Philanthropist Gives $18M to Refurbish Lincoln Memorial

From the Feb. 16, Northwest Herald (McHenry County, Illinois) by Matthew Barakat, AP.

Philanthropist David Rubensteinm, who has already donated tens of millions of dollars to refurbish the Washington Monument and other icons has now given heavily to the Lincoln memorial.

The money will be used to fix the memorial's roof, clean the marble and improve accessibility by adding a second elevator.  The park service also plans to create 15,000 square feet of visitor spce beneath the memorial for exhibits.

The memorial draws over 7 million visitors a year and is the most-visited attraction on the National Mall

The Memorial was dedicated in 1922 and is built on pilings which are marked with grafffiti from workers who built it over a seven year period.  There are also caricatures of President William Howard Taft and memorial architect Henry Bacon whose father built the famed "Rocks" by Fort Fisher near Wilmington, N.C..

Rubenstein has already given $7.5 million to repair the Washington Monument (damaged in a 2011 earthquake), $5.4 million for the Iwo Jima memorial in Arlington, Va., and $12.35 million to Arlington House, the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.

Mighty Good Man.  Thanks.  --Old Secesh

The ConfederacyUnder Attack-- Part 200: Tennessee House Votes to Make Removing Confederate Memorials Harder

From the Feb. 18-19, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate statues will remain in Lexington courthouse square.  (Kentucky)  (Win)  The mayor decided to keep the statues of John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge outside the Fayette County Courthouse.  Nice to see a politician with a backbone.

**  Woman charged with menacing used Confederate Flag as a weapon.  (Mt. Washington, Kentucky)  (Loss)  Threatened with a flag pole and hit a car.

**  Tennessee House Votes To make It Even harder To Take Down Confederate Memorials.  (Win)

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table Discussion Group Meets Saturday

The Discussion Group of the MCCWRT meets tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, 2016, at the Panera Bread Company in Crustal Lake, Illinois, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The discussion topic is "Bad Generals" so it will be of interest.  I am thinking possibly Union Gen. Fitz John Porter who was accused of disobeying orders and cowardice.

He was from a naval family.  His father was David Porter, War of 1812 hero, and brother of Admiral David Dixon Porter and Commodore William D. Porter and his foster brother was David Farragut.

Although his court martial seemed to have a whole lot of political intrigue.

--Old Secesh

A Highway in Washington State Named for Jefferson Davis?

From the Sons of Confederate Veterans Pacific NW Division.

Davis' connection with Washington state.

I knew Jefferson Davis served in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point and was in the Mexican War and was Secretary of War for four years, but what might his connection with Washington State be?

As secretary of War for the United States from 1853-1857, he pushed for westward expansion and added forts and arsenals in the west.  He directed that surveys be made for a path for the transcontinental railroad and had a military road built from Walla-Walla to Puget Sound.

OK, Then.  He Had a Connection.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 199: Jefferson Davis Highway Under Attack in Washington State

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

**  Black Lives Matter, SCV agree of criticism of renaming effort.  (Always good to agree on something in this contentious time.)  In 1939 the road was renamed the Jefferson Davis Highway from Vancouver to the Canadian border.  State Route 59.

This was the news from the article which led me to think it was Vancouver, Canada, until I found out there is a Vancouver, Washington at the Oregon border.  Wikipedia says that in 1939, The Washington state legislature renamed State Route 99 the Jefferson Davis Highway as a continuation of the Jefferson Davis Highway that ran from Washington, D.C., to San Diego and northward through California to the Canadian border.

In 2002, the Washington State House of Representatives voted unanimously to remove the name, but it was killed in a Senate committee.

Of Course, Now, All Things Confederate, You Know.  --Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table-- Part 2: Lincoln Assassination

Things were unsettled in 1864-1865.

The Finians were an Irish group that had decided to invade and seize Canada which led to the Finian Wars.

Russia was advancing along the west coast of North America and had Alaska until Seward bought it in 1867 (Folly though it wasn't).

There was also fear of guerrilla warfare instead of a peaceful return to the Union for the Confederate states.

There was also the 13th Amendment which forever freed slaves and indentured servants.

And, of course, there was what to do with the war profiteers.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table-- Part 1: Lincoln Assassination

August 12, 2014, meeting.

The talk was given by Richard Stilling who spent 22 years as an FBI agent and also collects Civil War firearms.  He also worked the Kennedy assassination although his name is not in history books.  He finds lots of similarities between the two assassinations.

There was much political intrigue involved in both.

Then, there was the situation of the empty chair, a man of mystery and a simple letter.

At the time of Lincoln's death, the U.S. was having problems with relations with France, Spain, Britain and Russia.  Russia was expanding its sphere of influence in the Pacific.  (After all, the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia a few years after the war.)

Parts of Mexico had been taken over by England and France.  And France had really made its mark by installing Emperor Maximilian.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 198: Houston School Board "Strips History"

From Feb. 17, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Debate continues over removal of Confederate monument in Lafayette.  (Louisiana)  (Loss)  This is concerning the statue of Confederate General Alfred Mouton.

**  Texas School Board Strips History From 3 More 'Confederate' Named Campuses.  (Houston)  (Loss)  From the Breitbart News.  I've already written about this, but I did enjoy the way this article's title was written.

**  Confederate Flag Loses Battle in Va. Fire Dept.  (Chancellor, Va.)  (Loss)  They had at first voted to retain the Confederate Flag on its patch, now has two U.S. flags.

--Old Secesh

The Illinois Andersonville Monument-- Part 3: Granite from Wisconsin, Built in Illinois, Base from Georgia

The State of Illinois gave $12,000 for the monument and it was decided by the commission to put it in the southwest corner of the national cemetery and would be 26 feet 7 inches tall.

The Trigg Monument Company in Rockford, Illinois, served as the contractor.  Clark's Monument Works in Americus, Georgia provided the base.  The granite came from Wisconsin.

Sadly, there were many delays and 1911 passed by and now into 1912, when it was finally completed.  The dedication took place December 20, 1912.

A total of 889 Illinois soldiers died there and it took from 1908-1912 to get it built.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 197: Embarrassed by Pennsylvania Incident

From Feb. 16-17, 2016, Google Alerts.

**  Confederate marker projected to be removed this spring.  (Texas)  (Loss)  Texas State University in Sewell Park.  A marker for the Jefferson Davis Highway that was erected by the Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy..

**  Virginia Flaggers fly Confederate Flag off I-95 south of Prince George.  (Win) Near Exit 41.  Good for them!!

**  Neighbors outraged by display featuring confederate flag, African-American baby doll hung from a noose.  (East Huntington Township, Pennsylvania)  (definite loss)  I am embarrassed by this whole thing, but glad it was quickly taken down.  It is ok to hang the flag, but the baby and noose was completely out of line.

Just Goes to Show We have Complete Idiots On Both Sides.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 196: Politics Come to Flag-Slinging

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

**  Man guilty of threatening driver with Confederate Flag.  (Jackson, Mississippi)  (Win)  An 18-year-old man brandished a gun at a pickup truck flying a Confederate Flag.

**  Resolution to fly Confederate Flag fails approval.  (Lenoir County, N.C.)  (Loss)  The local Sons of Confederate Veterans wanted to fly the flag on March 4.

**  Donald Trump's supporters wish south had won the Civil War, want Confederate Flag back, poll shows.  (South Carolina)  So, it has come to flag-slinging.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 195:Confederate Flag Day Planned at Gettysburg

From the Feb. 13-15, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Group plans Confederate Flag Day in Gettysburg.  (Pennsylvania)  (Win)  The Sons of Confederate Veterans will do it at the Farnsworth House on March 5.  Not surprisingly, the NAACP opposes it.

**  New trial date for Racine man accused of tearing down Confederate Flag.  (Wisconsin)  (Win)  Entered a woman's house to get it back on August 7, 2015.  Did not show up for Jan. 21 trial.

**  Albertsville man asks county to take down Confederate Flag, monument.  (Alabama)  (Win)  Not for the man, who is white, asking for them to come down, but for the county chairman, James Hutchinson saying he has "no plans whatsoever" to do so.

The offended man says, "It represents the murder of an entire race."

(Loss)  Alabama Governor Bentley took down the Confederate Flag at the state capitol building.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 194: Houston Still Renaming Confederate Schools

From Feb. 12, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue membership votes to reinstate uniform patch with Confederate Flag.  (Virginia)  (Win)  original patch had an eagle with crossed U.S. and Confederate flags.

**  HISD Votes To rename 3 More Schools Named With Confederate Ties.  (Houston, Texas)  (Loss)  They are Albert Sidney Johnston (general) and Sidney Lanier (poet) middle schools and Jefferson Davis High School.  Renaming will cost $250,000 for each school  Back in November the school board also renamed Richard Dowling Middle School, Lee High School and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Middle School.  You'd think they would have better things to spend money on than renaming schools to be politically correct.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 193: Swarthmore's All Hot and Bothered

From the Feb. 13, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  James Loewen Says Additional Baltimore Confederate Statues Should Be Removed.  (Loss)  Loewen is a historians and wants the statue of poet (and Confederate soldier) Sidney Lanier removed.  Forget his poetry, he was a Confederate soldier.

There are 4 statues in predominantly white areas of Baltimore including one to Roger B. Taney, the architect of the Dred Scott Decision and the statue of Lee and Jackson in Wyman Park.

**  Confederate Flag sparks controversy in borough.  (Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)  (Loss)  A house near the college is flying a Confederate Flag and some folks are upset.

**  Va. Flaggers: Another Confederate Flag to be raised on I-95 this Saturday.  (Petersburg)  (Win) This will be the 18th one across the state they have raised.  It will be just south of Petersburg and will be on an 80-foot high flag pole and there will be a 20 by 20-foot flag on it.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 192: We Sure Don't Need White Supremacists

From the Feb. 11, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Houston School Board To Consider Renaming More Schools With Confederate Names.  (Texas)  (Not really a loss)

**  Alleged 'hate group' joins in Confederate Flag saga.  (Montgomery, Alabama)  The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights and anti-anything Confederate, law organization based in Montgomery says a flag supporter has ties to white supremacist group League of the South.

I sure don't like to have efforts to keep the cultural cleansing of all things Confederate (weren't the Nazis attempting that with the Jewish people?) to a minimum being linked with white supremacists.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 191: SCV to March in West Virginia

From the Feb. 1011, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate group asks permission to parade in Martinsburg.  (West Virginia)  (Win) The West Virginia SCV seeking a permit for March 5.  They say if they don't receive permission (which no doubt they won't because it will offend certain people) they say they will move along the sidewalk.

**  Defendant in San Jose State bias case says Confederate Flag not racist.  (Cal.)  A freshman up on a hate-crime charge for tormenting a black suite-mate.

**  One student stages a 'Save the Confederate Monuments' protest in Lee Circle.  (new orleans)  (Win)  A brave 17-year-old.  BLM might do something to him.  Safety in numbers you know.

**  Confederate memorial at U-Texas vandalized with BLM graffiti.  (Loss)  Enough said.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 190: Mardi Gras Somehow Survives Those "Offensive" Confederate Monuments

From Feb. 10, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Portsmouth councilman calls for cost estimate to remove Confederate monument.  (Virginia)  (Loss)  We can only hope the estimate will be too much to spend.  Otherwise, it's gone.

**  Confederate monuments controversy ripples but doesn't roll Mardi Gras.  (new orleans)  The Lee and Beauregard statues "co-existed unobtrusively with Mardi Gras" for more than a century until 2016.  Seen at this year's Mardi Gras were some monument-related maskers and one "homeless" Robert E. Lee on L:ee Circle replaced with Harry Lee, Bruce Lee, Sara Lee and Fleur-de-Lee.

Of course, next the Confederate-haters will won't anyone named Lee to change their name because it offends.

Some parade floats made light of the whole affair.  Then there was the black kid who caught a Confederate Flag bead and was offended.  I still say, I'll give him $5 for it.

--Old Secesh

The Illinois Andersonville Monument-- Part 2: Commission Made Up of Former Prisoners Held There

Illinois was behind other states in erecting monuments of the Andersonville grounds:

Ohio 1901
Rhode Island 1903
Michigan 1904
Wisconsin 1907
Tennessee 1915

Illinois Governor Charles Deneen (1905-1913) approved an Illinois monument after Indiana placed their monument.  Illinois lost 889 soldiers at the prison.

In 1908, the Andersonville Commission was founded and consisted of some Illinois veterans held at Andersonville.

A.H. McCracken, Chicago, president
G.J. George, Springfield, vice president
Lewis F. Lake, Rockford, secretary and treasurer
William H. Hainline
James M. Swales

Swales was a sergeant with the 10th Illinois and captured August 1, 1864.  He weighed 185 pounds when he arrived at Andersonville and 85 when he was released.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 189: Va. License Plate Confederate Flags Rejected

From the Feb. 9-10, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Rockville Leaders Vote 4-1, Against Confederate Soldier Move.  (Maryland) (Win)  Moving it from the Montgomery County Courthouse.

**  Confederate bill rejected.  (Virginia)  (Loss)  The Senate Transportation Committee voted 6-3 against putting the flag back on the Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates.  Of course, probably fortunate for SCV as the BLM folks might attack them physically or spray paint vehicles with it.

**  Senator Marlon Kimpson introduces bill to remove Confederate Flag from Citadel Chapel.  (South Carolina)  (Loss)  State Senator Kimpson is black.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack- Part 188: Alabama Heritage Act to Protect Monuments

From the Feb. 8-9, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Bill Would Stop removal of Confederate, Historical Markers.  (Montgomery, Alabama)  (Win, if it passes, which it won't)

The bill is called the "Alabama Heritage Protection Act."  Unless a waiver is obtained.  Birmingham is considering removing a Confederate memorial from a park.

**  Raleigh's Oakwood Cemetery raises money to fix vandalized Confederate monuments.  (North Carolina)  (Win)  They have raised over $21,000 so far.  It is too bad that BLM have so little respect that they commit these racist acts.

--Old Secesh

The Illinois Andersonville Monument-- Part 1: Dorence Atwater

From the July 8, 2014, meeting of the McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table.

Noah Niver, a student at Rock Valley College has come across documents relating to the Illinois monument at Andersonville Prison in Georgia and put together the story of it.  He also volunteers at the Midway Village in Rockford.

He came across 628 documents on its construction.

From early 1864 to May 1865, some 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned at Andersonville and 12,900 died.  Sometimes as many as 120 a day died and 839 were from Illinois.

Dorence Atwater, a captured prisoner who was also clerk of the prison, kept a Record of Death book for the Confederates and wrote a secret copy of it.  After he was released, he took the secret copy with him and with the help of the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, he got the list published and was court-martialed by the U.S. government for doing it.

This man is a big reason there are records of where the burials took place and how many died.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 187: Portsmouth, Va. Monument Now Under Attack

From the Feb. 5-7, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

These are the headlines with location, win or loss, a few and my opinion.

**  Pro-Confederate group to buzz Stock Show with battle flag flyover.  (Win)  This will takeplace during the parade in downtown Ft. Worth.  A 25 X 40 foot Confederate Flag will be featured in response to the Stock Show banning it.

**  Judge denies injunction to stop Confederate monument removal.  (new orleans)  (Loss)  But no surprise at all.   The racists have won.

**  Portsmouth Confederate monument at center of debate.  (Virginia)  Blacks want it removed, of course.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 186: No More Hood Middle School in Dallas

From the Feb. 4-5, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Greenfield to hold public forum on racism in wake of Confederate Flag Uproar.  (Massachusetts)  A neighbor saw a Confederate Flag up on the wall of a police sergeant's garage and got upset.  (Win)  A forum is better than spray painting.  But, what goes on in a guy's garage is his own thing.  If it upsets you, don't be a peeping Tom.

**  Dallas students vote to remove Confederate school name.  (Texas)  (Win) Hood Middle School, named for Confederate General John Bell Hood, opened in 1955.  At least the name change was put up to the students instead of administration as most school administrations tend to be anti-Confederate.  The students can recommend a new name and vote on it.  Democracy in action.

Plus, the school is 99% minority and less than 1% white.  Confederate-named schools like this should have their names changed.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 185: "Crabs for Christmas" for Maryland State Song?

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

**  Update on the previous post about the Confederate Flag going up by Alabama State University.  It isn't going up because of proximity to power lines.  I am glad to hear this as it would be too much of a flash point, much as the flag in South Carolina.  (Montgomery, Alabama) (Win)

**  6 Songs That Should Replace Maryland's Pro-Confederate State Song (Washionian)  (Loss)  Actually, I jkind of enjoyed this one.  Since "Maryland, My Maryland" does tend to be pro-Confederate, there are those in the state who want to keep the melody, but cleanse the lyrics.  Others want a statewide contest to pick a new one.

Here are some tongue-in-cheek suggestions  (the site lets you click on the songs to hear them):

"What's New in Baltimore" by Frank Zappa
"Maryland Fight Song" by Ralph Davis  (University of Maryland Fight Song)
"Six feet Under the Stars" by Panda Bear
"Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill
"Crabs for Christmas" by David deBoy
"The Thong Song" by Sisqo receives honorable mention.

I did like Frank Zappa's song best, but also "Crabs for Christmas."

--OldCrabsecesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 184: Confederate Flag for Alabama State U?

From the Feb. 3, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  City will pick contractor for Confederate monuments' removal through public bidding.  (new orleans) (Loss)  They'll probably go with a black contractor due to racism.  Remember, this city is now lower case due to its shame.

**  new orleans to Beauvoir:  You can't have our Confederate monuments.  (Loss)  And, what is really surprising is that new orleans doesn't want them in the first place.

**  Plans are for a pole of up to 50 feet to be erected across from the entrance to Alabama State University.  (Montgomery, Alabama)  (Loss)  I looked it up and Alabama State University is a historically black school founded in 1867.  The First Capitol Flaggers want to do this.  Now, whereas I applaud seeing Confederate Flags along our highways, putting it up by a black college is only going to cause more problems than it is worth.

Plus, it would have to have 24-hour security.  We see what BLM does to our graves and monuments.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 183: Is "new orleans" Already Removing the Monuments?

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

**  Woman known for taking down South Carolina Confederate Flag talks to Dallas students.  (Texas)  Believe it or not, she is described as an activist.  Anyone who didn't like what she did last summer is described as a racist, of course.

**  Author tells story of his Black Confederate ancestor.  (Tupelo, Mississippi)  Al Arnold, a black man, researched and wrote a book about his great-great grandfather, Turner Hall Jr., who was an orderly for Robert E. lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest and in the Confederate Army for 4 years.  he was a body servant for Lee and was at Appomattox.

**  Ga.  Lawmaker withdraws pro-Confederacy bills after KKK remark.  There goes that Tommy Benton again.  Open mouth, insert foot.  I understand he didn't drop the bills, but removed his name from it.

**  Crane company says city never hired it to move Confederate monuments.  ((n)ew (o)rleans)  There was a photo along with the article which makes it look like the small case city is already removing the monuments, even before it is legally possible to do so.  They must be fairly sure they will win in court.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 182: Initiative 58 in Mississippi

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

**  Lawrence students create petition to ban Confederate Flag.  (Kansas)  (Loss)  Like I said before, no free speech at Free State High.  I always believe the students should be allowed to decide by voting on the issue.

**  Atlanta History Center Proposes Keeping Confederate Monuments in Place, But Adding Context.  (Georgia)  (Win)  Regarding to Confederate monuments and memorials.

**  NAACP requests removal of state flag from Harrison County property.  (Mississippi)  (Loss)  You know what the flag has on it.  Big surprise they would be against it.  Personally, I think the state should cut off funds to any institution or governmental body that refuses to fly the flag.

**  Of interest, in the above article, it was mentioned that there is an Initiative 58, a proposed constitutional amendment that requires the state to keep the current flag.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 181: Now, It Goes to Mardi Gras

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

**  Gun threats made after Confederate Flag incident at Westport High School.  (Ocala, Florida)  (Loss)  1,600 students stayed home.  Four students brought small Confederate Flags to school and waved them at lunch.  A black female student  became offended and punched one.  The four students were disciplined.  It is always sad when something like this occurs.  They shouldn't have waved them in the cafeteria.

**  Child catches Confederate Flag Mardi Gras beads at Sunday parade.  ((n)ew (o)rleans)  (Ridiculous)  The Krewe of Carrolton threw it.  A black child caught it and his parents were REALLY UPSET.  They should have had the child throw it down and step ion it or something else to show disdain.  Shoot, i would have given the child $5 for it.  What next, or we going to need the "Bead Police" to make sure blacks are not offended.

Call Out the Bead Police!!  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 180: Don't Hand Out Confederate Flags to Black Kids

From the Jan. 31, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Tallahassee Veterans  Day Parade Will Still Feature Confederate Flags.  (Florida)  (Win)  But, they can not hand out any small ones.  They weren't giving them to black children, just white, and the parents of the black kids complained that was racist.  Man, you just can't please some people.  I wonder what those black parents would have done had one been handed to one of their kids?  Probably wouldn't have been pretty.

**  There have been articles in several places attacking the racism of Georgia Rep. Tommy Benton.  I admit, often he would be better just doing what he's doing and keeping quiet about it.  He sure is prone to opening his mouth and putting his foot into it.

**  Politician Who Supports 'Confederate Memorial Day' Argues KKK Wasn't Racist.  (Tommy Benton)  Like I Said, open mouth, insert foot.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 179: No Free Speech at Free State High School

From the Jan. 29, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Free State High School student told Confederate Flag not allowed at school.  (Lawrence, Kansas)  (Loss)  He displayed it on his vehicle but can't do it any longer on school grounds.  I would say that flying a large Confederate Flag would be ok to ban as long as no one else can fly a large flag.  But I see nothing wrong with decals.  Sure not a lot of Free State of Speech at that school.

**  County, Matheson History Museum continues to ponder future of Confederate statue.  (Gainesville, Florida)  (Loss)  A new location for "Old Joe," erected in 1904.

**  Move underway to bring "nola's" Confederate monuments to Beauvoir, Mississippi.  (Win)  Beauvoir is the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.  Good idea since those statues are essentially gone.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 178: Battling "Cultural Terrorism"

From Jan. 28-29, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Get rid of the tasteless relics of the Confederacy.  (baltimore sun)  (Loss)  looks like that newspaper is looking to go lower case.  Well, they did.

**  Georgia legislator introduces pro-Confederate bills to combat "cultural terrorism."  (Win)  If he would just do that and bite his tongue as he makes outlandish statements.  He wants state protection for Confederate memorial Day and Robert E. Lee's birthday.  State Rep. Tommy Benton.  It is nice, though, to see a rare politician who is not afraid to stand up to the blacks and their pc allies and their obsession to destroy any and everything Confederate.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 177: Confederate Monument Fight in "new orleans" Goes to State Court

From the Jan. 28, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

Most people don't hear about this ongoing effort to exclude the Confederacy from history, but it continues.  It was bad enough before the murders in Charleston, but now are out of hand.

**  Fight over Confederate monuments goes to state court.  (new orleans)  (Sure it will be a loss.)  Having failed in federal court, defenders of the monuments take it to the state.  Not going to win there either.

**  Georgia lawmaker seeks constitutional protection for Stone Mountain carving.  (Win)  State Representative Tommy Benton is an "unapologetic supporter of Georgia's Confederate heritage.  Sadly, as we shall see, he didn't shut up right there.

**  Proposal to remove Confederate statues thru senate committee, but not without considerable debate.  (Florida)  (Not really a loss)  The question revolves around the statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in the National Hall of Statuary in D.C..  Normally, I'd say no, but he really didn't have much to do with the state's history, so I am o,k, with his removal.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 176: No Big Surprise with (n)ew (o)rleans Confederate Monuments

From the Jan.27,2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Judge OKs Removal of Confederate Monuments in new orleans.  (Loss)  No big surprise here.  There was no way the judicial branch was going to do right in this case.  This city has gone lower case.

**  Construction worker's Confederate Flag on state job site stirs controversy.  (Slidell, Louisiana)  (Loss)  Some folks need to get a life.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 175: Fighting the Good Fight in "new orleans" to Keep the Statues

From the Jan.27-28, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Judge OKs Removal of Confederate Monuments in New Orleans.  (Loss)  How come this doesn't surprise me at all?

**  Construction worker's Confederate Flag on state job site stirs controversy. (Slidell, Louisiana) (Loss)  Working on I-12.

**  Fight over Confederate monuments goes to state court.  (new orleans)  (No doubt, this will be a loss.)  Those fighting to keep the monuments take their case to state courts after federal ones turn them down.  This will also result in a loss.  Too bad as I like New Orleans' music and culture.  Apparently, once those statues (well at least the ones of Confederates) are removed, I won't ever be going back to new orleans.  new orleans receives lower case treatment for its shame.

--Old secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 174: Reward Raised to Locate Those Who Desecrated Confederate Grave

From Google Alerts for Jan. 26, 2016 for Confederate.

**  Fight continues to remove Confederate statues in Memphis.  (Loss)  The Nathan Bedford Forrest statue downtown.  The article also mentioned that Birmingham is considering removing their Confederate statues.  Really a horrible thing when a Southern towns remove their Confederate statues.

**  Raleigh cemetery raises reward to $3,500 after Confederate graves vandalized.  (Raleigh, N.C.)  (Win)  Oakwood Cemetery.  So sad when something like this happens.

**  N.C. County must reconsider flying Confederate Flag at courthouse,  (Lenoir County)  (Loss)  They have been flying the First National Flag since March 4, 1992.  I am surprised it took this long for those haters to figure out this was also a Confederate Flag.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 173: I Would Have Been in Trouble

I can't help but think that I would have been in trouble in today's pc climate.

For many years, I wore a Confederate flag belt buckle when I was teaching.  I also had a SCV sticker logo on my vehicle which I drove to school.  Once a year I put up a Confederate flag along the hallway lockers as part of a mural of historical U.S. flags.

I also had a portrait of Robert E. Lee in the classroom.

No parent, student, fellow teacher or administrator ever questioned me about it or approached me about these things.

I am very sure I could no longer do this.

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 172: High School Students Getting Into Trouble for Supporting Their Heritage

From the Jan. 24-26, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Cities would lose power to remove monuments under bill.  (Alabama)  (Win)  But I doubt that it will pass.

**  High School Student Suspended For Wearing Confederate Flag Apparel.  (Prophetstown, Illinois)  (Loss)  Again, it seems that it is high school students who support Confederate heritage more than college.

**  Confederate Flag stirs emotions at Johnson County school.  (Gardner, Kansas) (Loss?) A boy was suspended at Gardner-Edgerton High School after hanging a Confederate flag in the cafeteria.  I put this as a Loss? because that was going way overboard.  It's one thing to wear Confederate clothing or put stickers on your vehicle or wave a flag from it, but this is taking it too far.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 171: Confederate "Cleansing" Continues

From the Jan. 22-23, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  "Maryland, Mt Maryland" state song latest target in nationwide Confederate cleansing.  (Maryland) (Loss)  No kidding about the "cleansing" part.

**  Fewer words proposed to tell history of Helena monument to Confederate soldiers.  (Montana)  Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hill park, constructed by UDC in 1916.  Plans are to rewrite the marker with fewer words.  Well, at least they're keeping it.

**  Atlanta Fed to move meeting over Confederate Flag.  (Georgia)  (Loss)  The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta had been holding their annual meeting at Stone Mountain but now moving it to Amelia Island, Florida.

--Old secesh

Back to That Facial Hair Thing...Again-- Part 2: Big Beard Vs. Little Beard

Then, the question arises, Does the commander with the larger beard/face ratio win more battles.

Using the data, there were 226 battles where bear/face ratio could be determines.  Of them, the commander with the bigger beard won 114, a winning ratio of 50.4%,  Just two more than the smaller beard.

So, obviously, it did not make much difference.

--Old Beardless Secesh

Back to That Facial Hair Thing...Again-- Part 1: The Beards of War

Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science "Beards of War: Relationship  between facial hair coverage and battle outcome in the U.S. Civil War" by Matt Michel.

I wrote about this last month (hit the facial hair label).

Using the Facial Hair Database from the previous post/paper and Battle Database from the National Park Service of the 383 battles and classifying the outcome as a Union Victory, Confederate Victory or Inconclusive and the 196 battles which have casualties listed, these stats became evident:

Long Bearded commanders were involved in the most battles: 54 for Union, 108 Confederate
Short Beards:  101 Union, 57 Confederate
Van Dykes:  39 Union, 46 Confederate
Mustaches:  32 Union, 20 Confederate
French Cuts:  20 Union, 31 Confederate
Clean Shaven:  12 Union, 25 Confederate
Friendly Muttonchop:  21 Union, 3 Confederate
Muttonchop:  6 Union, 11 Confederate
Chin Curtain:  11 Union, 3 Confederate
Muttonchop with mustache:  4 Union, 5 Confederate
Goatee:  0 Union, 7 Confederate

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 170: USMC Turns Down Enlistee For Confederate Flag Tattoo

From the Jan. 21, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Group asks Fair Board to ban Confederate Flag sales.  (Lorrain, Ohio)  (Loss)  last year it was allowed, despite protest.

**  Rep. Chip Limchouse proposes moving Confederate museum to the Low Country.  (S.C.)  This refers to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in Columbia.  Wants to move it by the Hunley Museum in North Charleston.  He says it doesn't get enough visitors in Columbia.  This is the museum getting the $3.6 million display for the taken down Confederate Flag.

**Confederate Flag Tattoo Disqualifies Marine Enlistee.  (Greenbrier, Arkansas)  (Loss)  I am somewhat ashamed of the Corps over this one.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 169: 51 Dead in Chicago in January

The latest casualty list for Chicago is in.  During the month of January, 51 people were killed and another 280 shot.  Even though the numbers don't delineate between blacks and other races, a look at the names and killing locations makes one think most were black.

As far as I know, NOT ONE OF THEM WAS KILLED OR ATTACKED BY A CONFEDERATE FLAG OR STATUE.

So much for the "Black Lives Matter."  They sure don't if you are another black person.

Even sadder is that normally during the really cold winter months the numbers drop as it is too cold to shoot each other.

Wait Until the Summer Months.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 168: Baltimore Sun "Take the Statues Down"

From the Jan. 20, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Multi-million dollar plan to display Confederate Flag to be revealed.  (Columbia, S.C.)  (Financial Loss)  Some $3.6 million will be spent to "properly" display the flag taken down this summer at the state house grounds.  Looking forward to seeing what $3.6 million buys (way TOO much).  I didn't hear from them about my offer to come up with a plan for just expenses.  Their loss.

**  Controversy surrounds state holiday honoring Confederate veterans.  (Texas)  (Loss)

**  South Carolina Republican Who Defended Confederate Flag Proposes Mandatory Criminal Background Checks for Journalists.  (Hard to Call)  State Representative Mike Pitts.  Not sure what this has to do with the flag removal.

**  Baltimore Sun editorial  "Take the statues down."  (Loss)  Looks like the paper wants to be relegated to lower case.  The baltimore sun.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 167: Rallies to Get Rid Of Or Keep Miss. State Flag

From the Jan. 19-20, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Group seeks signatures for petition to remove Confederate emblem from state flag at MLK festivities.  (Biloxi, Miss.)  (Loss)  I doubt that I'll be signing it.  The removal should come about by a vote of the people like happened last time when it was voted to retain it.

**  Former Confederate monument contractor finds $200 K Lamborghini burned.  (new orleans)  (Loss)  Loss if it was burned by pro monument people.  The contractor also said he had received death threats.  Also a no-no if he has.

**  Rally calls for keeping Confederate emblem on State Flag.  (Jackson, Miss.)  (Win)  Like I said, let's put it up to a vote of the people.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 166: Confederate Heroes Day Celebrated in Texas

From the Jan. 18-19, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flag-waving protesters circle P.G.T. Beauregard statue Sunday.  (new orleans)  (Win)  Show them that the statues have support.

**  Confederate-era marker protested.  (Brownsville, Texas) (Loss)  Petition to remove historical marker for Jefferson Davis from Washington Park erected by UDC in 1926.

**  State marks Confederate Heroes Day.  (Texas)  (Win)  But for how much longer.

**  Hillary Clinton Celebrates Confederate Flag Removal at MLK Day Ceremony.  (Loss)  And she might be the next president.  Frightening.

--Old Secesh