The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Monday, August 31, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 31

Key West preserving Confederate monument.  (I wrote about this in my Running the Blockade blog today.)

Confederate Flag  thief nabbed by Florida police.

Georgia state flag's Confederate 'Stars and Bars' design avoids controversy.

Confederate Flag about slavery-- period!

Jon Anderson: Confederate Flag an affront to many.

Lone black student 'doesn't mind' flag.  (New Zealand)

Letter: SCV worthy of pride.

Reader view: Is there an honorable Confederate Flag?

Why is it ok to fly the Rainbow Flag when the Confederate Flag has to go?  From the LiveWire.

Also from the LiveWire:  "The 'Dukes of Hazzard Has Been on TV for 36 years.  You weren't offended until liberals told you to be."

Confederate Flag Wielding neighbor Causes Tensions in Rosedale.

Is Mississippi Ready to Pull the Confederate Emblem From State Flag?

--Old Secesh


Saturday, August 29, 2015

Still Waiting for the Public Outcry and Backlash Against the Blacks and Gays

Yesterday I wrote about the two murders that took place in Virginia where a black man killed two white reporters and wounded a white person they were interviewing.  We all know what happened after the idiot murdered the people in Charleston with the major attacks on Confederate heritage.

To be fair and right, we should now be having a similar attack on black racist groups and institutions as well as the gay flag.

I am still waiting, but have not heard a thing about public outrage.

I do not see any difference between the two situations.

What Is Good for the Goose Is Also Good for the Gander.  --Old Secesh

Lincoln Funeral Train Replica in North Carolina

From the August 28, 2015,  WBTV (NC).  The replica funeral train and Leviathan locomotive are in Spencer, N.C., this weekend at the North Carolina Transportation Museum.

There will be a weekend full of Civil War re-enactments, music, living history, tours, sutlers and more August 28-30.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 30

Julianne Moore petitions to change high school named after Confederate general.  (J.E.B. High School in Virginia)

Confederate Flag is a Symbol of History and Heritage.

New Orleans group to discuss future of Confederate monuments.

The Perfect Replacement for the Confederate Flag.  A flag with blue stars over picture of Burt Reynolds as the Bandit.  (from the Deadspin site)

Hidden Confederate memorials up for debate at local church.  St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, where Lee and Davis worshipped and were members.

Walpole School Committee Apologizes for resident's Confederate Flag.  (On private property near the high school  The school is nicknamed the Rebels.

Poll" More Virginians see Confederate battle flag as symbol of heritage than racism.

--Old Secesh

Friday, August 28, 2015

The Horrible Murders in Virginia: Waiting for the Backlash

Yesterday's news of the reporter and cameraman being killed in Virginia raises the question of whether there will be a huge backlash against certain groups.

The two killed were white as was the badly wounded white person they were interviewing.  The murderer was black and I also hear he was gay.

To me this is a racist killing, well two killings.  I expect there to be as much anger as developed after the Charleston murders.  If all things Confederate can come under attack because of the racist killings there, surely it will happen because of the racist killings in Virginia.

This time the hate spewing forth should go against something blacks and gays hold dear.  Perhaps any of the black racist groups like the NAACP, Black College Fund or BET and definitely black use of the "N" word and the objectionable lyrics in rap music.  Maybe the gay flag should be banned as many find it objectionable.

If the Confederate Flag and statues can come under such public attack, it only makes sense that the action of one individual, like the one individual in Charleston, should bring about a similar reaction.

Let's Be Fair About This Thing.  I'll Be Waiting and Holding My Breath.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 29

Awesome Kids Get On Camera and Fight Confederate Flag.  (They even went so far as to call the Second national Confederate Flag as representing white supremacy because of all the white on it.)

Dallas NAACP Wants to Remove Confederate Statues From Public Property in Dallas.

State scrubs Confederate holidays from official calendar.  (Georgia)

Vero Beach student under investigation for ripping Confederate Flag from classmate's truck.

Letter:  Confederate Flag belongs in museum.

Preservation group to hold forum on alternatives to removing Confederate monuments.

North Fort Myers High School student kicked off campus for Confederate Flag.

Editorial: Walton's unwanted notoriety.  (Walton County, Florida's Confederate Flag)

Appeals court:  Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter can sue Memphis over park renaming.

--Old Secesh

Thursday, August 27, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 28

I'm sure many local papers don't carry this much about the Confederate Flag.  I know the Chicago Tribune, to which I subscribe, only rarely runs anything about it.  But when you look at it on a larger arena, it IS a big thing.

Here are some more Google, Yahoo Alerts.

Confederate Flag Controversy.

Milton divided on Confederate Flag removal.

At Hurley High (Va.) Confederate Battle Flag is everywhere and means everything.

Confederate monuments.

Students, school disagree on Confederate t-shirts.

Appeals Court keeps alive Confederate Parks renaming challenge.

Confederate Flag dispute comes up at Maryland heights council meeting.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 27

Group seeks common ground in Confederate fountain debate (Montana)

Schools ban Confederate Flags.

Coon:  Sticker in Police Locker Room Prompts Investigation (Dallas)

Letter:  Fly the flag high or not at all.

Rebel flag does symbolize slavery.

School board member rebuked for Confederate Flag Facebook.  (Louisiana)

Aiken County school policy does not ban Confederate Flag specifically.

Bill proposes removing Confederate Flags from public buildings in Florida.

Why a neighbor took down the Confederate Flag.

Lawsuit filed against city to stop removal of Confederate memorial.

Reckon the War "Ain't" Over.  --Old Secesh


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 26

William and Mary Removes Confederate Symbols From Wren, College Mace.  A plaque honoring men from the college who fought for the Confederacy in the Wren Building and an emblem containing a Confederate Flag on College Mace.

Vandals Strike UNC's 'Silent Sam' Yet Again.

Why Nathan Deal erased Confederate Memorial Day.

Lawsuit filed to keep Confederate monument in park.  (Birmingham, Alabama)

Sons of Confederate Veterans not welcome to use Lee Chapel, Washington & Lee University says.

Sen. Thompson files bill to ban Confederate Flags from public buildings (Florida)

Man Shown in Video Charged With Stealing Confederate Flag.

Confederate battle flag supporters to rally at Minnesota Capitol.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 25

Headlines from Google and Yahoo Searches.

Confederate Flag Debate:  California Lawmakers Urge Other states to Remove Southern Symbols In Assembly Resolution.

Consider North Carolina's Anti-Confederate Heritage, Too.  (Mentions the five Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds.)

Washington Post Writers Defends LGBT Flag From Confederate Comparison.

Celebrities Demand Removal of Confederate Symbol From Mississippi Flag.  (Mississippi natives Morgan Freeman and Jimmy Buffett.  I guess its time to turn in my Parrot Head membership.)

6 Other state flags: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, contain Confederate symbols, but only the Mississippi flag incorporates the whole Confederate Flag (which it incorporated in 1894 (before the Civil Rights Movement).

--Old Secesh


Monumental Battles Brew Over Confederate Symbols-- Part 4: New Orleans

Dozens of New Orleanians spoke at hearings and showed the divisive elements of the statue controversy.

Ashley Merlin, author of "Statuesque New Orleans said,  "I urge the city to keep the statues where they are currently located," and said that the city should include interpretive plaques and make the statues a part of a walking tour.

The statues of Lee and of Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Judy Reese Morse, deputy mayor for citywide initiatives, criticized the ideology that caused the statues to be erected in the first place:  "By relocating these structures, we have the opportunity to change the narrative from the Lost Cause to the story of the new New Orleans, where a diversity of opinions and people can come together and collectively shape what we are."

--Old Secesh

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Monumental Battles Brew Over Confederate Symbols-- Part 3: And Now, New Orleans

The Sons of Confederate Veterans said the university's decision to relocate the statues without approval from the Texas Legislature and State Preservation Board or Texas Historical Commission is illegal.  But, the University of Texas replies it has that authority to do this on their campus.

In New Orleans it is a similar thing.  Mayor Mitch Landrieu called on city officials to remove four Confederate statues after the Charleston murders.

Last week, two New Orleans city commissioners recommended the removal of the four statues as part of a 60-day period of discussions about  the topic.  This caused Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to get involved.

He opposes removing them and has instructed his staff to look into the Heritage Act to determine its legality.

--Old Secesh

Monday, August 24, 2015

Monumental Battles Brew Over Confederate Symbols-- Part 2: The SCV Versus Univ. of Texas

The Jefferson Davis statue at the University of Texas is scheduled to become a part of an educational exhibit at the Briscoe Center for American History.  A statue of President Woodrow Wilson will also be relocated.

But a spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans says the decision to remove the Davis statue within 72 hours had not given the group time to investigate the university's legal authority to do it.

"These statues have stood in place for 82 years and we are a little concerned about the speed that the university has decided to relocate them.  The Briscoe Center won't be ready to receive the statue for 18 months, so what's the hurry?"

Well, I'd have to say it is jump on the ant-Confederate band wagon, the thing to do these days.

--Old Secesh

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Monumental Battles Brew Over Confederate Symbols-- Part 1: The Battle in Louisiana and Texas

From the August 20, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Natalie Schachar.

The national debate over the Confederate Flag and symbols has boiled over into Louisiana and Texas.

At issue are statues of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis among others.

Historians, civil rights leaders and public officials have argued over the place of Confederate symbols ever since the June murders in Charleston which caused the Confederate Flag on the South Carolina Capitol grounds to be removed.

Now officials at the University of Texas in Austin say they will delay plans to relocate a statue of Davis after the Sons of Confederate Veterans requested a temporary restraining order in a state district court.

That decision came a day after the university announced they would move the statue from the center of campus, but allow the statues of Lee and other Confederate leaders to remain.

A hard Time to Be a Confederate.  --Old Secesh

Friday, August 21, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 24

"Muslin-Free" gun shop teams with George Zimmerman to sell Confederate Flag prints.

Mississippi flag change?  State unlikely to remove Confederate Flag soon.

Confederate flag displays banned in schools in Charleston (SC).  Students can't wear Confederate Flag jewelry, clothing, and cannot be displayed on vehicles driven to school.

Confederate Flag spotted atop Asheville construction crane.

Teen says man pointed gun at him because of rebel flag on truck.

Lawsuit seeks return of Confederate Flag at last capital (of the Confederacy) at Danville, Virginia.

Confederate Flags to fly inside Fort Sumter near Charleston.

Jindal Wants to Block removal of Confederate statues in Louisiana.

--Old Secesh

The Clinch Brothers From Georgia-- Part 2

From Find-A-Grave.

COLONEL DUNCAN LAMONT CLINCH, JR.

Born Nov. 19, 1826, in Pensacola.  Died October 28, 1890, in Brunswick, Georgia.

Volunteer U.S. Army in Mexican War 1847-1848.  First lieutenant and later captain in the 13th U.S. Infantry.  Commanded Clinch's Regiment, the 4th Georgia Cavalry, during the Civil War.

Burtied at Oak Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Georgia.

--Old Secesh

Thursday, August 20, 2015

The Clinch Brothers from Georgia-- Part 1

I wrote about Duncan Lamont Clinch in my War of 1812 blog.  He was a career Army officer who fought in the War of 1812 as well as the First and Second Seminole Wars in Florida.  Clinch County, Georgia, was named after him as was Fort Clinch on Amelia Island in Florida.  He also led the attack on Negro Fort in 1816.

He became a very wealthy plantation owner and served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

From Wikipedia.

Two of his sons served in the Confederate Army.

COL. DUNCAN LAMONT CLINCH, JR.  commanded the 4th Georgia Cavalry, CSA and fought at the Battle of Olustee in Florida and the Atlanta Campaign.  His father-in-law was Robert Anderson, the commander of Fort Sumter when it was attacked at the beginning of the war.

CAPTAIN NICHOLAS BAYARD CLINCH ( 1832-1888).  Commander of Clinch's Light Battery, also called Clinch's Artillery Company. They were attached to older brother Duncan's 4th Georgia Cavalry.

Buried at Thunderbolt, Chatham County, Georgia.

--Old Secesh

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 23

North Carolina: Effort to halt Confederate Flag plates heads to House committee.

Confederate statue in Rockville (Maryland) boxed up for protection.

Confederate monument supporters in Portsmouth, Va. hire lawyers.

Some Americans still support the divisive Confederate Flag.

Two public hearings set to discuss removal of Confederate monuments in North Carolina.

Army Confederate Cowardice, Refuse to rename 10 bases that are named after Confederate officers.

Sen, Fort (Georgia) to convention officials: Remove OK Cafe from ads if Confederate Flag emblem remains.  (The popular restaurant still has the 1956 Georgia state flag.)

--Old Secesh

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Old Sheldon Church Remains in South Carolina

This is a follow-up on yesterday's post.

From Wikipedia.

The ruins of the church are located in northern Beaufort County, S.C., about 17 miles north of Beaufort.

It is known as the Sheldon Church or Old Sheldon Church.

The first church at the site was known as Prince William's Parish Church and was built in the Greek Revival style between 1745-1753.  It was burned by the British in 1779 and rebuilt in 1826.

Then, it was burned by Sherman's men in 1865, but was it.  There is another source that says it was not burnt, but torn up inside by blacks and whites searching for building materials whose homes had been burned by Sherman.  Though gutted, reportedly, it could have been rebuilt.

The ruins are picturesque, set among huge oak trees and graves.  Inside is the grave of Col. William Bull, who assisted James Oglethorpe in laying out Savannah.

The site is popular for photographs and used for weddings.  An annual service is held there the second Sunday after Easter.

--Old Secesh

Monday, August 17, 2015

Shorpy Goes to War: Casualty of War: Church Destroyed By British and Then By Sherman

From June 13, 2015, Shorpy "Casualty of War: 1938."

Prince William's Church--Sheldon Church (ruins).

Sheldon, Beaufort County, S.C..  The building dated of 1753 and destroyed by the British Army in 1779.  rebuilt in 1826 upon the former church.  In 1865, it was destroyed by Sherman's Army.

8 X 10 inch acetate negative by Francis Benjamin Johnston.

--Old Secesh

Runaway Slave Joined Union Army and Finally Receives Recognition

From the June 8, 2015, National Post "Runaway slave who joined Union fighters in the U.S. Civil War and lost leg finally received recognition."

Reno, nevada.  Received recognition June 7, 2015.

Private Scott Carnal of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry died in 1917 at around the age of 73 in Dayton, 40 miles south of Reno, was forgotten until recently.  He was severely wounded at the Battle of Honey Springs in Oklahoma on July 17, 1863.

About 200 people attended his ceremony.

He was born in Virginia and joined the Union Army in Kansas in March 1863 shortly after running away from his master in Missouri.  he was about 19 at the time.

  His brigade played a major role in the Battle of Honey Springs, a turning point in the fighting west of the Mississippir River.  The battle was fought mostly by black soldiers.

Mr. Carnal was shot in the thigh and the wound festered.  Doctors amputated it nine years later.  he was eventually given a pension.  He married after the war and had a daughter.  He headed west to mine gold and silver in Colorado and Nevada.

--Old Secesh

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Portsmouth Light Artillery Battery

It was organized in Portsmouth in 1808 and mustered into Confederate service April 20, 1861 and reorganized April 1, 1862.

It was disbanded and its men transferred to the Norfolk Artillery Battery and then to the Lynchburg "Beauregard Rifles" Artillery Battery on October 4, 1862, after the Battle of Antietam.

Service:

Seven Days Battles June 25-July 1, 1862
Malvern Hill
Fought U.S. Navy at City Point July 28, 1962
Second Bull Run Aug. 28-30, 1862
South Mountain Sept. 14, 1862
Antietam Sept. 17, 1862.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Captain Gary F. Grimes: Died at Antietam

In yesterday's post, I mentioned the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, attempting to preserve the coat of Capt. Gary F. Grimes who commanded  the Grimes Battery/Portsmouth Light Artillery.

From the Antietam site.

Captain Gary (Carey) F. Grimes (1829-1862)

Elected Town sergeant of Portsmouth, Virginia in 1856 and captain of Portsmouth Artillery in 1858.

Mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland when he was shot from his horse as he directed his battery at Piper's Farm on September 17, 1862.

He died later that evening.  He was relieved from command by Lt. John H. Thompson who had been in command of one of the gun sections.

Grimes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth.

--Old Secesh

Friday, August 14, 2015

Voting to Save Artifacts in Virginia

From the August 5, 2015, Washington Post "Vote to save endangered Civil War artifacts" by Linda Wheeler.

There are 25 nominees for the Virginia Association of Museum's annual Most Endangered List and people are encouraged to go online and vote.

Ine of the nominees is from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, in Portsmouth.  They are asking for help in conserving the officer's frock coat that had belonged to Captain Gary F. Grimes, commander of the Grimes Battery/Portsmouth Light Artillery.

This unit formed during the War of 1812 and was disbanded when they became a part of the Confederate Army.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 22

Virginia City (Danville) to consider ban of Confederate Flags on vity poles.

Kentucky gets to keep statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

Confederate monument in Charlotte, N.C. vandalized for second time in three weeks.

Mississippi flag's Confederate imagery a factor in decision to remove all state flags from Fairbanks.

Confederate National flags much less known than battle flag.

Charlie Daniels:  Confederate Flag geographical, not political.

North Carolina: Effort to halt Confederate Flag plates heads to House committee.

--Old Secesh


Thursday, August 13, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 21

Chamber moves 2016 conference over Confederate Flag.  The Greater Tallahassee, Florida, Chamber of Commerce won't return to the Sandestin Hilton next year for their annual conference because a Confederate Flag still flies outside the Walton County court house.

Some Americans refuse to give up the Confederate Flag.

Hackney: No excuses.  Don't let the Confederate Flag be peddled.  She was incensed that the Confederate Flag and other merchandise emblazoned with the hateful symbol was sold at last Sunday's Brickyard 400 in Speedway, Indiana on the property of the American Legion Speedway Post 500.  (This is where we have stayed the last two years for the Indy 500.)

Citadel's Confederate banner a "ticking time bomb" democratic Congressman says.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 20

More recent headlines.

Some residents worried about Lynyrd Skynyrd's use of the Confederate Flag.

Children's Zoo to Decide Confederate Flag Horse's Fate in Off-Season.  In Saginaw, Michigan the horse is festooned with a Confederate Flag, one of two Civil War themed wooden horses on the carousel at the Saginaw Children's Zoo.  The carousel opened in 1998 and the Confederate Flag horse has already been removed.

Where You can Find a Confederate Flag in North Carolina.

Man arrested for firing shot before Confederate Flag rally.

North Carolina Confederate Flag Heritage Rally: Hillsborough County Event Could Draw 1,500 Supporters.

--Old Secesh

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

26th North Carolina's Flag Back in the State in 2009

From the August 29, 2009 History Net.  North Carolina Re-enactors work to display regimental flags."

The historic 26th North Carolina flag, captured at Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, is returning home.  The re-enactment group, whose members include a number of descendants of the 26th acquired the flag and it is now on display at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh.

The U.S. War Department returned it and others to the Museum of the Confederacy in 1906.  The 26th Re-enactors raised funds to secure a three-year loan from the Museum of the Confederacy.

Skip Smith, of the 26th, says he is a descendant of 14 men from the original regiment.

The group has also sponsored the conservation of three other battle flags including another 26th North Carolina one captured at the October 1864 Battle of Burgess Mill, a 52nd N.C. captured at Gettysburg and the flag of the 47th N.C., also captured at Gettysburg.

--Old Seecsh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 19

Letter to the Editor:  The Confederate Flag is about heritage, not hate.

Perspectives on the Confederate Flag controversy.

Poll: Majority of Americans support Confederate Flag removal from S.C. Capitol.

Clyburn says Citadel needs to remove the Confederate Flag.

Where you can find Confederate Flags flying in Oklahoma.

Confederate Memorial Day disappears from 2016 Georgia holiday calendar.

Confederate Group: Erasing rebel holidays from the Georgia calendar an "Act of Dishonor."

--Old Secesh


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Two East Tennessee Men Get Jail Time for Illegal Digging

From the August 8, 2015, New historian by David DeMar.

The men received a 30-month federal prison sentence for their four-year illegal archaeological dig at Battle Creek at the bottom of Fort McCook, a Union encampment overrun by Confederates on August 27, 1862.  The fort was renamed Fort Maxey after its Confederate capture and then Fort Thomas during the Chickamauga Campaign.

The site of Fort McCook, adjacent to the South Pittsburg Municipal Park, is on the property of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which supplies electricity to the southeastern United States and is owned by the Federal government.

Among the items they dug up were two Hotchkiss shells which were fired from 3-inch rifled cannons.

--Old Seecsh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 18

Some more recent Yahoo!/Google alert headlines.

Virginia revokes license plates featuring Confederate Flags.

The Confederate Flag disappears from yet another place.

Hillsborough (NC) Confederate Flag rally.

NAACP addresses Confederate memorial at rally.

Confederate holidays booted from 2016 Georgia state calendar.

The myth of Black Confederates.

Danville (Va) Council vote prompts Confederate Flag removal.

Oklahoma Republicans: Confederate Flag protests in front of Obama "embarrassing."

--Old Secesh


Monday, August 10, 2015

McHenry County Civil War Round Table Tomorrow, August 11


The McHenry County Civil War Round Table will be meeting tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Woodstock Library in Woodstock, Illinois, The topic for the meeting will be Show and Tell where members bring in artifacts and such.  Always an interesting, eclectic mix.  The library is located at 414 W. Judd Street, a few blocks off the historic 1850s Woodstock Square.

The discussion group will meet at the Panera Bread Company in Crystal Lake, Illinois, on August 22 where the topic of discussion will be the Civil War in Missouri..

Most local area Civil War Round Tables are not meeting this month so if you've got a yearning for your Civil War fix, this be the place.

--Old Secesh

Lincoln Never Dies-- Part 4

"People have been carving and casting tributes to Lincoln ever since his death."

But one man in the Chicago suburb of Elgin, Dave Kloke has made a big statement.  Twenty years ago, after watching a documentary of Lincoln's efforts to get the transcontinental railroad built, he put his skills to use and built a replica of an 1860s steam engine which he completed about nine years ago.

Not satisfied at that point, and at a friend;s suggestion, he began researching the custom-made train car that carried Lincoln's coffin.  The original car, sadly, was destroyed by a fire in 1911.

Over the past five years he has built a copy of the dark maroon car with gold leaf and brass fittings.

He had hoped to hook it up to his locomotive and re-travel the exact route of the procession, but was unable to find financial sponsors.  He and volunteers, however, have finished it and hope to get it to Springfield, Illinois, by early May and then have it go on tour.

Thanks, Mr. Kloke.  --Old Secesh


Lincoln's Body Arrives in Cleveland

From April 29, 1865.

"There were no social lines, no boundaries between condition separating those who, in solemn pageant, moved past the coffin that held the mortal remains of Abraham Lincoln.

"The banker and the merchant walked side by side with the laborer, the lad of fashion and estate with the lowly kitchen maid...."

--Old Secesh

AP Reports Lincoln's Funeral Procession in Washington, S.C.

Washington D.C., April 19, 1865, AP.

"From the White House to the Capitol, the roofs, porticos, windows and all elevated points were occupied by interested spectators... Many thousands of hearts throbbed in unison with the solemn dirges, as the procession slowly moved upon the way."

--Old Secesh

Saturday, August 8, 2015

In Case You're Wondering What a Minute Gun Is

From the Collin English Dictionary.

In te last post I mentioned Minute Guns, a term I was unfamiliar with.

A gun fired at one minute intervals as a sign of distress and mourning.

Also used at a military funeral ceremony.

--Old Secesh

The Daily Age of Philadelphia Announces the Arrival of Lincoln's Body

From Baltimore. April 21, 1865, The Daily Age of New York.

"The body of President Lincoln arrived her at ten o'clock... The stores are all closed, the whole population is in the streets, bells tolling, and minute guns firing.

"The weather is unpleasant; a fine mist falling and the lowering sky add to the sadness which is depicted on every countenance."

Old Secesh


Friday, August 7, 2015

Lincoln Never Dies-- Part 3: A Peekskill Connection

On his trip tothe White House in 1861, his train stopped briefly at Peekskill, New York, and for decades this Hudson River town has held a dinner by the local Lincoln Society and last year they reopened the restored train station as the Lincoln Depot Museum.

Most of the actual stations where the funeral train stopped are long gone, but the one in Peekskill is still there.

last year, Tony Czarnecki, a past president of the society heard that someone had built an exact replica of Lincoln's coffin.  In fact, Indiana's Batesville Casket Company is building four..  One is for a museum and the rest will be sent to funeral homes and others who ask to exhibit them.

--Old Secesh

Lincoln Never Dies-- Part 2: The Funeral Train

According to Karen needles, "Lincoln never Dies."

Though he was shot on April 14, 1865, and then embarked on a 1700 mile funeral train ride from Washington, D.C., through seven states.  crowds line the tracks, even in the dark.  they mourned Lincoln as a proxy for all the young men who would never come home from the recently ending war.

From Washington, the train went to Baltimore and then to Philadelphia where lines to view Lincoln's body stretched three miles from Independence Hall.  In jersey City, New He=w Jersey, German immigrants mourned so vigorously that their songs were heard across the water in New York City, where later some 120,000 filed past the coffin.

The 9-car funeral train continued north from New York City, retracing nearly all of Lincoln's 1861 route to the White House.

--Old Secesh

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Lincoln Never Dies-- Part 1

From the May 4, 2015, Navy Times by Adam Geller.

I'd say that Karen needles has one of those great jobs in life.  Five mornings a week she goes to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., often wearing an Abraham Lincoln T-shirt, works on a Lincoln mouse pad and sometimes even brings her Lincoln bobblehead.

Her work space is backed by bound volumes of Lincoln's writings and she is three blocks from where he was assassinated 150 years ago.

"They call me Lady Lincoln," she chuckles.  And, she was a former middle school teacher (Hey I was too).

Her job is to digitally scan every original item she can find about her man., from letters he signed to his final $1,981.67 paycheck.  She posts them online for anyone to see for free.

To her, raised in a small Kansas town and the first in her family to go to college, Lincoln is kind of a role model.  She likes to daydream that the seated Lincoln in the Memorial should take some of today's politicians, turn them over his lap and give them a good spanking.

OK, So Maybe There Really is a Perfect Job.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 17

More Google and yahoo! alert headlines.

The Confederate Flag and the lives of symbols.

Confederate Flag rally in Danville draws hundreds.

Couple weds at Confederate Flag rally.

District judge rules Virginia can ban Confederate Flag license plates.  (Actually these license plates are for the Sons of Confederate Veterans whose logo includes a Confederate flag.)

Confederate Flags left near Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Church.  (Well, at least it wasn't spray-painted. Perhaps those folks spray painting slogans on Confederate memorials should start using flags or banners which are also easily removed.)

Hank Johnson makes incognito inspection of Confederate Flag rally.

First Sunday at Ebeneezer Church in Atlanta since the flags placed there.

Confederate Flag supporters are comparing their opponents to ISIS.

Confederate Flag rally at Georgia's Stone Mountain.

--Old Secesh




Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 16

Continuing with headlines in my Yahoo! and Google searches.

Flogging the flag where there was none.  This one said that California lawmakers had so much trouble finding a Confederate flag in their state to attack and legislate that they had to broaden the vendetta to include schools and buildings.

Scores attend Confederate Flag rally in King.

Some Americans refuse to give up the Confederate Flag.

Confederate Flags still fly in some northern states.

Some Americans still fly the Confederate Flag, despite discontinuation by flag makers.

--Old Secesh

Jefferson Davis' Sons Did Not live Long

From Find-A-Grave.

Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina had six children.  The two girls lived much longer than the five boys.

Samuel Emory Davis (1852-1854)
Margaret Howell Davis-Hayes (1855-1909)
Jefferson Davis, Jr. (1857-1878)

Joseph Evan Davis (1859-1864)
William Howell Davis (1861-1871)
Varina Anne Davis (1864-1898)

Their mother was Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis (1826-1906).

All these deaths remind me of the sadness the Lincolns suffered over the deaths of all but one of their sons.

--Old Secesh

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Jefferson Davis, Jr.-- Part 3

Jefferson, Jr., became secretary at Beauvoir in 1877 and supposedly studied French and medicine in his free time.

In 1878, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee where his brother-in-law, Addison Hayes, found him a job as a bank clerk.

Just a few months later, he fell ill during a yellow fever epidemic and died Oct. 16, 1878.

He was first buried in Memphis, but later reinterred near his father in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery in 1895.  He died at the age of 21.

--Old Secesh

Monday, August 3, 2015

Jefferson Davis, Jr.-- Part 2

After the war, young Jefferson Davis, Jr., attended schools in Canada, England and Maryland as the family moved from place to place.  He was enrolled at Virginia Military Institute, but his father had him withdrawn in 1875, apparently fearing that he was about to be expelled.

Accounts from the time showed that he was charming but didn't have much motivation.  Even so, his parents continually tried to help him..

--Old Secesh

Jefferson Davis, Jr.-- Part 1

On Saturday I wrote about Mort Kinsler's White House Strategy meeting with Lee, Jackson and Jefferson Davis at the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia, on July 13, 1863.  An onlooker in the picture was Jefferson Davis' son, Jefferson Davis, Jr, five years old.

From the Papers of Jefferson Davis.

Jefferson Davis, Jr. (1857-1878).

There is a photo of him taken in the mid 1870s.

The namesake of his father, Jefferson Davis, Jr., was actually the president's second son (Samuel died three years before Jefferson was born).

He is described as a rambunctious child who really enjoyed his life in the Confederate White House where staff and aides indulged him no end, often calling him "General."

--Old Secesh

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Mort Kunstler's Civil War Calendar for August 2015-- Part 2

The text:  'LEE, JACKSON AND DAVIS, JULY 13, 1862.  It was a meeting like no other.  Following the 1862 Seven Days Campaign, Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson met with President Davis at Richmond's Confederate White House--  where five-year-old Jefferson Davis, Jr., sometimes slipped into official meetings.

"Within a year, Jackson would be mortally wounded, Lee would be defeated at Gettysburg, and Davis would face a failing Confederacy.

"This would be the only White House strategy session by the South's three principal commanders."

So, It Was Junior Looking In.  --Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler's Civil War Calendar for August 2015-- Part 1

It is nice to get away from the mostly depressing Confederacy Under Attack blog entries.  I just get angry while doing them.

At or near the beginning of every month, I take a look at the new page of this excellent calendar and write what it is about.

This one is titles "White House Strategy" and shows a meeting at the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia.  President Jefferson Davis is sitting at his desk listening to General Robert E. Lee going over military plans as General Thomas Jackson looks on.  Better known, of course, as Stonewall Jackson.  There is a young boy looking around the door at the proceedings, but no mention as to his name.

Unfortunately, the text below the picture did not say who he was, but I would suppose he might be one of Jefferson Davis' sons.

Of course, there is whole lot of detail in the painting, a regular trademark of anything Mr. Kunstler does.  He does his research.

--Old Secesh