly4christ638]

You can thank your educational "system" for that.

[@johnrawls8668]

Dat right.

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

I’m not sure it’s the educational system. Culture probably has a big role. TV instead of books, and now computer screens, have given us a very short attention span. Then there is chemical exposure over the last century, a lot of the stuff getting dumped into rivers was and is known to interfere with development. And heaven knows what micro plastics are going to do to us, they are finding it in organs all over the body now, including the brain.

[@TheHappyHousewife89]

He probably never imagined that people almost 200 years in the future would be listening to his story...

[@BitcoinMaxy34]

Well he recorded this in 1947 so almost 100 years in the future for sure.

[@bbsara0146]

imagine if he started shilling his merch store at the end of the interview

[@BasilMinhas]

76 years in the future

[@StuartKlimek]

it is likely the recording was not 200 years ago, but only 100 years ago. From the books that were written and the movies that were produced at the turn of the 20th century, the man very likely could imagine that the recording may in fact be being listened to by people in the present. Of course, his awareness to the extent of the cultural progress and Democrat regress could not have been known. If it could, it is almost certain that there would have been no World Wars that did occur.

[@Frankosclone]

On ap app on a phone that has the power of basically knows all in your hand he never wouldve guesssed

[@RickiLanders]

He sounds exactly like my grandparents and great grandparents whom I was so blessed to know and grow up with. I miss them all so dearly. I wish I had recordings of their voices to listen to.

[@papamartino]

Linguistically, this is priceless. It is an account of the great accent shift that occurred in North America. Although the accent has clearly shifted to modern southern English, you can still hear the distinct British pronunciation, especially with final [i] sound, ex. Cavalry.

[@dennisrichardsrichards8352]

Interesting Luc. I'm going to read more about the accent shift you spoke about above. Thank you.

[@richardsfault1]

The accent reminds me a bit of some Canadian accents I've heard.

[@abubaseet]

@@richardsfault1 I think the English accent from the 18th century has got to be the common denominator.

[@karekarenz7683]

Yes, you can definitely hear the British pronunciation --- a couple of words I picked up that didn't having the American rolling "r" sound ---- "remem-ba" and "bor-da" --- but he does have the flat "a" sound in most of his words, as in "he-f" not "har-f" for "half". His pronunciation of "school" was also interesting. He says it in the way most Australian's do today "sch-ooool".

[@AlbertH99]

He died on my first birthday!

[@NeffyCat]

That was absolutely amazing to hear his perspective about the Civil War! I really appreciate your sharing this with us! Thank you so much, friend.Watched in full! I loved the pictures too.

[@_nickbaxxter]

these recordings are absolutely fascinating. even the smallest parameters of the conversation are incredible. just hearing the ways of the English language being spoken nearly 200 years ago, how similar it was to nowadays. even hearing the small gaps in his sentencing to think of the next words to say is so real to me and was truly amazing to hear. idk, it is little things like that in which prove how different yet so similar we are to each other all throughout history.

[@MartenFerret]

Without a single 'uh' or 'um'.

[@jenniferlloyd9574]

@@MartenFerret They were corrected in school and at home to refrain from saying "uh" or "um". Also, slang wasn't really actually popularized until the 1920's.

[@Rainyman63]

His accent is remarkable, sounds almost british to me.

[@leadwipe]

That was because people read more. They didn't receive education from movies, internet or videos. It was all from reading. While reading the book 'Gangs of New York', something stuck out while reading. The author stated that even though people lived in terrible poverty in the Five Points of Manhattan, many could quote Shakespeare. The accents of the street kids made them appear ignorant, but it's a false measurement of one's intelligence.

[@janseendiguiseppiThomasMC]

This is one of the coolest things I've ever had the privilege to hear. Thank you! This is simply amazing!!!

[@fenrir309]

I passed an old man named Helmut, while hiking up the Weinerwald in Vienna in 2003. He asked me to slow down and walk and talk with him . I did and he told me a riveting story of his service in the Waffen SS in WW2. I remember him and his voice vividly. Wish I had recorded that story.

[@DaisyLee1963]

What a precious recording. He's articulate and intelligent. His vocabulary is large and precise. I can tell he's been around people who spoke educated English. He's delightful to listen to.

[@chuckwest7045]

Thanks to whomever posted this. This gentleman had incredible attention to details. He remembered every little thing to the exact date and location of where these events took place. He was 101 at the time and remembering stuff that happened in his teens.

[@russellking9762]

exactly….just to be able to say you were still standing after being at Gettysburg is a feat of survival…think about it…thats like surviving the first landing on Omaha Beach 3 times over without getting hit…then making it through as a POW..and on top of that…making to 102yrs of age…without Dementia Alzheimers Parkinsons or a stroke…they built them tough in those days….it was an honour to listen to this man speak…i would have loved to hear or better still see his reaction when we went to the moon…than

[@rustyruss2962]

Yesyes

[@ancesthntr]

Yes, thanks for posting this amazing recollection of history by an amazing man.

[@JavierAcosta-fd4rd]

He told those stories a hundred times at all those Civil War re-enactments and family gatherings.

[@davidcorelli556]

@@russellking9762 It's not really that they made them tough back then to the fact that they made you weak today. How many poisons do they feed people today from food to pills?

[@chadhudson4500]

This is so great! Although the Civil War seemed to have happened long, long ago, there are still people who are alive who had the opportunity to speak with veterans of the war. I find that fascinating!

[@pammcwhorter877]

I would love to talk to civil war vets. They saw awful things

[@danoc51]

@@pammcwhorter877 The last known wife of a civil war veteran died just a few years ago, December 2020, at the age of 101. Her name was Helen Viola Jackson. That war was just not that long ago!

[@Abandoned_Brane]

Wow. He was born into a dark world with no electricity and very few modern amenities, and died in a world with skyscrapers, commercial airplanes, cars phones and even tvs.

[@100percentSNAFU]

That truly is one of the most remarkable eras to have lived a long life through. I might say second only to maybe being born a few decades later, while the world was still driven by horse and buggy, to live to see the moon landing.

[@billlawrence1899]

@@100percentSNAFU Agreed. I often think of my maternal grandmother. In her life, she traverssed the Kansas Nebraska prairie in a covered wagon, and circled the world in a 747. To me, that ties the ages together like nothing else.

[@lauraarcher1730]

@@darcyperkins7041 🙄 There’s always one!!

[@TheNinja691]

@@darcyperkins7041 millions of years, yeah right😂

[@TheNinja691]

@@darcyperkins7041 well, a few thousand years 😉

[@southern...8163]

As a Richmond resident, what a pleasure to hear roads and places I'm so familiar with.