A recent read for me was the book entitled, “D-Day, June 6, 1944, The Climatic Battle of World war ll.”
The invasion was a necessary in the second World War, that could not be denied. The leaders of the allied forces planned and planned. The fighting forces to be in this future action against the German army were trained and trained. When the time came to launch the invasion on the beached of Normandy, France, the plans became a nightmare, especially on the beach known in this battle as Omaha. Failures were everywhere. The Germans were in place and the results were destruction, chaos, casualties galore and death.
In my feeble mind, I find imagining what these brave young men faced almost impossible. I would fight tears more than once as I visualized the events and circumstances I was reading about. Humankind should never be required to endure such events but yet mankind has been forced to face the face of evil continuously over the countless centuries.
Of course, I had to think of my father, Allen K. Smail. He was involved on D-Day 13 if my memory is correct. Would he had survived D-day? Such a question is a humbling experience.
As per the training, the book records a number of times where training would eventually come together and counterattack the German wrath once those who survived the beach reached the tops of the cliffs and such.
Thank you, to all those brave young men, sacrificing so much on that day and the days following the invasion. It is a debt that cannot be ever repaid from America.
I went to surgeon’s office to have my hand’s stitches removed this morning. Once home and realizing the day was to be nice a decision to walk. became reality. I thought for a moment before heading to where a small community once existed. That place was Kelly Station.
I hadn’t been in the area for quite some time. the Rails To trails people have been doing a great job preparing the trail for use. One site I hoped to see was an island where a Bald eagle nest exists. I spotted the eagle’s nest two years ago but from the other side of the river. Th e nest was harder to find initially but I eventually spotted it among the limns of a Sycamore tree. An adult Bald eagle was on the nest. I struggled to find a place where I might get a decent photo. Lots of limbs made any clarity difficult.
I continued hiking and estimated around seven miles where walked this day. I know the old knees were feeling some discomfort, but I pushed on.
I saw four deer this day. I saw a small flock of turkeys on a right-a-way. Along the river I would see a lot of Canada Geese, a pair of Hooded Mergansers and a pair of Wood Ducks. I watched a flock of circling Turkey Vultures a few times. I wouldn’t fall over. Tough on them…
I did see some Gray and Fox Squirrels, too.
Old Coke Ovens
I easily saw ancient remains of coke ovens at a couple of locations. These coke ovens were in use back in the elate 1800s. I should research these to obtain other information.
The Allegheny River South of Kelly Sation.
Off and on while hiking I spent some moments working my fingers on my hand. Doc says to work them to keep them from stiffening up and to avoid scar tissue buildup.
I spent about five hours or more while on this excursion.
Bob “Slim” Bowser and myself dressed in period attire.
Recently, I attended the Armstrong County Historical Museum in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The event was for a group of junior and senior student to visit the museum to learn local history. My “job” was to talk about the French and Indian War period including the battle in Kit-Han-ne. (Kittanning)
I am dressed above in attire an eighteenth-century militiaman may have been wearing during that time. Slim, on the other hand was dressed in Civil War attire of the northern army of those days…the Union. Slim discussed local Civil War details of men from the Armstrong County lands. He is a living historian representing the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Many of these men came from our area.
Jim Johnson and Donna Weckerly, both local historians, talked on various other interests of history.
The students were very interested in our discussions.
I took a moment to stand beside my father’s World War Two uniform on display at this museum. My father, Allen K. Smail served in the European theater including the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.
Laurie and I were arriving home on July 12 around five when I noticed something was amiss. The huge Black Oak tree living on the front yard was down! The driveway was completely covered with the tree, so I had to come in from the road onto the yard.
After the initial shock wore off I gathered my little chain saw and began to clear a way to get to teh garage. This was a big job, and I completed this task in the following morning with a charged battery for the saw.
We were extremely fortunate with no part of the tree hitting the house and deck. The satellite dish was missed, also. My rail fence across the drive had one post knocked off level but no breakage. I do have various damages that will need replaced, but the fact of nothing major sure is a great thought.
I called the insurance company and a couple of tree crews and settled on one outfit. It took three days for the oak to be removed and cleanup.
Interestingly, I counted the rings the best I could and came up with 158 to 160 growth rings. This tree’s growth began around 1863 or so at the time of the Civil War! Once the stump was cut close to ground level I measured the base at six feet- four inches.
I always liked the old tree and will miss the shade it provided. Acorns were forming on the limbs. The tree man said he could evidence of a disease around the roots. This was what caused the decay at base level. The rest of the tree was sound solid wood.
My interest in German history was initiated through the words of my father, Allen K. Smail. My father, a World War 2, veteran talked of such things occasionally. We watched the old series, Hogan’s Heroes with laughter. One thing I remember was the mindset of the SS soldiers as he told me. My father who was part of the military police. (MP) would have the occasion to watch over German prisoners. He spoke of the differences between the regular German soldier and the SS soldier.
The German word, Schutzstaffel was abbreviated to the SS. Such men were originally formed to be only dedicated to the armed protection of Adolf Hitler and the NAZI party ideals. One truth I learned from the reading of the above book; The Waffen-SS is one of around twenty separate SS divisions. The Waffen-SS was the combat unit.
Of course, some of the SS units were responsible for the terrible atrocities committed upon the Jewish people as well as many others.
Another interesting aspect of the SS units was as the war progressed conscriptions were being done to supply the numbers. Also, there were men from other countries part of the SS soldiery. even French men. the earliest SS men had to meet certain qualifications including complete loyalty to Adolf Hitler m nd the NAZI war machine even to their deaths. The strictness would be lessened as time moved along during the war.
One story my father told to me concerning the SS was how evil the men were. he said you didn’t dare let down your guard to the SS of the earlier prisoners. They would kill if a chance was afforded to them. remember my dad was an MP, so he was around these soldiers at times. However, he, also, stated later in the war the prisoners were kids and elderly. The young Germans would throw down their rifles upon seeing the American soldiers. My dad said these young people were pests. they loved riding in the jeeps.
I enjoyed the read as I always do on such things and would recommend reading it to anyone interested in World War 2 history.
Pennsylvania in the mid-eighteenth century was a very much different Pennsylvania than today! Most of the population were to be found east of the Allegheny Mountain range. West of the mountain range was forestlands intermingled with native Indian villages. French soldiers were building forts along the Allegheny River to the dismay of the Bristish and colonists of the colony of Pennsylvania. The French and Indian War was reality by the midcentury beginning in 1754 with George Washington’s force firing on some French soldiers in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The painting shown above has received much interest on another site, so much so, I decided to give a brief story about the event. However, to tell the Blanket Hill event story there is a need to give a few details as to why it happened.
Pennsylvania, at this time, was an ally with England for it was one of England’s colony and not a state until after the War of Independence. The natives of the village of Kit-Han-ne (Present-day, Kittanning, PA.) The Indians located here were mostly of the Lenni-Lenape tribe commonly referred to as the Delaware. They, because of various reasons, allied themselves with the French cause launching raids into the frontier lands of the colony. Upon hearing of any Delaware Indians close would send settlers in a panic traveling as far as Philadelphia with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The threat of death was real!
Moving ahead to the summer of 1756 another event occurred. The defeat of Fort Granville would lead to the above incident. This fort was located near present-day Lewistown, Pennsylvania. The man-in-charge of the fort was Lieutenant Edward Armstrong. This man would be killed in the attack. Note the name!
The lieutenant’s brother was Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong. This man sought the authorities to launch a raid on the Delaware’s chief village of Kit-Han-Ne. He, obviously, had thoughts of avenging his brother, but, also, wanting to destroy the village, burn their fields and rescue some one hundred prisoners being kept at the village. Some three hundred and seven men began the trek west to accomplish this feat.
Armstrong sent scouts ahead to watch for Indian activity. The scouts found a fire and believed three to four warriors were present. This was on September 7, 1756. The officer placed a Lieutenant James Hogg with twelve men to attack these Indians at dawn. Armstrong continued west towards the Indian town of about six miles away. Horses and baggage were left close to the area, too.
At dawn Hogg’s ordered the attack only to discover there were many more Indians present. A few prisoners gathered at Kit-Han-Ne during the following morning’s attack claimed about twenty-five natives had left the town. No doubt these were the men. The skirmish began!
Lieutenant Hogg’s was wounded twice and would die. Others were killed or wounded. The others took off out of fear leaving their blankets, horses and other gear behind! The battle was a moving skirmish as the Indians searched for the fleeing soldiers. The site became known as “Blanket Hill”. The area is still called this to the day.
My great, great, great grandfather purchased the land in the 1800 era. I was raised a few miles away from the site. I had walked the area in my youth before learning of the actual site of the beginning of the skirmish. In recent years I have hunted and harvested deer with my smoothbore sixty-two caliber and my fifty caliber flintlocks.
The painting depicted above shows four Delaware Indians at the fire the night before the attack at dawn.
The morning produced a deep fog, and I knew once the sun began to burn its way through the fog some great photo opportunities could occur. Off I went to walk along the Allegheny River.
The autumn tree colors are intensifying, and I wanted to be there. My walk would be approximately five miles.
Birch leaves with the river being obscured by fog, but it is there!
One historic finding was the remnants of the old Monticello Furnace. The furnace was built by Robert E. Brown in 1859 to extract local iron. The iron was burned in the furnace. the resulting pig iron was sent to Kittanning and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The furnace was closed in 1875.
October 10 was looking like a great day to get out and about. The leaves were turning into their autumn colors and the skies were blue and the temperatures perfect for hiking. Laurie and I asked her mother, Anne to go and she happily agreed for the day trip. Anne is eighty-four years old but does very well with hiking. The place to visit was, McConnell’s Mill State Park.
We stopped at Moraine Park for a brief time hoping to observe a Bald eagle or Osprey.
Looking from the old mill onto the falls of Slippery Rock
The McConnell’s Mill site was originally owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (1946) and handed over to the Commonwealth pf Pennsylvania in 1957. The lands are located in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania in the western part of the state. The park features the beautiful rock laden Slippery Rock Creek. Steep slopes are visible on both sides of the gorge. Huge rocks are viewed all about the parks land.
A couple of man-made features are located along and over the creek. The actual mill was built in 1852 and after being destroyed by fire was rebuilt in 1868. The mill was closed in 1928.
One additional feature is the one lane covered bridge. Few of these structures exist and this one is a beauty. The bright red colors contrast nicely among the foliage or snow in winter.
We visited another area of the park for I knew the trail would not be very difficult and that was the Hell’s Hollow site A watercourse flows down the hollow. It is called Hell Run. A couple of features of this trail are the Hell’s Run Falls and an old remnant of a limekiln. The kiln is barricaded off so one cannot get into the center anymore.
As a boy I had many influences on numerous on many subjects. One such influence was the three-night series of Davy Crocket. the series featured Fess Parker as Mr. Crockett. Another Alamo related movie featured John “the Duke” Wayne as the Tennessee frontiersman. Of course, much of both versions was strictly hollywood exaggerations. the latter shows Wayne as Crockett on the fort’s ledge swinging his flintlock rifle to take out as many Mexicans as he could before succumbing to his death. There was a report that David Crockett may have been executed, but there is no solid evidence to lead to that conclusion.
In recent months I have read two books about the Alamo and events leading up to the battle and some of men participating in the conflict. Three of which were, David Crockett, of course, William Travis and legendary man with the big knife, James Bowie.
I have heard a few various stories as to how these men died at the Alamo. The books dig deep into words of some of those survivors of the battle, and written accounts by the very same. I must clarify that last sentence. There were no survivors of those doing the fighting within the walls, but there were a few women and children and one slave named Joe who were allowed to leave.
The account of David Crockett states he was killed very early in the hour-long battle. Travis was killed by a shot to the head at the first onslaught of the push to enter the fort. Bowie was killed in his bed, but not the in the way most film depicts with flintlock pistols firing before using his famous Bowie knife. Bowie was so sick he couldn’t move to fight and was shot and bayoneted in his bed. All the fighters were burned after their deaths in huge fires.
How these men died is not the important issue, but the fact they did die for a cause they truly believed in… Texas! The legends live even to this day.
I finally read the book, “BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE”. And I must state the book was, quite possibly, the saddest book I have ever read!
A very similar scenario would take place with each, and every tribe involved. The scene often began with greedy men upon discovery of gold on Indian lands or of land speculators seeking to obtain their lands to sell at a huge profit. The next ingredient were the dishonest and powerful politicians. Indian agents would be sent out to make treaties with the various tribes with many promises. Once the treaty was signed and catalogued then the treachery and deceit would come into play forcing Indians onto reservation lands with more promises. Those who refused would be eventually hunted down for capture or death!
Some Indian leaders understood the lies and deceptions and would refuse to capitulate. Sometimes once these native people spent time on the reservations a rebellion would come into existence. Afterall, their way of life was forced into another way of life. They were forced onto lands nobody wanted. The leaders would see their women and children suffer diseases, hardships and the lack of food. Rations were always in the promises but often failed to arrive, were highjacked by greedy men charging high prices to the Indians or the rations were just bad and not the best for eating. Many times, the horses were suffering and thinning due to lack of grasses for them to eat. Younger warriors would become very agitated over these constant abuses often leading to their leaving the reservations to obtain food or take vengeance in some cases.
The book describes a number of instances where the soldiers charged into villages shooting and killing and mutilating any Indian. There are times when many, many Indian ponies would be corralled and shot. Bisons were killed by the thousands and left to rot.
The question to ask today is, what would YOU DO when pushed into a situation of no hope?
This entry is a “Reader’s Digest” version of events of those times. It will bring a tear to your eye as you see the corruptness, injustices and greed of the United States Government in collusion with the U.S. Military being ordered into such actions by politicians and wealthy individuals and groups wanting as much as they can obtain.
Larry A. Smail's Blog 