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- Majestic scene
- +102
- Who dunnit?
- Who built the bar?
- Weekend at Joy Boy's
- A 1940 Fashion Statement?
- The gent on the right
- Jax also Builds Health!
- Best version of Soldier's Joy you'll ever hear
- Fast getaway
- My Great-Grandma
- Macabre meaning
- Not at war yet
- Name That Tune
- Native Floridian at a glance
- Three fellows
- Prankster
- It seems the war
- The Night was Moist
- John Vachon would head there eventually
- Not
- Tough day at the stables
- The whole thing??
- Even the carpenter knew --
- No hat no job
- Good luck, son
- Gilded Age Hobby
- I Saw What He Did
- The autos
- Long commute?
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Aiken's Landing: 1864
November 1864. Aiken's Landing, Virginia. "Army of the James. Convalescent colored troops at Aiken's Landing. A.M. Aiken's house at right." View full size.
Southern sympathizer
William Frassanito's books are a goldmine of information. A.M. Aiken had pledged not to aid the Confederates but on July 5, 1864 a Union detachment found he had been supplying hay and grain to the Confederates and also assisted 5 soldiers to escape capture. He was arrested and described as a "great rascal". These soldiers were part of General Butlers army. He was a great champion of African American soldiers.
Inspiring
I have to comment on this picture. I have seen few images here at Shorpy.com that were so inspiring to me as this one. The image of African American men who have been wounded in battle fighting for their freedom moves me deeply.
Birdhouse, Army-style?
Bird HOUSE? Bird BARRACKS is more like it.
Martin House
That is certainly a purple martin house. According to this page:
http://purplemartin.org/main/history.html
Purple martins are domesticated, in the sense that they require human-built nests. This happened before the Europeans arrived, when the native Americans put up collections of gourds for them to inhabit. Apparently the communal bird house of the type pictured here has been around for quite a while.
Signal Corps
A fine example of Army Signal Corp barracks for pigeon-toed recruits.
This is for the birds
And to the left of Aiken's house is a condo for 72 homing pigeons, or what?
Varina, VA
The house is still apparently standing in Varina, a little southeast of Richmond.
Chez Martin
If I saw that birdhouse today, I would assume it was for purple martins. Were they popular back then? Were they trying to keep down the insect population?
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