Twelve Monkeys Parallel

One night this past week, channel-surfing from the sofa, I watched the sci-fi film Twelve Monkeys. When it was released about ten years ago, I saw it on the big screen and immediately added to my all-time top movies list. This is the first time I’ve seen it since then, and my first viewing after beginning my research on Civil War soldiers.

I discovered a thread in the movie that parallels my research experience. Without giving too much of the plot away, scientists in the future, trying to solve a mystery, send volunteers back in history for facts. They bring back a mix of information, some useful, some not. The group of scientists sort through the fragments of information, put the pieces of the puzzle together, and agree on a likely scenario. The pieces appear to fit perfectly, and the scientists are almost positive that they’ve got it right — until one volunteer stumbles upon a critical fact that crumbles the theory and puts the scientists on the path to the real course of events.

In my case, I’m the volunteer rooting around the past and collecting information about the life and military service of Civil War soldiers. I am also the group of scientists charged with assembling the various details into a coherent story that accurately reflects the soldier’s life experience. In every case, I am confident that the information presented at publication is accurate and comprehensive. And yet I believe that there are still fragments of critical information that lay undiscovered in the basement of a local historical society, or the attic of a descendent. It is my hope that by telling the stories of these common soldiers, additional information will surface and contribute to a more detailed profile of the individuals in this unique generation of Americans.