MORE HONORS FOR JLB

On April 7, 2011 the State of Texas House of Representatives issued a resolution honoring John Lapham Bullis. This recognition resulted from his military accomplishments as well as the part he played in promoting the settlement of West Texas and his advocacy for the Black Seminole Scouts. We'll post some of this document in the next two weeks, as our way of again recognizing this Bullis family member's contribution to his country.

A second honor for John Lapham Bullis is in the form of an exhibit at Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio the last of this month. A member of our committee will be attending this event. Again, we'll keep you posted.

BIRDS THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW: THE EAST

Neltje Blanchan published her book through Doubleday, Page & Co. in 1907. Its sixty-three pages are filled with flowing text and photographs of birds in their natural habitat.

Descriptions and photos of robins, bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, wrens, warblers, sparrows, swallows, and more are included.

Those of us who have enjoyed this book from the collection have one suggestion.  Don't let the title mislead you. This book could easily be called Birds that Everyone Should Know.  We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look.

WHAT MAY BE LEARNED FROM A TREE

Since today is Arbor Day, we scrolled through the collection's data base for books on trees, and stopped when we saw the entry "What May Be Learned From a Tree."  Wow, what a neat book!  The author, Harland Coultas, copyrighted the book in 1855 and it went into several printings. The Bullis copy was published in 1860 by D. Appleton.

Mr. Coultas began his book with the history of trees and followed up with discussions of tree anatomy, physiology, growth, community, and death.  Interweaved throughout is the author's purpose "...to show that the tree may be regarded as a vast community of phytons, or plants, which co-operate in its construction and are mutually dependent on and subservient to each other." (Introduction, page 11)

He concludes his introduction with, "Reader, whoever you are, may this book prove to you a friend, may you be induced by its pages to look on the Tree with a new interest; and obtaining from its noble form a clear and truthful view of your own position and duty in life, become, by the perusal of this volume, a wiser man and a better citizen." (Introduction, page 12)

Many trees are visible through the Bullis Room window. Some were here long before us and will be here long after we are gone, making their contributions (individually and collectively) to our planet. Let's do what we can to help them live out their purpose.

Note: You can read Mr. Coulas's book online, or here in the Bullis Room.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH

April is National Volunteer Month.

Last week was National Volunteer Week.

Every day is Volunteer Day.

This is certainly true of Bullis Room volunteers.  Some days they work in the Bullis Room, researching, organizing, planning. Other days they work at home, updating worksheets or brainstorming ways to promote the collection in the community.

We say a sincere "thank you" to our own volunteers--and to those everywhere who make a tremendous contribution to our society.

AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING

John Lapham Bullis's letter to "Mrs. Dr. A. R. Bullis" on February 19, 1865 was written "On the Field, with the 118th Col. Inf."  He wrote that he had lately joined the regiment with his detachment from
Dutch Gap to prepare for the spring campaign and added that he was busy building quarters "in camp to right of Fort Brady. Previous to Dutch Gap quite a stirring up by Rebel Fleet in our midst. Reb. gunboat Drury blew up."

The end of his Civil War experience brought to John Lapham Bullis the beginning of a new career on the Frontier. In his May 25, 1865 letter home from Camp Lincoln, Virginia, he wrote that he was expecting to move south soon to Texas.  What followed was a military career that distinguished him as a brilliant leader and earned him the rank of Brigadier General (although he would continue to be known as "Johnnie" to the folks back in Macedon.)

JLB: CIVIL WAR EYEWITNESS

Through eyewitness accounts in his letters, we can follow John Lapham Bullis’s Civil War experiences as a young recruit who quickly became a seasoned soldier.  He was the latter when he wrote from Annapolis, Maryland on July 2, 1864:

“Waiting transp. to Army Potomac.  Year ago at Gettysburg, warm, and we were taking a doublequick for a Barn that was changing hands often on that memorable time.”

Three months later, September 19, 1864, he wrote “on the Ohio River Steamboat Grey Eagle on Ohio bound for Louisville. Soldiers have Measles.” 

His November 20, 1864 letter came from “Hqs. Co. A. 118^th Inf. near Richmond, Va,” and he relayed that he had come from Kentucky and had now been in about 14 states.

From Macedon to Harpers Ferry to Gettysburg and Libby Prison. Then on to Annapolis, Philadelphia, Louisville, Richmond, crossing “about 14 states” within two years. How much more he could have told us of those times. However, we are grateful for this limited glimpse into a Civil War soldier's personal observations and thoughts.

Next week we'll post excerpts from his last two Civil War letters that are in our archives.

AUDELS MASONS AND BUILDERS GUIDE

Our January 8 and January 15, 2009 postings focused on a set of books in the Bullis collection, Audels Carpenters and Builder Guide, published by Theo. Audel Co. , copyrighted in 1929, 1933, 1945,  and reprinted in 1948. Now two years later another set of books with Audels in the title  “showed up” on the Bullis Room’s round table, and volunteers immediately began poring over their pages.

The motto, “By Hammer and Hand All Things Do Stand,” heads up each title page of this four-volume set. The complete title is: Audels Masons and Builders Guide,  A Practical Illustrated Trade Assistant on Modern Construction for Bricklayers-Stone Masons-Cement Workers-Plasterers and Tile Setters...” written by Frank D. Graham-Chief and Thomas J. Emery-Associate. This set was copyrighted in 1924 and 1945 by Theo Audel & Co., New York.

The books are subtitled:

1 – Brick Work: Brick Laying, Bonding, Designs

2 – Brick Foundations: Arches, Tile, Setting, Estimating

3 – Concrete: Mixing, Placing Forms, Reinforced, Stucco

4 – Plastering, Stone Masonry, Steel Construction, Blue Prints

 Book 1’s first chapter gives an interesting history of the art of brick making, pointing out that sun dried or adobe brick “were used thousands of years before the earliest recorded date of history, as given on a brick tablet of the time of Sargon of Akkad, 3,800 B.C., founder of the Chaldean empire.”  This account also notes that  “The Great Wall of China was constructed partly of brick, both burnt and unburnt.”  We also found these facts interesting:

“In England, the great fire of 1666 transformed London from a wooden to a brick town and gave a great spur to the brick industry.”

and,

”The first brick buildings in America were erected on Manhattan Island in the year 1633.... The bricks for these buildings were made in Holland....For many years brick were imported into America from Holland and also from England.”

Stop by and  look through either or both Audels sets.  It will be worth your time.