A city’s roots are still planted in a bitter divide, though the fighting ended nearly 150 years ago.
BY DEIRDRE CONNERSTORY
SUNDAY, MAR. 29, 2009
Civil War history and its symbols have generated a lot of heat in Northeast Florida, even as we approach the 150th anniversary of the onset of the war. Here’s a look at a few of the stories that erupted over the last year, and their updates.
January: Sons of Confederate Veterans file a lawsuit over the creation of a specialty license plate to benefit Confederate heritage education. The group’s Florida division argues lawmakers unfairly refused to act on a bill last year to create the plate. The suit, and the fate of the plate, are still pending, possibly holding up a plate to support the St. Johns River.
November: After two years of debate, the Duval County School Board votes to keep the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School. The vote was split along racial lines.
May: Bobby Tillett of Jacksonville attracts attention after a conflict with his employer, BJ’s Wholesale Club. The store told him to take down a large Confederate flag flying from his truck or move it out of the employee parking lot. He has since sued but the case was dismissed in federal court and moved to civil court in Jacksonville. It has not been resolved.
April: Councilwoman Glorious Johnson, who is African-American, sets off a firestorm after joining the Sons of Confederate Veterans in a salute to the Confederate flag and leading them in “Dixie” at their annual Confederate Memorial Day celebration. She also is planning to attend the event this year, on April 26.
It’s the controversy that will never fade away.
Nearly 150 years after the Civil War began, Confederate history and its symbols have touched off one political firestorm after another — and that’s just here in Duval County. In the past year.
History has lots of muddy, gray areas. But debates over it have never seemed more sharply divided than they are today.
The rhetoric that flew over the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School was intense and sometimes bitter on both sides. When debate erupted over an African-American city councilwoman’s embrace of Confederate Memorial Day and about a man kept from an employee parking lot because of a Confederate flag on his truck, the discourse was at times vitriolic.
Even something as simple as a proposed license plate to acknowledge Confederate heritage led in January to a lawsuit that is making some legislators cower. But a “Choose Life” plate that touches the third rail of politics, abortion, is now commonplace.
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-03-29/story/the_war_we_cant_seem_to_end
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Maryland state song may lose the ‘Northern scum’
Maryland state song may lose the ‘Northern scum’
By Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer 2/22/09
Descendants of “Northern scum” may find more reason to feel welcome in Maryland if a bill to change the state song passes in the state legislature. The term is found in the last stanza of “Maryland, My Maryland,” as “Huzza! [Maryland] spurns the Northern scum!” It was penned by James Ryder Randall in April 1861, following the bloody Baltimore Riot between Union and Confederate sympathizers in the first days of the Civil War.
A class of fourth-graders at Anne Arundel County’s Glen Burnie Park Elementary found the overall tone sufficiently impolite for 2009 that they complained to their state representatives.
“The song talks about [Abraham] Lincoln as a tyrant, and the ‘Northern scum,’ ” said school librarian Linda Tuck, who oversaw the students’ mission, that began as a research project. “They thought those were insulting terms, and wanted something that better reflects Maryland.”
State Del. Pamela Beidle, D-Anne Arundel, listened to her young constituents. She introduced a bill to change the song from a Confederate ode to a more sentimental set of lyrics written by John T. White in 1894, praising the state’s “streams and wooded hills” and “mountains with their gushing rills.” Like the original, it would be set to the tune of “O Christmas Tree.”
Some Marylanders, however, worry the effort could cloak a chapter of the state’s divided history. Donald Beck, Maryland division commander for the Tennessee-based Sons of Confederate Veterans, remembers as a 6-year-old seeing his great-grandfather’s scars earned on behalf of the South during the Civil War.
“Lincoln hardly got any votes in Maryland in 1860, so the song reflected the sentiments of Marylanders at the time,” Beck said, adding he has testified before the legislature opposing similar efforts made in the past. “If you changed everything based on current attitudes, you’d have to rewrite all of the history books.”
Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George’s, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she “understand[s] the role that the Confederacy played in the history of Maryland, [but] it’s time to no longer glorify that in our state song.”
Tuck said her students agreed. “They feel ownership of Maryland,” she said. “They wanted a song they could sing.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Maryland-state-song-may--lose-the-Northern-scum-40003982.html
By Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer 2/22/09
Descendants of “Northern scum” may find more reason to feel welcome in Maryland if a bill to change the state song passes in the state legislature. The term is found in the last stanza of “Maryland, My Maryland,” as “Huzza! [Maryland] spurns the Northern scum!” It was penned by James Ryder Randall in April 1861, following the bloody Baltimore Riot between Union and Confederate sympathizers in the first days of the Civil War.
A class of fourth-graders at Anne Arundel County’s Glen Burnie Park Elementary found the overall tone sufficiently impolite for 2009 that they complained to their state representatives.
“The song talks about [Abraham] Lincoln as a tyrant, and the ‘Northern scum,’ ” said school librarian Linda Tuck, who oversaw the students’ mission, that began as a research project. “They thought those were insulting terms, and wanted something that better reflects Maryland.”
State Del. Pamela Beidle, D-Anne Arundel, listened to her young constituents. She introduced a bill to change the song from a Confederate ode to a more sentimental set of lyrics written by John T. White in 1894, praising the state’s “streams and wooded hills” and “mountains with their gushing rills.” Like the original, it would be set to the tune of “O Christmas Tree.”
Some Marylanders, however, worry the effort could cloak a chapter of the state’s divided history. Donald Beck, Maryland division commander for the Tennessee-based Sons of Confederate Veterans, remembers as a 6-year-old seeing his great-grandfather’s scars earned on behalf of the South during the Civil War.
“Lincoln hardly got any votes in Maryland in 1860, so the song reflected the sentiments of Marylanders at the time,” Beck said, adding he has testified before the legislature opposing similar efforts made in the past. “If you changed everything based on current attitudes, you’d have to rewrite all of the history books.”
Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George’s, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she “understand[s] the role that the Confederacy played in the history of Maryland, [but] it’s time to no longer glorify that in our state song.”
Tuck said her students agreed. “They feel ownership of Maryland,” she said. “They wanted a song they could sing.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Maryland-state-song-may--lose-the-Northern-scum-40003982.html
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Chicago Press Article on Confederate History Month
Southerners looking to share their Confederate Holiday
'Confederacy has gotten a bad rap,' says one supporter of efforts to recognize region's legacy
By Dahleen Glanton
Tribune Correspondent
1:37 AM CDT, March 22, 2009
ATLANTA — In a cultural war that has pitted Old South against new, defenders of the Confederate legacy have opened a fresh front in their campaign to polish an image tarnished, they said, by people who do not respect Southern values.
With the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States in 2011, efforts are under way in statehouses, small towns and counties across the South to push for proclamations or legislation promoting Confederate history.
Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Florida traditionally observe Confederate History Month in April. Georgia, which has recognized it by proclamation since 1995, recently passed a bill in the state Senate making it official.
Most Southern states recognize Confederate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. Some celebrate it on the June birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but Texas and Arkansas observe it on Jan. 19, the federal holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Race in America More than 1,000 municipalities celebrate the holiday with parades and festivals, said Charles McMichael, commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and efforts are under way to spread it nationwide, state by state.
"It has been our experience over the last 30 years or so that when the Confederacy is addressed at all historically, it is done in a way that serves a political agenda and not in a way that we think is accurate. We want the truthful history about all aspects of the Confederacy told," said McMichael. "There are some good things that you can learn, and we think there are more good than bad."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-race-confederacy_bdmar22,0,7235836.story?track=rss
'Confederacy has gotten a bad rap,' says one supporter of efforts to recognize region's legacy
By Dahleen Glanton
Tribune Correspondent
1:37 AM CDT, March 22, 2009
ATLANTA — In a cultural war that has pitted Old South against new, defenders of the Confederate legacy have opened a fresh front in their campaign to polish an image tarnished, they said, by people who do not respect Southern values.
With the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States in 2011, efforts are under way in statehouses, small towns and counties across the South to push for proclamations or legislation promoting Confederate history.
Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Florida traditionally observe Confederate History Month in April. Georgia, which has recognized it by proclamation since 1995, recently passed a bill in the state Senate making it official.
Most Southern states recognize Confederate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. Some celebrate it on the June birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but Texas and Arkansas observe it on Jan. 19, the federal holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Race in America More than 1,000 municipalities celebrate the holiday with parades and festivals, said Charles McMichael, commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and efforts are under way to spread it nationwide, state by state.
"It has been our experience over the last 30 years or so that when the Confederacy is addressed at all historically, it is done in a way that serves a political agenda and not in a way that we think is accurate. We want the truthful history about all aspects of the Confederacy told," said McMichael. "There are some good things that you can learn, and we think there are more good than bad."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-race-confederacy_bdmar22,0,7235836.story?track=rss
Canada Press Recognizes Confederate History Month
April is also Confederate History Month
By Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”—Marcus Garvey
On Thursday, March 12, 2009, the Georgia State Senate passed bill No. 27, by a vote of 48-2, designating April as Confederate Heritage and History Month. I understand that it has now been voted out of committee for a full House vote. Supporters of this bill say
“The measure would be a boom to the state’s tourism industry, encouraging visitors to come to Georgia’s Civil War Battlefield sites.”
The diversity of the Old South still holds the imagination of many people who come from around the world to see; Southern Belle’s with hoop skirts, Confederate flags and soldier memorials like the Confederate Memorial carving of: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis at Stone Mountain Memorial Park near Atlanta.
This story is written in the spirit of the Sesquicentennial, 150th Anniversary of the War Between the States, which will be commemorated throughout the USA from 2011 to 2015.
Americans observe Black, Jewish, Hispanic, Native American and Women’s History Month…..And in April we also remember ‘Confederate History Month’ in tribute to those Americans who took their stand for what some historians call the ‘Second American Revolution.’
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/9510
By Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”—Marcus Garvey
On Thursday, March 12, 2009, the Georgia State Senate passed bill No. 27, by a vote of 48-2, designating April as Confederate Heritage and History Month. I understand that it has now been voted out of committee for a full House vote. Supporters of this bill say
“The measure would be a boom to the state’s tourism industry, encouraging visitors to come to Georgia’s Civil War Battlefield sites.”
The diversity of the Old South still holds the imagination of many people who come from around the world to see; Southern Belle’s with hoop skirts, Confederate flags and soldier memorials like the Confederate Memorial carving of: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis at Stone Mountain Memorial Park near Atlanta.
This story is written in the spirit of the Sesquicentennial, 150th Anniversary of the War Between the States, which will be commemorated throughout the USA from 2011 to 2015.
Americans observe Black, Jewish, Hispanic, Native American and Women’s History Month…..And in April we also remember ‘Confederate History Month’ in tribute to those Americans who took their stand for what some historians call the ‘Second American Revolution.’
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/9510
Friday, March 20, 2009
ANV Scholarship Competition
The link below provides the information needed to enter the Sons of Confederate Veterans Army of Northern Virginaia Sesquicentennial Scholarship Competition.
To enter one must be a high school( public, private, or home school ) student to enter. See the link for more details, topic and deadlines etc..
Good Luck!
http://www.virginiagentleman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=34
To enter one must be a high school( public, private, or home school ) student to enter. See the link for more details, topic and deadlines etc..
Good Luck!
http://www.virginiagentleman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=34
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Endangered Battlefields
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Development threatens to engulf Civil War battlefields, a preservationist group said as it released its annual list of endangered battle sites on Wednesday.
"In town after town, the irreplaceable battlefields that define those communities are being marred forever," said James Lighthizer, the head of the Civil War Preservation Trust.
"As we approach the sesquicentennial of the bloodiest conflict in our nation's history, we need to be more aware than ever of the importance of preserving these sacred places for generations to come."
The group says it has helped save more than 25,000 acres of Civil War battlefields in 18 states.
Topping the 2009 list of endangered battlefields is Monocacy, Maryland, where the Preservation Trust wants to prevent a trash-processing facility with a 350-foot smokestack from being built nearby.
In Virginia, the group is fighting to keep a Wal-Mart Supercenter from going up on the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield, which also is on this year's list. On that site, 160,000 Union and Confederate troops fought a two-day battle in 1864.
Civil War Preservation Trust: Saving Battlefields
"These hallowed battlegrounds should be national shrines, monuments to American valor, determination and courage," actor Richard Dreyfuss said in prepared remarks. "Once these irreplaceable treasures are gone, they're gone forever." Dreyfuss has been involved in a pair of Civil War documentaries.
Rounding out the group's Top 10 list of endangered battlefields are:
Port Gibson, Mississippi
Cedar Creek, Virginia
Fort Gaines, Alabama
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
New Market Heights, Virginia
Sabine Pass, Texas
South Mountain, Maryland
Spring Hill, Tennessee
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/battlefields/index.html
"In town after town, the irreplaceable battlefields that define those communities are being marred forever," said James Lighthizer, the head of the Civil War Preservation Trust.
"As we approach the sesquicentennial of the bloodiest conflict in our nation's history, we need to be more aware than ever of the importance of preserving these sacred places for generations to come."
The group says it has helped save more than 25,000 acres of Civil War battlefields in 18 states.
Topping the 2009 list of endangered battlefields is Monocacy, Maryland, where the Preservation Trust wants to prevent a trash-processing facility with a 350-foot smokestack from being built nearby.
In Virginia, the group is fighting to keep a Wal-Mart Supercenter from going up on the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield, which also is on this year's list. On that site, 160,000 Union and Confederate troops fought a two-day battle in 1864.
Civil War Preservation Trust: Saving Battlefields
"These hallowed battlegrounds should be national shrines, monuments to American valor, determination and courage," actor Richard Dreyfuss said in prepared remarks. "Once these irreplaceable treasures are gone, they're gone forever." Dreyfuss has been involved in a pair of Civil War documentaries.
Rounding out the group's Top 10 list of endangered battlefields are:
Port Gibson, Mississippi
Cedar Creek, Virginia
Fort Gaines, Alabama
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
New Market Heights, Virginia
Sabine Pass, Texas
South Mountain, Maryland
Spring Hill, Tennessee
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/battlefields/index.html
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Mystery of Lincoln's Watch
The Mystery of Lincoln's Watch
Many of you may have heard or read about the discovery of an inscription in Abraham Lincoln's gold pocket watch. The story emanated in the New York Times on March 11th. The version carried by the mass media daily newspapers and broadcasts left out a mysterious element of the story.
For years there has been a story circulating that a watchmaker in 1861 while working on Lincoln's watch made an inscription in the tiny working parts inside the watch.
As part of he Lincoln 200th Birthday Observance, the American Museum of History division of The Smithsonian Institute in Washington determined to hold a public opening of the watch and ascertain if the stories about the inscription were true.
The ceremony was attended by descendants of the Lincoln family, along with those of the watchmaker, public and museum officials and journalists.
The watch was carefully and meticulously opened and lo and behold, it did contain an inscription dated 1861. The inscription varied somewhat from the stories that had been circulating, but did refer to the firing on Fort Sumter. (misspelled as Sumpter)
There is more to the story than was generally released. Here it is.
There were two other inscriptions found inside the watch. One, dated 1864 with the initials of another watchmaker and the other, the words "Jeff Davis". Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of America and the adversary of Abraham Lincoln.
The mystery surrounding the revelation of the Jeff Davis inscription is bound to bring on more discussion and speculation, some of which will most likely be added to the Lincoln myths which abound America.
How ironic it is the only name engraved in Lincoln's watch is that of Jeff Davis.
Just as ironic is another little known and seldom mentioned fact regarding the discovery made at the Smithsonian Institute. The Smithsonian was initially started under the sponsorship of Jefferson Davis who raised private funds for its beginning while Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce.
The motto of the Confederacy, Deo Vindice, seems appropiate to conclude this story.
END
Contact Information:
Sons of Confederate Veterans Public Relations and Media Committee,
J. A. Davis, Chairman.
770 297-4788
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/design/11linc.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1
Many of you may have heard or read about the discovery of an inscription in Abraham Lincoln's gold pocket watch. The story emanated in the New York Times on March 11th. The version carried by the mass media daily newspapers and broadcasts left out a mysterious element of the story.
For years there has been a story circulating that a watchmaker in 1861 while working on Lincoln's watch made an inscription in the tiny working parts inside the watch.
As part of he Lincoln 200th Birthday Observance, the American Museum of History division of The Smithsonian Institute in Washington determined to hold a public opening of the watch and ascertain if the stories about the inscription were true.
The ceremony was attended by descendants of the Lincoln family, along with those of the watchmaker, public and museum officials and journalists.
The watch was carefully and meticulously opened and lo and behold, it did contain an inscription dated 1861. The inscription varied somewhat from the stories that had been circulating, but did refer to the firing on Fort Sumter. (misspelled as Sumpter)
There is more to the story than was generally released. Here it is.
There were two other inscriptions found inside the watch. One, dated 1864 with the initials of another watchmaker and the other, the words "Jeff Davis". Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of America and the adversary of Abraham Lincoln.
The mystery surrounding the revelation of the Jeff Davis inscription is bound to bring on more discussion and speculation, some of which will most likely be added to the Lincoln myths which abound America.
How ironic it is the only name engraved in Lincoln's watch is that of Jeff Davis.
Just as ironic is another little known and seldom mentioned fact regarding the discovery made at the Smithsonian Institute. The Smithsonian was initially started under the sponsorship of Jefferson Davis who raised private funds for its beginning while Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce.
The motto of the Confederacy, Deo Vindice, seems appropiate to conclude this story.
END
Contact Information:
Sons of Confederate Veterans Public Relations and Media Committee,
J. A. Davis, Chairman.
770 297-4788
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/design/11linc.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1
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