Talk:Wilmer McLean

Was 1st Manassas really on McLean's Farm?
It is common to believe that Mclean's Farm was involved the First Battle of Manassas and romantically he did say the war began in his front yard and ended in his front parlor. Technically his farm was involved in the inital probes of the Confederate defences in the Battle of Blackburn's Ford (McLean purchased Yorkshire from Col. Richard Blackburn) on July 18. His house was used by Early as HQ and his barn was a field hospital for actions on July 21, 1861. Geographically Yorkshire is between Signal Hill and Henry's Hill where the first Wig-Wag signal was sent and is not much farther from the Stone Bridge across Bull Run than Sudley Ford where McDowell's forces crossed, so it could be agrued that Blackburn's Ford was a part of First Manassas and the delineation is a NPS one for documenting & preservation prioritizing.

So is it correct to say McLean's Farm was a part of First Manassas like is commonly believed? Personally my take is it depends why you are here. If you have just a passing interest or doing a high school report than it's fine to say McLean's Farm was part of the first major land battle of the Civil War. If you're a post-grad doing initial research for something for peer review then it's better to be careful with the claims.--Nevik.flor 04:47, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

Too old to serve?
The article mentions that he was too old to serve in the Confederate Army. At age 46 at the start and with his experience as a major in the VA militia, wouldn't this have warranted him an officer's commission if he had sought one? I'm simply curious why this statement is in the article and (seperately) why he wasn't considered for an officer's commission. Regards, Daysleeper47 (talk) 19:49, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

He was supplying victuals to the Confederates, and probably felt he was more use in that capacity. (The same reason Charlie Chaplin didn't serve in World War I.) 109.154.18.28 (talk) 12:08, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

I know one of Wilmer's descendants!!!
One of my friends in school is named Connor McLean; I think he may be a descendant of Wilmer ^.^ --66.167.11.88 (talk) 21:02, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Merger Discussion
There is an article at Wilbur McLean which is essentially identical to this one with a few different details (for instance, it references the allusion to McLean in Ken Burns' Documentary. From what I can find, the correct name is Wilmer, so the other article should be merged with this one. A few sources reference his name as Wilbur, but most reference it as Wilmer. I believe I was the one who created the Wilbur McLean article a while ago (I'm not certain though, and it may have been deleted and recreated in the interim), but watching the Ken Burns documentary again (which was my main source) it appears I simply misheard the narrator and the correct name (even according to that) is Wilmer. So I think this should be a speedy merge Smartyllama (talk) 15:31, 30 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Merge. The plaque at McLean House (Appomattox, Virginia) says Wilmer, and the US Army, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service agree. And yes, you were the one who created the Wilbur article. Clarityfiend (talk) 04:16, 25 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Merge. I've just very carefully listened to what I believe are all the relevant places in the Ken Burns film: there are five. I can bore you with the actual locations if you like! Although there are no subtitles I did pay extremely close attention to the audio track and it's clear that Smartyllama is correct and it's a simple mishearing. Is there anything in Wilbur McLean or Talk:Wilbur McLean which must be preserved, and is there an official method for merging, or should both pages simply become redirects to the correct spelling? It's been a while since 30th March so it would be quite nice just to get on with it! :) Thanks and best wishes DBaK (talk) 12:41, 29 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Just simply redirect the incorrect spelling to this spelling and copy the relevant information that isn't in here from there to here. Smartyllama (talk) 15:12, 29 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Done. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:56, 29 June 2011 (UTC)
 * That's great, thank you. Nice merge, which I didn't quite have the nerve to do, plus I didn't know about that template for the redirect-after-merge. Excellent resolution, many thanks and best wishes DBaK (talk) 07:41, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865
I added, "On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865". The 'coincidence' of it being Palm Sunday was not lost on the highly religious Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and his staff, other Christians at the McClean Home, and the primarily Christian nation - North and South. Five days later, President Abraham Lincoln was shot on Good Friday and died the next morning, which, again, was perceived as very 'coincidental' by the nation when they learned of it in their Easter Sunday newspapers. - Brad Watson, Miami 71.196.11.183 (talk) 17:36, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

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Concution
This is one of the most famous coincidences of the civil war but reminds us that the bloodiest wars can have the funniest storys