I am curious about how long it took Union volunteers to get from enlistment to the front lines near the end of the war.

For a little bit of background, I'm asking because I've been doing a bit of civil war family history. I had a 2nd great grand uncle who was in the war. I know he enlisted in the 5th Michigan Volunteers sometime in 1864. I also know that he was on the farm in rural Michigan in May of 1864 for the state census. In the local paper it is stated that "He was one of the company of Union soldiers who, with Grant at its head, was besieging Petersburg." (The siege of Petersburg beginning June 9, 1864). I know for certain he was at the battle of Boydton Plank Road, because he was captured there October 27th, and sent to Salisbury Prison Camp in North Carolina.

Long story short, I'm curious about how long it would take a new volunteer to get to the front after enlistment, and how intensive the training process was. Any help is much appreciated, and thanks for your time!

Originally posted this to /r/AskReddit and was told to ask here.

It seems like the Romans only ever invaded Britain. Why didn't they also try to colonize Hibernia (Ireland) as well? And did the Romans have much contact with the people of Hibernia?

More about the second question: In westerns, normal citizens occasionally participate in the execution of the law. The Andy Griffith Show talks about the 'citizen's arrest'. Was there ever a culture without any kind of police force? Where the community did a kind of self-policing? If so, how effective was it? What would motivate a culture out of one form of policing and into another?

it's surprisingly hard to find an answer to this online.

edit: Thanks for all the good answers to this simple question. now if someone had an overlay of say a zoomed in version of /u/peisistratid 's post with a map of the modern world that would take the cake, but i don't want to be too greedy.

I've been discussing Proverbs 31 with friends lately. This passage talks a lot about work and various industries. Was this typical work in the era? Was it an agrarian type culture, or is this discussing more "city life"? What was expected of a family at the time?

It's hard finding resources on this without a bias or an agenda. Any sources you can point me to would be great!

Bonus: Does anyone have some historical reference to what it's referring to when it talks about the husband at the city gates? Is this a government type position? Would this be paid? A full time job? Thanks!

Hallo AskHistorians,

I found this quote in a book from the end of the 19th century (1875).

This place is named from the Wichita Indians, who, with a portion of the Cad- does, remained loyal to the government during the late rebellion, and were driven from their homes in the south-west by the more civilized Indians, many of whom, having become possessed of negro slaves, sympathized with the Confederate States, and made war upon those who remained loyal. The latter fled to this place, and, making their camp here, remained until after the close of the war, when they returned to their country, in the south-western part of Indian Territory.

I was curious about the truth in this. Did First Nations Americans actually keep African slaves? Was it a very large population? What happened to the slaves after the Emancipation Declaration, would they have had trouble integrating back into the African American society of the time after living tribal life? Did any of the former First Nations' slaves write their accounts?

Thanks so much for your time and answers!

I want to get some more info on the foreign powers reaction to the whole civil war thing america had going on.

Follow up, a lot of people claim that the occupation was beneficial to Korea as it brought lots of industry to an otherwise backwards nation. I've also heard that Koreans were common in the Japanese military and were often the perpetrators of the worst crimes against POW's during WWII. How accurate are these statement?

Almost every corner of the world produces its own take on the vampire myth, but South Eastern Europe leads the pack. From Romania down to Greece there's myriad local variants on the blood-sucking undead and evidence that these myths persist well into the 20th Century (or in Romania's case, well into the 21st!).

But what was it about the region's history - it's culture, religion, folklore and conflict - that gave birth to so many vampire tales, and why was there an 'epidemic' of reports in the 17th and 18th Century?

This isn't a question about the things that people saw as evidence of vampirism (bloating corpses, etc) specifically, but I appreciate it may play a part if burial customs are a factor.

Based on what I've read about Islam in modern-day Nigeria and nearby areas, it did not spread extensively until the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate under Usman dan Fodio. Where it did spread it was often blended with native beliefs, isolated to only a few people (merchants and leaders), or given only lip service. What was different about Usman dan Fodio and the Sokoto caliphate that made them more successful at spreading Islam?

Title.

I always hear how great of a politician he was and that's why the NSDAP got in power but people never go into specific examples or details.

Also, when was this change brought about and was there significant pushback from the upper classes of the time?

I'm an officer in the U.S. Army (commissioned through ROTC) and I've had zero education on the history of the Officer Corps itself. I've always been curious about this question in particular, though.

I read a bit about him and how he was a great conquerer. But he only ever took over Asia. How far off am i in this question?

I'm half Japanese and although I was born in Japan, I know nothing of its history. Basically what I'm looking for is a good timeline of books from the first inhabitants to now. Any help would be fantastic thanks!