Robert Pohl worked for many years as a computer programmer but recovered from that and became a full time stay-at-home dad. With his son now in school, he has expanded his horizons and become a self-taught historian. He has written books about his house as well as Emancipation in the District of Columbia. You can reach Robert at Robert[at]thehillishome.com
A few months ago, I wrote about Carroll’s Spring and was thus surprised to find a connection to it during the Civil War – as a camping place for the 1st Michigan Cavalry. Washington D.C. spent most of its time during the Civil War as an armed camp – and as a hospital. Given the prevalence […]
On this quiet Easter Monday, I look back at one of the first posts I ever wrote for The Hill is Home -whose pictures were lost somewhere along the way, as well. (Some of our photos did not make it when we revamped our site. —MHC) When the federal government moved to Washington in late […]
Creating a quick way across a river during wartime is a question that has plagued generals since the dawn of warfare. As early as 480 BC, clever engineers had come up with a quick solution: A bridge that was, in essence, a series of boats tied together. These pontoon bridges could be rigged up quickly, […]
The beginning of the Civil War brought all sorts of troubles to the Washington Navy Yard. On top of the need to ramp up the production of ordnance, there was the issue of saboteurs, the question as to how to secure the yard; not to mention, the logistics of putting up hundreds of troops and […]
During my recent talk for the Smithsonian Associates, I was asked if any research on radio equipment had been done at the Washington Navy Yard. I was not aware of any (though it turns out that there was some activity in that regard during the First World War; more on that in a later column) […]