County prepares to move Confederate monument
County administrator to create list of possible sites for statue.
By Bill Thompson
Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 6:30 a.m.
The Confederate monument that stood guard in front of the Marion County Courthouse for nearly a century, only to be stuck in a corner two years ago as the facility was expanded, is likely moving.
Where?
On Tuesday, the County Commission appeared to reach a consensus to relocate the statue of the Confederate infantryman, known commonly as "Johnny Reb."
That came after Ocala lawyer Lanny Curry proposed a public-private partnership to relocate the 101-year-old monument and volunteered to help raise the estimated $25,000 needed to move it from its present location, a nook on the building's south side fronting Northwest First Street.
To further the project, commissioners agreed to set up an account with the court clerk's office to accept tax-exempt donations and accepted Commissioner Charlie Stone's offer to serve as a liaison to work with Curry and other parties interested in finding Johnny Reb a new home.
County Administrator Lee Niblock said he would prepare at least three new locations for the board to consider at its next meeting, scheduled for Dec. 1.
Niblock indicated that the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, a site favored by many, is one option. Leaving the monument where it is will be offered as another, he added. As for where else it might go, Niblock was mum, only saying the spot would reflect the statue's "historical significance."
Johnny Reb was removed in 2007 from the front of the courthouse in downtown Ocala in preparation for a $41-million expansion.
Other than spending a four-year stint in storage in the late 1980s when the courthouse was last renovated, the two-story-tall, 15-ton statue has been a fixture at the facility's entrance since being dedicated in April 1908.
The current courthouse project is expected to be completed in January.
Former county administrator Pat Howard had designated Johnny Reb's current location as permanent and Niblock was inclined to concur unless the County Commission directed otherwise. Curry, a U.S. Navy veteran and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, appealed to the board to find a "suitable location" for the monument.
Relating that his great-grandfather, Lawton Curry, was a Confederate soldier in the Florida cavalry who had been wounded in battle, Curry said it was not "in a place of honor and not in a proper location."
His preference is the veterans' park, at Fort King Street and Southeast 25th Avenue, about two miles from where Johnny Reb is now situated.
Curry also said he was trying to fulfill a commitment to the late Tommy Needham, a former county commissioner and impetus for the park.
"I promised him that I would not let the issue go away," Curry told the commission.
Curry said he felt strongly about the need to sustain the memory of the efforts of those who fought in the Civil War.
While the monument has periodically ignited controversy as civil rights groups complained it is an affront to blacks, the commission's reluctance to overrule Howard's decision was primarily rooted in the cost of moving it.
Relocating the statue requires a specialized moving company that can dismantle its three fitted parts and reassemble it.
Stone suggested the board could perhaps convince some company to offer in-kind services to move it.
Once the cost issue is resolved, the monument should be placed in a more prominent position, Stone offered.
"It's just not in a location where people can see it on an ongoing basis," he said.
In other action, the board learned that Marion County had received almost $2.5 million in federal stimulus funding to make the courthouse and some county offices more energy efficient.
Roughly $727,000 of that amount will be used to install new cooling units to replace the 50-year-old units at the courthouse's heating and air conditioning system. An additional $303,000 will be spent to replace the facility's windows and lighting.
Another $450,000 will go for installing solar heating panels at the Marion County Jail.
Other improvements include updating traffic signals, installing waterless urinals, improving lighting and air conditioning at three county firehouses and replacing windows.
"It's a huge accomplishment that will save the citizens a ton of money," Commissioner Stan McClain observed.
Congress passed President Barack Obama's $787-billion spending program in February.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20091118/ARTICLES/911181013/1402/NEWS
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Preservation Trust Works to Save Portion of Chancellorsville Battlefield
Trust targets historic parcel
Preservation group hopes to preserve another 85 acres at Chancellorsville
Date published: 11/17/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN
A key piece of the Chancellorsville Battlefield associated with Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's 1863 flank attack is the next acquisition target of a Civil War preservation group.
The Civil War Preservation Trust yesterday announced a $2.1 million campaign to buy 85 acres, known as the Wagner Tract, along State Route 3 east of Wilderness Church.
The property includes 2,000 feet of frontage on the north shoulder of historic Orange Plank Road and lies within Chancellorsville Battlefield.
There, on May 2, 1863, Jackson led the flanking maneuver during bloody fighting that turned the tide of the battle in favor of the South.
"This land is arguably one of the most historically significant pieces of hallowed ground CWPT has ever saved, and we have just got to get it," said James Lighthizer, the organization's president.
Historian Robert K. Krick said yesterday that preservationists have been talking to Frank Wagner, a Fredericksburg veterinarian, for several years about acquiring the land.
"This is a big one. I'm prone to say this is the second-most-important [battlefield] land in the country" behind a tract on the Richmond battlefield, Krick said.
"We've taken the initiative because this is so stunningly important."
Timing is crucial, CWPT spokesman Jim Campi added. The Washington, D.C.-based preservation group is seeking $708,300 from the Virginia Civil War Historic Site Preservation Fund which expires in December.
CWPT hopes for another $500,000 from the federal Transportation Enhancement Program.
The remainder will come from donations from CWPT members.
The trust has preserved other significant land at Chancellorsville, including 215 acres where the battle raged on its opening day. The purchase price for that was $4 million.
The Battle of Chancellorsville began May 1, 1863, and lasted almost three days. It was considered Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatest victory.
Lee divided his army in the face of superior Union forces, sending Jackson on his 12-mile flanking march around the Army of the Potomac. After the Confederate rout of the Union 11th Corps, Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men and died five days later.
The Fredericksburg area has been a prime focus for CWPT's preservation efforts.
Three years ago, in its biggest purchase ever, CWPT bought Slaughter Pen Farm for $12 million. The 216 acres east of Fredericksburg on Tidewater Trail links critical components of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Other major CWPT acquisitions in Virginia: 1,708 acres at Trevilian Station in Louisa County, for $1.9 million; Glendale in Henrico County, 566 acres for $5.6 million; Third Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, 431 acres, $5.8 million.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/112009/11172009/508158
With 55,000 members, the Civil War Preservation Trust is the nation's largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization.
It has preserved more than 28,000 acres of battlefield land, including 13,500 acres in Virginia.
CWPT is currently engaged in active fundraising efforts to save significant battlefield land at Appomattox Station, Glendale, Fredericksburg and the Wilderness.
Preservation group hopes to preserve another 85 acres at Chancellorsville
Date published: 11/17/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN
A key piece of the Chancellorsville Battlefield associated with Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's 1863 flank attack is the next acquisition target of a Civil War preservation group.
The Civil War Preservation Trust yesterday announced a $2.1 million campaign to buy 85 acres, known as the Wagner Tract, along State Route 3 east of Wilderness Church.
The property includes 2,000 feet of frontage on the north shoulder of historic Orange Plank Road and lies within Chancellorsville Battlefield.
There, on May 2, 1863, Jackson led the flanking maneuver during bloody fighting that turned the tide of the battle in favor of the South.
"This land is arguably one of the most historically significant pieces of hallowed ground CWPT has ever saved, and we have just got to get it," said James Lighthizer, the organization's president.
Historian Robert K. Krick said yesterday that preservationists have been talking to Frank Wagner, a Fredericksburg veterinarian, for several years about acquiring the land.
"This is a big one. I'm prone to say this is the second-most-important [battlefield] land in the country" behind a tract on the Richmond battlefield, Krick said.
"We've taken the initiative because this is so stunningly important."
Timing is crucial, CWPT spokesman Jim Campi added. The Washington, D.C.-based preservation group is seeking $708,300 from the Virginia Civil War Historic Site Preservation Fund which expires in December.
CWPT hopes for another $500,000 from the federal Transportation Enhancement Program.
The remainder will come from donations from CWPT members.
The trust has preserved other significant land at Chancellorsville, including 215 acres where the battle raged on its opening day. The purchase price for that was $4 million.
The Battle of Chancellorsville began May 1, 1863, and lasted almost three days. It was considered Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatest victory.
Lee divided his army in the face of superior Union forces, sending Jackson on his 12-mile flanking march around the Army of the Potomac. After the Confederate rout of the Union 11th Corps, Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men and died five days later.
The Fredericksburg area has been a prime focus for CWPT's preservation efforts.
Three years ago, in its biggest purchase ever, CWPT bought Slaughter Pen Farm for $12 million. The 216 acres east of Fredericksburg on Tidewater Trail links critical components of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Other major CWPT acquisitions in Virginia: 1,708 acres at Trevilian Station in Louisa County, for $1.9 million; Glendale in Henrico County, 566 acres for $5.6 million; Third Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, 431 acres, $5.8 million.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/112009/11172009/508158
With 55,000 members, the Civil War Preservation Trust is the nation's largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization.
It has preserved more than 28,000 acres of battlefield land, including 13,500 acres in Virginia.
CWPT is currently engaged in active fundraising efforts to save significant battlefield land at Appomattox Station, Glendale, Fredericksburg and the Wilderness.
Group Meets to Discuss The Wilderness Battlefield
LOCUST GROVE — After losing an initial bid to stop retail giant Walmart from building a store near the Wilderness Civil War battlefield, preservation groups and those opposing the project must take a critical look at themselves if they hope to achieve their mission, one official says.
Speaking to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield on Saturday during the group’s annual meeting, Russell P. Smith, superintendent of the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park, also said the matter is broader than the controversy between the Wilderness and the often-maligned Arkansas-based retailer.
“We learned a lot of lessons,” he said. “The conclusions that I’ve drawn go well beyond any single major discount retailer.”
The controversy reached a crescendo in August, when the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit allowing Walmart to construct a 138,000-square-foot store near Routes 3 and 20. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and six individuals have joined the FoWB in a lawsuit, challenging the supervisors’ decision in Circuit Court. A February hearing date is set for the matter.
Smith said one of the paradigms that must change is the perception that land must either be preserved forever or totally opened to development. Another, he said, is that the federal government should automatically purchase a tract of land if it has significant historical value.
Neither of those all-or-nothing lines of thought is practical or realistic, said Smith. Instead, he said legislators, preservation groups, communities and private individuals must unite to craft solutions that take into account the unique aspects of each situation.
He also said schools have not always made it a priority to educate kids — and the community — about the historical significance of places like the Wilderness, where the armies of Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met in 1864.
“Kids shouldn’t grow up in this area and not know that they’re living near or on a nationally significant battlefield,” adding that funding for such programs is often hard to obtain.
“We’re going to rely more on the Friends and other organizations to get out there and beyond our boundaries and tell those stories in the schools, to get kids in the area to understand that where they live is really important — it’s really quite significant to the entire country.”
About 65 people attended the organization’s annual meeting Saturday at Lake of the Woods Church in Locust Grove. Guests included two University of Vermont graduate students who are studying the Wilderness Walmart controversy.
Other guests included Sen. Edd Houck, D-17th and Del. Ed Scott, R-30th. Both men praised the work of the Friends and assured the group that land use issues haven’t dropped off the radar in Richmond or Washington.
Houck, the event’s key speaker, said Gov. Tim Kaine should be recognized for fulfilling his promise to preserve 400,000 acres of open space. He also said federal stimulus money has been essential, allowing the state to continue support of land use issues despite ongoing budget shortfalls.
“Your outreach to Sen. Houck, to me, to others in the legislature is clearly paying dividends,” Scott said. “I’m glad to join with you today and I’m proud to be a member of your organization and I look forward to continuing to work with you.”
http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/local/article/official_tactical_regrouping_will_save_battlefield/47132/
Speaking to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield on Saturday during the group’s annual meeting, Russell P. Smith, superintendent of the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park, also said the matter is broader than the controversy between the Wilderness and the often-maligned Arkansas-based retailer.
“We learned a lot of lessons,” he said. “The conclusions that I’ve drawn go well beyond any single major discount retailer.”
The controversy reached a crescendo in August, when the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit allowing Walmart to construct a 138,000-square-foot store near Routes 3 and 20. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and six individuals have joined the FoWB in a lawsuit, challenging the supervisors’ decision in Circuit Court. A February hearing date is set for the matter.
Smith said one of the paradigms that must change is the perception that land must either be preserved forever or totally opened to development. Another, he said, is that the federal government should automatically purchase a tract of land if it has significant historical value.
Neither of those all-or-nothing lines of thought is practical or realistic, said Smith. Instead, he said legislators, preservation groups, communities and private individuals must unite to craft solutions that take into account the unique aspects of each situation.
He also said schools have not always made it a priority to educate kids — and the community — about the historical significance of places like the Wilderness, where the armies of Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met in 1864.
“Kids shouldn’t grow up in this area and not know that they’re living near or on a nationally significant battlefield,” adding that funding for such programs is often hard to obtain.
“We’re going to rely more on the Friends and other organizations to get out there and beyond our boundaries and tell those stories in the schools, to get kids in the area to understand that where they live is really important — it’s really quite significant to the entire country.”
About 65 people attended the organization’s annual meeting Saturday at Lake of the Woods Church in Locust Grove. Guests included two University of Vermont graduate students who are studying the Wilderness Walmart controversy.
Other guests included Sen. Edd Houck, D-17th and Del. Ed Scott, R-30th. Both men praised the work of the Friends and assured the group that land use issues haven’t dropped off the radar in Richmond or Washington.
Houck, the event’s key speaker, said Gov. Tim Kaine should be recognized for fulfilling his promise to preserve 400,000 acres of open space. He also said federal stimulus money has been essential, allowing the state to continue support of land use issues despite ongoing budget shortfalls.
“Your outreach to Sen. Houck, to me, to others in the legislature is clearly paying dividends,” Scott said. “I’m glad to join with you today and I’m proud to be a member of your organization and I look forward to continuing to work with you.”
http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/local/article/official_tactical_regrouping_will_save_battlefield/47132/
Manassas Prepares for 150th Reenactment
Published: November 12, 2009
Members of the Manassas City Council like the idea of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas so much that they’re ready to give up $100,000 to make it happen in 2011.
The battle, fought July 21, 1861, was the first major engagement of the Civil War.
Creston M. Owen, chairman of the board of Virginia Civil War Events Inc., was before the board Monday asking for the money.
Owen’s outfit of volunteers is poised to begin organizing the nine-day commemoration that is set to include a Blue and Gray Ball at the Candy Factory, a re-enactment of the First Manassas battle, breakfast with the troops and concerts on the lawn of the Manassas Museum and at the battlefield.
Owen told the council that it’s time to get started if the aim is to educate and attract the crowds that will generate income and put the area on the map.
“We’re only 18 months away. If we don’t start beating the drum now, we won’t get people here,“ Owen told the council.
Councilman Mark Wolfe called the appropriation an investment.
“The citizens out there can very well question why we would spend $100,000 ... an absolutely legitimate question particularly in these economic times, but the answer to that is we don’t have much choice,“ Wolfe said.“This is a once-in-a-lifetime, God-given chance for our community to stage something that can give and give and give.“
Wolfe said the commemoration of the sesquicentennial could be epic if done correctly.
“If we pull this off right, we’re going to create a Super Bowl-type event with all the publicity, all the notoriety and all the money that comes from that scale of an event,“ he said.
Owen told the council that he is looking for money elsewhere to supplement the city’s contribution.
“I believe we have pretty good support from the county. We’re making a formal request to them for a quarter of a million dollars, and from all indications at this point, it looks like we’re going to get that support,“ Owen said.
Owen has also met with the Prince William delegation of the Virginia General Assembly seeking another $1 million from the state.
“They are very excited about what we’re doing,“ he said of the delegation members.
Councilman Marc T. Aveni pointed out that the council’s unanimous vote Monday night only authorized an initial disbursement of $50,000.
Giving out the remainder of the money would be contingent on the county committing to its portion, Aveni said.
Councilman J. Steven Randolph called the commemoration a “natural.“
“Not only are we historically a central point, we’re a central point geographically to draw people to Manassas,“ he said.
Councilman Jonathan L. Way, who described himself as a “fiscal fuddyduddy,“ said he voted to spend the money because the city needed to look to the future.
“This is a wonderful project. We need always to have something grander than ourselves - looking ahead - where we’re trying to improve and develop the city,“ Way said.
Owen, who expects to organize tour packages to bring people from surrounding areas on trains and buses, said he hopes 250,000 people, including re-enactors and their families, show up over the nine days of the commemoration.
Tourists who visit national battlefield parks spend an average of $48.65 per person, per day, according to the Civil War Preservation Trust.
Owen said that if 100,000 people show up over the nine days of the event, that would pump roughly $43 million into the local economy.
“Of that, 24 percent is spent on lodging, 27 percent on food and beverage, 26 percent on shopping and 8 percent on admissions to museums and stuff like that,“ Owen said.
http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/state_regional/article/manassas_set_to_fund_civil_war_events/46928/
Members of the Manassas City Council like the idea of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas so much that they’re ready to give up $100,000 to make it happen in 2011.
The battle, fought July 21, 1861, was the first major engagement of the Civil War.
Creston M. Owen, chairman of the board of Virginia Civil War Events Inc., was before the board Monday asking for the money.
Owen’s outfit of volunteers is poised to begin organizing the nine-day commemoration that is set to include a Blue and Gray Ball at the Candy Factory, a re-enactment of the First Manassas battle, breakfast with the troops and concerts on the lawn of the Manassas Museum and at the battlefield.
Owen told the council that it’s time to get started if the aim is to educate and attract the crowds that will generate income and put the area on the map.
“We’re only 18 months away. If we don’t start beating the drum now, we won’t get people here,“ Owen told the council.
Councilman Mark Wolfe called the appropriation an investment.
“The citizens out there can very well question why we would spend $100,000 ... an absolutely legitimate question particularly in these economic times, but the answer to that is we don’t have much choice,“ Wolfe said.“This is a once-in-a-lifetime, God-given chance for our community to stage something that can give and give and give.“
Wolfe said the commemoration of the sesquicentennial could be epic if done correctly.
“If we pull this off right, we’re going to create a Super Bowl-type event with all the publicity, all the notoriety and all the money that comes from that scale of an event,“ he said.
Owen told the council that he is looking for money elsewhere to supplement the city’s contribution.
“I believe we have pretty good support from the county. We’re making a formal request to them for a quarter of a million dollars, and from all indications at this point, it looks like we’re going to get that support,“ Owen said.
Owen has also met with the Prince William delegation of the Virginia General Assembly seeking another $1 million from the state.
“They are very excited about what we’re doing,“ he said of the delegation members.
Councilman Marc T. Aveni pointed out that the council’s unanimous vote Monday night only authorized an initial disbursement of $50,000.
Giving out the remainder of the money would be contingent on the county committing to its portion, Aveni said.
Councilman J. Steven Randolph called the commemoration a “natural.“
“Not only are we historically a central point, we’re a central point geographically to draw people to Manassas,“ he said.
Councilman Jonathan L. Way, who described himself as a “fiscal fuddyduddy,“ said he voted to spend the money because the city needed to look to the future.
“This is a wonderful project. We need always to have something grander than ourselves - looking ahead - where we’re trying to improve and develop the city,“ Way said.
Owen, who expects to organize tour packages to bring people from surrounding areas on trains and buses, said he hopes 250,000 people, including re-enactors and their families, show up over the nine days of the commemoration.
Tourists who visit national battlefield parks spend an average of $48.65 per person, per day, according to the Civil War Preservation Trust.
Owen said that if 100,000 people show up over the nine days of the event, that would pump roughly $43 million into the local economy.
“Of that, 24 percent is spent on lodging, 27 percent on food and beverage, 26 percent on shopping and 8 percent on admissions to museums and stuff like that,“ Owen said.
http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/state_regional/article/manassas_set_to_fund_civil_war_events/46928/
Texan Stands Up to Yankee General
Kilgore had a problem with Phil Sheridan
By Van Craddock
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Constantine Buckley "Buck" Kilgore was one of those larger-than-life Texans.
At his death in 1897, a newspaper described him as "one of the most famous backwoods characters that ever went to Congress and attained high federal office."
In 1872, the future four-term U.S. congressman deeded East Texas land to the International and Great Northern railroad. In gratitude, the I&GN named a new town site "Kilgore."
"Buck" Kilgore had been a Confederate cavalry officer during the 1861-65 Civil War, during which he was wounded and taken captive by Union soldiers. He remained in a Yankee POW camp until war's end.
That may explain why Kilgore became embroiled in a bitter dispute with a former Union general ... more than two decades after the war had ended.
A promotion
In May 1888, a New York congressman introduced a bill to promote U.S. Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to "general of the army," a title that hadn't been used since the Civil War. It was an effort to honor Sheridan, who had taken ill and wasn't expected to live.
Kilgore and many other Southerners didn't like Sheridan, who initiated a "scorched earth" policy while leading Union troops in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley late in the Civil War. In 1864, under Sheridan's orders, the troops destroyed crops, seized livestock and burned barns and mills.
It also didn't help that in 1866, Sheridan had been appointed commander of the Fifth Military District (Texas and Louisiana). The general didn't have much sympathy for ex-Confederates and ruled with a heavy hand. After numerous complaints, U.S. President Andrew Johnson removed Sheridan from his post.
So when the 1888 proposal was made to promote the ill Sheridan to general of the Army, Kilgore took the lead in opposing the bill. The East Texan used "points of order" and other legislative tricks to delay a vote on the issue for several weeks.
The result was a sort of "civil war" in Congress. Northern lawmakers were outraged that Kilgore would try to stymie the bill. Southern congressmen still smarting from losing the Civil War threw their support to Kilgore.
One Lone Star congressman backing Kilgore insisted, "No man who loves Texas and its history could support anything that might be favorable to Sheridan." Another Southerner said approving the bill would mean "sacrificing principle, manhood and state pride."
'Grenadier'
The dispute resulted in a national debate and newspaper editorials from coast to coast. Finally, after weeks of debate, compassion won out over old war wounds. The Congress, with support from former Confederates in the House, approved the measure in early June 1888. President Johnson signed the bill into lawJune 8.
"Buck" Kilgore voted "no."
Phil Sheridan officially became "general of the army." He diedAug. 5 and was buried in Washington's Arlington National Cemetery.
Kilgore continued to serve in Congress until 1895. In March of that year, President Grover Cleveland appointed Kilgore as U.S. judge in Oklahoma's Indian Territory.
Kilgore died in Ardmore, Okla., on Sept. 23, 1897, and was buried at his adopted East Texas home of Wills Point. The Dallas Morning News at the time called the colorful Kilgore "the ideal grenadier – tall, sinewy, handsome, brave, cool, with hair and beard white as snow."
The Galveston News noted the former Confederate cavalryman "could ride anything in the way of horse flesh. (Kilgore) often astonished friends by picking up stones from the ground to throw at them while riding at full gallop."
http://www.news-journal.com/featr/content/features/stories/2009/11/14/11142009_craddock.html
By Van Craddock
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Constantine Buckley "Buck" Kilgore was one of those larger-than-life Texans.
At his death in 1897, a newspaper described him as "one of the most famous backwoods characters that ever went to Congress and attained high federal office."
In 1872, the future four-term U.S. congressman deeded East Texas land to the International and Great Northern railroad. In gratitude, the I&GN named a new town site "Kilgore."
"Buck" Kilgore had been a Confederate cavalry officer during the 1861-65 Civil War, during which he was wounded and taken captive by Union soldiers. He remained in a Yankee POW camp until war's end.
That may explain why Kilgore became embroiled in a bitter dispute with a former Union general ... more than two decades after the war had ended.
A promotion
In May 1888, a New York congressman introduced a bill to promote U.S. Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to "general of the army," a title that hadn't been used since the Civil War. It was an effort to honor Sheridan, who had taken ill and wasn't expected to live.
Kilgore and many other Southerners didn't like Sheridan, who initiated a "scorched earth" policy while leading Union troops in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley late in the Civil War. In 1864, under Sheridan's orders, the troops destroyed crops, seized livestock and burned barns and mills.
It also didn't help that in 1866, Sheridan had been appointed commander of the Fifth Military District (Texas and Louisiana). The general didn't have much sympathy for ex-Confederates and ruled with a heavy hand. After numerous complaints, U.S. President Andrew Johnson removed Sheridan from his post.
So when the 1888 proposal was made to promote the ill Sheridan to general of the Army, Kilgore took the lead in opposing the bill. The East Texan used "points of order" and other legislative tricks to delay a vote on the issue for several weeks.
The result was a sort of "civil war" in Congress. Northern lawmakers were outraged that Kilgore would try to stymie the bill. Southern congressmen still smarting from losing the Civil War threw their support to Kilgore.
One Lone Star congressman backing Kilgore insisted, "No man who loves Texas and its history could support anything that might be favorable to Sheridan." Another Southerner said approving the bill would mean "sacrificing principle, manhood and state pride."
'Grenadier'
The dispute resulted in a national debate and newspaper editorials from coast to coast. Finally, after weeks of debate, compassion won out over old war wounds. The Congress, with support from former Confederates in the House, approved the measure in early June 1888. President Johnson signed the bill into lawJune 8.
"Buck" Kilgore voted "no."
Phil Sheridan officially became "general of the army." He diedAug. 5 and was buried in Washington's Arlington National Cemetery.
Kilgore continued to serve in Congress until 1895. In March of that year, President Grover Cleveland appointed Kilgore as U.S. judge in Oklahoma's Indian Territory.
Kilgore died in Ardmore, Okla., on Sept. 23, 1897, and was buried at his adopted East Texas home of Wills Point. The Dallas Morning News at the time called the colorful Kilgore "the ideal grenadier – tall, sinewy, handsome, brave, cool, with hair and beard white as snow."
The Galveston News noted the former Confederate cavalryman "could ride anything in the way of horse flesh. (Kilgore) often astonished friends by picking up stones from the ground to throw at them while riding at full gallop."
http://www.news-journal.com/featr/content/features/stories/2009/11/14/11142009_craddock.html
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Anti-South Cultural Cleansing Continues at Ole Miss
Ole Miss head to band: Stop playing fight song
Chancellor asks band director to take 'From Dixie With Love' off play list
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
JACKSON, Miss. — The University of Mississippi's first-year chancellor followed through on a promise Tuesday and asked the band to stop playing a pep song because some fans are chanting "the South will rise again" at the end of the medley.
"Here at the University of Mississippi, there must be no doubt that this is a warm and welcoming place for all," Dan Jones wrote Tuesday in a letter to the university community. "We cannot even appear to support those outside our community who advocate a revival of racial segregation. We cannot fail to respond."
Dan Jones said last week he'd ask the band to take "From Dixie With Love" off its play list if the chant continued during the Northern Arizona-Ole Missfootball game Saturday in Oxford. Jones said the chant was heard.
Jones, who became chancellor in July, did not specify how long the song at Rebels games will be off limits, but he said elected student leaders can request its return if the chant stops. The tune blends the Confederate Army's fight song, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The band has played "From Dixie With Love" before and after athletic events for about two decades. The practice of some fans chanting "the South will rise again" started in the past five years or so.
A message left at the home of band director David Willson, who has held the job 19 years, was not immediately returned.
The university has struggled for decades with symbolism that some see as racially divisive, including its mascot and the waving of Confederate flags at games.
Nickolaus Luckett, a 20-year-old junior from Drew and co-chairman of diversity affairs for student government, said he doesn't like the chant or the song "Dixie," but believes Jones had offered a compromise designed to satisfy people with a broad range of opinions.
Luckett said Jones was right to ask the band to stop playing the song after some students continued using the chant.
"I think it was something that needed to happen," Luckett said. "He said he was going to do it and the students came and directly disobeyed him."
The university's alumni association and coaches and some high-profile financial supporters, including Netscape founder Jim Barksdale, have said the chant should stop. But some students and fans see Jones' move as a restriction on free speech.
Beverly J. Clark of Jackson, who took graduate courses at Ole Miss in the mid-1970s, said Jones should not take away the chant or the song.
"He's not taking into consideration the thousands and thousands of people who love Ole Miss. There was nothing harmful about that chant," Clark said. "They've been trying to put some meaning behind it that's just not there. It's just not fair."
Six years ago, university officials decided not to have an on-field mascot during sporting events, getting rid of the long-standing Colonel Rebel, a white-haired old man who carries a cane and resembles a plantation owner. At the time, school officials had said they needed a more athletic-looking mascot.
In 1997, student leaders approved a resolution asking Ole Miss fans to stop waving Rebel flags at athletic events. University officials then banned people from bringing sticks into games — a move that dramatically curtailed the decades-long practice of fans' carrying the flag.
Jones' predecessor, Robert Khayat, said the Confederate flag had been used by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and it was not in the university's best interest to use it as a symbol.
Two people were killed on campus in 1962 during riots when the first black student, James Meredith, was enrolled at the university. Federal marshals had to protect Meredith during the court-ordered enrollment.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/ole-miss-head-to-192640.html
Chancellor asks band director to take 'From Dixie With Love' off play list
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
JACKSON, Miss. — The University of Mississippi's first-year chancellor followed through on a promise Tuesday and asked the band to stop playing a pep song because some fans are chanting "the South will rise again" at the end of the medley.
"Here at the University of Mississippi, there must be no doubt that this is a warm and welcoming place for all," Dan Jones wrote Tuesday in a letter to the university community. "We cannot even appear to support those outside our community who advocate a revival of racial segregation. We cannot fail to respond."
Dan Jones said last week he'd ask the band to take "From Dixie With Love" off its play list if the chant continued during the Northern Arizona-Ole Missfootball game Saturday in Oxford. Jones said the chant was heard.
Jones, who became chancellor in July, did not specify how long the song at Rebels games will be off limits, but he said elected student leaders can request its return if the chant stops. The tune blends the Confederate Army's fight song, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The band has played "From Dixie With Love" before and after athletic events for about two decades. The practice of some fans chanting "the South will rise again" started in the past five years or so.
A message left at the home of band director David Willson, who has held the job 19 years, was not immediately returned.
The university has struggled for decades with symbolism that some see as racially divisive, including its mascot and the waving of Confederate flags at games.
Nickolaus Luckett, a 20-year-old junior from Drew and co-chairman of diversity affairs for student government, said he doesn't like the chant or the song "Dixie," but believes Jones had offered a compromise designed to satisfy people with a broad range of opinions.
Luckett said Jones was right to ask the band to stop playing the song after some students continued using the chant.
"I think it was something that needed to happen," Luckett said. "He said he was going to do it and the students came and directly disobeyed him."
The university's alumni association and coaches and some high-profile financial supporters, including Netscape founder Jim Barksdale, have said the chant should stop. But some students and fans see Jones' move as a restriction on free speech.
Beverly J. Clark of Jackson, who took graduate courses at Ole Miss in the mid-1970s, said Jones should not take away the chant or the song.
"He's not taking into consideration the thousands and thousands of people who love Ole Miss. There was nothing harmful about that chant," Clark said. "They've been trying to put some meaning behind it that's just not there. It's just not fair."
Six years ago, university officials decided not to have an on-field mascot during sporting events, getting rid of the long-standing Colonel Rebel, a white-haired old man who carries a cane and resembles a plantation owner. At the time, school officials had said they needed a more athletic-looking mascot.
In 1997, student leaders approved a resolution asking Ole Miss fans to stop waving Rebel flags at athletic events. University officials then banned people from bringing sticks into games — a move that dramatically curtailed the decades-long practice of fans' carrying the flag.
Jones' predecessor, Robert Khayat, said the Confederate flag had been used by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and it was not in the university's best interest to use it as a symbol.
Two people were killed on campus in 1962 during riots when the first black student, James Meredith, was enrolled at the university. Federal marshals had to protect Meredith during the court-ordered enrollment.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/ole-miss-head-to-192640.html
SCV Contributes to Texas Festival
Sons Of Confederate Veterans To Demonstrate Muskets At Syrup Festival
By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer
HENDERSON -- Descendants of confederate soldiers plan to demonstrate steps of loading and firing a musket every hour, on the hour, throughout the 21st annual Heritage Syrup Festival on Saturday.
Mark Bassett, commander, described the procedure this way:
They will take out a paper cartridge containing powder, which the confederates called a Paper Lady.
"Ours are blank because we can't fire a musket ball (at the festival)," Bassett said.
They will tear off the end and load from the top, pouring in the powder and then the paper. Next, they will punch a ramrod all the way to the bottom to ram the wadding and powder down and remove the ramrod.
Upon picking up the musket, Bassett said, they will cock the hammer back to half cock, take out a primer that goes over the nipple and once they are ready to shoot, they will cock it all the way back, aim and pull the trigger to fire.
The old term "don't go off half-cocked" originated from loading muskets, Bassett said, because the musket won't fire half-cocked.
The musket demonstration will be a new festival attraction enacted by members of Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 2107, called the New Salem Invincibles after an original group of confederate soldiers from the Rusk County rural community of New Salem near the Lake Stryker dam.
Thomas Jay, adjutant, said, "A real fast infantryman could shoot three rounds a minute."
Bassett said, "Back in the Civil War, many staffs disappeared. (Soldiers) would get in such a hurry they would forget to take the ramming staff out and shoot it down range."
The Invincibles will shoot one, maybe two, muskets every hour, depending on the size of the crowd, the commander said.
"If it's a big crowd, we'll shoot a couple," he said. "I'm going to bring my confederate colt Navy pistol. It's a reproduction and what they call a cap and ball pistol. We might load it up and show people how we shoot it, too."
A large part of the camp's activities promote education about the Confederacy and the Civil War, according to Bassett.
Attired in confederate uniforms, the Invincibles will answer questions and discuss the Civil War with festival-goers, Bassett said, as well as listen to them tell about their ancestors. Bassett will wear a Confederate Marine Corps uniform of white pants, a long gray coat and blue cap.
"A lot of people want to get their picture taken with us in uniform," he said.
The Invincibles' festival booth, set up in front of the pioneer house on the Depot Museum grounds, will consist of two tables displaying historic items, some picked up from battle fields, such as musket balls, and an 1862 edition of the field manual for the Confederacy. Birdhouses and squirrel feeders will be for sale.
In front of the tables will be a display of all the confederate flags, including the "bonnie blue" and flags referred to as the first national, the second national, the third national and the battle flag.
For the remainder of this story see:
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20091112/NEWS01/911120313
By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer
HENDERSON -- Descendants of confederate soldiers plan to demonstrate steps of loading and firing a musket every hour, on the hour, throughout the 21st annual Heritage Syrup Festival on Saturday.
Mark Bassett, commander, described the procedure this way:
They will take out a paper cartridge containing powder, which the confederates called a Paper Lady.
"Ours are blank because we can't fire a musket ball (at the festival)," Bassett said.
They will tear off the end and load from the top, pouring in the powder and then the paper. Next, they will punch a ramrod all the way to the bottom to ram the wadding and powder down and remove the ramrod.
Upon picking up the musket, Bassett said, they will cock the hammer back to half cock, take out a primer that goes over the nipple and once they are ready to shoot, they will cock it all the way back, aim and pull the trigger to fire.
The old term "don't go off half-cocked" originated from loading muskets, Bassett said, because the musket won't fire half-cocked.
The musket demonstration will be a new festival attraction enacted by members of Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 2107, called the New Salem Invincibles after an original group of confederate soldiers from the Rusk County rural community of New Salem near the Lake Stryker dam.
Thomas Jay, adjutant, said, "A real fast infantryman could shoot three rounds a minute."
Bassett said, "Back in the Civil War, many staffs disappeared. (Soldiers) would get in such a hurry they would forget to take the ramming staff out and shoot it down range."
The Invincibles will shoot one, maybe two, muskets every hour, depending on the size of the crowd, the commander said.
"If it's a big crowd, we'll shoot a couple," he said. "I'm going to bring my confederate colt Navy pistol. It's a reproduction and what they call a cap and ball pistol. We might load it up and show people how we shoot it, too."
A large part of the camp's activities promote education about the Confederacy and the Civil War, according to Bassett.
Attired in confederate uniforms, the Invincibles will answer questions and discuss the Civil War with festival-goers, Bassett said, as well as listen to them tell about their ancestors. Bassett will wear a Confederate Marine Corps uniform of white pants, a long gray coat and blue cap.
"A lot of people want to get their picture taken with us in uniform," he said.
The Invincibles' festival booth, set up in front of the pioneer house on the Depot Museum grounds, will consist of two tables displaying historic items, some picked up from battle fields, such as musket balls, and an 1862 edition of the field manual for the Confederacy. Birdhouses and squirrel feeders will be for sale.
In front of the tables will be a display of all the confederate flags, including the "bonnie blue" and flags referred to as the first national, the second national, the third national and the battle flag.
For the remainder of this story see:
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20091112/NEWS01/911120313
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