A Look at Chicago Murder, Crime and Mayhem: It Is So Sad

One thing that completely galls me is how upset blacks are with any and all things Confederate because over 150 years ago, their ancestors were held as slaves by some of the whites (about 25%) in the Confederacy.  In addition, they are really against the police for all the blacks they have killed (most of whom were involved in criminal activity at the time).

I typed in Chicago Murders into Google Search and came across a website called "Hey Jackass! Chicago Murder, Crime and Mayhem.  Illustrating Chicago Values."

I find the weekly and daily accounts of shootings and murders in Chicago alarming and extremely sad.  The city is much more dangerous than Afghanistan, especially if you're black.  Unfortunately the news reports never break the shootings and murders into race, but noting the neighborhoods and photos of victims, they tend to be black.

Here are the March to Date Stats:

Shot and killed: 43
Shot and wounded:  275
Homicides: 45

The Week in Progress 3/27-4/2

Shot and killed:  5
Shot and wounded:  40
Homicides: 5

Year to Date

Shot and killed:  129
Shot and wounded:  677
Homicides:  147

Most of the victims are black and were shot by other blacks.

Police involved shootings 2016:  2 killed and 1 wounded
Police involved shootings 2015:  9 killed, 16 wounded

In last night's NBC Chicago News, they said there had been 11 shootings and 2 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

Perhaps There Should Be Something of More Importance to the Black Community Than Hatred for All Things Confederate and Police.

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 227: The Mississippi State Flag Removed in Oregon

From the March 22-25, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Mississippi Flag Comes Down at Capitol.  (Oregon)  (Loss)  They have flags from all 50 states.  If Mississippi has a place with all fifty state flags, somebody's should also come down.

**  MTA toy car appears to show image of a man in Confederate Flag shirt.  (New York City) It is on a toy subway car.  This is more than a bit ridiculous.

**  Removal of Confederate symbols turns ugly in new orleans.  (Small letters because of its shame.)  (Loss)  There has been a backlash that has supposedly included death threats, intimidation and even a Lamborghini burned.  I am mad about the three Confederate statues being removed, but if this is true, it should not be happening.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 226: A Stand-off in Charlottesville, Virginia

From the March 22, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Mississippi educators plan to talk about controversial Confederate Heritage Month.  Teachers are not required to include anything about it in their lesson plans.  The way I look at it, if you can have a Black history Month, you can also have a Confederate Heritage Month.

**  Tensions rise as push to pull statues makes its case.  (Charlottesville, Virginia)  (Loss)  Involves statues of Lee and Jackson which blacks and their supporters want removed.  The blacks were having a rally and rudely interrupted by pro-Confederate demonstrators.  Even upset, the other side should have a chance to voice their opinions.

**  Dallas students who voted to drop Confederate general's name from school have selected a new one.  (Texas)  (Loss)  John B. Hood Middle School will now be Piedmont Global Academy, taking its name from an old housing project in downtown Dallas.  Again, if the majority of the students at any school named after a Confederate leader are black, I fully support changing its name.

Is It Me Or Is Virginia Becoming a Union State?  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 225: Thanks a Lot MTSU

From the March 19, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Forrest fight continues: MTSU talks on Confederate images.  (Middle Tennessee State University)  (Loss)  A university building named for Forrest.  In 1968, a bronze medallion to Forrest was placed at the university center and removed in 1989.  At one time the mascot was a Forrest-like figure and the band played "Dixie."  But not any more.  And to think I was pulling for these guys to beat Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament (even though I had MSU picked to go all the way).

**  'Pro-White' rally prompts Ga. school to move prom from Stone Mt. Park.  (Georgia)  (The school's loss)  It's a beautiful park.  Stone Mountain is considered the birthplace of the modern KKK and there is a KKK rally scheduled for the same day, April 23.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 224: Read "Life With Gracie"

From the March 18, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Drop Confederate Names letter to the NY Times Editor.  (Loss)  The writer said his ancestors fought for the Confederacy but that was morally wrong because of slavery.  Spoken like a modern-day abolitionist, the terrorists of their day.

**  Md Senate votes to strip pro-Confederate lyrics from state song.  (Loss)  I'd say they should just come up with a new song as long as they are erasing history.

**  Life With Gracie: How I, a black woman, could advocate keeping Confederate monuments.  (Well worth reading as she makes some good points.  Gracie Bonds Staples in the Atlanta Constitution-Journal.  A very balanced look at the controversy.

**  After student wearing Confederate Flag shirt is asked to change, school talks sensitivity.  (Caledonia, Michigan) (Loss)

"Maryland, My ?.  --Old Secesh

Indiana and Missouri's Civil War Park Day 2016

To be held this Saturday, April 2nd.

INDIANA

**  Tippecanoe Battlefield Park.

**  General Lew Wallace Study and Museum in Crawfordsville.

MISSOURI

Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site (Formerly Fort davidson S.H.S.

**  John Siddle-Williams House, Hickory County Museum

**  Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

**  Battle of Athens State Historic Site

**  Lone Jack Civil War Battlefield & Soldiers Cemetery

**  Battle of Lexington State Historic Site

**  John Womall House Museum

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 223: The South Isn't Surrendering Its Confederate Symbols?

From the March 17, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Group seeks removal of Confederate names from Hampton schools.  (Virginia) (Loss)  The SCLC, a black group, seeks removal of names for Jefferson Davis Middle School and Robert E. Lee Elementary.  Again, it is alright with me if these schools have majority black students.

**  The South isn't surrendering its Confederate symbols.  (Toronto Star)  I wish this was true, but it isn't.

**  SCV hosts flag day event.  (Greenville, Alabama)  (Win)

**  'He's a thug' Kantpreet Singh sentenced for threatening teens who flew Confederate Flag.  (Jackson County, Michigan)  (Win)  Received 24-72 months for two counts felonious assault in 2015.  Brandished a gun while threatening the teens.  The judge called him a thug during sentencing.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 222: Why Is It That High School Students Are Standing Up for Their Rights and College Students Won't?

From the March 17, 2016,  Yahoo! Style.

**  Why do teenagers continue to wear Confederate Flag t-shirts.  Listed some of the high schools where teenagers have gotten into trouble for wearing Confederate attire.  Caledonia H.S. in California where a student was booted from class.  Christiansburg H.S. in Virginia where 23 students were suspended.  Cabell Midland H.S. in S.C., O'Fallon H.S. in Illinois where for red, white and blue day during homecoming week one student wore a Confederate Flag in the cafeteria which started a riot.

It is strange that high school students would stand up for what is right and college students won't.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meets Saturday: Topic is Mobile Bay

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group will meet tomorrow, March 26,  at 10 a.m. at Panera Bread in Crystal lake, Illinois.

The topic of discussion will be Mobile, Alabama and Mobile Bay.

I have been doing some research into the Confederate submarine Pioneer II (American Diver) which sank near Fort Morgan in 1863 and was used as the model for the H.L. Hunley.

Plus, there were a lot of Union ships, not just the monitor, that were sunk by Confederate torpedoes.

--Old Secesh

Talking About Those Bad Generals-- Part 4: Beast Butler Chamber Pots

**  Phil Sheridan at Perryville

Forrest--  Doesn't work well with others and better as an independent commander.

**  Butler, of course.  Butler Chamber Pots brought up and the question arose as to whether there are any still around?  It was brought up that he must have been a good general in order to have been hated that much.

There is one at the Confederate Museum in Richmond.

--Old Secesh

Talking About Those Bad Generals-- Part 3: Sickles and Van Doren

Continued from March 11th.

Some other bad generals:

**  Sickles at Gettysburg

**  Earl Van Dorn--  Failed at Pea Ridge and Corinth

**  Beauregard

There was a break and some talk about how cold it got on the MCCWRT trip to the Red River Campaign back in 2014.  It was 80 degrees the first day and a cold 40s after that.

They were told to bring along boots because of the fire ants they might encounter in hiking to sites.  One member said he figured to always be the first in line as it is the second guy who gets bitten..

Then we got to talking about Stonewall Jackson already being a dead man even before he was shot as he was showing symptoms of pneumonia.

Not That This Group Occasionally Get Off Topic.  --Old SeceshStayOfftheFireAnts

Civil War Trust's National Park Day On April 2, 2016: Two Illinois Sites

This is a day a call goes out for volunteers to come out to Civil War (and Revolutionary War) sites and work on a variety of projects.

Surprisingly, there are two Illinois sites as you usually don't think of the war being in Illinois.

**  U.S. Grant Home in Galena.  This is where he was living before the war and a grateful population presented him and Mrs. Grant with this home after the war.

Volunteers will rake the park and ready flower beds.  Participants are asked to bring their own rakes.

Perhaps they will gaze on the statue of Mrs. Grant that looks so much like Mrs. Butterworth.

**  General John A Logan Museum in Murphysburg.  Volunteers will rake leaves and pick up fallen limbs and trash.  Yard tools will be needed.  A meal will be served.

Will Work for Food.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 221: San Lorenzo Rebels in California

From the March 16, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Relic Room director doesn't mention $3 million exhibit.  (Columbia, S.C.)  He was making his budget presentation.  I still say I will develop an exhibit for the Confederate Flag taken down at the state house for free.  Just cover my expenses.

**  NAACP says plaque at Ole Miss Confederate statue must mention slavery.  (Win)  I am greatly surprised the university still allows the statue to be on campus.

**  High School gets go-ahead to dump Confederate-based mascot.  (San Lorenzo, Calif.)  (Loss)  The San Lorenzo High School mascot is known as Rebel Guy and modeled on an Old West scout.  In the 1990s, he replaced Colonel Reb who looked like a plantation owner.  For now, athletic teams will still be called the San Loenzo Rebels.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 220: Is Court the Proper Place for Mississippi Flag Debate?

From the March 15-16, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederacy.

**  Confederate monument fight brewing in Alexandria, newspaper reports.  (Louisiana)  (Loss) Guess who wants it removed.

**  Judge: Is court proper place for Mississippi flag debate?  (Win)  It should be decided by the people.

**  Here's how Dallas should get rid of Confederate school names.  (Loss)  Under consideration is Stonewall Jackson Elementary.  Suggesting plaques be put in place.  Again, I think these schools should have names changed if majority of students are black.

**  That time Baton Rouge moved a Confederate monument. (Louisiana) (Loss)  The city relocated its "Silent sentinel" monument in 2013.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 219 Tennessee Legislature Thinking of Removing Confederate License Plates

From the March 14-15, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Pendulum swinging other way.  (Mississippi)  (Win)  Failure to change the state flag.  Safeguards to keep it being put in place.  I still say to let the people vote on it as they did before when they voted to keep it.

**  High schoolers criminally charged after Confederate Flag stunt.  (West Brunswick High School, Brunswick County, N.C.)  (Loss)  Charged with disorderly conduct for disruption of the school's learning environment.  Again, they went overboard, but they shouldn't have been charged criminally.

**  Bill aims to remove Confederate Flag from license plates.  (Tennessee)  (Loss)  Sons of Confederate Veterans vanity plates.

**  Three contractors at briefing on plans to remove Confederate monuments express concerns about security.  (new orleans, not capitalized because of their shame)

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 218: Is the Movement for Erasure Slowing Or Stopping?

From the March 12, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Washington County Fair board rules against Confederate Flag.  (New York)  (Loss)

**  Next Houston School To Remove Confederate-Linked Name: Reagan High.  (Loss)  The houston independent school district (lower case because of their disgrace) is removing the name.  John H. Reagan served as postmaster general of the Confederacy.  Eight schools had Confederate names and it is estimated that it costs the district $250,000 with each removal.  Good thing they have all that extra money.

**  Momentum to remove Confederate Symbols Slows or Stops.  (New York Times)  (Win)  Sure needed a break as this attack has been relentless since the murders.

By the way, over the weekend in Chicago, there were twenty shootings, most of them probably black.  The only death I heard of was a sad one, though, a little boy (black) accidentally killed himself with a gun his ten-year-old brother brought into the house.

I'd Still Say the Attacks On All Things Confederate Are Underway.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 217: Ole Miss Plaque for Confederate Statue

From the March 11-12, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  School District, NAACP Respond To Confederate Flag Disturbance At High School.  (West Brunswick High School, Brunswick County, N.C.)  (Loss, They shouldn't have done this.)  A Confederate Flag was hoisted in the courtyard and worn as a cape.  Students shouted "White Power."

**  Mississippi flag featuring confederate emblem outside Oregon Capitol taken down.  (Loss)  Small letter "C" in Confederate.

**  Ole Miss Adding Plaque With Context For Confederate Statue.  (Win)  Well, at least they are letting it stand.  Statue dedicated in 1906.  The plaque will point out that the statue was a rallying point for the 1962 mob opposed to the admission of James Meredith to the school.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 216: Flags at High Schools

From the March 10-11, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flag removed from view at Walpole High field.  (Walpole, Mass.)  (Loss)  It was on private property and put there to honor the Walpole High School Football "Rebels."  The school's teams are still called the rebels, but the Confederate soldier symbol is no longer used.

**  McAuliffe vetoes bill that would have stopped removal of Confederate monuments.  (Virginia)  (Loss)

**  Plainfield South parent, student claim First Amendment violation after Confederate controversy.  (Illinois)  (Loss)  The boy is a senior at the school and had a Confederate Flag stolen in the parking lot.  The school has threatened to suspend him if he returns with the flag.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 215: Truly a War of Extinction on the C.S.A.

This is truly a new War of Extinction on the Confederate States of America.

Again, I capitalize the word Flag when used with Confederate out of beleaguered respect.  There are usually at least ten-twelve alerts each day, but I don't use ones that are repeats, only if it is an update.

Sadly, the attacks on all things Confederate really picked up as the sesquicentennial of the Civil War approached.  Then there were those horrible murders in Charleston.  That misguided idiot did more to hurt the Confederacy than John Wilkes Booth did.

It appears that this second war is over in the areas of government, judicial, legislative and college.  We have lost.  The real sad part is seeing how Southern States, those who were in the Confederacy, are turning their backs.  Especially the southern colleges.

It would seem that high schools are carrying forth the battle more than higher education.

As horrible as the nine murders in Charleston are, that pales when you look at how many people (mostly blacks) get shot and murdered in just Chicago where there were twenty shootings this past weekend.

Over 200 shootings have taken place JUST in Chicago so far this year and over 50 murders.

Perhaps Blacks Should Put More Emphasis In Stopping Themselves From Murdering Each Other.  --Old Secesh

Putting the Rock Into the War-- Part 1

From March 17, 2016, Science Codex "How rocks shaped the Civil War."

Gettysburg is the most studied battleground of the war and its terrain is due to a mixture of harder igneous and softer sediments in landforms such as Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top.  These were two major defensive positions of the Union Army.

Carbonates like limestone provided defensive positions in battles in both the eastern and western theaters of the war.

Limestone and dolostones form the terrain of the battlefields at Antietam, Stones River, Chickamauga,  Franklin, Nashville and Monocacy.

Rolling.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 214: Charleston, S.C. Votes to Remove Confederate Flags in Institutions of Higher Learning

From the March 9, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flag controversy:  group meets today, calls for boycott of Loraine County Fair.  (Ohio)  (Loss)  Some folks are upset that vendors sell Confederate Flags.  My advice to them is that if it offends you, don't buy it.

**  Confederate Flag Controversy Surrounds Berea's Spoonbread Festival.  (Kentucky)  (Loss)  The mayor wants them removed.  This would be another item against vendors.

**  Vandals Damage Confederate Soldier statue.  (Kentucky)  (Loss)  Knocked it over.

**  Charleston City Council voted to remove Confederate Flags.  (South Carolina)  (Loss)  I mentioned this in the previous post and am not surprised this is how they voted.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 213: Confederate Flag Splits Mississippi Ahead of Primary

From the March 8, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flag splits Mississippi ahead of primary.

**  Removal of Confederate Flag on City of Charleston's agenda.  (South Carolina)  (Loss)  Council members to vote on resolution Tuesday to remove Confederate Flags from institutions of higher learning.  This probably will pass and is mostly aimed at the flag in the Citadel's Summerall Chapel.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 212: Confederate Flag Rally at Oklahoma Capitol

From March 6-7, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Students say taping off confederate memorial act of protest for preservation.  (Savannah, Ga.)  (If this is true, Win)  And, Confederate should be capitalized.  They believe history should be debated before being erased.  A group of grad students but didn't say which school.

**  Dozens protest Confederate Flag ride in Durango.  (Colorado)  (Loss)  Again, they should allow the procession with no protest, or at least violence.

**  Confederate Flag rally held at Oklahoma State Capitol.  (Win)

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 211: Groups Duel in Gettysburg

From the March 5-6, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Rallies for, against Confederate Flag duel at Gettysburg.  (Draw)  Much verbal abuse on both sides, officials had to separate some.  It is too bad the other side can't allow Confederates to commemorate their heritage.

**  Group waves controversial symbol, gather to commemorate Confederate Flag Day.  (Michigan)  (Win)

**  Confederate national flag flying high over N.C. Capitol Saturday.  (Win)  To honor Confederate Flag Day.

**  Proposed bill would block removal of Confederate monuments.  (Louisiana) (Win, but there is no way it will pass.)

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 210: Bills to Restrict Confederate Erasure in Virginia and Alabama

From the March 4, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flag ride planned Saturday from Durango to Pagosa Springs.  (Colorado)  (Win)

**  Bill impacting Confederate monuments on governor's desk.  (Virginia) (Win if he signs it)   It is designed to prevent local governments from moving war memorials.

**  Pro-Confederate legislators make run to save symbols.  (Virginia)  (Win)  This is about the bill in front of the governor.Of course, the legislative Black caucus racist group are against it.  All five members voted against it.

**  Alabama Senate passes bill to restrict removal of Confederate historic monuments.  (Win)

At Long Last, Legislators Are Standing Up for Heritage.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 209: Move Over NAACP, There's a New NAACP in Town

From the March 2-3, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Sons of Confederate Veterans to gather at Martinsburg.  (West Virginia)  In honor of the 155th birthday of the Confederate Flag.  They had been banned from walking in the street, but planned on being on the sidewalks.

**  Why man was wearing white-robe and holding Confederate Flag in Colonial Heights.  (Virginia)  (Loss) A man saying he was a member of the National Association for Awakening Confederate Patriots (NAACP) said he was exercising his First Amendment rights.  He was standing in front of the war memorial and, however, wasn't wearing a hood.

Loss because the further distance between he KKK and ourselves, the better.  Although I did like the play on the associations.

**  Confederate Heritage Month is a hot topic across area.  (Mississippi)  (Loss)  It shouldn't be.  Black History Month was not a hot topic either.

National Association for Awakening Confederate Patriots.  That's a Good One.  --Old Secesh

University of Georgia's Slavery and Confederate Connections-- Part 3: Must Change Name and History

And then, further damning the University of Georgia (of course, anything dealing with these two things must be erased), several buildings on campus are named after Confederates or white supremacists.

Grady Smith School of Journalism--  Henry Grady, manager editor of the Atlanta Constitution was a white supremacist.

Hoke Smith Annex houses the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science Cooperative Extension service.  In the 1906 election for governor, he wanted to disenfranchise blacks.

Mell Hall--  Patrick Hues Mell, wrote the treatise "Slavery, neither a Moral, Political, Nor Social Evil."

Actually, the University of Georgia, under the current climate and regards to all its past sins, must change its name and erase all history, including sports, before 1961, and maybe even to today.

After All, We Must Not Offend.  --Old Secesh

University of Georgia's Slavery and Confederate Connections-- Part 2: Students Joined the Confederate Army

There are also traces of the Confederacy around campus.  The monument across from the famous Arch honors Athens residents who served in the Confederacy.  The plaque at the entrance to North Campus honors Confederates as well.

It states:  "During the War for Southern Independence most of the students entered into the Confederate Army.  The University closed its doors in 1864 and did not open again until January 1866.  After the war, many Confederate veterans became students."

--Old Secesh

University of Georgia's Confederate and Slavery Connections-- Part 1: Slaves Once Worked on Campus

From the Red & Black, University of Georgia student newspaper, "Before Holmes and Hunter:  Students look at UGA's history of segregation and slavery" by Hannah Echols.

Many think that the University of Georgia's black history began with the entrance of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, the first blacks to enroll at the school in 1961.

But black history goes back to the school's earliest days.  Enslaved people played a pivotal role in the building and maintaining of the campus.  They stoked fires, carried water, rang the chapel bell and constructed buildings.  The only time they were allowed on campus, however, was to perform prescribed duties, then they had to leave.

--Old Secesh

Talking About Those Bad Generals-- Part 2: From Bragg to Devins

The McHenry Civil War Round Table Discussion Group meeting Feb. 27, 2016.

Some other suggestions for "Bad Generals":

BRAGG--  The worst.  He fought his subordinates more than the enemy.

BUTLER--  Enough said.  Real funny when he was telling the Committee on the Conduct of the War that Fort Fisher couldn't be taken right when the paper boys outside in the street started yelling that it had.

SIGEL--  Had German connections leading to his generalship.  But after the 1864 election, Lincoln no longer needed the German vote.

BANKS--  Involved with illegal cotton trade.

CHARLES DEVINS--  From Massachusetts.  Commanded 11th Corps at Chancellorsville.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group: Bad Generals-- Part 1: J.B. Hood an Early Contender

The February 27, 2016, McHenry County Civil War Round Table met at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois and discussed a topic dear to us all, "Bad Generals in the Civil War."  It was a round-robin with most everyone putting their own nominees on the table.

Some early contenders on the Confederate side were Pillow and Hood.  John Bell Hood was probably the most villified one for destroying the Army of Tennessee.  Mention was made of his drug use, laudlum, for his lost limbs.

Confederate General Joseph Johnston was found to not be on any list by "expert" Civil War folk, other than the fact he was fighting not only the Union, but also Davis.

Union General George McClellan was mentioned for his lack of attack, but his organizational skills were outstanding.  One person attributed a quote from Lee to the effect that "in order to be a good general, you must love the Army and be willing to sacrifice it."

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 208: Louisiana Man Arrested After Scuffle

From the March 2, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Mississippi Will Defend Lawsuit Over Confederate-Themed Flag.  (Win)  I was surprised that they would actually defend it.

**  Northshore landowner arrested after altercation with Confederate Flag vendor.  (Angie, Louisiana)  (Nobody wins when disagreement turns to violence.)  A black property owner found someone selling Confederate flags and white supremacist merchandise on his land.  He told the guy to get off his land, an argument ensued and eventually the owner pulled out a pistol and struck the vendor.

**  West Salem students force freedom-of-speech showdown with display of Confederate Flags.  (LaCross, Wisconsin)  (Win)  West Salem High School will not allow the flags in the parking lot so students park on nearby streets with flags flying.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table: I Re-upped for Two Years

We had the first regular meeting of 2016 last night at the Woodstock, Illinois, Library.  I met some of the folks earlier at Papa G's on Woodstock Square, dating to the 1850s for dinner and general history and Civil War talk.

Earlier I went to the small town, mom and pop bookstore "Between the Lines" and found a book on Stonewall Jackson and looked up W.H.C. Whiting, a Confederate general I'm very much interested in and who was captured at Fort Fisher and later died while in Union prison.

Apparently, when Stonewall Jackson was being relieved of his command by Confederate General Joseph Johnston at some point (perhaps before First Bull Run), Jackson had not received orders to be relieved and refused to step down until everything was in order, almost sparking a scene.  Whiting was there at the time.  Perhaps it was around the Seven Days battles.

Once at the meeting, I paid my $50 to cover the next two years of membership in this excellent organization. I also gave an additional $10 for cemetery work. (The organization has even gotten a new marker for a former Confederate soldier who died in the county.)

We had an excellent talk on Abraham Lincoln and William Seward.

--Old Secesh

A Mother Looking for Her Son in 1866

From Civil War Talk.

An ad placed in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, newspaper in 1866 read:

"PERSONAL INFORMATION WANTED OF OLIVER H.P. ANDERSON, Company A, Forty-eighth Mississippi Regiment, Heth's Division, A.P. Hill's Corps, C.S.A., commanded by Captain Coffen, who has been missing ever since the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse, May 12th, 1864.

"Any information by letter addressed to me at Richmond, Virginia, care of Verandum House, or a personal interview, would greatly oblige a distressed mother.

"jc 19- 3t  Mrs. Rebecca Anderson"

Comments:  Enlisted March 30, 1864, at Jackson, Mississippi.  Probably buried in unmarked grave.

The 48th Mississippi was one of the units fighting at the bloody "Mule Shoe" area of the battle.

He was probably young, having enlisted that late in the war.

A Very Sad Story.  --Old Secesh

World War II's Battery Farley Named for Union General Joseph Pearson Farley

As I said, I was writing about the 1900s Fort MacArthur protecting Los Angeles Harbor in California in my World War II blog's previous post.  One of its Coastal Defense batteries mounted two 14-inch guns called Battery Osgood-Farley.  I have already written about Henry Brown Osgood, who eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general in the post Civil War Army.

Battery Farley was named for Brigadier General Joseph Pearson Farley (1839-1912).  He was USMA Class of 1861 and served as ordnance officer at the Watertown Arsenal from 1861-1863 and proved more than 600 guns.

He distinguished himself afterwards in operations at Charleston, S.C., Morris Island and the bombardment of Fort Wagner.

After the war, he served in the ordnance department at various arsenals, including Rock island, Springfield, Kennebec and Frankford.

He is buried at West Point.

--Old Secesh

The 27th Maine Gets Medals of Honor...And Then Has Them Taken Away

I have been writing about the Osgood-Farley battery at Fort MacArthur near Los Angeles in my World War II blog, "Tattooed On Your Soul."    The Osgood part of the name comes from Gen. Henry Brown Osgood, who started his military career as a lieutenant in the 27th Maine Infantry Regiment.

In July 1863, they were nearing the end of their nine-month enlistment and Confederate General Lee was invading in Pennsylvania and threatening Washington, D.C..  Three hundred and twelve of the regiment volunteered to continue serving until the emergency passed and a grateful Congress awarded all of them a Medal of Honor.

In 1916, Congress was tasked with reviewing the Medal of Honor and decided that their awarding to the regiment was not justified and they took them away, including the general's.

I would have to agree with this decision.  Volunteering to stay on is not what is needed to get one of the Medals of Honor.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 208: Does Confederate Imagery on Miss. Flag Invite Acts of Racial Violence?

From the March 1, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Mississippi's flag's Confederate imagery invites 'acts of racial violence' lawsuit alleges.  (Loss)  A Civil Rights lawyer is filing the lawsuit.  Big surprise.  But he is partially right because if a person has anything Confederate they seem to invite acts of racial violence by the Black Lives Matter folk.

**  Confederate Heritage Month declaration sparking controversy.  (Mississippi) (Loss)  Yes, just like the declaration of February as Black History Month sparked a lot of controversy.

**  Sheriff's Office investigates burned Confederate billboard.  (Bluffton, S.C.)  (Loss)  Wonder who did it?

** Senate votes to ban local decision on Confederate monuments.  (Georgia) (Win)  Making it more difficult to erase history.

--Old Secsh

MCCWRT: Lincoln Assassination-- Robert Parker and John Parker

A relative of Mary Lincoln, Robert Parker, got certified as a sutler, probably through her efforts.  She also got him deferred from the Army.

John Parker and Mary never gave their statements after the assassination.  Parker continued on duty at the White House in the following days until Mary accused him of murdering her husband according to Mary;s dressmaker.

The Confederate Secret Service also had plans to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, but no proof has been found that Booth was working with them.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table-- Part 3: Lincoln Assassination

John Surratt was to kill Grant but Grant was not at Ford's Theater because of a feud between Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Lincoln.  John Surratt left the country and became a member of the Papal Guard, then later went to Egypt.  He was apprehended in Alexandria and brought back to the United States in 1867 to stand trial, although it wasn't a military one.  The statute of limitations on most of his charges had expired and he wasn't convicted.  He later admitted his guilt and lived until 1916.

The other captured conspirators stood a military trial.  His mother, Mary Surratt became the first female to be executed.

Mystery man at the Star Bar with Booth.  A.C. Richards was a witness and also superintendent of Washington, D.C. police.

John F. Parker was supposed to be on guard duty outside Lincoln's box.  He faced charges of being drunk and asleep on duty and yet ended up on White House Security detail and was supposed to be on guard duty at the door to Lincoln's box that night, but wasn't there.

Reports have him drinking at a nearby tavern at the time of the assassination and he never returned.  He was dismissed on May 3, 1865, on charges of negligence.

There is the possibility that Mary Todd Lincoln was related to John F. Parker

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 207: Should UGA Change All Its History Before 1961?

Grom the March 1, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Mississippi flag's Confederate imagery invites 'acts of racial violence,' lawsuit alleges.  (Loss)  A Civil Rights lawyer filed it.  I seriously doubt that one single Mississippi state flag has attacked any black people.

**  Confederate Heritage Month declaration sparking controversy.  (Mississippi)  (Loss)  Why should it be sparking controversy.  I didn't get upset with Black History Month.

**  Before Holmes and Hunter:  Students look at UGA's history of segregation and slavery.  (The Red & Black student newspaper University of Georgia)    If slaves were involved at the school before the Civil War, they should have to change the name and remove any and all history before 1865 as racist and prejudicial.

Wait a minute, UGA had its first black students, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, enter in 1961.  That means that anything before that also needs to be changed.

This was a very interesting article which I will write about next week.

**  And, if UGA should change everything before 1961, the University of Mississippi, through its refusal to fly the state flag, should drop everything before 1962, when it was desegregated.

--Old Secesh

Best Name Ever for a Civil War Soldier: E. Pluribus Lincicum

From Civil War Talk.

A reader said he had found the name of an E. Pluribus Lincicum (Lincecum) of Co. E 11th Mississippi.

Unfortunately, he had a very short service in the Confederate Army.  He died of typhoid at Harpers ferry June 7, 1861.

What were his parents thinking.  Perhaps just very patriotic for a man destined to die while fighting against the United States.

--Old SeceshPluribus

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 206: Florida's Statue in D.C.

From the Feb. 27-29, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  New statue to replace Confederate general?  Consider Harry T. Moore.  (Win)  Florida will replace the statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in Washington, D.C..  One possibility is Civil Rights pioneer Harry T. Moore.  I would also like to nominate Henry Flagler whose railroad and Carl Fisher, whose Dixie highway helped open Florida to the rest of the United States.

**  3 Stabbed At KKK Gathering In California, Including 1 With a Flagpole.  (Anaheim) (Loss)  Dozens attacked six KKK members and violence broke out.  That's what happens when you get fanatics and idiots confronting each other.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 205: April is Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi

From the Feb. 26, 2016, Yahoo! News "Mississippi governor: April named Confederate Heritage Month."  (Win)

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, following what the state's governors have done for many years, has declared April to be Confederate Heritage Month.  But, he didn't mention slavery.

The proclamation came days before the legislature killed bills that would have either removed the Confederate emblem from the 122-year-old state flag or stripped state money from colleges and local governments that refuse to fly the state flag.

More credit to the governor for having the backbone to stand up against the racism and pc of today.  I have already mentioned that flag opponents have determined they didn't have enough support to remove the Confederate emblem.  But, i am sorry to see that a bill to deny state funds to colleges and local governments who refuse to fly the flag was also killed.

I have since seen a whole lot of criticism about this proclamation.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 204: Impact on "Dukes of Hazard"

From the Feb. 25-26, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Md. House OKs barring Confederate Flag license plate renewal.  (Loss)  these would be the plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans whose emblem features the flag.

**  'Dukes of Hazard' star John Schneider says Confederate Flag controversy hurts show's reruns.  (Loss)  OK, their car, the General Lee, has a Confederate Flag on its roof.  Some folks were really angered by it.

**  Texas Schools Are Getting Serious About Erasing Confederate Names, But Is That The Right Move? (Texas Monthly)   About the Houston schools.  Is it the right move?

--Old Secesh

Chicago's Death Toll Breaks 100

A black woman was killed over this past weekend to put the Chicago murder number at 101 for the first two months of 2016.

Even though the papers do not break the murders down into black or white, most of those killed were black and most of their killers were black.

And, NOT one of the blacks killed were murdered by Confederate flags or statues.

Strange that you hear so much about how blacks find all things Confederate so offensive, but not much about all these murders.  I find all these murders to be offensive.  You'd think perhaps they have their priorities all wrong.

After All, Black Lives Matter.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 203: Confederate Flag Day to Be Held in Gettysburg

From Feb. 24-25, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Permit approved for first Confederate Flag Day event in Gettysburg.  (Pennsylvania)  (Win)  I am really surprised this happened.

**  Bidding process begins for removal of three Confederate monuments in new orleans.  (Loss)  new orleans stays small case because of its great embarrassment.

**  Lawmakers approve replacing Confederate statue.  (Florida)  (OK with me)  This would be the statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in Washington, D.C.  Other than growing up in Florida, he had little other connection with the state.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 202: Mississippi State Flag to Remain (For Now)

From Feb.23-24, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  University of Alabama students want to name a building after Harper Lee- not a KKK leader.  (Toss Up)  John Tyler Morgan was a Confederate general and six-term U.S. senator from Alabama.  There is a call to rename the campus English building.

Wikipedia says there is a personal account, but no physical or historical proof that he was a Grand Dragon of the group.

**  The Confederate Flag Is here To Stay In Mississippi.  (Thing Progress)  (Win)  State lawmakers said Tuesday that they didn't have enough support to replace the 122-year-old flag.  I still say, let the people vote on it.

**  Removed Confederate Flag may be displayed in Charleston.  (South Carolina)  The flag is the one taken down at the state capital last summer. There is talk of moving the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum from Columbia to Charleston.  I think part of the problem is all that money they want to "display" the flag at the relic Room.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 201: Blacks Supporting Confederate Emblem on Mississippi Flag?

From the Feb. 22-23, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Carlsbad mom irked over school treatment of confederate flag.  (New Mexico)  (Win)  First off, Confederate is a proper noun and should be capitalized.    Shelby Dozier flew a Confederate Flag outside Carlsbad High School.  Her son, 15-year-old Dakota Carpenter wore a Confederate Flagon a tee shirt and had to zip it up

In August 2014, Albuquerque took down a Confederate Flag that had flown at a memorial commemorating an 1862 skirmish.

**  Dunn:  Let Mississippi voters decide on Confederate emblem.  (Win)  I also say, let them vote on it and abide by that decision, not a legislative or judicial one.  They already voted  once to keep it not long ago.

**  Some black Mississippians support state flag for its history.  (Win)  And I am shocked by this.

--Old Secesh