Today’s Echo of the Past explore one of the most interesting topics of Southern history, the story of the common Confederate soldier.

However, the soldier examined today would probably be considered as perhaps the most uncommon of the common Confederate soldiers. His complaints about the usual hardships of wartime and pangs of homesickness were joined by a seeming paranoia that others in the unit were conspiring against him.

Be first to comment this article | Views: 956

This week’s Echo is not a well-researched exploration of a topic but rather an idea that hit upon me while doing such research.

I will apologize in advance because two of the topics touched in this article are not particularly pleasant. The discussion of a somewhat light topic will include brushes with racism and prostitution.

Be first to comment this article | Views: 996

In last week’s Echo, I discussed the construction of the Military Road, the oldest road constructed in Northwest Louisiana. That road ran north and south, in this week’s column I’m going to give a little history about the first major east-west road across North Louisiana, the Wire Road, or as it is better known, the Old Wire Road.

Be first to comment this article | Views: 748

The settlement of this immediate area of North Louisiana began not in the east-west pattern of most of the Bible Belt, but rather on the north-south track of the waterways. In the 1800s, the preferred means of travel to and from Minden shifted from water, to railroads, and eventually to highways. This week’s Echo is about the first road constructed in our area, Military Road #11.

Be first to comment this article | Views: 996