Perspective from the Past
by Dan Stover
It’s a hot and humid summer evening and I’m sweating profusely. I can feel the beads of sweat rolling down
my forehead as I try to quickly pack the gunpowder, wad and lead bullet down the front-end of this handmade, muzzle-loading .50 caliber rifle with its ramrod. I set the cock back, place the flint, and gently touch the
hair-pin trigger… and BAM!! A Gatorade bottle full of water explodes a hundred or so yards away.
While cleaning the barrel, readying it to be re-loaded, I found myself appreciating history. I was partly
appreciating my family history, because this intricate muzzle-loader was hand-crafted by my uncle and the
wood was carved from my great-grandfather’s fallen memorial tree. It felt as if I were holding a nine pound
piece of history, in every way. As my dad, uncles and I spurred playful competition with one another over
plastic targets, I couldn’t help but think of the courage it took to enter major battle with a single-shot weapon
such as the one I was holding.
It turns out, that this style of firearm was a standard up through the Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War.
As I came home to do a little reading on that battle, I discovered Corporal Samuel J. English’s eye-witness
accounts from the first day of battle, while entering enemy territory:
…in the woods where the desperate struggle had taken place between the U.S. Marines and the
Louisiana zouaves, the trees were spattered with blood and the ground strewn with dead bodies. The
shots flying pretty lively round me I thought best to join my regiment; as I gained the top of the hill I
heard the shot and shell of our batteries had given out, not having but 130 shots for each gun during
the whole engagement. [T]he command was given to retreat.
… an officer galloped wildly into the column crying “the enemy is upon us”, and off they started like a
flock of sheep, every man for himself and the devil take the hindermost; while the rebels' shot and shell
fell like rain among our exhausted troops.
I think of days of being exhausted, buried in paperwork, maybe even one-too-many meetings for my spirit to
uphold, while emails, text messages and other alerts sound off… seeming nothing short of chaotic. In
comparison to fallen comrades, stretching the limit of physical ability and the intense psychological stress of
battle, those “chaotic” moments I experience feel much more within my control. When days like this seem like
a never-ending challenge, I am appreciative for perspective such as this. I could have far less tools in my
arsenal to deal with much greater adversity; such as a single shot rifle in a rapidly retreating battle.
The perspective that shapes and motivates us is not necessarily the successes and accolades achieved by
others; but the perils and tests of the human spirit. Adversity encourages us to grow, while inspiring others to
do the same. If not the same experience or challenge, at minimum we can appreciate where others have been
and reflect upon where we stand in our own lives, in good times or bad.