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Hey y’all! I did it! Ryana Lynn, did you see that! I am actually typing! Y’all, this laptop thing is so interesting! I’ve never seen anything like this before and I’m surprised at how easy it is! Oh…I suppose I should introduce myself! My name is Dixianna Mason of Four Tree Springs, N.C. Ryana Lynn told me she has written a series of books about my family, but not all of you have read them yet. She thought perhaps you should meet me and get to know me a little better. Well, I’m nothing special, just, well, me! I just happen to live during a war…just like you! What…? Oh, Ryana Lynn says I’m rambling -What’s that thing you write when you laugh? Oh! - lol! That looks so cute! Sorry, I digress. Anyway, you may wonder why I’ve taken over the blog! Well, today is my Birthday! Yes, I am a Valentine’s baby! And as a present to me, Ryana Lynn has sweetly allowed me to fulfill a dream of mine since…well, since I met her…lol! (I’m getting this!) If I lived in your year, I would be 173. But I’m not in your time, I am in mine. The year is 1864 and I just turned 18! And officially an old maid…like I said, there’s a war on, so…I’m waiting patiently. Huh? Oh, all right, apparently, I need to end this introduction and get into my main topic. So, The End.  My topic today will be…me! I am going to tell you a little bit about myself and hope you find it interesting… My Favorite Instrument. As you can see on the photograph above…wait, it’s not a photograph?...oh, the “blog graphic” above, I play the fiddle. I play hymns, folk music and patriotic pieces, usually with my brothers. I can play the piano, but fiddle is my passion…how do you…oh, there 😉 I love those little faces! Okay, back to the fiddle. My fiddle was made in 1812 by my great-grandfather, Richard MacIntyre, for my grandmother, Dixianna Rose MacIntyre Mason, only she wasn’t married at the time. She was named for her parents, Richard (Dixie is a nickname for Richard, don’t ask me how that got started) and Anna. Maw-Maw has always gone by Anna, because she felt, when she was young, that Dixie was too masculine. How things do change! Maw-Maw gave the fiddle to my father when he was thirteen, and he passed it along to me when I was thirteen, though I was playing it by the time my arms were long enough to hold it. My Horse. Do any of you like horses? I do! My horse is a slate gray Mustang Stallion named Confederate 😉 My Papa Rains (My mother’s father) bought him for me right before the war began three years ago. Confederate is quite playful, though if you had seen him when I first got him, you wouldn’t have thought so. He had a rough life, poor baby, but now, he gets all the love and attention I give him and plenty of pasture to run in. His favorite treats are apple peels and carrot skins. I know, I’d love to give him the whole thing, but with the war on, we need all the food we can find and there’s no money for extras. Not that I’m complaining. My Favorite Color. Contrary to what one might think, my favorite color is purple. Many assume it’s green, because of my eyes and my red hair and the fact that green looks the best on me, but purple is my favorite. My favorite dress was purple…my brothers bought me the material for my birthday…sure miss that dress. Ryana Lynn says you should read book 3 if you want to learn more about what happened to it… My Favorite Sibling… Just making sure you were paying attention! I don’t have a favorite sibling and Ryana Lynn says I can’t tell you much because of something known as spoilers. But I will tell you this: Growing up in a house full of boys is difficult, but also quite the adventure! I used to loath the slamming of doors, but with the war on now…I kinda miss it. One more fun fact and then I shall…how did she put it…oh! I shall “Wrap-up” this post. You people of the 21st Century sure have some interesting ways of expressing yourselves! But it’s also quite intriguing! I’m rambling again. My Favorite Song. Hymn wise, it would be What Wondrous Love is This? So hauntingly beautiful. Patriotic wise, I like The Homespun Dress and of course, Dixieland 😉 And I was born on a frosty morning! I also love the North Carolina War Song. It’s to the tune of Bonnie Annie Laurie, a Scottish folk song that my Maw-Maw Mason adores. It’s not well known outside my state and Ryana Lynn said that in your time, most people have never heard of it. It’s so pretty though…now I think I’m gonna cry! I suppose this is where I “wrap-up!” I hope you enjoyed my very first (and probably only) blog post! I thoroughly enjoyed it! But, I must rush back to my world…the troops are still in winter quarters, but soon, the fighting will resume…I encourage you to take a moment to thank God that the war your country is fighting now isn’t being fought on your home soil. I’m not so fortunate… Have a blessed day, Farewell! Dixie Mason P.S. Below is my favorite Psalm. I hope you enjoy! Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100 King James Version A Note From Ryana Lynn: Here's Dixie's song, The North Carolina War Song. She couldn't figure out how to post it, lol ;) Welcome to my fourth post of the year! I am so excited to be bringing you another installment of my Soldier Life series…the sixth in this series I found out. So for those who are unfamiliar with this series, I am compiling information that I came across while researching for The Battle for Heritage Series. I am not an expert on the War Between the States, but I thought these posts might be helpful to other authors researching the same time era. With that out of the way, let’s see what life in the army was like for a private, the lowest ranking member of the army.  Most of the army is made up of privates, even today. They are the boots on the ground, the common soldier you know and love from novels and movies. Back in the old days, the private did not have any insignia on his uniform. And another thing about these fellows that I suppose is common knowledge is that the private never gave orders. He’s not over anyone, he’s at the bottom of the totem pole. But what exactly was expected of him? Let’s take a look. Drill. If you’ve read any book on soldiering in any time period, I’m sure you’ve read about the incessant amount of drilling they did. This wasn’t just a mundane task they had to complete. This was life and death training. It also helped to fill time in the day that otherwise would have left the men idle…and more prone to get into trouble. KP. Ah, yes, Kitchen Patrol. While this is more of the WWII name for the job, soldiers did take turns helping the army cooks. Peeling potatoes (when they had them) was one of their jobs, as was washing dishes, stirring pots, serving food and dumping food waste., They would have to do anything food related when their turn came around.  Policing the Grounds. Just as today, this task had to do with keeping their living quarters neat and clean. Clearing debris away from the walking paths, organizing their gear, stacking the wood piles neatly, it all had to do with keeping things tidied up. Horse Duty. Even if they didn’t serve in the Cavalry, their unit had horses for pulling supply wagons, riding dispatches, and transporting officers. So, the privates would feed the horses, clean up after them and if needed, make sure they had been exercised for the day. Grooming needed to be kept up as well to insure the horses’ health and appearance. Guard Duty. There were two types of guard duty. The first was what you would expect from the name, guarding prisoners, both enemy and fellow soldiers who had disobeyed some military rule. The other was known as Picket Duty, which simply meant they were guarding the outskirts of the camp from intruders. Camp Duties. This could be anything and everything. Chopping wood, digging latrines and trenches, delivering messages from the officers, hauling water, doing laundry, shooting game/butchering…you name it! Drummers and buglers as a rule were privates as well, but I can’t say dogmatically that they all had this rank. I would have to look into that a little deeper. Privates also helped in the hospitals. They often helped hold a soldier down during surgery, volunteered to help the doctors when there was a shortage of nurses and helped remove the wounded from the battlefield. (They weren’t the only ones to do this, but since there were more privates than the other ranks, they were the majority of the ones gathering the wounded.) They also served on burial detail.  Hope this was helpful! I’ll see you next week with a writerly post that I can’t wait to share with you!
Ryana Lynn Jude 22 It’s 2019. I am in shock! 2018 passed so quickly and so much has changed! Can you believe it’s the start of a new year? It’s already January! At this point, you are probably thinking, “Wow, Ryana Lynn, did you just now notice? We all saw it coming.” Okay. I will move on from this totally random rant, the perfect way to start this year’s blog calendar! Let's start over.  Hello everyone! Welcome to Life of Heritage Corner! We are rolling into our 4th year on the web and it’s been so encouraging to see the growth! For all of you that are new, I thought it would be fun to give you an introduction to me and my blog. I wanted to do a tag, but I couldn’t find one I liked…so anyway, here we go!
Before we go farther, I would like to invite you to subscribe to my blog! You will receive an email every time a post goes live, get insider information, a chance to give feedback for the blog and exclusive content! I’ve worked out a schedule for the blog that will give you an idea of what to expect here at Life of Heritage Corner! One the 1st of the month (or close to it, depending on my schedule) I post my monthly wrap-up, an overview of our ministry, life events, reading/book reviews, writing updates and goals for the upcoming month. On the first Friday of the month, I will post a devotion, either something all-encompassing or specifically for young ladies. My apologies to any guys who may read this blog 😊 2nd Friday of the month will be a bookish post! Either a book tag, book list, book review…you name it, it’s possible, lol! 3rd Fridays will be dedicated to something History related. It might be something from my ongoing Soldier Life Series or 10 Totally Random facts, a bonus book review, or a totally new series…something I have in the works! Mostly, I am posting about the War Between the States, since that is my current setting for my novels. But, I may stray from it here and there with something from another period, like WWII. It all depends on my current mood, lol! 4th Fridays are going to be writing days! I love writing and these posts will be series I start on the subject, updates on my current WIP (Work-in-progress), or Writing Tags. I have some fun stuff in the making, so stay tuned! There are 4 months with an extra Friday in them. So, these posts will not have a specific theme. Also, there are times when one of the Fridays runs into a holiday, historic event or my monthly wrap-ups. On such days, I will do my utmost to either bring you two posts that week or combine the topics in some way. Bear with me, I’m still figuring out my calendar, lol! You can check my Writing Updates page for monthly updates on my current WIP. I’m thinking of changing up the page a little, so keep an eye out! Now, people like the choose a word or phrase as their theme word for the year. I am late jumping on board this bandwagon, but I think it sounds so neat! So, without further ado, my word for 2019 is…  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 King James Bible In these days we are living in, it is so important to stand up for the cause of Christ. To not allow ourselves to compromise just to please the crowd. Of course, we are not to go looking for a fight, but we are not to back down from the standard God has given us. This year, I want to stand up for what I believe in, in a Christian, feminine way. Will you join me, ladies? And to any gentlemen who may be reading this, will you purpose in your heart to Stand like the men of the Bible who faced hardships, giving us someone to look up to for an example? I challenge you, be a man or woman of God and Stand up for Jesus!
This conversation isn’t over! Join me on Friday for a devotion on the topic! Well, I think that’s everything for the time being! Happy 2019! Have a blessed day! Ryana Lynn Jude 22 Hello everyone! So glad to get to spend another Friday with you! Our 10TRF series is back and I'm so excited to share with you some facts about this sometimes over looked Battle, Chickamauga! Enjoy!  1. What does it mean? The name Chickamauga is an Indian word, we all agree on that, but is it Cherokee for "Bloody River" or "River of Death" or is it Creek for "Dwelling Place of the Chiefs?" No one really knows, but the one I hear the most is Bloody River. Which leads us to... 2. Bloody Pond. According to the men who fought in this battle, the fighting was so fierce and men were so desperate for water, they dragged themselves over the Chickamauga Creek for relief. There, their blood mingled with the water and supposedly turned the creek red. Pretty scary! 3. Mother Vs. Officer. During the fighting, Confederate soldiers became so hungry, some of them raided a potato patch at a nearby farm. An officer quickly ordered them to stop, reprimanding them for stealing. Mrs. Deborah Thedford, the lady of the house intervened, saying, "Hold on, Mr. Officer. They are my potatoes and they are my boys. Let 'em take 'em." Among the raiders were her sons. Mrs. Thedford opened her home to the many wounded during the battle, among them two of her boys. She became known as the Mother of Chickamauga. 4. Costly. This was a Confederate victory, badly needed after a crushing defeat like Gettysburg, but it wasn't won without a high price. 16,170 Union soldiers were reported dead, wounded or missing/captured, 18,454 for the Confederacy. It is ranked as the second costliest battle of the Civil War second only to Gettysburg. 5. The Traitor. Gen. George "Pap" Thomas, nicknamed "The Rock of Chickamauga" following the battle, was actually from Virginia and left his home state high and dry to join the Union. 6. Old Pete to the Rescue. Chickamauga is considered a Western battle, so many may be surprised to find Gen. Longstreet, a famous Eastern theater fighter, listed among the Southern commanders of this battle. Following the Battle of Gettysburg, "Gloomy Pete" loaded his men on trains and came to the aide of Gen. Braxton Bragg in Georgia. 7. A Nod to a Hero. While Braxton Bragg is not know for being the best fighting General of the Confederacy, he was indeed a fighter and Southern hero, worthy of respect. He is one of 10 Confederates who have U.S. Army forts named after them, his namesake being Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. What better way to honor men who served their country than with a fort? 8. Welcome to the Peach State. This was the first battle fought in Georgia. But it would not be the last. 9. On the closing day of fighting (the battle lasted from September 19th to September 20th, 1863) confusion occurred when the Confederacy attempted to encircle three Union units. A fourth federal outfit opened fire to aid their comrades in escaping (A few did, but most were captured). When Southern units turned to fire on the federals, they accidentally opened fire on a Confederate Unit coming to help them. Thankfully, things were straightened out before things got too bad. 10. Where did this happen again? If you look up the Chickamauga National Battlefield, you may be confused as to why part of the park is in Tennessee. Since the battle was fought in the Northern most corner of Georgia, fighting spilled over into Tennessee. Most of the fighting took place in Georgia though. This battle and much more are covered in my newest book, "The Rivers of Sorrow." Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13 King James Bible Until Next Week,
Ryana Lynn Jude 22 Hello everyone and happy last day of August! Back in May of 2017, I posted an article about the main family in The Battle For Heritage Series, the Mason family. I told y’all some random facts about the family and how the family had changed from my original plans. If you would like to read that post, click here 😉 Today, I’d like to share a few more facts about this family, or more specifically, about Dixie and how she got her name. It’s an interesting twist of events.  Writers Tip: When writing a story set in a historical time period or a different country…do your research before getting to attached to the names you’ve chosen for them. It will save you heart break later on, trust me. 😉
When I had my cousin, Travis Stevens, proof The Land of Cotton for historical accuracy, he told me the only thing that he found that wasn’t right was Dixie’s name. Dixie obviously wasn’t a name back then, at least not for a girl her age. (She was born in the 40’s; The song Dixie’s Land was written in the 50’s).😐 He told me not to change her name though. It had the appeal of the South to it and is easy for people to connect with. It sets the tone for the book: sweet, Southern, country and genteel. That classic Southern flavor. She’s easy to like, I hope. But there is a bit of a story behind her name. I love the name Dixie. I would love to name one of my daughters Dixie someday. So naturally, I had to name my main girl character Dixie. But I also wanted to have something with a Southern Belle edge. So, Dixianna. But to get around the time-period issue, I formed a bit of Mason Family backstory to explain her name, though this didn’t make the final cut of the story. ☺ After studying some etymology, I found out that the name Dixie used to be a boy’s nickname for Richard. Don’t ask me why! But anyway, I decided to have Dixie named after her two Grandmothers, Dixianna Mason and Susan Rains. The elder Dixianna, who went by Anna, was named for her grandparents, Richard and Anna MacIntyre. Problem solved, right? Well, at least it sounds good! I considered changing Dixie’s name when I found it wasn’t accurate. But, like I said, Travis thought it would actually be a good thing to leave in. And I think her name will endear her and her whole family to the reader, even if they don’t realize it. Oh, and the modern meaning of the name Dixie? A Lady of the South. Fitting, huh? Something to think about: Do names in books or of people you know have a special meaning to you? Take a look at a baby book and find out what the name actually means. Does it align with your thoughts on the name or are they totally opposite? Have a lovely day, and I'll see you tomorrow! Ryana Lynn Jude 22 *Emoji art supplied by Emoji One |
Ryana Lynn
Christian. American. Southern. Author.
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