October 1, 2009
Army of Northern Virginia
Sons of Confederate Veterans
PRESS RELEASE : SCV DECLARES HAYWARD SHEPHERD DAY
The Army of Northern Virginia of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will kick off the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States on Saturday, October 3, in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, by holding their annual meeting beginning at 10:30 at the Block house (John Brown’s Fort). The purpose of the meeting is to announce that October 16 will be known as HAYWARD SHEPHERD DAY, honoring the unfortunate black citizen who met his death as John Brown’s first victim 150 years ago.
Hayward, a faithful employee and Baggage Master of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was murdered in furtherance of John Brown’s nefarious scheme to capture the arsenal in that famous city. The SCV will honor Hayward Shepherd by placing a wreath at the 1931 marker honoring him across from the Engine House where Brown’s raid ended. Mr. Richard Hines, a well known historian from Alexandria, Virginia, will discuss the real John Brown.
Many today try to whitewash Brown’s crimes and call him a martyr. Mr. Hines will discuss Brown’s true motivations and his association with a group of famous Northern abolitionists (the Secret 6) who financed his plot and encouraged him to murder and commit crimes against his fellow Americans. The public is welcome to come see the wreath laying and hera Mr. Hines speak.
Anyone desiring information about this ceremony may contact Brag Bowling at 1-804-389-3620.
Brag Bowling
Commander
Army of Northern Virginia
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Veteran to be Re-interred in Franklin, TN
Unknown Civil War soldier to be reburied Oct. 10
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Uniforned sentries stand guard while mourners exit the gates of Rest Haven Cemetery.
FRANKLIN – The sons of two Civil War veterans who fought for separate causes will meet for the first time over the unearthed remains of an unknown soldier, whose body never made it home from the battlefield 145 years ago. Harold Becker, 93, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and James Brown, Sr., 97, of Knoxville, Tenn., will join together to help re-inter the unknown soldier’s remains, discovered in a shallow grave during a commercial construction project on the field where 10,000 casualties fell in five hours at the Battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864.
Becker’s father, Charles Conrad Becker, fought through the horrific battle at Franklin with the 128th Indiana Infantry, U.S.A., while Brown’s father, James H. H. Brown – 8th Georgia Infantry, C.S.A. – saw his regiment cut in half at Gettysburg. On Saturday, Oct. 10, they will shake hands over the new grave of an American soldier. “Most folks don’t consider the sacrifice that these soldiers made, certainly on both sides,” said Robin Hood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who is chair of the City of Franklin’s Battlefield Task Force. “And his family was left alone, to eventually come to closure with the fact that he was killed in action in some field a thousand miles from home.”
Thousands like him were buried with simple gravestones marked "Unknown", including approximately 750 in Franklin. It is not known for which army the Unknown Soldier fought. A coffin containing his remains will lie in state at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 510 West Main Street in Franklin – the circa 1827 sanctuary which served as barracks for Federal troops during their occupation of the town in 1864 – from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 until the funeral ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. One Federal and one Confederate honor-guard sentry will be posted at the front doors of the church during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. visitation period each day and prior to the ceremony on Saturday morning.
The soldier will receive full military honors from re-enactors representing brothers-in-arms from both the United States and the Confederacy. On Saturday morning, a Union and a Confederate Chaplain will conduct a brief funeral service in the church. Following the service, the flag-draped casket will be borne from the church by uniformed pallbearers (Confederate and Federal) and placed on a waiting, horse-drawn caisson in front of the church. Accompanied by a color guard, honor guard, period musicians, and hundreds of uniformed re-enactors, the caisson will travel down Main Street and around the Public Square to the Rest Haven Cemetery gates. As the procession leaves St. Paul's and continues up Main Street, townspeople and visitors are invited to fall in behind the ranks of the marching re-enactors.
After arriving at Rest Haven Cemetery, a brief eulogy will be delivered by the chaplains, and will conclude with period-appropriate military honors including a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps” by a uniformed bugler. Active participation in the ceremonies at Rest Haven and at St. Paul’s will be restricted to uniformed re-enactors, but the public is encouraged to view the ceremonies.
Re-enactment units that wish to participate should contact Robert Huff at (615) 500-8211, or via email at rghuff123@aol.com.For more information, visit www.franklincivilwar.com.
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/unknown-civil-war-soldier-to-be-reburied-oct-10-cms-19613
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Uniforned sentries stand guard while mourners exit the gates of Rest Haven Cemetery.
FRANKLIN – The sons of two Civil War veterans who fought for separate causes will meet for the first time over the unearthed remains of an unknown soldier, whose body never made it home from the battlefield 145 years ago. Harold Becker, 93, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and James Brown, Sr., 97, of Knoxville, Tenn., will join together to help re-inter the unknown soldier’s remains, discovered in a shallow grave during a commercial construction project on the field where 10,000 casualties fell in five hours at the Battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864.
Becker’s father, Charles Conrad Becker, fought through the horrific battle at Franklin with the 128th Indiana Infantry, U.S.A., while Brown’s father, James H. H. Brown – 8th Georgia Infantry, C.S.A. – saw his regiment cut in half at Gettysburg. On Saturday, Oct. 10, they will shake hands over the new grave of an American soldier. “Most folks don’t consider the sacrifice that these soldiers made, certainly on both sides,” said Robin Hood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who is chair of the City of Franklin’s Battlefield Task Force. “And his family was left alone, to eventually come to closure with the fact that he was killed in action in some field a thousand miles from home.”
Thousands like him were buried with simple gravestones marked "Unknown", including approximately 750 in Franklin. It is not known for which army the Unknown Soldier fought. A coffin containing his remains will lie in state at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 510 West Main Street in Franklin – the circa 1827 sanctuary which served as barracks for Federal troops during their occupation of the town in 1864 – from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 until the funeral ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. One Federal and one Confederate honor-guard sentry will be posted at the front doors of the church during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. visitation period each day and prior to the ceremony on Saturday morning.
The soldier will receive full military honors from re-enactors representing brothers-in-arms from both the United States and the Confederacy. On Saturday morning, a Union and a Confederate Chaplain will conduct a brief funeral service in the church. Following the service, the flag-draped casket will be borne from the church by uniformed pallbearers (Confederate and Federal) and placed on a waiting, horse-drawn caisson in front of the church. Accompanied by a color guard, honor guard, period musicians, and hundreds of uniformed re-enactors, the caisson will travel down Main Street and around the Public Square to the Rest Haven Cemetery gates. As the procession leaves St. Paul's and continues up Main Street, townspeople and visitors are invited to fall in behind the ranks of the marching re-enactors.
After arriving at Rest Haven Cemetery, a brief eulogy will be delivered by the chaplains, and will conclude with period-appropriate military honors including a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps” by a uniformed bugler. Active participation in the ceremonies at Rest Haven and at St. Paul’s will be restricted to uniformed re-enactors, but the public is encouraged to view the ceremonies.
Re-enactment units that wish to participate should contact Robert Huff at (615) 500-8211, or via email at rghuff123@aol.com.For more information, visit www.franklincivilwar.com.
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/unknown-civil-war-soldier-to-be-reburied-oct-10-cms-19613
SCV Fights to Honor Veterans
Crossing conflict: SCV fights to Honor Confederate Veterans in West Virginia
By TAMMIE TOLER
Princeton Times
PRINCETON — Capt. Hercules Scott died at the age of 89 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. That’s all the information his tombstone reveals, but Richard Lockhart and John Fleming know there’s much more to Scott’s story.
“He fought in Gettysburg and survived Pickett’s Charge,” Fleming explained, referring to the failed Confederate attack on the center of the Union forces during the third day of battle in Gettysburg, Pa.
As the two leaders of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans spoke Wednesday, they pointed to a photo of Scott’s grave and a small wooden cross standing low to the ground at the front of his tombstone.
That cross was one of 49 the Flat Top Copperheads placed in tribute to the service of Confederate veterans buried inside Oakwood Cemetery last spring.
Aside from knowing their names and bits of their histories, most of these soldiers were complete strangers to Fleming, Lockhart and other 46 Sons of Confederate Veterans who volunteered their time and effort to honor the men who fought alongside their ancestors.
They raised funds to create small-scale replicas of the Southern Cross of Honor to pay tribute to local men who picked up arms in the conflict they prefer to call “The War Between The States.” Traditionally, the Southern Crosses are cast iron and created in 11-inch squares. The local versions were only about 6 inches high and wide and were constructed of wood.
“Our purpose in doing this is simply to mark the Confederate veterans’ graves,” Lockhart said. “There’s no racism, no hatred, involved.”
In May, the SCV members placed the crosses at the graves, where they reportedly remained and even attracted several visitors to the cemetery situated on Main Street in Princeton.
“The 48 Southern Crosses were installed so visitors to the cemetery could easily recognize their graves as those of Confederate soldiers and to give the deceased soldiers the respect and honor they deserved,” Lockhart and Fleming wrote in a letter they distributed this week.
After the initial 48 crosses were in place, another descendant contacted the SCV and requested that a cross be placed on his grandfather’s grave. The Copperheads happily located the grave and complied with the request.
From their perspective, the crosses drew historical tourists and Civil War buffs to Mercer County, where the state boundaries declared the region part of the Union, but local sentiment predominantly sided with the South. In one day, Fleming said what is now Mercer County rallied 1,200 men to stand against the Yankees, and there are several historic sites that helped decide the outcome of the Civil War.
“Our organization is a historical veterans’ organization,” Fleming said. “All we do is try to preserve Southern history and heritage. This is something to be proud of.”
In fact, the SCV literature focuses on “heritage — not hate.”
By September, however, the crosses became a point of contention between officials at the cemetery and the SCV. Early in the month, Lockhart said he received a call from a maintenance crew representative stating that he had seven days to remove the crosses because they were hampering the mowing and trimming process at Oakwood.
Lockhart, who couldn’t believe the crosses were a hindrance or hazard, said he opted not to remove the crosses because the United States government had recognized Confederate veterans as legitimate American war veterans and allowed the marking of their graves.
There are an estimated 800 other war veterans buried inside Oakwood and Resthaven properties, and Lockhart said the management seemed to have no problem mowing around American flags and even the occasional spike of artificial flowers that appear in violation of the business’s floral guidelines.
To Fleming and Lockhart, focusing specifically on the Southern Crosses seemed to be an act of disrespect and discrimination.
When they didn’t remove the crosses, Oakwood crews did. In recent weeks, most of the crosses were pulled from the soil surrounding the graves, and the SCV members were outraged.
“Really, we feel like they’ve desecrated the graves of all these veterans,” Fleming said this week.
The insult ran so deep that SCV members questioned the legality of removing the Southern Cross, a symbol approved by the government to represent service to the Confederacy, from graves of men declared American war veterans.
At Oakwood, however, representatives said safety was their only concern.
Curtis Shrader spoke briefly with the Times this week, though he pointed out he worked in sales and not in the grounds crew. Keith Miller, of the maintenance department, reportedly sent word through Shrader that the crosses were removed because they were complicating mowing around the soldiers’ graves.
“Keith says, after the mowing season, they can put them back up,” Shrader said.
The mowing season ends once grass stops growing for the fall, usually in October or November, depending on the weather. Of course, the crosses would fall into contention again come spring, unless the matter is resolved before then.
SCV members worried that the crosses may have been demolished or thrown away, but Shrader reported they were being held securely at Resthaven Memorial Gardens, of which Oakwood is a part.
A call to a grounds crew supervisor had not been returned as of press time.
As they contemplated their next steps, Fleming and Lockhart said removal of the crosses was insensitive at best and discriminatory at worst.
“A cemetery is a history of people — a perpetual record of yesterday and a sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth loving, remembering and honoring — always,” Lockhart and Fleming wrote on behalf of SCV members.
For more information on the local unit of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, e-mail camp1694@frontiernet.net or call Fleming at (304) 425-4870. For more information on Resthaven and Oakwood, the local contact number is (304) 425-2643.
— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.
http://www.bdtonline.com/princeton/local_story_275105408.html
By TAMMIE TOLER
Princeton Times
PRINCETON — Capt. Hercules Scott died at the age of 89 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. That’s all the information his tombstone reveals, but Richard Lockhart and John Fleming know there’s much more to Scott’s story.
“He fought in Gettysburg and survived Pickett’s Charge,” Fleming explained, referring to the failed Confederate attack on the center of the Union forces during the third day of battle in Gettysburg, Pa.
As the two leaders of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans spoke Wednesday, they pointed to a photo of Scott’s grave and a small wooden cross standing low to the ground at the front of his tombstone.
That cross was one of 49 the Flat Top Copperheads placed in tribute to the service of Confederate veterans buried inside Oakwood Cemetery last spring.
Aside from knowing their names and bits of their histories, most of these soldiers were complete strangers to Fleming, Lockhart and other 46 Sons of Confederate Veterans who volunteered their time and effort to honor the men who fought alongside their ancestors.
They raised funds to create small-scale replicas of the Southern Cross of Honor to pay tribute to local men who picked up arms in the conflict they prefer to call “The War Between The States.” Traditionally, the Southern Crosses are cast iron and created in 11-inch squares. The local versions were only about 6 inches high and wide and were constructed of wood.
“Our purpose in doing this is simply to mark the Confederate veterans’ graves,” Lockhart said. “There’s no racism, no hatred, involved.”
In May, the SCV members placed the crosses at the graves, where they reportedly remained and even attracted several visitors to the cemetery situated on Main Street in Princeton.
“The 48 Southern Crosses were installed so visitors to the cemetery could easily recognize their graves as those of Confederate soldiers and to give the deceased soldiers the respect and honor they deserved,” Lockhart and Fleming wrote in a letter they distributed this week.
After the initial 48 crosses were in place, another descendant contacted the SCV and requested that a cross be placed on his grandfather’s grave. The Copperheads happily located the grave and complied with the request.
From their perspective, the crosses drew historical tourists and Civil War buffs to Mercer County, where the state boundaries declared the region part of the Union, but local sentiment predominantly sided with the South. In one day, Fleming said what is now Mercer County rallied 1,200 men to stand against the Yankees, and there are several historic sites that helped decide the outcome of the Civil War.
“Our organization is a historical veterans’ organization,” Fleming said. “All we do is try to preserve Southern history and heritage. This is something to be proud of.”
In fact, the SCV literature focuses on “heritage — not hate.”
By September, however, the crosses became a point of contention between officials at the cemetery and the SCV. Early in the month, Lockhart said he received a call from a maintenance crew representative stating that he had seven days to remove the crosses because they were hampering the mowing and trimming process at Oakwood.
Lockhart, who couldn’t believe the crosses were a hindrance or hazard, said he opted not to remove the crosses because the United States government had recognized Confederate veterans as legitimate American war veterans and allowed the marking of their graves.
There are an estimated 800 other war veterans buried inside Oakwood and Resthaven properties, and Lockhart said the management seemed to have no problem mowing around American flags and even the occasional spike of artificial flowers that appear in violation of the business’s floral guidelines.
To Fleming and Lockhart, focusing specifically on the Southern Crosses seemed to be an act of disrespect and discrimination.
When they didn’t remove the crosses, Oakwood crews did. In recent weeks, most of the crosses were pulled from the soil surrounding the graves, and the SCV members were outraged.
“Really, we feel like they’ve desecrated the graves of all these veterans,” Fleming said this week.
The insult ran so deep that SCV members questioned the legality of removing the Southern Cross, a symbol approved by the government to represent service to the Confederacy, from graves of men declared American war veterans.
At Oakwood, however, representatives said safety was their only concern.
Curtis Shrader spoke briefly with the Times this week, though he pointed out he worked in sales and not in the grounds crew. Keith Miller, of the maintenance department, reportedly sent word through Shrader that the crosses were removed because they were complicating mowing around the soldiers’ graves.
“Keith says, after the mowing season, they can put them back up,” Shrader said.
The mowing season ends once grass stops growing for the fall, usually in October or November, depending on the weather. Of course, the crosses would fall into contention again come spring, unless the matter is resolved before then.
SCV members worried that the crosses may have been demolished or thrown away, but Shrader reported they were being held securely at Resthaven Memorial Gardens, of which Oakwood is a part.
A call to a grounds crew supervisor had not been returned as of press time.
As they contemplated their next steps, Fleming and Lockhart said removal of the crosses was insensitive at best and discriminatory at worst.
“A cemetery is a history of people — a perpetual record of yesterday and a sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth loving, remembering and honoring — always,” Lockhart and Fleming wrote on behalf of SCV members.
For more information on the local unit of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, e-mail camp1694@frontiernet.net or call Fleming at (304) 425-4870. For more information on Resthaven and Oakwood, the local contact number is (304) 425-2643.
— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.
http://www.bdtonline.com/princeton/local_story_275105408.html
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tribute to Moses Ezekiel
"...These men sacrificed all, dared all....and died."
A Hispanic Month Tribute to Moses Ezekiel
By Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
September 15th -October 15th is Hispanic History Month and the Educational Committee of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a national-historical and educational organization, has included an informative Hispanic History Month fact sheet about those who served in the Confederate and Union Armies.
Some say, Americans know more about sports then they do about their nation’s past. Sports are a wonderful past-time of family fun but there can also be fun in reading stories about great Americans like; George Washington, Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington, Florence Nightingale and Moses Ezekiel, with your children and grandchildren.
Please share this story of America’s forgotten past with teachers, young people, family and friends.
Moses J. Ezekiel was born in Richmond, Virginia on October 28, 1844. He was one of fourteen children born to Jacob and Catherine De Castro Ezekiel. His grandparents came to America from Holland in 1808, and were of Jewish-Spanish Heritage.
At the age of 16, and the beginning of the War Between the States, Moses begged his father and mother to allow him to enroll at Virginia Military Institute.
Three years after his enrollment at (VMI) the cadets of the school marched to the aid of Confederate General John C. Breckinridge. Moses Ezekiel joined his fellow cadets in a charge against the Union lines at the “Battle of New Market.”
When the War Between the States ended, Moses went back to Virginia Military Institute to finish his studies where he graduated in 1866. According to his letters, which are now preserved by the American Jewish Historical Society, Ezekiel met with Robert E. Lee during this time. Lee encouraged him by saying, “I hope you will be an artist…..do earn a reputation in whatever profession you undertake.”
The world famous Arlington National Cemetery is located in Virginia and overlooks the Potomac River. At section 16, of the cemetery, is a beautiful Confederate Monument that towers over the graves of 450 Southern soldiers, wives and civilians. These words are inscribed on the memorial:
“Not for fame or reward, not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, or goaded by necessity, But in simple obedience to duty, as they understood it, These men sacrificed all, dared all….and died.”
The United Daughters of the Confederacy entered into a contract with Moses J. Ezekiel to build this Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery. It is written that he based his work on the words of Prophet Isaiah, “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
This Confederate Memorial towers 32 and 1/2 feet and is said to be the tallest bronze sculpture at Arlington National Cemetery. On top is a figure of a woman, with olive leaves covering her head, representing the South. She also holds a laurel wreath in her left hand, remembering the Sons of Dixie. On the side of the monument is also a depiction of a Black Confederate marching in step with white soldiers.
Ezekiel was not able to come to the dedication of the monument held on June 4, 1914, with President Woodrow Wilson presiding. Union and Confederate soldiers were present among a crowd of thousands at this historic event.
Moses Jacob Ezekiel studied to be an artist in Italy. As a tribute to his great works, he was knighted by Emperor William I of Germany and King’s Humbert I and Victor Emmanuel, II of Italy—-thus the title of “Sir.”
Among the works of Sir Moses J. Ezekiel are: “Christ Bound for the Cross”, “The Martyr”, “David singing his song of Glory”, “Moses Receiving the Law on Mount Sinai” and “Stonewall Jackson” located at VMI.
Upon his death in 1917, Moses Ezekiel left behind his request to be buried with his Confederates at Arlington. A burial ceremony was conducted on March 31, 1921, at the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. It was presided over by the United States Secretary of War John W. Weeks. He was laid to rest at the foot of the memorial that he had sculptured. Six VMI cadets flanked his casket that was covered with an American flag. Lest We Forget!
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15405
A Hispanic Month Tribute to Moses Ezekiel
By Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
September 15th -October 15th is Hispanic History Month and the Educational Committee of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a national-historical and educational organization, has included an informative Hispanic History Month fact sheet about those who served in the Confederate and Union Armies.
Some say, Americans know more about sports then they do about their nation’s past. Sports are a wonderful past-time of family fun but there can also be fun in reading stories about great Americans like; George Washington, Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington, Florence Nightingale and Moses Ezekiel, with your children and grandchildren.
Please share this story of America’s forgotten past with teachers, young people, family and friends.
Moses J. Ezekiel was born in Richmond, Virginia on October 28, 1844. He was one of fourteen children born to Jacob and Catherine De Castro Ezekiel. His grandparents came to America from Holland in 1808, and were of Jewish-Spanish Heritage.
At the age of 16, and the beginning of the War Between the States, Moses begged his father and mother to allow him to enroll at Virginia Military Institute.
Three years after his enrollment at (VMI) the cadets of the school marched to the aid of Confederate General John C. Breckinridge. Moses Ezekiel joined his fellow cadets in a charge against the Union lines at the “Battle of New Market.”
When the War Between the States ended, Moses went back to Virginia Military Institute to finish his studies where he graduated in 1866. According to his letters, which are now preserved by the American Jewish Historical Society, Ezekiel met with Robert E. Lee during this time. Lee encouraged him by saying, “I hope you will be an artist…..do earn a reputation in whatever profession you undertake.”
The world famous Arlington National Cemetery is located in Virginia and overlooks the Potomac River. At section 16, of the cemetery, is a beautiful Confederate Monument that towers over the graves of 450 Southern soldiers, wives and civilians. These words are inscribed on the memorial:
“Not for fame or reward, not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, or goaded by necessity, But in simple obedience to duty, as they understood it, These men sacrificed all, dared all….and died.”
The United Daughters of the Confederacy entered into a contract with Moses J. Ezekiel to build this Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery. It is written that he based his work on the words of Prophet Isaiah, “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
This Confederate Memorial towers 32 and 1/2 feet and is said to be the tallest bronze sculpture at Arlington National Cemetery. On top is a figure of a woman, with olive leaves covering her head, representing the South. She also holds a laurel wreath in her left hand, remembering the Sons of Dixie. On the side of the monument is also a depiction of a Black Confederate marching in step with white soldiers.
Ezekiel was not able to come to the dedication of the monument held on June 4, 1914, with President Woodrow Wilson presiding. Union and Confederate soldiers were present among a crowd of thousands at this historic event.
Moses Jacob Ezekiel studied to be an artist in Italy. As a tribute to his great works, he was knighted by Emperor William I of Germany and King’s Humbert I and Victor Emmanuel, II of Italy—-thus the title of “Sir.”
Among the works of Sir Moses J. Ezekiel are: “Christ Bound for the Cross”, “The Martyr”, “David singing his song of Glory”, “Moses Receiving the Law on Mount Sinai” and “Stonewall Jackson” located at VMI.
Upon his death in 1917, Moses Ezekiel left behind his request to be buried with his Confederates at Arlington. A burial ceremony was conducted on March 31, 1921, at the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. It was presided over by the United States Secretary of War John W. Weeks. He was laid to rest at the foot of the memorial that he had sculptured. Six VMI cadets flanked his casket that was covered with an American flag. Lest We Forget!
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15405
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Event Slated for Arlington House
Park Service Event Helps Usher In Civil War Commemoration
by SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Arlington County’s ( VA ) commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War will unofficially begin on Oct. 10 with an event at Arlington House, the Custis-Lee Mansion.
From 7 to 10 p.m. that night, the National Park Service will present a program detailing John Brown’s Raid, an event that helped to light the fuse for what, less than two years later, would tear the nation apart.
Fergus Bordewich, author of “Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America,” will speak on the life of Brown, an abolitionist who On Oct. 16-18, 1859, led a group that tried to seize control of the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, then in Virginia and now in West Virginia.
Their goal was to spark a slave revolt in Virginia and surrounding areas.
The assault was put down by a detachment of U.S. Marines, who were led by Col. Robert E. Lee. Lee married into the Custis family, which owned the Arlington House plantation where the Oct. 10 program will take place.
After being charged with treason against Virginia, Brown was hanged in December 1859 and several other participants later went to the gallows. But their actions helped to further inflame passions over slavery. The Civil War began in April 1861.
Both the state and county governments have assembled task forces to plan and lead commemorative events related to the Civil War. The Arlington group, appointed by the County Board, has been meeting since early March. Warren Nelson is serving as chairman.
Arlington - which then was known as Alexandria County - had several key roles in Civil War history.
It was from Arlington House that Lee made his decision not to accept command of Union troops, but rather to command Virginia troops that soon would be in rebellion against the federal government.
At the outbreak of hostilities, federal troops marched across Potomac River bridges to occupy the mostly rural county for the duration of the war. Federal officials seized the Arlington House plantation, an action later ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court, and began the first burials at what would become Arlington National Cemetery.
Federal officials also hurriedly constructed a ring of forts in the area, to protect the nation’s capital from attack. Remnants of a number of the forts remain, and the modern-day Fort Myer garrison traces its roots to one of the Civil War forts.
After the war, Lee never returned to Arlington House; his wife, Mary Custis Lee, who had inherited the plantation from her father in 1857, returned once but was too distraught to leave her carriage.
During and after the war, freed slaves were housed at Freedman’s Village for several decades. Several of today’s most prominent African-American Arlington families can trace their lineage back to Arlington House, and efforts are underway to create a museum dedicated to the achievements of local African-Americans both during slavery and after.
By the 20th century, a spirit of reconciliation had taken hold, at least among some. In 1920, Alexandria County was renamed “Arlington” in part to honor Lee, and Arlington House in 1955 was designated by Congress as the nation’s memorial to the general.
Nelson said local commemorative events will run through at least 2015, the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the event that effectively ended the war. But they could run longer, as far out as January 2020, the 150th anniversary of Virginia’s readmittance to the Union.
The Oct. 10 event at Arlington House also will include a series of tours and exhibits exploring radical abolitionism, and a performance by the Victorian Dance Emsemble. Special activities for children will be available.
Because Arlington House is rarely open to the public at night, the event offers a chance to tour the house and view the Washington skyline from a seldom-seen vantage point, National Park Service officials said.
Entry times are available on the half-hour from 7 to 9 p.m., with lectures by Bordewich conducted at 8 and 9 p.m. Reservations are required, and parking will only be available for those with reservations.
For reservations, call (703) 235-1530. For information, see the Web site at www.nps.gov/arho.
http://www.sungazette.net/articles/2009/09/20/arlington/news/nw422.txt
by SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Arlington County’s ( VA ) commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War will unofficially begin on Oct. 10 with an event at Arlington House, the Custis-Lee Mansion.
From 7 to 10 p.m. that night, the National Park Service will present a program detailing John Brown’s Raid, an event that helped to light the fuse for what, less than two years later, would tear the nation apart.
Fergus Bordewich, author of “Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America,” will speak on the life of Brown, an abolitionist who On Oct. 16-18, 1859, led a group that tried to seize control of the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, then in Virginia and now in West Virginia.
Their goal was to spark a slave revolt in Virginia and surrounding areas.
The assault was put down by a detachment of U.S. Marines, who were led by Col. Robert E. Lee. Lee married into the Custis family, which owned the Arlington House plantation where the Oct. 10 program will take place.
After being charged with treason against Virginia, Brown was hanged in December 1859 and several other participants later went to the gallows. But their actions helped to further inflame passions over slavery. The Civil War began in April 1861.
Both the state and county governments have assembled task forces to plan and lead commemorative events related to the Civil War. The Arlington group, appointed by the County Board, has been meeting since early March. Warren Nelson is serving as chairman.
Arlington - which then was known as Alexandria County - had several key roles in Civil War history.
It was from Arlington House that Lee made his decision not to accept command of Union troops, but rather to command Virginia troops that soon would be in rebellion against the federal government.
At the outbreak of hostilities, federal troops marched across Potomac River bridges to occupy the mostly rural county for the duration of the war. Federal officials seized the Arlington House plantation, an action later ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court, and began the first burials at what would become Arlington National Cemetery.
Federal officials also hurriedly constructed a ring of forts in the area, to protect the nation’s capital from attack. Remnants of a number of the forts remain, and the modern-day Fort Myer garrison traces its roots to one of the Civil War forts.
After the war, Lee never returned to Arlington House; his wife, Mary Custis Lee, who had inherited the plantation from her father in 1857, returned once but was too distraught to leave her carriage.
During and after the war, freed slaves were housed at Freedman’s Village for several decades. Several of today’s most prominent African-American Arlington families can trace their lineage back to Arlington House, and efforts are underway to create a museum dedicated to the achievements of local African-Americans both during slavery and after.
By the 20th century, a spirit of reconciliation had taken hold, at least among some. In 1920, Alexandria County was renamed “Arlington” in part to honor Lee, and Arlington House in 1955 was designated by Congress as the nation’s memorial to the general.
Nelson said local commemorative events will run through at least 2015, the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the event that effectively ended the war. But they could run longer, as far out as January 2020, the 150th anniversary of Virginia’s readmittance to the Union.
The Oct. 10 event at Arlington House also will include a series of tours and exhibits exploring radical abolitionism, and a performance by the Victorian Dance Emsemble. Special activities for children will be available.
Because Arlington House is rarely open to the public at night, the event offers a chance to tour the house and view the Washington skyline from a seldom-seen vantage point, National Park Service officials said.
Entry times are available on the half-hour from 7 to 9 p.m., with lectures by Bordewich conducted at 8 and 9 p.m. Reservations are required, and parking will only be available for those with reservations.
For reservations, call (703) 235-1530. For information, see the Web site at www.nps.gov/arho.
http://www.sungazette.net/articles/2009/09/20/arlington/news/nw422.txt
Richmond Discusses Sesquicentennial Events
Richmond leaders talk about how to commemorate Civil War
Karin Kapsidelis
Sep 30, 2009
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The sesquicentennial of the Civil War will put Richmond center stage nationally with both the opportunity and the obligation to tell the story of what happened here honestly.
That was the message of "The Future of Richmond's Past," a forum that drew about 160 people to the University of Richmond yesterday for the start of a series of discussions on how to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war.
Leaders from Richmond historic and civic organizations discussed the need to develop a cohesive plan for visitors drawn to the capital of the Confederacy for four years of events beginning in 2011.
The sesquicentennial will be a twin commemoration that also will mark the end of slavery, said UR President Edward L. Ayers.
Many people, he said, "have been working for decades to prepare for a time when we can tell the story of Richmond whole, when we can tell the story of Richmond honestly, when we can tell the story of Richmond to the nation and to the world."
Visitors will be watching to see how Richmond, which was a major slave market, will interpret a past with "so many layers one on top of the other, so many meanings, so much richness," he said.
In April, Ayers was host of "America on the Eve of the Civil War," the first event of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.
He said he was approached after that conference and asked to initiate conversations about how Richmond's various historic sites can collaborate on the sesquicentennial.
Virginia Union University President Claude G. Perkins and Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, who both spoke at yesterday's event, said their schools will host follow-up discussions.
Virginia is better prepared now for the influx of visitors the commemoration will bring than it was in 1990 when Ken Burns' documentary series "The Civil War" aired, said John F. "Jack" Berry Jr., president and CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau.
That film brought a 25 percent increase in tourism and "we weren't ready," he said.
S. Waite Rawls III, president and CEO of The Museum of The Confederacy, noted that the first post-Civil War tourist to Richmond was Abraham Lincoln, and the place he wanted to visit first was the White House of the Confederacy.
Yet the museum does not get adequate support from the city for signage, parking and interpretive markers, he said.
Richmond tends to think in terms "of blue and gray or black and white, and we have forgotten green, the color of money," he said.
The city's history is perhaps its greatest financial asset, "but that history sits before us without us reaching out to capitalize on it," he said.
"The twin sesquicentennial offers us that chance, and it will not repeat itself in my lifetime," he said.
Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, chairwoman of the Slave Trail Commission, said part of her group's mission is to "contribute to the healing of Richmond's racial past."
She hopes to see the city become an international destination for education about slavery.
"Richmond is ready for it," she said. "It's time for us to move forward."
Karin Kapsidelis
Sep 30, 2009
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The sesquicentennial of the Civil War will put Richmond center stage nationally with both the opportunity and the obligation to tell the story of what happened here honestly.
That was the message of "The Future of Richmond's Past," a forum that drew about 160 people to the University of Richmond yesterday for the start of a series of discussions on how to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war.
Leaders from Richmond historic and civic organizations discussed the need to develop a cohesive plan for visitors drawn to the capital of the Confederacy for four years of events beginning in 2011.
The sesquicentennial will be a twin commemoration that also will mark the end of slavery, said UR President Edward L. Ayers.
Many people, he said, "have been working for decades to prepare for a time when we can tell the story of Richmond whole, when we can tell the story of Richmond honestly, when we can tell the story of Richmond to the nation and to the world."
Visitors will be watching to see how Richmond, which was a major slave market, will interpret a past with "so many layers one on top of the other, so many meanings, so much richness," he said.
In April, Ayers was host of "America on the Eve of the Civil War," the first event of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.
He said he was approached after that conference and asked to initiate conversations about how Richmond's various historic sites can collaborate on the sesquicentennial.
Virginia Union University President Claude G. Perkins and Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, who both spoke at yesterday's event, said their schools will host follow-up discussions.
Virginia is better prepared now for the influx of visitors the commemoration will bring than it was in 1990 when Ken Burns' documentary series "The Civil War" aired, said John F. "Jack" Berry Jr., president and CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau.
That film brought a 25 percent increase in tourism and "we weren't ready," he said.
S. Waite Rawls III, president and CEO of The Museum of The Confederacy, noted that the first post-Civil War tourist to Richmond was Abraham Lincoln, and the place he wanted to visit first was the White House of the Confederacy.
Yet the museum does not get adequate support from the city for signage, parking and interpretive markers, he said.
Richmond tends to think in terms "of blue and gray or black and white, and we have forgotten green, the color of money," he said.
The city's history is perhaps its greatest financial asset, "but that history sits before us without us reaching out to capitalize on it," he said.
"The twin sesquicentennial offers us that chance, and it will not repeat itself in my lifetime," he said.
Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, chairwoman of the Slave Trail Commission, said part of her group's mission is to "contribute to the healing of Richmond's racial past."
She hopes to see the city become an international destination for education about slavery.
"Richmond is ready for it," she said. "It's time for us to move forward."
Friday, October 2, 2009
Historic South Carolina Flag Found
Historic find — in a storage closet
Flag discovered in Iowa museum is likely Civil War-era original
By Diane Knich
The Post and Courier
Friday, October 2, 2009
In the days leading to the Civil War, a battery of Citadel cadets on Morris Island fired at the supply ship Star of the West as it approached Fort Sumter, forcing the ship to turn around.
The war officially began on April 12, 1861, with the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. But some Citadel alumni and others consider the shots fired at Star of the West to be the first shots of the Civil War.
The red palmetto flag became a powerful symbol for the state's military college. The school adopted a replica of the flag as its "spirit flag" in 1992 and called it "Big Red."
But nobody knew, until now, what happened to the original flag.
The school has found what almost certainly is the original Civil War-era "Big Red" in a museum in Iowa.
The flag was donated to the museum by an Civil War veteran from Iowa in 1919, and has been sitting in a storage closet for nearly a century.
The State Historical Society of Iowa, which owns the flag, and a history committee from The Citadel Alumni Association have determined through forensic and historical research that the flag in Iowa is very likely the one that flew on Morris Island on Jan. 9, 1861.
Finding the flag is great news for The Citadel, said Tex Curtis, chairman of The Citadel Historical Council and a 1964 graduate of the school. The flag is not only "a priceless, historic artifact," he said. "It literally is The Citadel. It goes right to the beginning."
After seeing a photograph of the original flag, Citadel leaders now know that the replica they have been using has historical inaccuracies, Curtis said.
More information
Big Red Report: , from the Citadel Historical Council (22 page PDF)
A committee of the school's Board of Visitors voted Thursday to begin using the historically correct version of the flag as its "spirit flag," and to assign intellectual property rights in "Big Red" to The Citadel Alumni Association. The full board will take a final vote on the matter today.
The flag in the Iowa museum has a red background with a large white palmetto tree in the center and an inward- facing white crescent in the upper-left corner.
The replica the school has been using has a smaller white palmetto tree on a red background, with a white outward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner. The direction of the crescent is important, Curtis said, because an inward-facing crescent was, at the time, a common symbol of secession in the Charleston area.
The fact that the flag in Iowa carries the secession symbol makes it more likely that it is the flag that flew on Morris Island, he said.
Ed Carter, president of The Citadel Alumni Association, said his group is now in discussions with the State Historical Society of Iowa about bringing the flag to The Citadel on long-term loan.
From S.C. to Iowa
Michael O. Smith, director of Iowa's State Historical Museum, said the museum has a collection of Civil War battle flags. The red palmetto flag was donated to the museum by Willard Baker in 1919.
Click on graphic to enlarge.
Baker, a Civil War veteran, said only that he "got the flag in Mobile, Ala., at the end of the Civil War," Smith said.
Because museum officials have such limited information about how he acquired it, they can't guarantee the flag is original, he said, but added that it likely is.
A report from The Citadel Alumni Association's Historical Council, a four-member group that has been researching the flag for nearly two years, states that Baker was a private in an infantry unit involved in the capture of Fort Blakeley, which is near Mobile, in April 1865.
The report also states that according to historical records, Capt. James F. Culpepper, an 1854 graduate of the Citadel Academy, and his battery were at Fort Blakeley when it fell.
Culpepper had been a student of Maj. Peter F. Stevens, who was superintendent of The Citadel during the time "The Star of the West" was fired upon.
According to the report, a news report in 1861 stated that the Hugh Vincent family designed a red palmetto flag and presented it to Stevens between Jan. 1 and 4, 1861, to be used by The Citadel battery at Fort Morris.
It's likely that Culpepper and his men had the flag when they arrived at Fort Blakeley, and that Baker got the flag from them, and brought it home to Iowa, Curtis said.
Likely authentic
Making the case
Why the flag is thought to be the original "Big Red":
• It has an inward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner, a common Charleston-area symbol of secession.
• Forensic tests indicate it is.
• Written historical accounts support its authenticity.
• There are strong similarities between the red palmetto flag and the other flags known to have been made by Hugh Vincent.
Source: The Citadel Historical Council
Curtis and Smith said The Citadel and the State Historical Society of Iowa shared research and came to the same conclusions about the flag's likely authenticity.
Curtis said the important factors included the inward-facing crescent, results of forensic tests, written historical accounts and similarities between the red palmetto flag and the other flags known to have been made by Vincent.
Smith said the flag has been in a storage closet since 1919. Officials knew it was from South Carolina because of the palmetto, but they didn't know the flag's significance.
Curtis said a woman who wants to remain anonymous posted information about the flag on the Internet in 2007. Some Citadel alumni saw it and began conducting research with the State Historical Society of Iowa.
It took nearly two years to determine that the 10-foot-by-7-foot flag was likely the original "Big Red," Carter said.
"Until now, nobody knew what the real 'Big Red' looked like," he said. But soon, he said, "you'll see it on license plates, T-shirts, logos and decals."
Reach Diane Knich at dknich@postandcourier.com or 937-5491.
Flag discovered in Iowa museum is likely Civil War-era original
By Diane Knich
The Post and Courier
Friday, October 2, 2009
In the days leading to the Civil War, a battery of Citadel cadets on Morris Island fired at the supply ship Star of the West as it approached Fort Sumter, forcing the ship to turn around.
The war officially began on April 12, 1861, with the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. But some Citadel alumni and others consider the shots fired at Star of the West to be the first shots of the Civil War.
The red palmetto flag became a powerful symbol for the state's military college. The school adopted a replica of the flag as its "spirit flag" in 1992 and called it "Big Red."
But nobody knew, until now, what happened to the original flag.
The school has found what almost certainly is the original Civil War-era "Big Red" in a museum in Iowa.
The flag was donated to the museum by an Civil War veteran from Iowa in 1919, and has been sitting in a storage closet for nearly a century.
The State Historical Society of Iowa, which owns the flag, and a history committee from The Citadel Alumni Association have determined through forensic and historical research that the flag in Iowa is very likely the one that flew on Morris Island on Jan. 9, 1861.
Finding the flag is great news for The Citadel, said Tex Curtis, chairman of The Citadel Historical Council and a 1964 graduate of the school. The flag is not only "a priceless, historic artifact," he said. "It literally is The Citadel. It goes right to the beginning."
After seeing a photograph of the original flag, Citadel leaders now know that the replica they have been using has historical inaccuracies, Curtis said.
More information
Big Red Report: , from the Citadel Historical Council (22 page PDF)
A committee of the school's Board of Visitors voted Thursday to begin using the historically correct version of the flag as its "spirit flag," and to assign intellectual property rights in "Big Red" to The Citadel Alumni Association. The full board will take a final vote on the matter today.
The flag in the Iowa museum has a red background with a large white palmetto tree in the center and an inward- facing white crescent in the upper-left corner.
The replica the school has been using has a smaller white palmetto tree on a red background, with a white outward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner. The direction of the crescent is important, Curtis said, because an inward-facing crescent was, at the time, a common symbol of secession in the Charleston area.
The fact that the flag in Iowa carries the secession symbol makes it more likely that it is the flag that flew on Morris Island, he said.
Ed Carter, president of The Citadel Alumni Association, said his group is now in discussions with the State Historical Society of Iowa about bringing the flag to The Citadel on long-term loan.
From S.C. to Iowa
Michael O. Smith, director of Iowa's State Historical Museum, said the museum has a collection of Civil War battle flags. The red palmetto flag was donated to the museum by Willard Baker in 1919.
Click on graphic to enlarge.
Baker, a Civil War veteran, said only that he "got the flag in Mobile, Ala., at the end of the Civil War," Smith said.
Because museum officials have such limited information about how he acquired it, they can't guarantee the flag is original, he said, but added that it likely is.
A report from The Citadel Alumni Association's Historical Council, a four-member group that has been researching the flag for nearly two years, states that Baker was a private in an infantry unit involved in the capture of Fort Blakeley, which is near Mobile, in April 1865.
The report also states that according to historical records, Capt. James F. Culpepper, an 1854 graduate of the Citadel Academy, and his battery were at Fort Blakeley when it fell.
Culpepper had been a student of Maj. Peter F. Stevens, who was superintendent of The Citadel during the time "The Star of the West" was fired upon.
According to the report, a news report in 1861 stated that the Hugh Vincent family designed a red palmetto flag and presented it to Stevens between Jan. 1 and 4, 1861, to be used by The Citadel battery at Fort Morris.
It's likely that Culpepper and his men had the flag when they arrived at Fort Blakeley, and that Baker got the flag from them, and brought it home to Iowa, Curtis said.
Likely authentic
Making the case
Why the flag is thought to be the original "Big Red":
• It has an inward-facing crescent in the upper-left corner, a common Charleston-area symbol of secession.
• Forensic tests indicate it is.
• Written historical accounts support its authenticity.
• There are strong similarities between the red palmetto flag and the other flags known to have been made by Hugh Vincent.
Source: The Citadel Historical Council
Curtis and Smith said The Citadel and the State Historical Society of Iowa shared research and came to the same conclusions about the flag's likely authenticity.
Curtis said the important factors included the inward-facing crescent, results of forensic tests, written historical accounts and similarities between the red palmetto flag and the other flags known to have been made by Vincent.
Smith said the flag has been in a storage closet since 1919. Officials knew it was from South Carolina because of the palmetto, but they didn't know the flag's significance.
Curtis said a woman who wants to remain anonymous posted information about the flag on the Internet in 2007. Some Citadel alumni saw it and began conducting research with the State Historical Society of Iowa.
It took nearly two years to determine that the 10-foot-by-7-foot flag was likely the original "Big Red," Carter said.
"Until now, nobody knew what the real 'Big Red' looked like," he said. But soon, he said, "you'll see it on license plates, T-shirts, logos and decals."
Reach Diane Knich at dknich@postandcourier.com or 937-5491.
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