“Effort Creates Action, Action Creates Momentum, Momentum Creates Success.”
– DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK” JOHNSON –
Momentum is powerful. Yet, there are times when momentum is working in such a large way you do not realize it is present. Rescuing lost stories is my passion. I love it when a voice that has been drowned out by noise, the passage of time, or simply neglect gets told. Better yet, amplified.
This week, I was able to attend an online gathering of mostly Michigan medical professionals who got to hear the story of my husband’s ancestor Brevet General Charles Stuart Tripler, M.D. as told in the recently published book: His Sword A Scappel, A Michigan Civil War Association (MCWA) publication.
The momentum behind this rescued story began some years ago, when, as part of my personal reading plan, I read “Eunice Tripler, Some Notes Of Her Personal Recollections”. This was the transcribed memoirs of my husband’s great great great grandmother. It was such a good example of a lost story rescued that I wrote a BLOG about it.
Momentum Builds
In 2022 we were contacted by Jack Dempsey of the MCWA. He was researching the Triplers and their contributions to Michigan’s involvement in the Civil War, specifically in the medical field. As my spouse has custodianship of much of the family archives from this branch of the family, this led to a book about Eunice Hunt Tripler based on her memoirs. “Heart In Tatters” was published in October 2022 on the occasion of her 200th birthday.
Backing up a bit, when Jack first contacted us, he intended to include Dr. Tripler as a chapter in a book focused on the medical aspects of Michigan’s contribution to the Civil War, using the information in Eunice’s memoirs. However, the publication committee felt that she had a significant role to play, and thus decided to dedicate a book just to her.
And More Momentum…
The information and research resulting from this book were of such magnitude that Dr. Trippler also warranted a stand-alone volume. Why? In the words of the author, His Sword A Scappel has three aspects to our cause:
First, Dr. Trippler’s overall contribution to the formation of a medical department for the largest to date military force this country had known.
Second, His dedication to the welfare of the patient whatever the circumstances, and
Third, to vindicate him of political actions taken against him at a critical time in the war.
A well-documented, information-dense story that, as Mr. Dempsey states “needed telling”.
Yet, More Momentum
So, as medical professionals listened to the presentation this week, Dr. Trippler’s legacy and influence continue, not just as a part of the Civil War, or as Michigander, but as a medical doctor. His modern-day peers and colleagues heard his side of the story – finally.
Momentum Lessons And Your Story
Rescuing lost stories is a sort of seed. The stories you capture today may have a very limited audience – perhaps only you – for the moment. But these things, once embraced tend to grow.
When Eunice Trippler’s son-in-law captured their candid conversations over a several-year period, wrote them down, and then published them posthumously, he could not have known the momentum they would eventually gain. He planted a seed, that 200 years later would bear fruit in unforeseeable ways.
The proceeds from these books go toward the MCWA’s monument to the contribution Michigan made to the battle of Antietam. Please consider purchasing one or both! Links included above. They will inspire your story while you support a worthy cause.