No idea, waiting for clues.

Not hard to imagine Christmas here - we had a huge dump of snow in the last 36 hours - I need to get out and shovel again. No rest for the wicked!!
Oohhh, going to need clues big time!! Sherman was north?? If south, I would guess an offensive!! lol.

Nancy.

Sherman was a Union (North) general. He is probably best remembered for his 'March to the Sea' when he moved through Georgia burning everything-crops, homes, whatever. He burned Atlanta. This helped to bring the South to its knees. I am no longer a sentimentalist concerning the South when it comes to the Civil War, but preservation is another matter. Still, his gift to Lincoln was not only proof of his success in his march, but also showed that he was not completely hardened by the war, I think. Not much of a gift wrapper, though.

I used to remind my nieces about this on this anniversary since they moved from Pennsylvania to the southern coast. You two really should try to take a vacation to some of our wonderful, old towns some day! Fly into DC and we can take a road trip south, but stop before Florida.

Cynthia

Still at a loss here. Was it bigger than a breadbox?

TM

So, maybe something 'typically' Southern that he looted?? Hmmmm......a bale of cotton?? Not sure why that popped into my head, but how would you wrap that?

In 2001, January, two friends and I drove from here to Florida. We did go through VA, stopping at the Potomac Mills Mall (yea!!) and stopping in Savannah, after the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Loved that city, stayed at an historic river-front hotel whose name escapes me. I'd do that again in a heartbeat!! We were going to do it again, stopping next time in Charleston, but never got around to it. 8(

Nancy.

Why, Nancy, if I didn't know better, I would think you were offering a clue!

It was way bigger than a bread box, TM. I do not think Lincoln was ever able to enjoy it, though, and I bet the gift didn't much like the idea of being presented.

Cynthia

Oh and just for fun, today is another anniversary of a famous saying from another general:

1944 During the Battle of the Bulge, Germany demanded the surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium; Brigadier Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe reportedly replied: "Nuts!"

If I was giving a clue, I missed it!!

Ahhh, fruit cake, tis the season!! Am I warm now?

Nancy.

Good one, Cynthia, I remember it: The Battered Bastards of Bastogne. Too bad it wasn't the real trivia question. :)

Could we be talking about livestock of some kind?

Scratching my head.

TM

Lol Nancy! You're only warm if you are hinting that you'd like one for Christmas!

It certainly is nice to be on vacation. Would be fun to be someplace warm. The only time I really like the cold is when we are getting snow. Still, old towns like ours are lovely this time of year-Alexandria isn't quite as gracious and charming as some further south, say, in Georgia...

Hmmmmm, I'm thinking Georgia is a clue.

Annette

Might it have been one of the 'green' gifts?

Nancy.

Shall I tell you it is not something he could actually ship to Washington? I should probably give Nancy stars for her guess of a bale of cotton. Truth is 250,000 bales of cotton came along with Sherman's gift.

His plan was to make the civilian population abandon the Confederate war effort. His march began in Atlanta which he burned. The retreating Confederate Army in front of Sherman's forces also destroyed much. Sherman's troops destroyed what was left. However, even General Sherman found something too beautiful to destroy.

Cynthia

So this thing is big, really big, huh? I have an idea that it may be related to a certain street name that is overly common in Georgia, and maybe other parts of the south too.

TM

I've been thinking about this while out partying. I don't remember if this was in the movie Lincoln which I saw a couple of weeks ago. I'm thinking that it was a city that we visited in 2000. Beautiful gardens and historical areas.
In a war with so much destruction this was unexpected and a good gift to the people of said city as well.

Will check back later. I have another party to go to now.

Yep, TM, about 78 square miles big. ;)

Have fun at your party Bobbie!

Cynthia

Hmmmmm....

A town/city????

Annette

Maybe an island - Tybee?? I was going to say a peach or pecan tree, for the green, then when you said it was too beautiful to destroy, I thought of the statue in the movie. Now, I'm just bloody confused!! lol. Oooo, ooooo, maybe a plantation??

Nancy, who is very, very confused!!

:)

I really did think Nancy had it hours ago.

Nancy, you've been there done that.

Oops, noticed a typo...25,000 not 250,000 bales of cotton.

Just think, this week I will be able to take it easy in the mornings! Maybe I will watch the Today show and its new female host.

Cynthia

Nancy mentioned stopping in Savannah, is that it?

Annette

Savannah? Man, that wasn't on the tour, lol!!

Nancy.

Savannah is the city I was alluding to and tried to get the good in from Nancy's posting about the Garden of Good and Evil. I thought it was a city and Nancy's post jogged my mind about Savanah. I watch a couple of gardening shows on PBS and remember one Savanah home owner saying that Savanah was not burned.

I'm partied out, getting too old to party all day and all night. Had a fun time.

As soon as I read 78 square miles, I thought of Savannah, too, and how Sherman had spared it. DW and I were there several years ago and loved it, with all of its beautiful squares. I think we walked the entire historic district, and had lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House.

TM

"I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." General William Tecumseh Sherman wired Lincoln that message on December 22, 1864. After nearly six weeks when nothing had been heard from Sherman's army, word reached Washington that he was outside Savannah.

So ****, and a cup of cheer, for all of you.

If you are celebrating Christmas, I wish you a merry merry one and I do wish everyone lots of joy and laughter in the coming year.

If you get the comic strip Frazz in your paper, you may have seen yesterday's strip, but just in case...the gist is that a little girl tells Frazz that for Christmas she wants to wake up with a soft, purring kitten next to her. He responds that she already has a kitten and she says, what is wrong with wanting something you already have?

Cynthia

Naawwww....that is cute!! More should want that!!

Thanks for the stars and the fun!!

Nancy.

We don't get Frazz, so thanks for passing on the great message. I passed it on to DW. Good Christmas wishes to you, Cynthia.

TM