Prattville Dragoons Make Confederate History Presentation at Alabama Christian Academy

Compatriot Tyrone Crowley and Commander Waldo and his wife made a presentation at ACA on Thursday January 25th as part of the fourth grade class' Alabama history studies.  Mrs. Waldo made an entertaining presentation discussing the differences between life in the 19th century and today.  The students were very engaged as they answered questions about the differences in technology and life 150 years ago.  She wore a period gown with black hoop skirt and purple blouse which all the girls adored.  Commander Waldo wore period dress as a Confederate soldier and led a discussion on facts and figures around Alabama's place in Confederate history including secession and the war effort.  Waldo also presented the teachers with three Alabama Division Sesquicentennial educational posters for the classrooms and for each student, an SCV Christmas coin ornament, three pages from from an SCV Forrest comic book as well as Lee and Stonewall Jackson AL Division educational pamphlets.   Compatriot Crowley showed a series of six flags to the class explaining the historical significance of each in Alabama and Confederate history.  These included the Alabama Secession flag, the First, Second and, Third National flags, and the Confederate Battle flag, both that of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Naval Jack.   As time with the students drew to a close, Tyrone, portraying Jefferson Davis gave a brief history of the two times Davis was in Montgomery Alabama, in 1861 at his inauguration as President of the CSA and then 25 years later in 1886 when he made a public address and helped lay the cornerstone for the Confederate monument on the state capitol grounds.  It is classroom and living history student presentations like these which make history come alive for these young people and help reinforce the perspective and truth of Confederate history the SCV Charge implores us to advance. 

Alabama Division SCV Robert E. Lee Birthday Celebration Program at the Alabama State Archives

The Alabama Division Sons of Confederate Veterans held their annual celebration of the birthday of General Robert E. Lee and remembrance of Alabama's Secession Day at the Alabama State Archives in downtown Montgomery Alabama on Saturday January 20th.  AL Division Commander Jimmy Hill welcomed everyone and Division Chaplain Dr. Charles Baker then provided an Invocation and brought the program to a close with a Benediction.  The Prattville Dragoons' Tyrone Crowley then read the Alabama Secession Ordinance portraying the Honorable William Brooks on January 11, 1861.  The colors were then posted during which a video was played of the raising of the mega-Battle flag at the I-22 Cordova exit.  Representatives from various heritage organizations then extended their greetings to the assembled crowd in the auditorium including Pat Godwin from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Tonnia Maddox from the Order of Confederate Rose, Hannah Appleton from the Children of the Confederacy, Tommy Rhodes from the Military Order of the Stars and Bars and Pat McMurray from the Division Mechanized Cavalry.   Each gave statements illustrating the greatness of Lee often citing quotations from period peers.  Ross Moore then entertained everyone with Southern period and heritage songs played on a guitar, a slide guitar, a banjo and a Celtic hammered dulcimer.  Alabama 1st Lt. Commander Carl Jones gave the keynote speech, a "Vindication of Robert E. Lee" reminding us all of the virtues and qualities of Lee which made him such a Southern hero as a Christian example and a military leader.  Much of Carl's speech dwelt with the sovereignty of the states and the constitutionality of secession which although Lee did not proactively condone, nonetheless supported in defense of his home state of Virginia with the invasion of the Federal Army.   Perhaps the highlight was the presentation to the Archives was a check for $10,000 for historic flag conservation from the Alabama Division SCV. 

Members of the Prattville Dragoons in Attendance

Jimmy Hill Welcomes Everyone

Tyrone Crowley as William Brooks

Ross Moore on Guitar

Alabama Division SCV Officers Make Presentation of the Check to the Archives

Prattville Dragoons' Tyrone Crowley Speaks on Jefferson Davis's 1886 Visit to Montgomery - Camp Meeting Jan 11, 2018

            After Jefferson Davis made his March 1884 speech before a joint session of the Mississippi Legislature, convened specifically to honor him as a martyr for the Southern people, he thought he was finished with public life and so retired to his home at Beauvoir in Biloxi, Mississippi.  He was also influenced to retire to private life by the fact that some newspapers in the North accused him of inciting the public when he made any reference to the patriotism of the Confederate soldier and the Southern people in general.  For this reason, when he was approached in early 1886 by the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, Colonel W. S. Reese, who invited him to come to Montgomery to dedicate the cornerstone of the Confederate Monument which was under construction there, he at first declined the invitation, two times.  But then Reese took a different approach, after learning from Varina Davis that Jefferson Davis was now focused on the happiness of his daughter, Varina Ann, known to all as "Winnie, Daughter of the Confederacy".[1]  Reese urged Davis to come to Montgomery for the dedication ceremony, so that his daughter Winnie could see how much he was loved and admired by the people of Alabama and the South.  This idea convinced President Davis to make the trip, and so he agreed after this third attempt by Reese to convince him.

            When it was announced that Jefferson Davis was coming to Montgomery, other cities clamored for a visit as well, and the former Confederate President ended up with an itinerary first to Montgomery, then to Atlanta to unveil a statue of Benjamin H. Hill, then finally to Savannah, where he would speak at the unveiling of a monument to Revolutionary hero General Nathanael Greene, under whom Davis's father, Samuel Emory Davis, had fought.  Knowing even this itinerary would be very tiring, Davis declined invitations to Charleston and Richmond.

            On 27 April Jefferson Davis and daughter Winnie left Beauvoir in a special railroad car, accompanied by Mayor Reese and other prominent citizens.  The rest of the Davis family stayed at Beauvoir, due to the illness of Davis's grandson (Addison Jefferson) by his daughter Maggie.  Even Northern newspapers were surprised by the reception given Davis at every stop the train made.  The New York World reported:  "Half a carload of floral offerings were showered upon him during his trip and thousands of other tokens of love."[2]

            As the train came into Montgomery, in spite of a light rain, cannon boomed and thousands of people crowded the train station, cheering and applauding, which made it difficult for the ex-President and his special escort, General John B. Gordon, to reach their carriage.  There were also Roman candles, rockets, and other fireworks, for more than a half mile, according to the New York World.  The journey to the Exchange Hotel was very slow, due to the pressing crowd, all of whom wanted to touch their former president.  The Montgomery Grays and Blues were both present, and I imagine there were some Dragoons and other Prattville Confederates in the crowd (Montgomery descendant Annie Mae Montgomery Martin says Dragoons were in the parade the next day).[3]

            When Jefferson Davis arrived at the Exchange Hotel, he was greeted by a set piece of fireworks which flashed in flame the words, "Welcome, Our Hero!"  These words were also placed over the entrance to the Exchange Hotel.  He was escorted to Room 101, the same room he had slept in before his inauguration 25 years and two months before, and had to walk through layers of roses strewn over the hall and his room, even his bed.  This welcome was even greater than it had been in 1861, when he was introduced by William Lowndes Yancey with the words, "The man and the hour have met".  As he stood on that same balcony where Yancey spoke, a brass band inside the hotel struck up "Dixie".[4]  A policeman had to be posted at the door of his room, to keep out all except those with special credentials.  Even so, he was almost overwhelmed with visitors, including the widow of Clement Clay, who had been incarcerated with Davis at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, after the War.  Another interesting detail is that Davis slept that night under a silk quilt used by General Lafayette when he visited Alabama in 1825[5]; it seems clear that Davis was being honored in every way possible by the people of Alabama.

            The next day about noon the rain stopped, and the sun came out, though the threat of rain continued.  Because of the rain, plans were changed and the ceremony was moved from Clisby Park (somewhere near the end of North McDonough Street) to the Capitol steps, which was fitting, since it would place former President Davis in the same spot he had stood twenty-five years before, at his inauguration.[6]

            A procession had been planned to be as much as possible like the one which made its way from the Exchange Hotel up to the Capitol in 1861.  There was a carriage drawn by four white horses.  Militia in blue and gray lined up, and as mentioned before Montgomery descendant Annie Mae Montgomery Martin states that some Prattville Dragoons also marched in the procession, led by Captain William Montgomery Jr.  In the carriage seated next to Davis was former Alabama governor Thomas Hill Watts, who had served as Attorney General for a time (1862) in Jefferson Davis's cabinet.[7]  Facing Davis were Montgomery Mayor W. S. Reese and Alabama Governor Edward O'Neal.  Jefferson Davis was cheered all the way up Dexter Avenue, and continually bowed to the thousands of adoring spectators, emotionally affected by their demonstrations.  His special escort for the occasion, former Confederate General John B Gordon of Georgia, followed in a second carriage with Davis's daughter, Winnie, "Daughter of the Confederacy".  Letitia Tyler, the granddaughter of President John Tyler who had raised the First National Flag over the Capitol in February 1861, was also present.[8]

            Here's how the Montgomery Advertiser described what happened once the official party was seated on the portico of the Capitol (this description filled the first two pages of that day's newspaper; I will only read a part of it).  The front page begins:

ON THE SAME SPOT

Where He Stood Twenty-Five Years Ago

And Took the Oath of His High Office,

JEFFERSON DAVIS Stands and Speaks to His People

"Your Demonstration Now Exceeds That Which Welcomed Me Then."

            It is estimated that fully thirty thousand people witnessed the Davis celebration yesterday.  That is a safe estimate, doubtless, but it includes all who were on the streets and in the buildings along the line of march, and it does not mean that that many went to the capitol grounds to hear the speeches of Mr. Davis and General Gordon.  Never before was such a scene witnessed in a Southern city, probably never in the world.  Certainly no people have made such a demonstration over the leader of a lost cause.  And there was no doubt of its genuineness.  Visitors from the North remarked upon its wonderful sincerity as eclipsing anything known among their people in the triumphal processions of their victorious leaders.  Smiles and shouts were everywhere seen and heard, though tears rolled in rivulets down a thousand cheeks.

            The rain ceased about noon, and as if in special compliment to the occasion, held up until all was over and the procession had returned.  Perhaps nature was weeping for joy at the splendid patriotism of Alabama's people, and dried her eyes for awhile to behold the solemn scene on Capitol Hill.

AT THE CAPITOL

            A great crowd had gathered on Capitol Hill before the procession started, and the coming of the carriages was awaited with greatest impatience.  When the carriages reached the stone steps leading to the State House, Mr. Davis alighted, and when the people saw him walking up the steps round after round of cheers and shoutings greeted him.  The troops were drawn out in line on either side of the walk leading to the Capitol.  Mr. Davis and Mayor Reese walked together and in front, then Ex-Governor Watts and General Gordon, then the Governor and other distinguished citizens with the ladies in the party.  The scene was one never to be forgotten by the thousands who witnessed it.  People will recall it and talk about it for years to come, and its thrilling incidents will be handed down to future generations.  There was something wonderfully touching in Mr. Davis' appearance.  He walked with firm, measured tread (he's 78 years old--DTC), his head was uncovered, his face was calm and composed, and his soldierly form erect.

            In introducing Mr. Davis, Mayor Reese said:

            My Countrymen--With emotions of the most profound reverence I introduce to you the highest type of Southern manhood (applause), Hon(orable) Jefferson Davis.  (Long continued applause).

(Speech by Jefferson Davis)

My Friends-- 

It would be vain if I should attempt to express to you the deep gratification which I feel at this demonstration, but I know that it is not personal, and therefore I feel the more deeply grateful, because it is for a sentiment far dearer to me than myself.  You have passed through the terrible ordeal of war which Alabama did not seek.  When she felt her wrongs too grievous for further toleration, she sought the peaceable solution.  That being denied her, the thunders of war came ringing over the land.  Then her people rose in their majesty, gray-haired sires and beardless boys eagerly rushed to the front.  It was the only kind (of war) of which Christianity approved--a holy war of defense.  

Well do I remember seeing your gentle boys so small, to use the farmer's phrase, they might have been called seed corn, moving on with eager step and fearless brow, to the carnival of death.  And I have also looked upon them when their knapsacks and muskets seemed heavier than the boy, and my eyes, partaking of a mother's weakness, filled with tears. [9]

Those days have passed.  Many of them have found a nameless grave, but they are not dead.  They live in memory, and their spirits stand out, the grand reserve of that column which is marching on with unfaltering steps toward the goal of constitutional liberty. (Applause)  It were vain if I should attempt, as I have already said, to express my gratitude to you. 

I am standing now very nearly on the spot where I stood when I took the oath of office in 1861.  Your demonstration now exceeds that which welcomed me then.  This shows that the spirit of Southern liberty is not dead.  (Long and continued applause) 

Then you were full of joyous hopes, you had every prospect of achieving all you desired; and now you are wrapped in the mantle of regret.  And yet that regret only manifests more profoundly, and does not obliterate, the expression of your sentiments. 

I felt last night as I approached the Exchange Hotel, from the gallery of which your peerless orator, William L. Yancey, introduced me to the citizens of Montgomery, and commended me in language which only his eloquence could yield, and which far exceeded my merit, I felt, I say again, that I was coming to my home--coming to the land where liberty dies not and heroic sentiments will live forever. (Applause)  

I have been promised, my friends, that I should not be called upon to make a speech, and therefore I will only extend to you my heartfelt thanks.  God bless you, one and all, old men and boys, and the ladies above all others, who never faltered to our direst need. (Loud and long continued applause)

Advertiser:  In every lineament of Mr. Davis' face was plainly stamped the deep emotion under which he labored.  The scene, the occasion, the present surroundings, in contrast with the events of twenty-five years ago, came vividly before him.  His voice, though deep, was not loud, and only those not far distant from him could hear.  But there was strength in his tone, there was dignity and grandeur in his bearing, and a touch of sublimity to all he said that excited to the highest pitch the vast audience before, around, and behind him.

            This was followed by a eulogy of Jefferson Davis by General Gordon, followed by an artillery salute.  Later in the afternoon there was a reception in his honor, and that evening he attended a dramatic performance at the Montgomery Theater to benefit the building of the Confederate Monument.  The next day he dedicated the cornerstone of the Monument, and delivered a prepared speech.  I don't have the text of that speech, but here are a couple of quotations from it, offered by Professor Hudson Strode in his biography of Davis.  President Davis said that the Montgomery monument would commemorate "the deeds of Alabama's sons who died that you and your descendants would have the inheritance your fathers in the War for Independence left you."  He often made this assertion, that Confederates were only "treading in the footprints left by our Revolutionary fathers".  In this speech, he also insisted that "the war between the states was not revolution, as sovereigns never rebel". [10]  A reporter for the newspaper New York World, Frank Burr, marveled at what he saw in Montgomery:  "How this old man, who is fast nearing his eighty years, has stood the exactions of the past two days is a mystery to everyone.  He has been moving about a great deal, and has met hundreds of people and shaken them by the hand.  Yet he seems well and in the best of spirits.  This welcome has evidently given him a new lease on life."[11]  He later went to Oakwood Cemetery and participated in decorating Confederate graves there, the same ones the Semple Camp has decorated in years past.

            On Friday morning 30 April, he left for Atlanta and Savannah, stopping at the "little junction" at Tuskegee where he was cheered by a crowd of 500 blacks and whites, then went on to Auburn, where he was honored by the cadets there, who were drawn up in a line and rendered a 21-gun salute.  Ladies in summer dresses stood on the tables outside the train station, straining to see Jefferson Davis; some were even on the roof of the station.[12]  So ended the last visit by Jefferson Davis to the City of Montgomery, while he lived.  He did come to Montgomery one more time, but this time in a casket, bound for Richmond, Virginia, to be re-interred there.  On the morning of 28 May 1893 he lay in state at the Capitol, on his way from Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans to be reinterred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, where he lies today.[13]

---

[1] Ibid., p. 478.

[2] Ibid., p. 479

[3] Reference:  Prattville Library - ALA-RM, R, 976.1463, MAR, p. 26.

[4] Allen Felicity.  Jefferson Davis:  Unconquerable Heart, p. 552.

[5] Ibid., p. 480

[6] Montgomery Advertiser, 29 April 1886, front page.

[7] Encyclopedia of Alabama, Thomas Hill Watts, accessed 3 January 2018. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org

[8] Allen, op. cit., p. 552.

[9] I.e. his eyes filled with tears watching mothers suffer.

[10] Strode, op. cit., p. 482.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Strode, op. cit., p. 483.

[13] See pdf file, "The Jefferson Davis Funeral Train Story".

Prattville Dragoons January 2018 Camp Meeting

Thursday 11 January 2018, the 157th anniversary of Secession Day in Alabama, was also the date for the Prattville Dragoons first meeting in 2018. Chaplain Snowden provided a rotating collection of interesting photos on the projection screen while members and guests dined and socialized. When the meeting convened, our Chaplain led us in a devotion and prayer. 

A very special occasion was the swearing in of two new members, Donald Owens and Joshua Stover who have already been very active in camp functions. 1st Lt. Commander Harold Grooms and Chaplain Snowden took care of this task and the new members were received by a hearty round of applause from all in attendance . 

Brigade Commander Butch Godwin was present and gave everyone an update on Confederate Circle at Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. There are several plaques that are being added to the area and he invited all to visit and see the new changes. He also praised the camp for our continued work in the community and in the SCV.

Compatriot Tyrone Crowley was in charge of the program and began with a demonstration and explanation of the Alabama Secession flag; or Republic Of Alabama Flag. He also distributed a handout on the Montgomery House/ Buena Vista Mansion where the original Dragoons held a reunion in 1901. There members of the Montgomery family left that home to go to war and one never returned.

Tyrone then got to his major topic of the night which was Jefferson Davis’ visit to Montgomery in 1886 to dedicate the cornerstone of the Confederate Memorial Monument at the capitol.  Tyrone did a tremendous job providing a detailed, informative presentation which also included visual aids.

Rearrange Done Cancel

Chaplain Snowden Leads Devotional

1st Lt. Commander Harold Grooms with New Members Don Owens and Josh Stover.

Tyrone Crowley explains the meaning of one side of the Alabama Secession Flag.

Compatriot Crowley Makes His Presentation

Birthday of Thomas Jonathon “Stonewall” Jackson

By Brion McClanahan (https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/thomas-j-stonewall-jackson/)

This essay is part of the chapter “Southerners” in Brion McClanahan’s  The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes.  

The Northern essayist and Republican partisan E.L. Godkin wrote following the death of “Stonewall” Jackson in 1863 that Jackson was “the most extraordinary phenomenon of this extraordinary war. Pure, honest, simple-minded, unselfish, and brave, his death is a loss to the whole of America, for, whatever be the result of this war, the United States will enjoy the honor of having bred and educated him.” Godkin claimed him because he recognized that Jackson was more than a representative of the South, he was an American hero, pure and simple.
Jackson was born in 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. While the Jacksons had a solid reputation in America, they came from humble beginnings. Both his great-grandfather and great-grandmother arrived in America as indentured servants having both been convicted of theft. They fell in love on the voyage over, and once they had satisfied their indentures, married and moved to the frontier where they acquired vast tracts of land. Both Jackson’s great-grandfather and grandfather served with distinction in the American War for Independence and his great-grandmother used the Jackson homestead as a refuge for dislocated American settlers during the war.
Jackson’s father died when he was a boy, something both Jackson and Lee shared in common, and his mother, left with a crushing debt, sold their farm and moved to a one-room rental. Jackson was only six and was left an orphan when his mother died five years later. After bouncing between relatives for a few years, Jackson eventually settled on his uncle’s frontier farm. He was largely self-educated and even taught one of his uncle’s slaves how to read and write.
Though he lacked a formal education and had difficulty with the entrance exams, Jackson was admitted to West Point in 1842. He was at the bottom of his class, but he studied with a dogged determination that became a well-known character trait, and by the time he graduated in 1846, he was seventeenth out of fifty-nine cadets. Jackson did not choose the military because he longed to be a soldier. What Jackson wanted most was to sharpen his character as a man. The military, in his mind, offered the best opportunity for success and respect. He is known for his military acumen, but his career and the famous decisions he made in battle were shaped by his character. Like Washington and Lee, the War did not define them, they defined the War.
Jackson was socially awkward as a young man and had several eccentricities throughout his life, often to the amusement of his contemporaries. Unlike Lee and many Virginians from the tidewater region, he did not have the social refinement typical of Southern gentlemen. But Jackson was the perfect example of what Thomas Jefferson and other members of the founding generation considered the “natural aristocracy.” In addition to honesty, integrity and determination—while a West Point cadet informed his cousin that, “I can do anything I will to do”—Jackson had talent, a keen mind, and the ability to make quick, correct decisions on the battlefield. He would have been successful in any endeavor he chose.
Like many generals on both sides in the War Between the States, Jackson received his first taste of combat in the Mexican War. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and saw action as part of the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment. He was awarded more battlefield promotions than any other American officer during the war and garnered Winfield Scott’s highest regard when the conflict was over. Jackson exhibited the calmness in battle that later earned him the nickname “Stonewall” during the War Between the States. He had a cannon ball land between his legs, stood his ground under a hail of led at Chapultepec, and encouraged his men to fight because, in his words, “I am not hit!” His bravery was never questioned.
It was also during the Mexican War that Jackson reinforced his Christian beliefs. If there is any surviving legacy from Thomas Jackson, it is that of the ideal Christian soldier, or perhaps the model Christian man. His unflinching actions on the battlefield were guided by his resolute Christian faith. He flirted with Catholicism while in Mexico (and became somewhat fluent in Spanish), was baptized in the Episcopal Church, and finally settled on Presbyterianism upon his return to Virginia. A common description of Jackson is that he lived by the New Testament but fought by the Old. He was a warm, tender, dutiful and faithful husband. His second wife, Mary Anna, wrote he, “was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one of the “unappropriated blessings” under the type of truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bachelor friends could be fortunate enough to win her” (his first wife died in childbirth).
Jackson spent tens years as an instructor of artillery at the Virginia Military Institute. He was not well liked by the students or the alumni and received the nickname “Tom Fool.” His uncle and mother had been teachers, but Jackson did not receive their gift of pedagogy. He memorized his lectures and answered questions by repeating what he had previously memorized. A second question from a student resulted in punishment. Yet, Jackson took his duty as a Christian man seriously with his students and the black population of Lexington, Virginia. He began every lecture with a prayer in the hope that his students would be encouraged by the word of God, and he led Sunday school classes for the black population, both free and slave, of Lexington.
Jackson owned no more than six slaves as an adult. Four were given as a wedding gift, and two requested that he purchase them so they could work for a man of Jackson’s kind temperament. He honored their request. One of his slaves was a young girl with a learning disability given to his wife as a gift. Like Lee, Jackson never made any statements in support of slavery. He was typical of many Southerners in his belief that slavery was ordained by God, that slaves had been given that burden by the hand of God, and that as a Christian man he was required to be a kind master. His pastor described his relationship to the black population of Lexington as thus: “In their religious instruction he succeeded wonderfully. His discipline was systematic and firm, but very kind. … His servants reverenced and loved him, as they would have done a brother or father. … He was emphatically the black man’s friend.” Jackson either freed his slaves or hired them out during the War Between the States.
Jackson was not a secessionist. He remained relatively neutral in the events leading to the “Secession Winter” of 1860 and 1861, but like Lee, once Virginia determined to leave the Union, he supported the cause with a vigor virtually unmatched by anyone south of the Mason-Dixon. He preferred waging an aggressive, punishing war on the North, of taking the bayonet to the enemy in the enemy’s territory, but though his strategic assessment of the military situation in 1861 was probably correct and may have won the South the War, he was overruled by the more conservative members of the military brain-trust, most importantly President Jefferson Davis. The War, they argued, had to be a just, defensive cause to preserve the South. Lee shared Jackson’s advocacy of an offensive war, but differed in the scope of such a conflict. The two men, however, would serve as the perfect one-two punch during the early years of the War Between the States. Jackson was the ideal complement to Lee’s selectively aggressive style.
“Stonewall” Jackson earned his famous nickname during the first major engagement of the War, the First Battle of Manassas. His early efforts during the War involved organizing and training several companies of Virginia volunteers in the Shenandoah Valley. “Stonewall’s Brigade” as they would be called was perhaps the best trained and disciplined group of men in the Southern army. They were also affectionately referred to as the “foot cavalry” for their ability, at their commander’s firm insistence, to ignore pain, suffering, and sickness in their long, quick marches against the enemy. These men saved the day at Manassas in July 1861 by standing firm against a punishing Union assault on Henry House Hill. General Bernard Bee of South Carolina said after seeing Jackson and his men holding the line in the face of the onrushing Union army, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!” There is some debate as to whether Bee, soon killed in combat, was leveling praise or scorn on Jackson. Either way, the nickname stuck.
This was typical Jackson. The lead was flying, the situation tense, and Jackson steadily and bravely stared down the enemy. Because of Jackson and his men, what looked to be an early Union victory turned into a Confederate rout, and a legend was born. Jackson was once asked how he could stand so calm in the face of battle. He responded that his belief in God, his firm Christianity, made him as safe on the battlefield as in his bed. His death was not his choosing and he was as prepared for it in peace as he was in war.
Jackson’s fame only grew. With fewer men (often outnumbered 4 to 1), he punished and tied up the Union army in the Shenandoah Valley, a campaign that is still studied in West Point today. His penchant for relentless attack struck fear into the hearts of the Union command. At one point, a large detachment of Union men evacuated a town on the mere suspicion that Jackson was going to attack. He was, but his men were probably too sick and tired to fight. Such is the benefit of a disorienting, hard hitting approach to battle. No one knew where Jackson was, and no one could expect what he would do next. His unconventional approach to warfare was pure military genius. Jackson understood human nature better than most, particularly during what Karl von Clausewitz called the “fog of war.” Most men did not share his calmness in the face of fire and would shrink when the action was too hot. Jackson always turned up the heat.
His most brilliant strategic plan would ultimately be his last. Jackson orchestrated the Confederate attack at Chancellorsville in 1863. He persuaded Lee to split his army, sending Jackson’s corps to assault the Union right flank while Lee held them off at Fredericksburg. It was a risky maneuver, for they were outnumbered two-to-one, but with expert reconnaissance, Jackson formed a surprise attack that pushed the Union right flank back against the Rappahannock River in classic double envelopment. His quick strike led to fluid lines as the Union troops were running from the Confederate assault. Jackson, in the twilight, was scouting his forward position when the 18th North Carolina Infantry confused him and his staff for a Union detachment. They fired, striking Jackson three times. His left arm was amputated, but it was pneumonia that took Jackson’s life one week later.
He was mindful of his situation until the end, saying he always wanted to die on a Sunday. God granted him his wish. His last words, “Let us cross over the river and rest in the shade of the trees,” were a fitting end to Jackson’s life. He had found peace in war. The Confederate cause, however, would never be the same. Lee struggled to replace Jackson’s aggressive tactics and claimed later in life that had Jackson had been alive during the Battle of Gettysburg, the outcome would have been different, and the South would have won her independence. Fate intervened. The historian James Robertson called Jackson “a man of arms surrounded by faith,” and said Jackson’s biography was “the life story of an extraordinary man who became a general.” He was more than a master military mind. Jackson, as one of his former students said, was “a soldier of the cross.”

Robert E. Lee, Man of Honor - A Birthday Rememberance

by Louis DeBroux, Jan. 19, 2018 (https://patriotpost.us/articles/53563-robert-e-lee-man-of-honor)

Today marks the 211th anniversary of the birth of Robert Edward Lee, best remembered as General-in-Chief of the Confederate army during the War Between the States. Living as we do in a day when history is oft forgotten — or deliberately rewritten and its monuments destroyed — it is worthwhile to consider the legacy of such an iconic American figure.
Robert E. Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, in northeastern Virginia, to Anne Hill Carter Lee and Revolutionary War hero Colonel Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee. The elder Lee was a cavalry leader under General George Washington who was later elected governor of Virginia, and then to Congress.
Sadly, Henry Lee’s reputation was tarnished by financial troubles, and he traveled to the West Indies when Robert was six years old, never returning. It was under these circumstances that Robert was raised by his mother, who instilled in him a strong sense of honor and duty.
In 1825, Lee received an appointment to West Point, graduating second in his class and entering the distinguished Engineer Corps. In 1831, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, great-granddaughter of George Washington’s wife Martha and her first husband, Daniel P. Custis. As a result of the marriage, the Lees inherited both land and slaves.
It was in 1846, during the Mexican War, that Lee first rose to prominence. Serving under Major General Winfield Scott, he received three brevets for gallantry for leading efforts to seize or avoid Mexican strongholds. In September 1852, Lee returned to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as its superintendent.
In 1859, having returned East to settle the estate of his father-in-law, Lee was dispatched by the War Department to retake the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, which had been captured by radical abolitionist John Brown and his followers. Lee oversaw a detachment of U.S. Marines, who recaptured the arsenal with no loss of life.
Though the issue of slavery had been a contentious one for decades, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the breaking point, leading several Deep South states to secede and form a new country, the Confederate States of America.
Lee was offered the rank of brigadier general in the new army of the Confederacy, but he declined. Around the same time, in April 1861, at the recommendation of his former superior, General Winfield Scott, Lee was offered command of the Army of the Potomac by President Lincoln.
This was a time of great anguish for Lee, who opposed both secession (along with Jubal Early and Stonewall Jackson, later generals under Lee) and slavery.
Of slavery, Lee wrote, “In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country.” Following the death of his wife’s father, Lee freed more than 100 slaves he’d inherited. Lee and his wife also established a school for slaves, a brave endeavor considering it was illegal to do so in Virginia.
Of secession, he wrote, “I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, & I am willing to sacrifice every thing but honour for its preservation…”
It was under this cloud of conflicting loyalties and beliefs that Lee was called upon to choose sides in the coming conflict. In the end, his loyalty was first and foremost with Virginia. As Lee told a friend, “If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for revolution), then I will follow my native State with my sword, and, if need be, with my life.”
When Lincoln called for tens of thousands of Union soldiers to head south to preserve the Union by force (something James Madison, during the Constitutional Convention, said would be tantamount to a declaration of war against a state), the decision was made for Lee and thousands of other soldiers who had once worn Union blue. Virginia, which had previously voted 2-to-1 against secession, responded to Lincoln’s call-to-arms by voting 2-to-1 in favor.
Upon reading of Virginia’s secession and entrance into the Confederacy, Lee said to his wife, “Well, Mary, the question is settled.”
He wrote to General Winfield Scott, offering thanks and sincere regret, explaining, “I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the army, and save in defense of my native state … I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.” Soon thereafter, Lee accepted a commission as a general in the Confederate army. “Let each man resolve to be victorious,” he told his officers, “and that the right of self-government, liberty, and peace shall find him a defender.”
Lee’s brilliance as a military leader is legendary. Like George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Lee fought an army far larger, better armed, better provisioned and better trained than his own. Also like Washington, Lee was revered and loved by his men.
In June 1862, Lee assumed command of wounded General Joseph E. Johnston’s army, renaming it the Army of Northern Virginia. It became the most victorious of all Confederate armies. With sharp and loyal generals like James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart, James Longstreet and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson under his command, Lee’s army continually out-smarted, out-maneuvered and out-fought the Union armies, even when badly outnumbered.
In the early years of the war, Lee’s armies achieved major victories in the Seven Days Battles, Shenandoah Valley, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
However, for the Confederate army, these victories came with a steep price. Though inflicting huge losses on the Union army, the South suffered losses of their own and, with far fewer soldiers than the Union army enjoyed, it became a war of attrition. Lee knew he needed to act boldly to win the war quickly and decisively.
With many in the North disillusioned after seeing a war they expected to be brief turn into a long and bloody nightmare, and calling for Lincoln to negotiate a peace with the Confederacy, Lee believed that dealing a devastating defeat to the North on its home soil would bring Lincoln to the negotiating table.
Lee’s first attempt turned disastrous when a dispatch with his battle plans was misplaced and fell into the hands of Union General George McClellan. The element of surprise lost, Lee’s army still fought fiercely at Antietam, in what was the single bloodiest day of battle, inflicting 12,400 casualties while sustaining 10,100 of their own. Though McClellan’s forces suffered greater losses, it was considered a loss for Lee, who was forced to turn back south.
Lee’s second and final attempt at victory on Northern soil occurred July 1-3, 1863, at Gettysburg. Though historians have long debated the particulars, the general consensus is that Confederate forces were plagued by poor communication, bad intelligence and the decision by Lee to throw everything he had at the well-entrenched Union army, regardless of the cost.
Lee spent two days trying to break the Union line with artillery bombardment and frontal assaults, leading to massive casualties for his army. Dismissing the objections of General Longstreet (and perhaps more importantly without counsel of the recently killed Stonewall Jackson), Lee ordered continued frontal assaults, resulting in his men being cut down by Union artillery from entrenched positions. The results were devastating.
On the final day of the battle, and again over the objections of Longstreet, Lee ordered Major General George Pickett on a frontal assault of Union General George G. Meade’s heavily fortified position despite having no artillery support. Pickett’s men fought valiantly for Lee, but it was a suicide mission. Those soldiers who did manage to break through the Union line were quickly repelled. At Gettysburg, Lee lost nearly a third of his entire army.
In a moment that displayed his true greatness, however, and why his men adored him.  Lee did something that generals rarely do; he accepted blame. Riding among the retreating wounded, he lamented, “It’s all my fault … I am very sorry — the task was too great for you — but we mustn’t despond.” Later that night, speaking to a cavalry officer, Lee said, “I never saw troops behave more magnificently than Pickett’s division of Virginians.”
Gettysburg proved the turning point of the war. Short on arms and supplies, and casualties mounting, Lee was forced to retreat south and fight defensively for the remainder of the war. Later victories came with great loss of Confederate soldiers, and Lee knew he’d reached an end.
Though many of his commanders and soldiers urged him to continue fighting a guerilla war, Lee immediately dismissed such talk, and on April 9, 1865, with less than 10,000 soldiers remaining in his army and unwilling to shed additional blood in a losing cause, Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant (who, ironically, was also a slave-owner before the war) at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
After the war, Lee became one of the chief proponents of reconciliation between North and South. He was paroled and later served as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, a position he held until his death on Oct. 12, 1870.
Lee was a true son of the Old South. Words like “honor,” “loyalty” and “duty” defined the code he lived by, while also making him a man of seeming contradictions.
Though some today condemn Lee for leading the Confederate armies, we would do well to consider how his former enemies saw him. Upon his passing, the following eulogy was published in the New York Herald:

For not to the Southern people alone shall be limited the tribute of a tear over the dead Virginian. Here in the North, forgetting that the time was when the sword of Robert Edward Lee was drawn against us, forgetting and forgiving all the years of bloodshed and agony, we have long since ceased to look upon him as the Confederate leader, but have claimed him as one of ourselves; have cherished and felt proud of his military genius as belonging to us; have recounted and recorded his triumphs as our own; have extolled his virtue as reflecting upon us for Robert Edward Lee was an American, and the great nation which gave him birth would be to-day unworthy of such a son if she regarded him lightly.
He conquered us in misfortune by the grand manner in which he sustained himself, even as he dazzled us by his genius when the tramp of his soldiers resounded through the valleys of Virginia. And for such a man we are all tears and sorrow to-day. … As a slaveholder, he was beloved by his slaves for his kindness and consideration toward them.
In his death our country has lost a son of whom she might well be proud, and for whose services she might have stood in need had he lived a few years longer, for we are certain that, had occasion required it, General Lee would have given to the United States the benefit of all his great talents.“

Robert Edward Lee was revered in his day for his military genius, and loved for his bravery, honor and loyalty. Though leading the fight in a losing cause, there was much about him that is worth emulating today — which is why we remember him still.

Winter Landscape in the Heart of Dixie

Knoxville News Sentinel Removal of Nathan Bedford Forrest statue was Monumental Art Heist"

Removal of Nathan Bedford Forrest statue was monumental art heist

Ed Hooper, Guest columnist Published 8:00 a.m. ET Jan. 7, 2018

The Tennessee Legislature convenes Tuesday, and the hot ticket will be the debate over Memphis’ obvious defiance of the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act and status of the Nathan B. Forrest statue.

Mayor Jim Strickland and the city council snubbed the 2013 law, which makes it illegal to remove historical monuments or rename public parks without majority approval of the Tennessee Historical Commission. The Memphis City Council passed a law this past September that lets them sell city parks for less than market value to nonprofit organizations.

A month later Shelby County Commissioner Van D. Turner, Jr. created the private nonprofit Memphis Greenspace, Inc. to whom the city council voted to sell the Health Sciences and Fourth Bluff parks to on December 20. The properties, which are valued at more than $2 million each, were purchased by Turner for the total sum of $2,000.

At 9:01 that night– giving a nod to activists or area code, police officers were summoned and cranes removed the monuments of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Nathan B. Forrest amid news crews and fanfare. Commissioner Turner has said they are working with the descendants of Forrest in regards to Nathan B. Forrest and his wife’s remains, which are also buried at the park where his statue stood.

The most troubling matter in the wake of the removal was the lack of comment or outrage from Tennessee public historians setting the dangerous precedent of throwing all public monuments to the fate of current political whims. Some even praised the actions for reasons as maudlin as the activists on both sides of the issue – showing little or no professional objectivity for what appears to be a surreptitious end run around a state law they’re charged to uphold.

Statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (Photo: Submitted)

Since time immemorial, a region, state, or nation’s sophistication is judged by the preservation and protection of monuments and structures of its past. Every great land has them. They’re preserved for artistic reasons, cultural ones, or even in spite, as a reminder of a time that was.

Memphis’ N.B. Forrest monument is no different. It was created by Charles Niehaus – one of the most preeminent sculptors in U.S. history. It’s marble base quarried from the Ross Marble Company of Knoxville – also a recognized national historic site in the city’s Ijams Nature Center. The likeness is a certified work of fine art regarded as one of the three best equestrian statues in the United States.

Niehaus was paid $25,000 in 1901 to create it – the equivalent of $676,000 in today’s money and all of it raised from private donations. He set up camp in Memphis and poured over illustrations, paintings, and photographs of Nathan Bedford Forrest. He talked to those who knew him and even retrieved the measurements Forrest’s personal tailor kept on file so Niehaus could create a historically accurate representation of the uniform he wore in battle. The artist spent months finding the proper horse to use, made a cast of Forrest’s original sword, saddle accoutrements, and finally located a Prussian cavalry officer to act as his model and provide the proper bearing of a cavalryman on horseback. He sculpted it in his New York City studio over a three-year period and then sent it to Paris, France for bronze casting at what historians call “the well-known foundry of E. Guret June.”

It was actually the foundry of E. Gruet, Jeune. Rather well known in 1904, but a legend today for the bronze work the family did for European sculptors of the era, including Auguste Rodin. Company founder Charles Gruet had two sons and, by 1903, it had finally passed to the younger one Edmond, who used the word “Jeune” on his signature to denote the fact.

UT Medical Center security officer W. Nelson shoots a picture of a white hood placed on the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Health Sciences Park on August 14, 2017. The statue has been a divisive symbol for Memphis, but the Tennessee Historical Commission rejected a move by city council to relocate the controversial statue and grave of the civil war general who was also the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. (Photo: Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal, Jim Weber)

Charles Niehaus delivered an original top-shelf sculpture to the City of Memphis. 30,000 people turned out for its unveiling and millions have seen it since. Niehaus, who died in 1935, went on to create other famous works. He has more sculptures in National Statuary Hall than any other artist and his work adorns U.S. monuments across the nation. His smallest creations, when available, sell at auction for $4,000 -15,000. A one and a half times life-sized statue of a man regarded as one of the most noted cavalry generals in military history is priceless.

Regardless of someone’s stance on the contributions of the man the statue represents, it’s a genuine state treasure that belongs to the people of Tennessee. Its care entrusted to Memphis, who sold it to a County Commissioner for $1,000 – seemingly pulling off the biggest art theft in U.S. political history.

Ed Hooper is a documentary producer and writer based in Knoxville.

Alabama Secession Day - 11 January 1861

Today we celebrate in remembrance the secession of the great state of Alabama from the voluntary union known as the United States of America and the establishment of the Republic of Alabama. Below you see pictured the beautiful Republic of Alabama Flag which has different facings on each side. 

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for January 2018

From the SCV Camp 1524 Camp Dispatch.

Commander's Column: Espousing a Division of North and South

I was fascinated by a tweet referencing a Huffington Post column I saw a month ago which was posted by a Southern heritage account, about the only kind I have the camp follow on Twitter.  The article was entitled “Now is the Perfect Time for the North and South to Divide” (by David Fagin, https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5a0a7d78e4b00652392183ab/amp).  Seems this self-proclaimed writer-musician-Trump Resister found common ground with the Southern secessionists.  The general premise as well as many statements from this libtard columnist I found on point while others were, shall we say, illuminating and illustrative of exactly how disparate the alt-left populaces of the Northeast and left coast are to the flyover Bible Belt and nations heartland.

“These are trying times. The more proof that emerges revealing the overwhelming majority of our country’s most powerful leaders are nothing but a bunch of corrupt criminals and traitors, the more their supporters will deny it.  On one side, we have a population that relies on facts, truth, fair play, and common sense.”  True, right?  But wait, hold onto your breeches.   Fagin continues, “Who the hell knows what they rely on?  Fox news, fake news, hackers, conspiracy theories, coal mines, fraud, misdirection, racism, stupidity, ignorance, warm beer, Jesus (a Jesus who hates anyone and anything that isn’t Christian), Trump, and guns.  And more guns.” Just take a moment to take in that perverted perspective.  While there is a consensus opinion that it is left leaning mainstream media outlets responsible for fake news, this writer-musician-resister attempts to label right leaning alternative media as the purveyors of fake news and conspiracy theories.  Just please ignore the revelations of campaign operatives paying for sexual harassment claimants and dirt dossiers.  And that coal accounts for 30.4% of the United States balanced electricity generation portfolio. Of course, we are white Southerners which automatically makes us racists. But you have to love these agnostic atheist Unitarian Universalist Scientologists preaching about Jesus and Christianity.  Remember, if you don’t accept and endorse their position you are a hater so hence, if a Christian espouses a Christian perspective of heterosexual monogamy and the doctrine of  John 14:6 where Jesus proclaims, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”, they are a bigoted homophobic intolerant xenophobe.

It gets better.  We would all agree with Fagin’s statement, “The fight to preserve common sense and rational thought is on.  Those who believe in the basic principles this country was founded on vs. those who seek to destroy them and rewrite them as they see fit.”  Those of us who recognize the War for Southern Independence as a struggle to retain originalist constitutional governance may be appalled that the alt-left believes they are the stalwarts of liberty and sovereignty. They attempt to brand Southerners clinging to their Bibles, guns and monuments as racist bigots when they incessantly unrelentingly attack all vestiges of Southern heritage different from them.  But, he’s correct, “Be it in the media, on social media, in the classroom, at the grocery store, the office, the neighborhood bar, at the dinner table, pretty much everywhere you look the hatred and vitriol spewing forth, from both sides, has reached epidemic proportion.”  But he continues, “Even though those of us who believe in equality, and the ridiculous concept of Live and Let Live (excepting of for course human fetuses), know we are right, trying to convince those who choose ignorance over truth, and hate over love, is exhausting.”  So glad these pacifists for truthful Planned Parenthood baby organ peddling, Antifa militant methods of silencing opposition and, razing monuments are choosing love over hate.  I would fear to see otherwise.

But Fagin again states a truthful perspective in observing, “Neither one seems to wish to budge an inch. Compromise is a pipe dream.”  He supposes, “If we continue to devolve and descend down this fruitless path of self-destruction, snapping at and dismissing each other at every single turn, is it that far-fetched to think we may find ourselves thrown into a Civil War 2.0 somewhere in the not too distant future?  Everywhere you look, our country is being overrun with pedophiles, fake news peddlers, fear mongers, bigots, racists, homophobes, morons, etc., and that’s just Alabama.”  Thought y’all would like that dig there.  Again, as white Southern Christian, don’t attempt to deny you are a moronic fear mongering, racist, bigoted homophobe. Incidentally, worldatlas.com in an April 2017 article “Number of Sex Offenders By State” showed California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois and Washington holding eight of the top nine spots of state ranking of the number of sex offenders.  Don’t let facts and statistics stand in the way of a good dig though. 

       Fagin goes on and I’ll just let him astound you in his own revealing illustrative words.  “There may be a solution that works well for both sides. For those of us in the liberal-leaning northern states, the ones where “I now pronounce you husband and husband,” aren’t words that would cause a riot in the streets, why not just let them go?  Let them have their child-molesting congressmen, their confederate monuments, their ten commandments, their merger of church and state, their automatic weapons, their climate change denial, their Muslim bans, their lies-as-truth, their eggs and grits, their state-run health care, their stock car races, their medieval laws, their corporate tax cuts, their abortion bills, their humidity, etc. Let. Them. Go.  A two-nation, two-government system.  Complete with two different Presidents and two different Constitutions.  Is it such a bad idea?  We are already the Divided States of America, and there doesn’t seem to be any hope of reversing course, so rather than force one side to assimilate to the other - which would do nothing but assure us of years more of the same, or worse, why not accept it and make the unavoidable separation as palatable as possible?  Before all hell breaks loose, we need to do something about it before it’s too late.  For those currently in the South who may find themselves on the wrong end of the laws in this newly divided two-nation system, relocate.  Sure, it may be a little colder moving from Arkansas to New Jersey, but what’s more important, your comfort or your freedoms?  As far as jobs go, don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of clean energy, solar-based companies to teach you how to turn sunlight into gold. (Sunlight in the northeast??)  To accommodate for the overflow of people flooding (??) in from points South, perhaps a point of compromise prior to division would be expanding the North say down to Virginia. Think about it.  No more President Trump.No more neo-nazis. No more Republicans.Conversely, no more Hillary. No more whiny liberals. No more gays or Jews or blacks (??).  No more Keurig coffee makers.  Paradise, right?  If we both just take a step back, agree to disagree, recognize it’s never going to get any better, and divide the nation up accordingly, I think, years from now, we’ll look back at this moment in time as a blessing rather than a curse.”   Demonizing grits now?   Happy New Year!