Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Hurricanes During the Civil War?

From the Sept. 18, 2011, Chicago Tribune "10 things you might not know about Hurricanes" by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer.

Despite Farragut writing about the bad storm his fleet experienced in the Gulf of Mexico a few months ago in 1862, the fact is that the longest hurricane-free period of time in the continental United States in the last 160 years took place between November 1861 and October 1865, roughly the time frame of the war.

The poor guys manning the blockade ships had enough to deal with as it was.  To be sure, there were some bad storms, but nothing as bad as a hurricane.  Imagine seeing an old Jack Tar holding onto the rails of a pitching ship talking before the camera.  "Well, as you can see, it's blowing REAL HARD and I'm about to get seasick, so STEP BACK!!"

Blow Me Down.  --Old B-Runner

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