# April is Confederate History Month



## Milkman (Mar 26, 2010)

There is a move underway by the Ga Division of the SCV to make April become Confederate History month. 

More info at this link.

http://www.confederatehistorymonth.com/scv/index.php?SessID=537786


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## Rednec (Mar 26, 2010)

In 2009, the Georgia General Assembly approved Senate Bill No. 27, signed by Governor Sonny Perdue, officially designating April permanently as Confederate History and Heritage Month.


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## Milkman (Mar 26, 2010)

Rednec said:


> In 2009, the Georgia General Assembly approved Senate Bill No. 27, signed by Governor Sonny Perdue, officially designating April permanently as Confederate History and Heritage Month.



Correct, but I think from what I read here this is an effort to make it so all over.


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## crackerdave (Mar 26, 2010)

Glad to hear it! Now - when is Native American History Month?


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## Rednec (Mar 27, 2010)

Uncle Sam celebrates Native American once a year, as with hispanic, black, women & few others...I have inquired about Confederate day, but, i never get a response.


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## Milkman (Apr 4, 2010)

I am going to try to remember to share some interesting notes about the War Between the States from the Ga Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans this month.  

The clips I will post during the month were written by Calvin E. Johnson, Jr., Chairman of the National and Georgia Division Confederate History and Heritage Month Committee of the Sons of Confederate Veterans

Enjoy.

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April is a time to remember the men and women of the Confederacy and those who kept their memory eternal; like Ms. Mildred Lewis Rutherford who almost a century ago served as Historian-General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She was a respected teacher, writer, speaker and defender of the true history of the War Between the States. Ms. Rutherford also wrote a monthly newsletter from 1923 to 1926 entitled “Miss Rutherford’s scrapbook” and in 1920 wrote the book “Truths of History.”

Efforts to mark Confederate graves, erect monuments and hold memorial services were the idea of Mrs. Charles J. Williams. It is written that she was an educated and kind lady. Her husband served as Colonel of the 1st Georgia Regiment during the War Between the States. He died of disease in 1862, and was buried in his home town of Columbus, Georgia.

Mrs. Williams and her daughter visited his grave often and cleared the weeds, leaves and twigs from it, then placed flowers on it. Her daughter also pulled the weeds from other Confederate graves near her Father.

It saddened the little girl that their graves were unmarked. With tears of pride she said to her Mother, "These are my soldiers' graves." The daughter soon became ill and passed away in her childhood. Mrs. William's grief was almost unbearable.

On a visit to the graves of her husband and daughter, Mrs. Williams looked at the unkept soldiers' graves and remembered her daughter as she cleaned the graves and what the little girl had said. She knew what had to do.

Mrs. Williams wrote a letter that was published in Southern newspapers asking the women of the South for their help. She asked that memorial organizations be established to take care of the thousands of Confederate graves from the Potomac River to the Rio Grande. She also asked the state legislatures to set aside a day in April to remember the men who wore the gray. With her leadership April 26 was officially adopted in many states. She died in 1874, but not before her native state of Georgia adopted it as a legal holiday.

Mrs. Williams was given a full military funeral by the people of Columbus, Georgia and flowers covered her grave. For many years a yearly memorial was conducted at her grave following the soldiers' memorial.

Among the gallant women of the Confederacy was Captain Sally Tompkins who was the first woman to be commissioned an officer on either side of the War Between the States. Commissioned by Jefferson Davis, she took care of thousands of soldiers in Richmond, Virginia until the end of the war.

Those who served the Confederacy came from many races and religions. There was Irish born General Patrick R. Cleburne, black Southerner Amos Rucker, Jewish born Judah P. Benjamin, Mexican born Colonel Santos Benavides and American Indian General Stand Watie who was born in Rome, Georgia.

Find out more about Confederate History Month at: http://confederateheritagemonth.com


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## Milkman (Apr 4, 2010)

Day - 2 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Black Mississippi Legislator Defends Confederate Monument
In Mississippi on February 1, 1890, an appropriation for a monument to the Confederate dead was being considered. A delegate had just spoken against the bill, when John F. Harris, a Black Republican delegate from Washington, county, rose to speak:

"Mr. Speaker! I have risen in my place to offer a few words on the bill.

I have come from a sick bed. Perhaps it was not prudent for me to come. But sir, I could not rest quietly in my room without contributing a few remarks of my own.

I was sorry to hear the speech of the young gentlemen from Marshall County. I am sorry that any son of a soldier would go on record as opposed to the erections of a monument in honor of the brave dead. And, Sir, I am convinced that had he seen what I saw at Seven Pines, and in the Seven Day's fighting around Richmond, the battlefield covered with mangled forms of those who fought for this country and their country's honor, he would not have made the speech.

When the news came that the South had been invaded, those men went forth to fight for what they believed, and they made not requests for monuments. But they died, and their virtues should be remembered.

Sir, I went with them. I, too, wore the gray, the same color my master wore. We stayed for four long years, and if that war had gone on till now I would have been there yet. I want to honor those brave men who died for their convictions.

When my Mother died I was a boy. Who, Sir, then acted the part of Mother to the orphaned slave boy, but my old Missus! Were she living now, or could speak to me from those high realms where are gathered the sainted dead, she would tell me to vote for this bill. And, Sir, I shall vote for it. I want it known to all the world that my vote is given in favor of the bill to erect a monument in HONOR OF THE CONFEDERATE DEAD."

When the applause died down, the measure passed overwhelmingly, and every Black member voted "AYE."

(Source: War For What? by Francis Springer)


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## Milkman (Apr 4, 2010)

Day - 3 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Confederate Chaplain honored in 1983
Father Emmeran Bliemel, OS.B. the first American Chaplain to die on the battlefield was killed during the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, on August 31, 1864. This battle would end the Battle of Atlanta.

As Chaplain of the 10th Tennessee Regiment he courageously and unselfishly ministered to the spiritual needs of his Confederate comrades, both under fire and behind the lines. He died while giving the Last Rites to his Commanding Officer, Colonel William Grace. He also ministered to the men of the 4th Kentucky Regiment (the Orphan Brigade) CSA.

A member of the order of Saint Benedict, at Saint Vincent's Archabbey Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he died a hero's death while doing the work of his Lord and Master.

A medal of honor was awarded from the historic National Organization of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to the Patrick R. Cleburne Camp 1361, in his behalf on March 12, 1983. It was first displayed in the City Hall of Jonesboro, Georgia.


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## Milkman (Apr 4, 2010)

Day - 4 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Confederate Jewish Cemetery in Richmond
In Richmond, Virginia there is a cemetery to the brave war dead. It is called the only Jewish military cemetery in the world outside the state of Israel. The cemetery is located at Richmond's Shockroe Hill. Here lies the remains of Jewish soldiers who fought for the Confederacy.

A plaque was erected here by the Hebrew Ladies Memorial Association, whose organization was organized in 1866, and lists the names of the soldiers buried here. The inscription reads:

    "To the glory of God and in memory of The Hebrew Confederate Soldiers resting in this hallowed spot."

It is estimated that 15,000 Jewish men fought for the Confederacy, including, Moses J. Ezekiel who also was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to sculpture the Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery. Judah P. Benjamin, a Jewish American, also served under Jefferson Davis as Confederate Secretary of State and Secretary of War.


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## Milkman (Apr 4, 2010)

Day - 5 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Cherokee Brigadier General Stand Watie
General Stand Watie was the highest ranking Native American serving on either side of the War Between the States.

Watie was born at Oothcaloga in the Cherokee Nation of Georgia, near Rome, Georgia, on December 12, 1806. His Cherokee name was De-ga-ta-ga, which means, "He Stands."

Stand Watie joined the Confederate cause at the outbreak of the War Between the States. He was commissioned a colonel on July 12, 1861, and raised a regiment of Cherokees for service to the Confederacy.

General Stand Watie, or his troops in command, participated in eighteen battles and skirmishes against Union troops during the war that included, Cowskin Prairie, Old Fort Wayne, Webber's Falls, Fort Gibson and Cabin Creek.

Two of Stand Watie's victories were the capture of the Union steam boat J.R. Williams on June 15, 1864 and the seisure of over a million dollars worth of supplies of a Union wagon train at the 2nd Battle of Cabin Creek on Sept. 19, 1864.

General Watie was the last general to stop fighting on June 23, 1865. It is written that he did not actually surrender his troops but just stopped the fighting.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 4, 2010)

cool thread Milkman !

keep up the good work 

"With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed,I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword....."
Lee in a letter to his sister, April 20, 1861 





http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CAsQ9QEwAQ


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## Dixiesimpleman32 (Apr 4, 2010)

great thread thanks for posting it.Keep them coming


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## Flatbow (Apr 4, 2010)

Thanks for sharing this information.  You dont read a lot of this in history books today.
Slavery should have never happen.  But, what the history books dont explain is that the war was a complex war.......different folks faught for different reasons.  Robert E. Lee himself did not believe in slavery [ you dont hear that either].
The south should have freed the slaves and _then_ fired on Fort Sumpter.  My Great, great grandfather served in the 46th Mississippi Infantry and never owned a slave in his life.


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## STONEWALL0628 (Apr 4, 2010)

Dixiesimpleman32 said:


> great thread thanks for posting it.Keep them coming



x's 2


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## SpringfieldChampion (Apr 4, 2010)

Flatbow said:


> Thanks for sharing this information.  You dont read a lot of this in history books today.
> Slavery should have never happen.  But, what the history books dont explain is that the war was a complex war.......different folks faught for different reasons.  Robert E. Lee himself did not believe in slavery [ you dont hear that either].
> The south should have freed the slaves and _then_ fired on Fort Sumpter.  My Great, great grandfather served in the 46th Mississippi Infantry and never owned a slave in his life.



only 1 in 12 Confederates ever owned a slave!


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## Farmwoman59 (Apr 5, 2010)

I appreciate you taking the time to share these stories with us.


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## Rednec (Apr 5, 2010)

If the war of northern aggression was over slavery, why did abe wait 2 yrs into the war to sign emancipation proclamation & why did it only pertain to slaves held by Southern states?


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## Milkman (Apr 5, 2010)

Day - 6 Confederate Heritage Month Minute 

Belle Boyd-Confederate Spy

The use of men and women in intelligence operations has always been vital to national security. It is important to know what others are doing.

Among the famous spies of the War Between the States was Belle Boyd who did intelligence work for President Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy.

Boyd was born in Martinsburg, Virginia on May 9, 1843, and war correspondents nicknamed her "La Belle Rebelle." New York newspapers called her "That Secesh Cleopatra." The vivacious and outspoken Belle Boyd loved the attention she received. Her career as a Confederate spy started at the beginning of the War Between the States, and she would become the most colorful and famous of the Southern agents.

Belle was a natural for spying and would use her keen eyes and charms to coax secrets from the Union officers. She thrived on daring and risky night rides to pass on information to General's Stonewall Jackson and JEB Stuart.

By age 21 Belle Boyd had been arrested 7 times and imprisoned twice by the federals. Even when she was serving time in Washington, D.C. at Old Capitol Prison she still found a way to get messages of vital information to the Confederates. She was sent twice back to her lines and told to stay away, however, in 1863 she accepted a mission to take diplomatic dispatches to England for President Jefferson Davis.

After the War Between the States, Belle Boyd became an actress. She also lectured on her war time experiences as a spy and wrote an account of her exploits, entitled, "Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison." She was well received in the North and South.

Belle Boyd died of a heart attack in Kilbourne, Wisconsin on June 11, 1900.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 5, 2010)

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## redneckcamo (Apr 5, 2010)

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## Milkman (Apr 6, 2010)

Sam Davis---Nathan Hale of the Confederacy.
"If I had a thousand lives, I would give them all here before I would betray a friend.-----Sam Davis."

Like the American soldier who is doing his duty, today, in Iraq and around the world, so did the legendary Sam Davis. Sam Davis, born on 1845 in Smyrna, Tennessee, is called the boy Hero of the Confederacy. He served as a private in the 1st Tennessee Infantry under Captain Coleman. Coleman's scouts gathered information about Union Forces moving from middle Tennessee toward Chattanooga.
Davis was captured by Union troops in Middle Tennessee. He was wearing his Confederate uniform but was arrested as a spy for carrying a secret message. He would not reveal the name of who had given him the information. For this reason, he was arrested as a spy, and sentenced to die by hanging unless he was willing to give the name of his contact. It is written that he answered by saying, "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend. 

Sam Davis, not even 19 years of age, was hanged by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee on November 27, 1863. It is said that the officer in charge of the execution had trouble in carrying out his orders as Davis was calm. It is written that Davis said, "Officer, I did my duty. Now you do yours."

Davis' story is said to parallel that of Nathan Hale during the American Revolution. His boyhood home is said to be preserved in Smyrna, Tennessee as well as the spot marked where he was hanged. He is an American Hero whose story should be remembered during Confederate History Month.


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## Rednec (Apr 6, 2010)

The best rendition of Yellow Rose, ive heard.....

Sam Davis is a Southern Hero......

Va. brings back Confederate month after 8 years
The Associated Press 

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's governor has brought Confederate History Month back to the state for the first time since 2001.

Gov. Bob McDonnell designated April to commemorate the secessionist, slaveholding South. His two Democratic predecessors had refused issue the proclamation sought each year by Confederate descendants.
Richmond was the Confederate seat of government.
McDonnell's 368-word declaration does not mention slavery. The Republican governor said Tuesday that his intent was to honor the sacrifice on Virginia soil and promote tourism.
Black members of Virginia's General Assembly, all Democrats, called the proclamation offensive and disturbing.

Contact Governor & let him know how much you appreciate this proclamation, he will need our support..

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm


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## Rednec (Apr 6, 2010)

Middle Georgia Confederate Memorial Events

Friday, April 23, 2010, 6:00pm at Stevens Street Cemetery [ Map ] - just south of Elberta Rd. in Warner Robins 
Friday, April 23, 2010, 7:00pm at Cliett Cemetery, [ Map ] 247 Connector across from Peachtree Baptist Church, Byron
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 8am at Confederate Statue, [ Map ] downtown Macon (Cotton Ave. at 2nd Street) 
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 10:00am at Rose Hill Cemetery, [ Map ] 1091 Riverside Drive, Macon* 
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 12noon at Woodward Cemetery, [ Map] Hartley Bridge Road, Bibb County
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 2pm at Byron City Cemetery, [ Map 101 Murdock Lane, Byron ] 
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 4:30pm at Ft. Valley's Oaklawn Cemetery , southside of Ft. Valley on GA Hwy 49
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 930am Robert E Lee Memorial statue com. downtown Cochran


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## redneckcamo (Apr 6, 2010)

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## redneckcamo (Apr 6, 2010)

THEREFORE: I, SONNY PERDUE, Governor of the state of Georgia, do hereby proclaim April 2010 as CONFEDERATE HISTORY MONTH and April 26, 2010, as CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY in Georgia and encourage our citizens to observe this occasion with appropriate ceremonies. 



http://sonsofconfederateveterans.blogspot.com/2010/01/georgia-governor-signs-confederate.html


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## Milkman (Apr 7, 2010)

Swiss Confederate Americans
Confederate Brigadier General Augustus Kirk Zollicoffer of Kentucky (1812-1862) was a descendant of a family from Altinklingen in Switzerland (Castle Maerstetten in Kanton Thargau.) General Zollicoffer was killed at the Battle of Mill Springs in 1862 during the War Between the States.
Brigadier General Johndaniel Imboden (1823-1895) commanded the 82nd Virginia Mounted Infantry, who bravely covered the retreat after the Battle of Gettysburg.


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## Milkman (Apr 8, 2010)

Kate Cumming, Confederate Nurse

Kate Cumming was a remarkable woman. Born in Edinburgh, England, in 1835, her family first made their move to Montreal Canada. They would move next to Mobile, Alabama, where Kate,as young woman, quickly adopted to the Southern way of life. It has been written that Cumming was intelligent and courageous in all she did. Kate did not support secession, but, when the South was invaded, she was quick to criticize the actions of Union President Abraham Lincoln. She became a strong supporter of the Confederate cause and looked down at those Southerners who were less patriotic. She believed that every able bodied man and woman should do whatever they could for the South.
In 1862, Kate Cumming helped wounded soldiers at the Battle of Shiloh and in that summer helped in such places as Corinth and Chattanooga. She enlisted in the Confederate armies medical department as a hospitals Matron. Kate was strong in her opinion and an outgoing woman. Her assertedness would help her work with Dr. S.H. Staub, who believed in the use of woman in hospitals. Kate was known for running very efficient and clean hospital wards and in seeing to every need of the patients and keeping a adequate kitchen. 

After the War between the States, in 1866, Kate Cumming published in Mobile, Alabama the "Journal of Hospital Life in the Southern Wartime Hospitals." She also believed that Southern women should take an active part in helping disabled ex-Confederate soldiers.

Kate Cumming never married but she got involved with her friends of such Southern organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and United Confederate Veterans.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 8, 2010)

"Governor, if I had foreseen the use those people designed to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox Courthouse; no sir, not by me. Had I foreseen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand."
General Robert E. Lee, August 1870 to Governor Stockdale of Texas


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## redneckcamo (Apr 8, 2010)

"As for the South, it is enough to say that perhaps eighty per cent. of her armies were neither slave-holders, nor had the remotest interest in the institution. No other proof, however, is needed than the undeniable fact that at any period of the war from its beginning to near its close the South could have saved slavery by simply laying down its arms and returning to the Union."
Major General John B. Gordon, from his book, Causes of the Civil War.

"The flags of the Confederate States of America were very important and a matter of great pride to those citizens living in the Confederacy. They are also a matter of great pride for their descendants as part of their heritage and history."
Winston Churchill


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## redneckcamo (Apr 8, 2010)

"I was raised by one of the greatest men in the world. There was never one born of a woman greater than Gen. Robert E. Lee, according to my judgment. All of his servants were set free ten years before the war, but all remained on the plantation until after the surrender."
William Mack Lee (Robert E. Lee's black servant)

"Any society which suppresses the heritage of its conquered minorities, prevents their history or denies them their symbols, has sown the seeds of their own destruction."
Sir William Wallace, 1281 

"His noble presence and gentle, kindly manner were sustained by religious faith and an exalted character."
Winston Churchill on the character of Robert E. Lee 

"He possessed every virtue of other great commanders without their vices. He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy and a man without guile. He was a Caesar without his ambition; Frederick without his tyranny; Napoleon without his selfishness, and Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and loyal in authority as a true king. He was gentle as a woman in life; modest and pure as a virgin in thought; watchful as a Roman vital in duty; submissive to law as Socrates, and grand in battle as Achilles!"
War-era Georgia Senator Ben Hill's tribute to Robert E. Lee


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## Milkman (Apr 9, 2010)

.
Captain Henry Wirz, Confederate Hero and Martyr

Captain Henry Wirz was born, Hartman Heinrich Wirz in November 1823, in Zurich, Switzerland where his father, Abraham Wirz was highly respected.
At the outbreak of the War Between the States Wirz enlisted in the Fourth Louisiana infantry on June 16, 1861. He was promoted to sergeant a year later and was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. He never recovered from the injury to his left wrist and it caused him great pain for the rest of his life.

Wirz was promoted to Captain on June 12, 1862 and was first detailed to General John Winder where he was given command of a Confederate military prison in Richmond, Virginia.

After serving a year as special emissary to President Jefferson Davis in Paris and Berlin, on March 27, 1864, he was installed as commandant of Andersonville Prison at Fort Sumter in Georgia. Wirz did the best he was able to do with many Union prisoners and the little food and medicine. It is written that the guards got the same food and medicine as the prisoners.

The Confederacy sent a distress message to Union President Abraham Lincoln and Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The South pleaded for an exchange of Confederate and Union prisoners. Lincoln and Grant, however, refused believing the Union prisoners might go home but the Confederate prisoners might go back to fight.

Captain Henry Wirz was unfairly charged of war crimes and it is written that no witnesses for the defense were allowed to testify. Among those who would have is that of a Union soldier who was a prisoner at the prison. 

For over 30 years there have been efforts to exonerate the good name of Captain Henry Wriz. There is an annual memorial service to Wirz on the Sunday near his birthday each year in Andersonville, Georgia


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## Milkman (Apr 9, 2010)

*An extra topic for today (not part of the series)*

Appomattox Court House, Virginia
The Surrender  April 9,1865



On April 9, 1865 after four years of Civil War, approximately 630,000 deaths and over 1 million casualties, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, at the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the town of Appomattox Court House , Virginia. General Lee arrived at the Mclean home shortly after 1:00 p.m. followed a half hour later by General Grant. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half. The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia allowed the Federal Government to bring increased pressure to bear in other parts of the south and would result in the surrender of the remaining field armies of the Confederacy over the next few months.

On April 26th General Joseph Johnston surrendered to Major General W. T. Sherman near Durham, North Carolina (Bennett Place State Historical Park), on May 4th General Richard Taylor (son of Zachary Taylor 12th President of the United States) surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama, on June 2nd General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate Department of the Trans Mississippi to Major General Canby, and on June 23rd General Stand Watie surrendered Cherokee forces in Oklahoma.


The Terms

Lieutenant General U. S. Grant wrote the terms for the surrender of the Confederate States Army of Northern Virginia in the form of a letter from himself to General Lee. The terms of the letter were generous and would allow the former Confederates to return home feeling that they had been treated with respect and dignity.

THE GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT 





On the morning of April 9, while General Robert E . Lee realized that the retreat of his beleaguered army had finally been halted, U. S. Grant was riding toward Appomattox Court House where Union Cavalry, followed by infantry from the V, XXIV, and XXV Corps had blocked the Confederate path. 



Lee had sent a letter to Grant requesting a meeting to discuss his army's surrender and this letter overtook Grant and his party just before noon about four miles west of Walker's Church (present-day Hixburg). Grant, who had been suffering from a severe headache, later remembered that upon reading Lee's letter the pain in his head had disappeared. He stopped to prepare his reply to Lee, writing that he would push to the front to meet him. The location of the meeting was left to Lee's discretion. 



Lt. Colonel Orville E . Babcock and his orderly, Capt. Dunn, took Grant's reply and rode ahead. Babcock found Lee resting under an apple tree near the Appomattox River. After reading Grant's letter, Lee, his Aide-de-Camp Lt. Colonel Charles Marshall, and Private Joshua O. Johns rode toward Appomattox Court House accompanied by Federal Officers Lt. Col. Babcock and Capt. William McKee Dunn. 



Marshall and Johns rode ahead of Lee in order to find a place for the generals to confer. As Marshall passed through the village he saw Wilmer McLean in the vicinity of the courthouse. He asked McLean if he knew of a suitable location, and McLean took him to an empty structure that was without furniture. Marshall immediately rejected this offer. Then McLean offered his own home. After seeing the comfortable country abode, Marshall readily accepted and sent Private Johns back to inform General Lee that a meeting site had been found. 



Lee arrived at the McLean house about one o'clock and took a seat in the parlor. A half hour later, the sound of horses on the stage road signalled the approach of General Grant. Entering the house, Grant greeted Lee in the center of the room. The generals presented a contrasting appearance; Lee in a new uniform and Grant in his mud-spattered field uniform. Grant, who remembered meeting Lee once during the Mexican War, asked the Confederate general if he recalled their meeting. Lee replied that he did, and the two conversed in a very cordial manner, for approximately 25 minutes. 



The subject had not yet gotten around to surrender until finally, Lee, feeling the anguish of defeat, brought Grant's attention to it. Grant, who later confessed to being embarrassed at having to ask for the surrender from Lee, said simply that the terms would be just as he had outlined them in a previous letter. These terms would parole officers and enlisted men but required that all Confederate military equipment be relinquished. 



The discussion between the generals then drifted into the prospects for peace, but Lee, once again taking the lead, asked Grant to put his terms in writing. When Grant finished, he handed the terms to his former adversary, and Lee -- first donning spectacles used for reading-- quietly looked them over. When he finished reading, the bespectacled Lee looked up at Grant and remarked "This will have a very happy effect on my army." 



Lee asked if the terms allowed his men to keep their horses, for in the Confederate army, men owned their mounts . Lee explained that his men would need these animals to farm once they returned to civilian life. Grant responded that he would not change the terms as written (which had no provisions allowing private soldiers to keep their mounts) but would order his officers to allow any Confederate claiming a horse or a mule to keep it. General Lee agreed that this concession would go a long way toward promoting healing. 



Grant's generosity extended further. When Lee mentioned that his men had been without rations for several days, the Union commander arranged for 25, 000 rations to be sent to the hungry Confederates. 



After formal copies of the surrender terms and Lee's acceptance had been drafted and exchanged, the meeting ended. In a war that was marked by such divisiveness and bitter fighting, it is remarkable that it ended so simply. Grant's compassion and generosity did much to allay the emotions of the Confederate troops. As for Robert E. Lee, he realized that the best course was for his men to return home and resume their lives as American citizens. Before he met with General Grant, one of Lee's officers (General E. Porter Alexander) had suggested fighting a guerilla war, but Lee had rejected the idea. It would only cause more pain and suffering for a cause that was lost. The character of both Lee and Grant was of such a high order that the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia has been called "The Gentlemen's Agreement."


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## WOODIE13 (Apr 9, 2010)

Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's original Confederate History Month Proclamation

Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell issued a proclamation in April 2010 declaring it Confederate History Month in the commonwealth. The declaration, which had been refused under Democratic governors, was not well received by many Virginia residents, including Sheila Johson, a prominent African American backer from 2008. She described the proclamation as "academically flawed and personally offensive." McDonnell later issued a strongly worded apology and inserted a new paragraph into the original proclamation referring to the horrors and pains of slavery in the commonwealth. 

WHEREAS, April is the month in which the people of Virginia joined the Confederate States of America in a four year war between the states for independence that concluded at Appomattox Courthouse; and


WHEREAS, Virginia has long recognized her Confederate history, the numerous civil war battlefields that mark every region of the state, the leaders and individuals in the Army, Navy and at home who fought for their homes and communities and Commonwealth in a time very different than ours today; and


WHEREAS, it is important for all Virginians to reflect upon our Commonwealth's shared history, to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War, and to recognize how our history has led to our present; and


WHEREAS, Confederate historical sites such as the White House of the Confederacy are open for people to visit in Richmond today; and


WHEREAS, all Virginians can appreciate the fact that when ultimately overwhelmed by the insurmountable numbers and resources of the Union Army, the surviving, imprisoned and injured Confederate soldiers gave their word and allegiance to the United States of America, and returned to their homes and families to rebuild their communities in peace, following the instruction of General Robert E. Lee of Virginia, who wrote that, "...all should unite in honest efforts to obliterate the effects of war and to restore the blessings of peace."; and


WHEREAS, this defining chapter in Virginia's history should not be forgotten, but instead should be studied, understood and remembered by all Virginians, both in the context of the time in which it took place, but also in the context of the time in which we live, and this study and remembrance takes on particular importance as the Commonwealth prepares to welcome the nation and the world to visit Virginia for the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the Civil War, a four-year period in which the exploration of our history can benefit all;


NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert McDonnell, do hereby recognize April 2010 as CONFEDERATE HISTORY MONTH in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/09/obama.confederate.history/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn


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## Rednec (Apr 9, 2010)

Just vote often, hes taking heat from black caucus....


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## Milkman (Apr 10, 2010)

Richard R. Kirkland, Confederate Hero


Richard R. Kirkland was the fifth son of John and Mary Vaughn Kirkland. He was born near Flat Rock, Kershaw District, South Carolina in August 1843. His parents were worthy people whose patriotic roots went back to the Revolutionary War. It is written that the Kirkland's sent four sons to fight for South Carolina during the War Between the States.

In early 1861, when it was clear that war would come to the South, Richard R. Kirkland joined the Camden Volunteers in South, Carolina. Kirkland would gain the rank of Sergeant in Compnay G, 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, Kershaw's Brigade, McLaw's Division, Longstreet's Corps, Army of Northern Virginia CSA.

From First Manassas to Chickamauga, Kirkland fought in every battle his command was engaged in. He was wounded and sometimes ill but he was always ready to get back into the fight.

Kirkland distinguished himself at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. A friend from his childhood would relate a incident that proved him to be a great man. Many Union soldiers were killed in front of Marye's Heights. It is wirtten that the plain was covered with the enemy's dead and wounded. The weather was very cold and the dying Union troops were crying out for water.

Confederate Kirkland was given permission to give the Union soldiers water. Kirkland collected all the canteens he could and crawled to a well nearby to fill them for the dying soldiers. He did this under fire including that of sharpshooters. He also tried to make the Union soldiers more comfortable. When Union troops saw what he was attempting they ceased firing in admiration and appreciation of his kind deed. This great deed would not be forgotten in the North and recently was written about in a Northern newspaper.

Richard R. Kirland weathered many a battle, including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, but was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia.


I saw this monument to Sgt. Kirkland during a trip to Fredricksburg last fall. Impressive monument to a truly compassionate man..........MM


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## Milkman (Apr 11, 2010)

An Irish Confederate Texas Hero-----Lieutenant Richard W. (Dick) Dowling


At Hermann Park in Houston, Texas is a monument to man who is called interesting to Texas history. It has been a hundred years since the people of Houston, Texas honored Major W. (Dick) Dowling with a 8 foot Italian Marble Statue.

Dick Dowling immigrated with his family from Ireland during the Great-Famine of the 19th century.

Dowling is said to have been a man of great compassion and vision, and the first man in Houston, Texas to install gas lighting at his business. He was a founding member of the Houston Hook and Ladder No. 1, that would become the cities fire department.

Dick Dowling was very successful in business and had a great many civic accomplishments but many would remember his record in service to the Confederacy during the War Between the States.

On September 8, 1863, a Union force of 27 ships and 6,000 men

attempted to capture Fort Griffin, A Confederate fort at Sabine Pass. This was to be the prelude to the invasion of Texas.

Lieutenant Dowling with less than 50 members of artillery repelled the attack in less than an hour. Dowling and his men also captured two Union gun boats and 350 prisoners without losing a single man. Confederate President Jefferson Davis called the Battle of Sabine Pass the most amazing feat in military history.

Two years after the end of the War Between the States Richard Dowling died of Yellow Fever and was buried at Saint Vincent's Cemetery in Houston.


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## Milkman (Apr 12, 2010)

Day - 13 
Colonel Santos Benavides and Hispanic Confederates.

Our school children should know about Santos Benavides who was born on November 1, 1823, in Loredo, Texas. Benavides was an descendant of Tomas Sanchez de la Barrera y Garza , who founded the city of Loredo. Benavides was the highest ranking Mexican-American soldier to serve in the Confederate States of America military. He served as captain of the 33rd Texas Cavalry, which was also known as Benavides' Regiment, before he was promoted to Colonel in 1863.
On May 22, 1861, at the Battle of Carrizo, he engaged Mexican leader Juan Cortina, who had invaded Zapata County, that is usually called the 2nd Battle of Cortina War, and drove him back to Mexico. On March 19, 1864, he defended Loredo against a Union invasion of the First Texas Cavalry, whose commander was Colonel Edmund J. Davis, and defeated the Union forces. It is written that his greatest contribution to the Confederate cause was securing the passage of Confederate cotton to Matamoros in 1863. After the War Between the States he went back to being a merchant and rancher. Santos Benavides died on November 9, 1891.

Hispanic American's contributed greatly to the Confederacy with complete units in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. According the author John O'Donnell-Rosales, the Hispanic Confederates fought to maintain their way of life and when the South was invaded to protect their families and homes.

Units included:the Mississippi's Twigg Rifles, 9th Mississippi Cavalry, and Alabama's: Alabama Light Artillery and 21st Alabama Regiment.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 13, 2010)

*God Save the South !*

God save the South, God save the South,
Her altars and firesides, God save the South!
Now that the war is nigh, now that we arm to die,
Chanting our battle cry, "Freedom or death!"
Chanting our battle cry, "Freedom or death!"

God be our shield, at home or afield,
Stretch Thine arm over us, strengthen and save.
What tho' they're three to one, forward each sire and son,
Strike till the war is won, strike to the grave!
Strike till the war is won, strike to the grave!

God made the right stronger than might,
Millions would trample us down in their pride.
Lay Thou their legions low, roll back the ruthless foe,
Let the proud spoiler know God's on our side.
Let the proud spoiler know God's on our side.

Hark honor's call, summoning all.
Summoning all of us unto the strife.
Sons of the South, awake! Strike till the brand shall break,
Strike for dear Honor's sake, Freedom and Life!
Strike for dear Honor's sake, Freedom and Life!

Rebels before, our fathers of yore.
Rebel's the righteous name Washington bore.
Why, then, be ours the same, the name that he snatched from shame,
Making it first in fame, foremost in war.
Making it first in fame, foremost in war.

War to the hilt, theirs be the guilt,
Who fetter the free man to ransom the slave.
Up then, and undismay'd, sheathe not the battle blade,
Till the last foe is laid low in the grave!
Till the last foe is laid low in the grave!

God save the South, God save the South,
Dry the dim eyes that now follow our path.
Still let the light feet rove safe through the orange grove,
Still keep the land we love safe from Thy wrath.
Still keep the land we love safe from Thy wrath.

God save the South, God save the South,
Her altars and firesides, God save the South!
For the great war is nigh, and we will win or die,
Chanting our battle cry, "Freedom or death!"
Chanting our battle cry, "Freedom or death!"


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## Milkman (Apr 14, 2010)

Day - 14 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Amos Rucker. A Black Confederate

On August 10, 1905, Amos Rucker, a ex-Confederate soldier and proud member of the United Confederate Veterans, died in Atlanta, Georgia. His friends of the UCV had previously bought a grave site and marker for he and his wife Martha who had limited income. Amos Rucker was one of many thousands of Black Southerners who fought for the South during the War Between the States.
Amos was a servant and best friend to Sandy Rucker. Both men joined the 33rd Georgia Regiment when the South was invaded. Amos fought as a regular soldier and sustained wounds to his breast and one of his legs that left him permanently crippled.

Amos Rucker joined the W.H.T. Walker Camp of the United Confederates after the war in Atlanta, Georgia. He would faithfully attend the meetings that were held on the second Monday of each month at 102 Forsyth Street. He was able to remember the name of every man of his old 33th Regiment and would name them and add whether they were living or dead. 

Amos Rucker and wife Martha felt that the men of the United Confederate Veterans were like family. Rucker said that, "My folks gave me everything I want." The UCV men helped Amos and wife Martha with a house on the west side of Atlanta and John M. Slaton helped with his will and care for his wife. Slaton was a member of Atlanta's John B. Gordon Camp 46 Sons of Confederate Veterans and was governor of Georgia when he commuted the death sentence of Leo Frank.

Funeral services for Amos Rucker was conducted by former Confederate General and Reverend Clement A. Evans. A article about the funeral related that Rucker was clothed in a gray Confederate uniform and a Confederate flag covered his casket. It is written that both white and black friends of Rucker came to pay their last respects. They was not a dry eye in the church when Captain William Harrison read a poem, entitled, "When Rucker called the roll."

A grave marker was placed in 1909 by the United Confederate Veterans that for many years marked the graves of Amos and Martha Rucker but some say it was taken many years ago. Only the caretaker knows where the graves are located.

Information for the story came from the book "Forgotten Confederates- A Anthology about Black Confederates" compiled by Kelly Barrow, J.H. Segars and R.B. Rosenburg."


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## Burl E. (Apr 14, 2010)

Very Touching post, Milkman. It is a shame this story is not told in our school systems.


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## Milkman (Apr 15, 2010)

Day - 15 Confederate Heritage Month Minute



Robert E. Lee, a man whose military tactics have been studied world wide, was an American soldier, educator, Christian gentlemen, husband and father. 
General Robert E. Lee said, "All the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." 

Let America not forget that General Robert E. Lee was born in Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on January 19, 1807. The winter was cold and fire places were little help for Lee's Mother, Ann Hill (Carter) Lee. 

Ann Lee named her son "Robert Edward" after her two brothers. Lee was educated in the schools of Alexandria, Virginia. In 1825, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy in New York. He graduated in 1829, second in his class and without a single demerit, a record that stands today. 

Robert E. Lee wed Mary Anna Randolph Custis in June 1831. Robert and Mary had grown up together. Mary was the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington and adopted son of George Washington. 

In 1852, Lee was appointed Superintendent of West Point. 

President-to-be Abraham Lincoln offered command of the Union Army to Lee in 1861, but he refused. In A letter to his sister on April 20, 1861, Robert E. Lee said, "With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty as an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I therefore have resigned my commission in the army and save in defense of my native state, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed. 

After four terrible years of death and destruction, General Robert E. Lee met General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia on April 9, 1865, that ended their battles. 

In the fall of 1865, Lee was offered and accepted the president of troubled Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. He died there of a heart attack on October 12, 1870.


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## Milkman (Apr 15, 2010)

Day - 16 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

John Stith Pemberton, "The Inventor of Coca Cola".

John Stith Permberton, the inventor of Coca Cola, fought for the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Pemberton rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd Georgia Cavalry at the end of the war.
John Stith Permberton was born in Knoxville, Georgia in 1831. He attended public school in Rome, Georgia where his family resided for many years. 

In 1850, he completed his medicine and pharmacy training from the Reform Medical College of Georgia in Macon at age 19. In 1853, he came to Columbus, Georgia and married local woman Eliza Clifford Lewis. The Pemberton's only child was Charles. 

It is believed that Permberton's "French Wine of Cocoa" was the forerunner of what is now Coca Cola. It was originally dispensed as a head ache cure as well as serving as a "cure for whatever ails you."

Permberton's product, that would become Coca Cola was first sold in the Jaccob Pharmacy's of Atlanta. Doctor Pemberton died in Atlanta, Georgia on August 16, 1888, at the age of fifty seven and it was reported by the media of that time that all of Atlanta's pharmacys were closed for his funeral. He is buried in Columbus' historic Linwood Cemetery.


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## Hawk9807 (Apr 15, 2010)

Outstanding thread!  Thanks for taking the time and effort put into it by all.


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## Milkman (Apr 16, 2010)

Day - 17 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

The Deportation of the Roswell Mills Workers.

On July 5, 1864, Union General Garrards's Cavalry reached Roswell, Georgia and finding it undefended, occupied the city. General Gerrard reported to General William T. Sherman on July 6, 1864...."there were fine factories here. I had the building burnt, all were burnt." The cotton factory was working up to the time of it's destruction, some 400 women being employed.

Former Associate Dean of Emory University, Webb Garrison wrote of the destruction of the Roswell Mills. He said, "incidents of this sort occurred repeatedly throughout the War Between the States. Had the usual attitudes prevailed, the destruction of the industrial complex would have ended the matter. That it did not was the temperament and inclination of one man (General William T. Sherman)."

What Sherman did next would shock the good people of the North and create a mystery that has endured to this day. On July 7, 1864, Sherman reported to his superiors in Washington, D.C....." I have ordered General Garrard to arrest for treason all owners and employees, foreign and native (of the Roswell Mills) and send them under guard to Marietta, whence I will send them North."

A Northern newspaper correspondent reported on the deportation, "only think of it.Four Hundred weeping and terrified Ellens, Susans, and Maggies transported in springless and seatless wagons away from their loves and brothers of the sunny South, and all for the offense of weaving tent cloth.

A marker today marks the spot in Roswell, Georgia, that was dedicated by the Roswell Mills Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, to the memory of the Roswell mill women.

These women might have been our Great Grandmothers and we should all remember during April--Confederate History Month.

The source of information on this Confederate History Month minute came from an article written by Webb Garrison.


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## Milkman (Apr 16, 2010)

Day - 18 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Roz Bowie-A Black Woman pays tribute to unknown Confederate soldier.

Take me home to the place where I was born, on a early frosty morn, Sweet Dixie, Take me home.
These words are from a LP recording by Mrs. Roz Bowie, an African American women, who made a recording called, "Take Me Home (The Ballad of the Unkown Confederate soldier)." This song is included on Mrs. Bowie's album called "Dixie."

Mrs. Bowie is said to have been inspired to do the "Dixie" album by the spirit of events that took place at the Battle of Ox Hill, Virginia, on September 1, 1862, where a Confederate soldier was killed in the battle during a blinding rainstorm. 124 years later the remains were unearthed during a construction project near the present city of Chantily, Virginia. His remains were taken home and a memorial service was held in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 22, 1986. Mrs. Bowie, a Southern lady, wanted to be a part of this event.

Because of the momentous and solemn occasion that thousands came to pay their respects as they reburied this soldier, Roz Bowie sung the song "Take Me Home" as well as Dixie and Bonnie Blue Flag.


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## Al Medcalf (Apr 17, 2010)

Milkman, what Camp do you belong to?

Gen. John B. Gordon Memorial Camp #1449 here


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## Milkman (Apr 18, 2010)

Al Medcalf said:


> Milkman, what Camp do you belong to?
> 
> Gen. John B. Gordon Memorial Camp #1449 here




Camp #97 Brig. General T. R. R. Cobb Camp Athens/Oconee


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## Milkman (Apr 18, 2010)

Extra notation for today.... (not part of the series)

April 18, 1865 marks the date of the first meeting of Confederate General Joseph Johnston and Union General William T. Sherman at the Bennett Farm near Durham Station North Carolina. This meeting was for purposes of agreeing on surrender terms for the forces under Johnston's command. 

Final terms suitable to both sides would be agreed upon 8 days later on April 26, 1865 at the same location.


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## Milkman (Apr 18, 2010)

Another additional post for today (not part of the continuing series)

1865 Fanny Andrews' journal entry for April 18, 1865 clearly shows the effects of the impending loss of the Civil War:

    "The first train on the Georgia R.R., from Atlanta to Augusta, was scheduled to run through to-day, and we started off on the Macon & Western so as to reach Atlanta in time to take the next one down, to-morrow. There was such a crowd waiting at the depot that we could hardly push our way through, and when the ladies' car was opened there was such a rush that we considered ourselves lucky to get in at all. . . . Many people had to leave theirs [baggage] behind, and some decided to stay with their trunks; they contained all that some poor refugees had left them. The trains that went out this morning were supposed to be the last that would leave the city, as the Yankees were expected before night, and many predicted we would be captured. There was a terrible rush on all the outgoing trains. . . . People who could not get inside were hanging on wherever they could find a sticking place; the aisles and platform down to the last step were full of people clinging on like bees swarming around the doors of a hive. . . . A party of refugees from Columbus were seated near us, and they seemed nearly crazed with excitement. Mary Eliza Rutherford, who was always a great scatter-brain when I knew her at school, was among them, and she jumped up on the seat, tore down her back hair and went off into regular hysterics at the idea of falling into the hands of the Yankees. Such antics would have been natural enough in the beginning of the war, when we were new to these experiences, but now that we are all old soldiers, and used to raids and vicissitudes, people ought to know how to face them quietly . . . ."

Source: Eliza Frances Andrews, The War-Time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 1864-1865 (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1908), pp. 149-151.


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## Milkman (Apr 19, 2010)

Day - 19 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Jefferson Davis

Do you know what is considered by some people to be the largest monument to an American? I will give you the answer at the end of this "Confederate History Month Minute."

Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in Christian County (now Todd) Kentucky.

Jefferson Davis, who would become the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, was a strong Unionist and also a strong defender of the United States Constitution. Our Founding Fathers believed in the sovereignty of the states and so did Jefferson Davis.
Here are a few of his many accomplishments:

Graduate of West Point Military Academy

Fought valiantly in the War with Mexico

United States Senator

Secretary of War under President Pierce

First to suggest the transcontinental railroad to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, first to suggest the Panama Canal Zone, suggested the purchase of Cuba, appointed Robert E. Lee Superintendent of West Point. 
Jefferson Davis' last marriage was a wonderful one to Varina, who gave her husband two sons and two daughters (Jefferson, Margaret, Winnie and Billy). One child was killed by an accidental fall at the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia; in 1864, an abused black child named Jim Limber was adopted by the Davis'. 

There are few people who have touched so many as did Jefferson Davis. His funeral services were attended by thousands of mourners. Milo Cooper, a former servant, traveled all the way from Florida to pay his last respects. It is written that, upon entering Davis' sick room, Cooper burst into tears and threw himself on his knees in prayer that God would spare the life of his old master and bless the Davis family. Davis was first buried in New Orleans but later was removed to the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. 

The answer to the question "What is the largest monument to an American?" 

is: the Jefferson Davis Highway, which begins in Washington, D.C., and covers 3,417 miles as it passes through 173 counties and 13 states. The success of the Davis National Highway is also attributable to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Sadly, Hurricane Katrina did much damage to "Beauvoir" in Mississippi--the last home of Jefferson Davis. Please help restore this part of our American history---http://www.Beauvoir.org


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## Milkman (Apr 19, 2010)

Day - 20 Confederate Heritage Month Minute

Arlington National Cemetery.

This story is about the Heroes of "Dixie" who are Commemorated during Confederate History and Heritage Month in April; proclamations are to be signed by Governors, Mayors and County Commissioners in their remembrance and honor.
The world famous Arlington National Cemetery is located in the shadow of the Curtis-Lee Mansion (Arlington House) that was home to General Robert E. Lee and family until 1861 at the beginning of the War Between the States. This cemetery is on the Virginia side of the Potomac River; Washington, D.C. is across the river.

Around the turn of the century 1900, this country also honored the men who fought for the Confederacy. This site of men who fought for 

"Dixie" is located in section 16. There is an inscription on the 32.5 foot high Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery that reads, 

"An Obedience To Duty As They Understood it; These Men Suffered All; Sacrificed All and Died!"

Some claim this Confederate Monument at Arlington may have been the first to honor Black Confederates. Carved on this monument is the depiction of a Black Confederate who is marching in step with the White soldiers. Also shown is a White Confederate who gives his child to a Black Woman for safe keeping.

In 1906, the United Daughters of the Confederacy asked permission from William Howard Taft to erect a monument. Taft was at the time serving as the United States Secretary of War and was in charge of National Cemeteries. With his permission, the Arlington Confederate Memorial Association was formed and the UDC were given authority to oversee work on the monument.

An agreement and contract was made with Sir Moses Ezekiel--a Jewish Confederate Veteran--the record of his service at the Battle of New Market while he was a Cadet at Virginia Military Institute. Work started at his workshop in Italy in 1910, and upon his death in 1917, the Great Sculptor was brought back home and buried near the base of the Arlington Confederate Monument. Sir Moses Ezekiel was honored in his life by being Knighted by the German and Italian Governments.

On June 4, 1914, the Arlington monument was unveiled to a crowd of thousands that included former Confederate and Union soldiers. 

The Memorial Event was presided over by President Woodrow Wilson and the people applauded the stirring speeches given by: General Bennett H. Young, Commander In Chief of the United Confederate Veterans; General Washington Gardner, Commander In Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and Colonel Robert E. Lee, grandson of General Lee.

The Confederate monument unveiling was concluded by a 21 gun salute and the Arlington monument was officially given to the United Daughters of the Confederacy and was given back to the U.S. War Department for keeping and accepted by President Woodrow Wilson who said: "I am not so happy as PROUD to participate in this capacity on such an occasion, Proud that I represent such a people."

Since Woodrow Wilson, wreaths have been sent to both sections of Arlington, including the Confederate section, to honor those who died for freedom. Some Presidents have also spoken at Arlington on Confederate Memorial Day.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 20, 2010)

http://www.filibustercartoons.com/CSA.htm

click the link to see a comparison of the constitutions...


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## Milkman (Apr 21, 2010)

That concludes the series from Calvin Johnson. I hope you all enjoyed it. I will try to inject some other items of interest for the remainder of the month.

Some notes on John Bell Hood. General Hood was the officer given command of the defense of Atlanta as the Union forces were closing in during the summer of 1864. Many blame him for the fall of Atlanta, others feel he inherited a sinking ship.

John Bell Hood



Born:June 29, 1831, Owingsville, Kentucky
Died:August 30, 1879, New Orleans 
Born the son of a doctor in rural Kentucky, John Bell Hood learned the importance of political influence at the very start of his military career. His uncle, Richard French, was serving in the U. S. House of Representatives, and it was through him that young John secured a nomination to West Point. Adroitly working the intricate mesh of military and politics was a trait Hood would use time and again to advance his career. 

His demerit record at West Point includes reprimands for appearance, inappropriate behavior, and disobedience. In spite of a poor academic record and a rebellious attitude Hood was well-liked by his superior officers. Colonel Robert E. Lee, newly appointed Superintendent of the Academy, made Hood a lieutenant of cadets, charged with enforcing stricter discipline. It was a move Lee would regret. Two months later Lee stripped Hood of this duty when he was "absent without authority." 

Virginian George Thomas taught Hood about artillery and cavalry tactics while at the Army academy. During the Civil War Thomas, who remained with the North, would repeatedly come up against his former student in battle. 

From his graduation until he joined the Confederate Army, Hood's most notable service was in Texas, where he met up again with Robert E. Lee. During this period Hood would occasionally ride with Lee in the Texas countryside. He also battled the Commanches that were raiding the Texas frontier. 

Four days after the Rebel attack at Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861) John Bell Hood resigned his commission in the U. S. Army. Joining the newly formed Confederate Army he was quickly promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Serving in the Army of Northern Virginia, over the next two years he established himself as a brilliant tactical commander who was beloved by his men and would be promoted to general. He saw action at Seven Days, Second Manasas, Sharpsburg, Fredricksburg, and Gettysburg, where he lost the use of an arm. 

Stationed in Chattanooga and surrounded on three sides by Union forces, Braxton Bragg sent an urgent appeal to Richmond for additional troops early in September, 1863. As a result Hood's commander, Georgian James Longstreet, was re-assigned to the Army of Tennessee. Longstreet and Hood journeyed by train to northwest Georgia where they turned the tide in favor of the Confederacy during the battle of Chickamauga. Hood led the breakthrough at the Brotherton Cabin on September 20, 1863, advancing with his men across the open field west of the cabin, routing Federal Commander William Rosecrans and most of the Union Army. Only his former teacher, George Thomas, would stop the advance of Hood's troops. 

During the fighting Hood was shot in the leg. Moved to a nearby field hospital, his leg was amputated. So badly wounded was the general that his leg accompanied him on a short journey to the Clisby-Austin house in Tunnel Hill so that they could be buried together. Erroneous reports reached the Confederate capital that "the Gallant Hood" had died. He moved to Richmond not only to recover from his wounds but also to convince his superior officers and President Jefferson Davis that he deserved a Corps Commander position, which he received. 

Joseph Eggleston Johnston was to be Hood's next commanding officer. Now defending the state of Georgia against the invading Union Army, Hood became a key player in the Atlanta Campaign. Johnston's tactic of developing a strong position then defending that position did not appeal to the impetuous Hood. He wanted to fight. As Johnston withdrew from Dalton, Resaca, and the Dallas Line, Hood used his political allies to manipulate President Davis into believing that Johnston was losing where he (Hood) could have won. 

As the Union forces moved south from Dalton, General Hood requested that fellow corps commander Bishop Polk baptize him. The Bishop was always happy to perform such a ceremony. 

Stationed at the southern end of the "Kennesaw Line" with the Union Army about to outflank him, Hood attacked without orders. This attack at Kolb's Farm stopped the Federals cold and forced them to abandon hope of outflanking the Confederates, however, the cost in human life was extremely high. Five days later they would try to breach the Confederate line at Kennesaw Mountain. 

As Johnston withdrew the Kennesaw Line, the Smyrna Line and the Chattahoochee Line became history. With the Army of Tennessee surrounded and outnumbered 2 to 1, President Davis ordered Hood to take command on July 17, 1864 (more). Robert E. Lee advised the President "Hood is a bold fighter. I am doubtful as to the other qualities necessary." Union General Jacob Cox said, "...the change of Confederate commanders was learned with satisfaction by every officer and man in the National Army." 

Over the next six months Hood proved that a good tactical commander may not be a strategic thinker. He lost the battles of Peachtree Creek, East Atlanta, Ezra Church, Jonesboro, Allatoona Pass, Franklin and Nashville before resigning his commission. Franklin and Nashville were the final, devastating battles in the Western Theater of Operation. It was Hood's old teacher, George Thomas, who ended his career as commander by soundly defeating his former student. 

Rather than accepting responsibility for his decisions while commander of the Army of Tennessee, he tried to pass blame to his former commander, his subordinates, even the enlisted men. Additionally, reports to his commanding officers are generally regarded as full of intentional errors and omissions, frequently overstating the number of enemy troops engaged while underreporting his own troop strength and losses. 

After the war his actions were attacked by a number of people, most notably Joe Johnston, his commanding officer at the start of the Atlanta Campaign. Hood's book, Attack and Retreat, is essentially a defense of his actions. Both Union and Confederate officers were quick to point out that the figures Hood used in the book just didn't add up. He died from Yellow Fever in New Orleans in 1879 after several unsuccessful attempts at business. 

Today General John Bell Hood is memorialized throughout the nation, with Fort Hood, Texas the best known. However, John Dyer in his biography "The Gallant Hood" himself notes, 

"He was essentially a man of emotion rather than of intellect. He was never a reasoning and analytical man who carefully weighed all possible factors in a given problem or situation. Rather he was much inclined to be impetuous in his decisions, trust in his intuition and his blind optimism to see him through."
General William Hardee, the highly respected corps commander on whom Hood tried to blame for the losses of The Battle of Atlanta and Jonesborough, stated in his official report on April 5, 1865, 

It is well known that I felt unwilling to serve under General Hood upon his succession to the command of the Army of Tennessee, because I believed him, though a tried and gallant officer, to be unequal in both experience and natural ability to so important a command...


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## Milkman (Apr 22, 2010)

James M. Calhoun (February 12, 1811 – October 1, 1875) was mayor of Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil War.

Calhoun was born in South Carolina (his father was a cousin of John C. Calhoun) and his parents died when he was 18. He moved to Decatur, Georgia, to live with his older brother Ezkiel N. Calhoun who was a lawyer. He began studying law in 1831 and passed the bar February 22, 1832. Politically, Calhoun was a Whig in a largely Democratic district but was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1837 from DeKalb County, the State Senate in 1851 and the next year moved to Atlanta, where ten years later he served four one-year terms as its mayor.

In 1863, he commissioned a volunteer militia to defend Atlanta. When Union troops under the command of William T. Sherman drew near during the Atlanta campaign, much of the population of Atlanta, including Calhoun's wife and children, fled the city, reducing the population of Atlanta from around 22,000 to less than 3,000 when the Confederate Army of Tennessee retreated from the city on September 1, 1864.

Calhoun surrendered the city on September 2, 1864, writing, "Sir: The fortune of war has placed Atlanta in your hands. As mayor of the city I ask protection of non-combatants and private property." A marker now stands at the corner of Peachtree Street and Alabama Street indicating where the surrender took place. Sherman ordered the evacuation of the remaining civilian population of Atlanta on September 7, 1864. 
Calhoun and the city council protested this order, claiming that most of those who had not fled could not leave on account of their age, sickness, pregnancy, or destitution. In response, Sherman wrote "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. . . We don't want your Negroes, or your horses, or your lands, or any thing you have, but we do want and will have a just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and if it involved the destruction of your improvements, we cannot help it." Sherman's troops occupied the city for two months and burned much of it on November 15, 1864, in preparation for the March to the Sea.

Calhoun is buried in Oakland Cemetery. His son, William Lowndes Calhoun, served as Atlanta's mayor in the 1870s.


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## Milkman (Apr 22, 2010)

John Brown Gordon, Soldier - Senator- Governor

General John B. Gordon was  valued by General Robert E. Lee to be one of the most loyal, aggressive and tenacious of those under his command.

His memory is honored by a statue located on the northwest corner of the Georgia State Capitol Square, Atlanta, Ga. 

Text on the statue is as follows.

John Brown Gordon, son of the Rev. Zachariah Herndon Gordon and Mrs. Malinda Cox Gordon, was born in Upson County Feb. 6, 1832. He attended a rural school in Walker County, Pleasant Green Academy in LaFayette, and the University of Georgia. He left the University in his senior year to study law under the noted Logan E. Bleckly, but soon gave up the practice of law to join his father in coal mine operations in Northwest Georgia.

At the beginning of the War Between the States, John B. Gordon organized a company of mountaineers who wore coonskin caps and called themselves "The Raccoon Roughs." When his company was merged with the 6th Alabama Infantry Regiment of the Confederate Army, Captain Gordon was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. Early in 1862 he became a Colonel and later that year had fought up to the rank of Brigadier General. On May 14, 1864, he was promoted to Major General and had been recommended for the rank of Lieutenant General when the war ended, at which time he was in command of half of The Army of Northern Virginia.

Douglas Southall Freeman, in "Lee's Lieutenants," wrote: "If the final order of march had been arranged to honor those who had fought hardest and with highest distinction during the last days of the war. Gordon rightly would have been put first." In 1873, General Gordon was elected to the United States Senate. He was re-elected in 1878, but resigned in 1880 to develop mining and railroad interests. In 1886 he was elected Governor of Georgia and re-elected in 1888. At the end of his second term he was sent to the United States Senate for the third time, serving from 1891 to 1897. He died on January 9, 1904, while visiting his son, Hugh Haralson Gordon, in Miami.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gahistplaques/johnbgordonlarge.htm


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## Milkman (Apr 23, 2010)

Battle above the Clouds.

Lookout Mountain rises over the Tennessee Valley like a monolith, its steep sides protruding to the sky. The mountain, more than 1200 feet above the valley floor beneath it is surrounded on three sides by a near vertical rock wall that has afforded protection to the occupants of the top for hundreds of years. 

The mountain is known for a unique weather phenomenon. Sometimes, after a clear dawn, a layer of fog descends toward the valley below, stopping about halfway down the peak. This inverted fog has been written about since the first whites visited the area sometime before 1735. It was on a fateful day, November 24, 1863, that this weather anomaly set in, creating the most poetic name for any battle in the American Civil War, The Battle Above the Clouds. 

Moving 12,000 men west of Chattanooga, Union General "Fighting Joe" Hooker turns south, crosses Lookout Mountain Creek and encounters some 1200 Rebels entrenched in the side of Lookout Mountain, under the command of Carter Stevenson. Ordered to "fall back fighting" the Rebels withdraw towards the northern face of Lookout Mountain under the cover of artillery positioned at the peak of the mountain. The only heavy fighting takes place at Cravens House, a rocky respid from the sheer north slope of the mountain. Three brigades of Rebels successfully form a line against three Federal divisions and actually launch a counterattack. 

General Braxton Bragg orders Stevenson to withdraw and join him on Missionary Ridge for the battle to come in the morning. General Hooker's forces take the mountain with 629 causalities and only 81 deaths. 

Ulysses S. Grant would later write "The Battle of Lookout Mountain is one of the romances of the war. There was no such battle and no action even worthy to be called a battle on Lookout Mountain. It is all poetry."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Personal note.... Point Park on the summit of Lookout Mountain is a very beautiful, and awe inspiring place. It isnt as commercial as the other attractions on Lookout Mountain. There are cannons, monuments, a small museum, a very scenic overlook. Its a good place to visit to enjoy Civil War History or just a neat way to spend a day.

these links have lots of pictures of the park area.

http://www.takemytrip.com/06appalachian/06_26a.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Location...tlefields-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html#19526352


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## Milkman (Apr 23, 2010)

Some Ga activity during 1864. The Battles for Atlanta,  Stoneman's Raid, 
The infamous double barrel cannon was used during the Battle of Barber Creek near Athens. This cannon is on permanent display on the grounds at Athens, Ga City Hall.

This link is to a website that gives some good historical information and beautiful pictures related to the events listed above.

http://athens64breastworksinc.giving.officelive.com/default.aspx


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## Milkman (Apr 24, 2010)

E.H. Sutton wrote a short book in 1907 titled "Grandpas War Stories" The following information  is from that book. I took special interest in this book since Mr. Sutton served in the same regiment as my G. Grandfather.


An interesting story of survival in a Yankee prison camp.


E.H. Sutton was like many young men in the South in 1861, eager to serve and stop the Yankee invasion of his homeland.  When Ga Governer Joe Brown asked for men to volunteer for 6 months service to the state he and several others from his Habersham Co. Ga community quickly joined up.  After the enlistment was over Sutton ended up joining what was to become the 24th Ga Infantry Regiment. This Ga regiment was assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia and saw much action and was involved in dozens of battles.

One of the many battles the 24th Ga and Sutton were in was Gettysburg. During the 2nd day of the battle Sutton was captured by the Union forces and ended up in Point Lookout Maryland prison camp with 10,000 other Confederate prisoners.

Sutton wrote of life and challenges they faced there in his book. One item of particular interest was how he managed to get double rations and thus remain healthier than many of his compatriots.  The guards accomplished issuing rations by calling up companys and serving to each man individually. Sutton decided to watch and wait for  a new group of prisoners to enter, He had his bedroll, etc on him to make him appear to be on of the new arrivals. 
He signed in with this group as Joseph Walker, from the 16th Ga. The 16th and 24th had served together in many instances and Sutton was familiar with the group and details in case he was questioned.   From that point onward he answered chow call as himself and as Joseph Walker, the man from the 16th Ga.
 He shared some food with the fellows Walker was housed with for helping him keep his secret. After Sutton left, the fellows in that group kept Walkers identity alive and kept getting rations for him.

Sutton and some others taken prisoner at Gettysburg were exchanged and freed in Feb. 1865 and was allowed to go home on leave. He was in route back to NC and VA to get back into the war when the war ended.


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## Resica (Apr 25, 2010)

Good stuff Milkman!!


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## Burl E. (Apr 25, 2010)

*Memorial Day Celebration*

This is from one of the two Confederate Memorial Day events that I attended yesterday. 

The first was at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Dahlonega. It was my home camp, Camp - 1860 The Blue Ridge Rifles. Mount Hope has 80+ Confederate Veterans buried there. 

One is Colonel Wier Boyd. 

Another is William P. Price, the founder of North Georgia College. This past year we did a grave site restoration project on his grave site. We approached the college with the idea and asked them for some help to fund the work. They replied "It is not common practice for N GA to keep up the grave sites of our alumni." Then we told them , "this is not your alumni, this is the founder of your college." ...Duh!... They came through with some funding. 

When the project was completed we had a rededication ceremony with the Price family, local elected officials and N GA's rifle drill team, also called The Blue Ridge Rifles. One of the colleges VP's was suppose to have been there. It was rumored that the reason they didn't show was because we were displaying the Confederate Flag and they didn't want to offend anyone.

I also attended The Cumming Camps Event, but got there kind of late and the Ms. left the camera in the truck.


Today I am going to a service at Redwine Methodist Church in Gainesville. It is at 2:00. It is a put on by the UDC in Gaineseville and several SCV camps will be participating. I hope to post some pics of that later today, because it is quite the show..


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## Rednec (Apr 25, 2010)

Thanx Burl E. for attending....

To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish." 

Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General, 
United Confederate Veterans,
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 1906.


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## Burl E. (Apr 25, 2010)

It Was My Duty and  a Pleasure.


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## Milkman (Apr 26, 2010)

Today is Confederate Memorial Day in some Southern States.

A range of events are organized on and around Confederate Memorial Day. The Main Library of the University of Georgia marks the occasion by publicly displaying the original Constitution of the Confederate States of America. 

Other observances include: 

Ceremonies to place flags and wreaths on the graves of Confederate soldiers and memorials to them. 
Church services. 
Re-enactments (in historical costume) of battles and events from the Civil War. 
Displays of Civil War relics. 
However, this type of observance is controversial, as some see it as glorifying a culture and way of life that could only exist because of the work carried out by slaves.

Public life
Confederate Memorial Day is a state holiday in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi on the fourth Monday in April. It is a state holiday in South Carolina and North Carolina on May 10.

If Confederate Memorial Day falls on Sunday in North Carolina, the following Monday is a public holiday. Confederate Memorial Day is known as Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. It is held on January 19 each year. Only one day off is given to workers if it coincides with Martin Luther King Day.

In these areas, state offices and schools are generally closed. However, Confederate Memorial Day is not a federal holiday and federal offices may be open. Stores and other businesses may be open or closed according to local custom. Public transit services may operate to their normal or reduced schedules. There may be some minor road closures or congestion around war memorials or important battlegrounds.

Background

The actual war started on April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The last cease-fire was signed at Fort Towson, Oklahoma, on June 23, 1865, although the naval forces on the CSS Shenandoah did not surrender until November 4, 1865 in Liverpool, Great Britain. It is estimated that more than 600,000 soldiers died during the American Civil War and that about 260,000 of these were Confederates. In addition, an unknown number of civilians died in the hostilities.

Those who died fighting for the Confederate States during the American Civil War are remembered on other dates in some states. In Arkansas and Texas, there are joint celebrations of the birthdays of Robert E. Lee (a general in the Confederate army) and Martin Luther King on the third Monday in January. In Texas, this is sometimes known as Confederate Heroes Day. In Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee, the birthday of Jefferson Davis (the only President of the Confederate States of America) on June 3, 1808, is observed.

In North and South Carolina, May 10 marks the anniversaries of the death of Thomas Jonathan 'Stonewall' Jackson (a general in the Confederate army) in 1863 and the capture of Jefferson Davis in 1865. In Pennsylvania, the organization known as the Sons of Confederate Veterans commemorates those who died while fighting for the Confederates.  In Virginia, the lives of Confederate soldiers are honored on Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. Confederate Memorial Day was first observed in a number of areas in or just after 1866


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## Milkman (Apr 26, 2010)

April 26th , 1865  2nd major surrender signaling the end of the War Between the States

 Confederate Gen Joseph Johnston officially surrenders his troops to Union General William Sherman



Location: near Durham, North Carolina 

Description: April 26,1865.   Following its strategic defeat at Bentonville, N.C., March 21, 1865, the Confederate army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was reduced to perhaps 30,000 effectives, less than half the size of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Federal command. Though the Confederates had fought well at Bentonville, their leader had no illusions about stopping his adversary's inexorable march through North Carolina. When Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's force, joining Sherman at Goldsborough March 24, swelled the Union ranks to 80,000, Johnston saw the end approaching. Dutifully, however, he followed Sherman's resumed march northward April 10. En route the Confederate commander learned of the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond and of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. This ended his long-held hope of joining Lee to oppose the invaders of the Carolinas.


Arriving near Raleigh, Johnston at first attempted to have North Carolina Gov. Zebulon B. Vance broach surrender terms to Sherman. On April 12 Johnston went to Greensborough to meet with fugitive Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis, whom he persuaded to authorize a peace initiative. Sherman was immediately receptive to peace negotiations. 

 On April 17, 1865, under a flag of truce near Durham Station, William Tecumseh Sherman met with General Johnston to discuss surrender terms and showed him a dispatch announcing Lincoln's assassination. The 2-day conference at the James Bennett home produced peace terms acceptable to both generals, but Sherman reckoned without Secretary Stanton, who had assumed near-dictatorial powers, and who wanted harsh terms for the defeated South. Officials in Washington quickly rejected the agreement and criticized Sherman's imprudence. 

Disappointed, the Federal leader informed Johnston that unless more widely acceptable terms were reached, a 4-day armistice would end on the 26th. That day, however, the war-weary commanders met again at the Bennett home and thrashed out an agreement confined to military matters. Grant, who had been sent to Raleigh, signed his approval of the revised agreement, and on May 3rd, Johnston's once-proud army laid down its arms, closing hostilities east of the Mississippi River. 

Twenty-six years later Joe Johnston died of pneumonia, contracted while he stood hatless in the rain at William T. Sherman's funeral.


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## Burl E. (Apr 26, 2010)

Milkman said:


> Twenty-six years later Joe Johnston died of pneumonia, contracted while he stood hatless in the rain at William T. Sherman's funeral.




It is amazing how much respect officers, on both sides, had for each other.


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## Milkman (Apr 26, 2010)

Burl E. said:


> It is amazing how much respect officers, on both sides, had for each other.



Indeed it is, they seemed to be able to seperate their work (war) and personal feelings.

It was said that afterwards when someone admonished Joe Johnston for being out in the freezing weather with no hat at Shermans funeral he stated.  "He would have done the same for me"


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## redneckcamo (Apr 26, 2010)

Happy Confederate Memorial Day everyone !!

and here is a site with alot of good reading and things to ponder as well as a map of battles in Georgia..

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/georgia.html


Georgia Civil War Map of Battles


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## Milkman (Apr 27, 2010)

The Largest High-Relief Sculpture in the World and The largest Confederate Monument is in Stone Moutain Ga.


The largest high relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving, depicts three Confederate heroes of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The entire carved surface measures three-acres, larger than a football field. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.

In 1912 the carving existed only in the imagination of Mrs. C. Helen Plane, charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). The Venable family, owners of the mountain, deeded the north face of the mountain to the UDC in 1916. The UDC was given 12 years to complete a sizable Civil War monument. 
Three sculptors worked on the carving during its creation. Gutzon Borglum was hired in 1915 as the carving consultant, and in 1916 he was appointed carving sculptor by the Stone Mountain Monumental Association. Borglum envisioned a carving with seven central figures accompanied by "an army of thousands." He was not able to begin work on the carving until 1923 due to funding problems and World War I.

After blasting away large portions of the mountain with dynamite, Borglum was able to complete the head of Lee on January 19, 1924. In 1925 a dispute arose between Borglum and the managing association. As a result of the conflict, Borglum left, taking all of his sketches and models with him. Borglum went on to carve the famous Mount Rushmore sculpture in South Dakota. 

Augustus Lukeman, the second sculptor, resumed work on the project in 1925. Lukeman's carving included the three central figures of the Confederacy on horseback. He removed Borglum's work from the mountain and diligently worked with pneumatic drills, but by 1928 (the original deadline) only Lee's head was complete and funds were depleted. The Venable family reclaimed their property, and the massive granite mountain remained untouched for 36 years. 

In 1958 the state of Georgia purchased the mountain and the surrounding land. The Georgia General Assembly created the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. In 1960 the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Advisory Committee was comprised of six internationally known figures in the world of art. A competition was held, and nine world-renowned sculptors submitted designs for a new sculpture. 
In 1963, based upon recommendations by the Advisory Committee, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association chose Walker Kirkland Hancock of Gloucester, Massachusetts to complete the carving. Work resumed in 1964, and a new technique utilizing thermo-jet torches was used to carve away the granite. Chief carver Roy Faulkner, a marine veteran with a talent for using the new thermo-jet torch, was able to remove tons of stone in one day. For over eight years Park guests could see and hear the workmen and their jet torches. 
The figures were completed with the detail of a fine painting. Eyebrows, fingers, buckles and even strands of hair were fine-carved with a small thermo-jet torch. 

The carving is actually much larger than it appears from Stone Mountain Park's attractions. Workers could easily stand on a horse's ear or inside a horse's mouth to escape a sudden rain shower.  A dedication ceremony for the Confederate Memorial Carving was held on May 9, 1970. Finishing touches to the masterpiece were completed in 1972.


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## Burl E. (Apr 27, 2010)

*Life After People*

I seen a episode of the History Channel's show "Life After People."  The show talked about what would happen to the earth if people just vanished and how long would it take for any of the man made things to disappear. 

One of the things that would be around past 10,000 years after people was the carving on Stone Mountain, because it is carved in solid granite and it will survive the forces of nature for a long time after we are gone.

Long live the Confederacy!!!


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## Milkman (Apr 27, 2010)

Death of a Bishop, General Leonidas Polk


All it had done for the last three days was rain. In Georgia the red clay normally starts to bake in June so that by the end of July it has those telltale fissures every few feet, but in the June of 1864 it rained. From the 11th to the 14th it rained, and would rain for 10 days after, but today one of the most beloved Confederate generals would die. Beloved not only by his men, but by most southerners and many northerners as well, this rotund man had been an Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana for some twenty years and just recently baptized Generals Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood.

General Leonidas Polk Born on April 10, 1806 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Leonidas Polk graduated from West Point in 1827, along with the future President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis and fellow officer Albert Sidney Johnston. Called to pursue a religious career, he resigned his commission in the army. Over the next thirty years that career would include missionary work and his appointment to the prestigious post of Bishop.

Secession brought the Bishop into the fold of the Confederate Army. He seized the city of Columbus, Kentucky, on September 3, 1861. On November 7, 1861, Polk defeated a then unknown Ulysses S. Grant at Belmont, Missouri. He saw action at Pittsburgh Landing (Shiloh), Perryville, Stone's River, and his troops bore the brunt of the first day's fighting at Chickamauga. He was transferred to Alabama after questioning Braxton Bragg about a decision.

Polk fought with the Army of Tennessee during the Atlanta Campaign. Called to the line by Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, the swarthy Cajun, Johnston, Polk, and others journeyed to Pine Mountain to see if the position could be maintained. 
Sherman had surrounded the rebels on three sides and Hardee was fearful of being enveloped by Uncle Billy. As they studied the position Rebel infantry repeatedly warned the officers that Union artillery had the range of their position, but for some reason these men chose to ignore the warning and continued in full sight of the Federal batteries. Although mini-balls had come nearby, the big guns were under orders to conserve ammunition and did not fire until Sherman rode up and ordered them to keep the observers under cover. The first shot scattered most of the generals, but Polk, for some reason known but to him, took his time.

A second round struck nearby and the third round entered Polk through an arm, passing through his chest and exiting through the other arm. He was dead. Johnston stood over the man who had baptized him earlier in the campaign and cried. One of the few men who had little use for Rebels, and even less for the clergy was Gen. Sherman, who in a tersely worded statement sent to Gen. Halleck, "We killed Bishop Polk yesterday and have made good progress today..."

An interesting note: Polk donated the land for Maury County's Saint John's Church. It was so beautiful that General Patrick Cleburne remarked, "It is almost worth dying for to be buried in such a beautiful place." After Cleburne's death a few days later at the Battle of Franklin he was buried there until later disinterred.

The Polk Monument is a tall shaft erected on the spot where Leonidas Polk fell that fateful day. Beginning in the 1890's many of the important events of The Civil War were being commemorated. A Marietta, Georgia soldier and his wife had the monument built to honor the general, fearing others would forget him. The monument is on private property but still accessible. From Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park take Stilesboro Road west to Beaumont Drive. Turn left (south) and drive to the historic marker on the right. A path from the marker leads into the woods about 300 feet to the statue.


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## Milkman (Apr 28, 2010)

Malinda Pritchard Blalock (1842?-1901) a.k.a. Sam Blalock
Female Veteran of the Civil War.

Sarah Malinda "Linda" Pritchard was born about 1839-42, daughter of Alfred Pritchard and Elizabeth Gragg. Malinda's grandfather, William Gragg, had been a solider in the American Revolution.
On 21 June 1856, in Watauga County, North Carolina, Linda married William McKesson Blalock, son of Mary Blalock. Blalock -- like Linda, the grandson of a Revolutionary War veteran -- was nicknamed "Keith" after Alfred Keith, "a well-known fighting man in the area." It is said that Blalock could "whip his weight in wildcats," and his boyfriend friends tagged him with the name "Keith" after the older fighter. The photo at left shows Linda holding a photo of her husband.

Keith and Linda were Union sympathizers, but Keith was in imminent danger of being drafted into the Confederate forces. They conceived a plan to enlist in the Confederate Army and bide their time until they could desert to the Union side. Accordingly, they joined the Company F of the 26th North Carolina Regiment on 20 March 1862 at Lenoir, Caldwell County. Linda disguised herself as a man, and enlisted under the name "Sam." During her time in the service, she shared a tent and mess with Keith, and "watched the men 'when they went in swimming' near Kinston, but never went in herself." The Blalocks soon found that their plan of desertion would not be easy to carry out, and rather than serve in the Confederate forces, Keith contrived a new plan to obtain a discharge: he rolled in poison oak (some say poison sumac), which produced running sores all over his body. He then presented himself to the company doctor with this affliction, along with the complaint of a hernia, and was promptly discharged.

Linda's discharge was less painful. She presented herself to Colonel Zebulon Vance and confessed that she was a woman. The company physician examined "Sam" and verified her confession, and she was discharged in time to return home with Keith. They had been in the army less than a month.

Life at home in the mountains was not free from danger and hardship, though. The brutal fighting of the war extended to homes and farms, as Confederates and "Federals" attacked each other. Soon enough, Confederate agents found that Keith was healthy, and ordered him to re-enlist. Keith and Malinda fled up Grandfather Mountain and hid out with other draft dodgers, but they were eventually found. Keith was wounded in the left arm and had to take refuge with some hogs that had "bedded up" in the rocks. He believed (nobody knows for sure) that Robert Green of Globe, Caldwell County, was the man who shot him, and later took the opportunity to shoot Green, who also survived.

The Blalocks then became roaming marauders in the mountains, and eventually joined up with Colonel George W. Kirk. (Col. Kirk was either a guerilla or a terrorist, depending on which side you sympathize with. Kirk's forces raided Confederate homes and farms in the mountains, terrorizing Confederate families. A similar role was performed on the other side by the Confederate Home Guard.) The Blalocks had particularly bad luck with the Moore family of Caldwell County. Malinda was wounded twice in one raid on the Moore farm, and Keith had his eye shot out in another.

The Blalocks gave as good as they got, however, and Keith is said to have been especially ruthless. He and Linda survived the war and returned to the area of the Grandfather, then in Mitchell County. In the 1890s they moved to Texas, but returned to Montezuma, in Linville Township, where they were living at the time of the 1900 Census.

Keith and Linda were the parents of five children, four of whom lived to adulthood, and lived to see some of their grandchildren. John Preston Arthur records that Linda died 29 March 1901, but her tombstone at Montezuma gives the date 9 May 1903. Keith survived in good health till 1913, and married his second wife, Martha Jane Hollifield, in 1908. In 1913, at the age of 77, he was pumping a handcar on a mountain railroad when it overshot a curve and plunged down the mountain. He was taken to his home, where he died of his injuries several days later.


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## Derek Edge (Apr 28, 2010)

I've enjoyed reading this guys, well done!


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## Milkman (Apr 29, 2010)

The reasons American's from both North and South took up arms and fought were varied. Most of those who joined early were primarily those with strong conviction that their reasons were worth fighting for. Others later in the war who were drafted may not have been as strong in their belief as others. 

Regardless of what an individual felt he was fighting for they did fight and we should honor their sacrifice for their homeland, North or South.

For anyone interested in reading it this is a link from the Ga Division of the SCV to the document that shows why the Ga politicians of the day wanted to seceed from the Union.

http://www.georgiascv.com/georgiaordinance.htm


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## Milkman (Apr 29, 2010)

The Surrender of the Confederate Armies

        "The final campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia began March 25, 1865, when Gen. Robert E. Lee sought to break Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's ever-tightening stranglehold at Petersburg, Va., by attacking the Federal position at Fort Stedman. The assault failed, and when Grant counterattacked a week later at Five Forks, 1-2 April, the thin Confederate line snapped, and Lees skeleton forces abandoned Richmond and Petersburg.   Although fighting would continue for the next week, it would be to no avail.  Lee was beaten and would ask for surrender terms on April 9."

        This is what most consider to be the end of the Civil War.  However, while the war in the East was over, there were still Confederate armies under arms elsewhere.  When Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox he only surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia.  The Confederacy itself could not surrender because by now there was no "Confederacy."  Richmond had fallen, the government officials had fled, and many of the papers had been burned.  It would be up to each commander in the field to surrender his army as the news from the East reached him.  The following are brief descriptions of how each Confederate fighting force surrendered.   

Gen. Robert E. Lee

        April 9, 1865.   Having arranged a truce and sent notes to Lt. Gen. Ulysses. S. Grant requesting a meeting, Confederate Gen. Robert E. lee awaited his response. Shortly after noon, 9 Apr. 1865, Grants reply came and Lee rode into the village of Appomattox to prepare for Grants arrival. Lees aide selected the home of Wilimer Mclean. Lee waited in the parlor.
        At about 1:30 p.m. Grant arrived with his staff. The 2 generals exchanged greetings and small talk, then Lee brought up the object of the meeting. Grant wrote out the surrender terms himself in an order book and handed it to Lee to read.
        The terms, proposed in an exchange of notes the previous day, were honorable: Surrendered officers and their troops were to be paroled and prohibited from taking up arms until properly exchanged, and arms and supplies were to be given over as captured property. After Lee had read the terms and added an omitted word, he ordered his aide to write a letter of acceptance. This done, at about 3:45 p.m. the generals exchanged documents.
        Riding back to his lines, Lee was swarmed by his adoring troops, many nearly hysterical with grief. Trying to soothe them with quiet phrases--you have done all your duty. Leave the results to God...-- he rode slowly on, followed by many who wept and implored him to say that they should fight on. The next day he issued his eloquent farewell to his army.
        On the morning of 11 Apr., following a spartan breakfast and tearful good-byes from his staff, the general mounted his warhorse, Traveler, and with a Union honor guard left Appomattox for home.

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

        April 26,1865.   Following its strategic defeat at Bentonville, N.C., March 21, 1865, the Confederate army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was reduced to perhaps 30,000 effectives, less than half the size of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Federal command. Though the Confederates had fought well at Bentonville, their leader had no illusions about stopping his adversary's inexorable march through North Carolina. When Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's force, joining Sherman at Goldsborough March 24, swelled the Union ranks to 80,000, Johnston saw the end approaching. Dutifully, however, he followed Sherman's resumed march northward April 10. En route the Confederate commander learned of the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond and of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. This ended his long-held hope of joining Lee to oppose the invaders of the Carolinas.
        Arriving near Raleigh, Johnston at first attempted to have North Carolina Gov. Zebulon B. Vance broach surrender terms to Sherman. On April 12 Johnston went to Greensborough to meet with fugitive Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis, whom he persuaded to authorize a peace initiative. Sherman was immediately receptive to peace negotiations, and on the 17th, under a flag of truce near Durham Station, met General Johnston for the first time "although we had been interchanging shots constantly since May, 1863."
        The 2-day conference at the James Bennett home produced peace terms acceptable to both generals. But since these intruded on matters of civil policy (for example, recognition of the existing Southern state governments), officials in Washington quickly rejected the agreement and criticized Sherman's imprudence. 
        Disappointed, the Federal leader informed Johnston that unless more widely acceptable terms were reached, a 4-day armistice would end on the 26th. That day, however, the war-weary commanders met again at the Bennett home and thrashed out an agreement confined to military matters. At once Gen-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant wired his approval, and May 3 Johnston's once-proud army laid down its arms, closing hostilities east of the Mississippi River. 

Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor

        May 4, 1865. At the wars end Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, son of former U.S. president Zachary Taylor, held command of the administrative entity called the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, with some 12,000 troops.
        By the end of Apr. 1865 Mobile, Ala., had fallen and news had reached Taylor of the meetings between Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Taylor agreed to meet Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby for a conference a few miles north of Mobile. On 30 Apr. the 2 officers established a truce, terminable after 48 hours notice by either party, then partook of a "bountiful luncheon ... with joyous poppings of champagne corks ... the first agreeable explosive sounds," Taylor wrote, "I had heard for years." A band played "Hail Columbia" and a few bars of "Dixie."
        The party separated: Canby went to Mobile and Taylor to his headquarters at Meridian, Miss. 2 days later Taylor received news of Johnston's surrender, of Pres. Jefferson Davis's capture, and of Canby's insistence that the truce terminate. Taylor elected to surrender, which he did 4 May 1865 at Citronelle, Ala., some 40 miles north of Mobile. "At the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind," Taylor later asserted, "but such have since crept in." He grew to regret not having tried a last-ditch guerrilla struggle.
        Under the terms, officers retained their sidearms, mounted men their horses. All property and equipment was to be turned over to the Federals, but receipts were issued. The men were paroled. Taylor retained control of the railways and river steamers to transport the troops as near as possible to their homes. He stayed with several staff officers at Meridian until the last man was gone, then went to Mobile, joining Canby, who took Taylor by boat to the latters home in New Orleans. 

Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith

        May 26, 1865.  From 1862 until the wars end Confederate Lt. Gen.. E. Kirby Smith commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department. By early May 1865 no regular Confederate forces remained east of the Mississippi River. Smith received official proposals that the surrender of his department be negotiated.
        The Federals intimated that terms could be loose, but Smiths demands were unrealistic. Smith then began planning to Continue the fight. Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant took preliminary steps to prepare a force to invade West Texas should that prove necessary. It did not.
        The wars last land fight occurred May 12--13 May at Palmito Ranch, where 350 Confederates under Col. John S. "Rest in Peace" Ford scored a victory over 800 overconfident Federals under Col. Theodore H. Barrett. But afterward the Confederates learned that Richmond had fallen and Gen. Robert E. Lee had surrendered more than a month earlier. The news devastated their morale, and they abandoned their lines.
        A similar decay in morale occurred all over the department. On May 18 Smith left by stagecoach for Houston with plans to rally the remnants of the departments troops. While he traveled, the last of the departments army dissolved. On 26 May, at New Orleans, Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, acting in Smiths name, surrendered the department. Smith reached Houston May 27 and learned that he had no troops.
        Not all of the Trans-Mississippi Confederates went home. Some 2,000 fled into Mexico; most of them went alone or in squad-sized groups, but one body numbered 300. With them, mounted on a mule, wearing a calico shirt and silk kerchief, sporting a revolver strapped to his hip and a shotgun on his saddle, was Smith.

Brig. Gen. Stand Watie

June 23, 1865.  When the leaders of the Confederate Indians learned that the government in Richmond had fallen and the Eastern armies had been surrendered, they, too, began making their plans to seek peace with the Federal government. The chiefs convened the Grand Council June 15 and passed resolutions calling for Indian commanders to lay down their arms and for emissaries to approach Federal authorities for peace terms.
        The largest force in Indian Territory was commanded by Confederate Brig. Gen. Stand Watie, who was also a chief of the Cherokee Nation. Dedicated to the Confederate cause and unwilling to admit defeat, he kept his troops in the field for nearly a month after Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith surrendered the Trans-Mississippi May 26. Finally accepting the futility of continued resistance, on June 23 Watie rode into Doaksville near Fort Towson in Indian Territory and surrendered his battalion of Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Osage Indians to Lt. Col. Asa C. Matthews, appointed a few weeks earlier to negotiate a peace with the Indians. Watie was the last Confederate general officer to surrender his command.
Source:  "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L. Faust


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## Milkman (Apr 30, 2010)

Joseph Emerson Brown was the Governor of Ga during the War Between the States. He was not a loyal Confederate and was a staunch believer in States rights. Below is a short biography.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 Joseph Emerson Brown (April 15, 1821 – November 30, 1894), often referred to as Joe Brown, was the 42nd Governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, and a U.S. Senator from 1880 to 1891. During the American Civil War, Brown, a former Whig, had constant disagreements with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whom he saw as an incipient tyrant.


Brown was born in Pickens County, South Carolina. At a young age he moved with his family to Union County, Georgia. In 1840, he decided to leave the farm and seek an education. Brown, with the help of his younger brother James and his father's plow horse, drove a yoke of oxen on a 125-mile trek to an academy near Anderson, South Carolina, where the impoverished Brown exchanged the oxen for eight months' board and lodging. In 1844, Brown moved to Canton, Georgia, where he served as head-master of the academy at Canton. 
He went on to study law, and in 1847, he opened a law office in Canton. Brown was elected to the Georgia state senate in 1849 and soon became a leader of the Democratic Party in Georgia. He was elected state circuit court judge in 1855 and governor in 1857. As governor, he diverted state railroad profits to Georgia's public schools. He became a strong supporter of secession from the United States after Lincoln's election and South Carolina's secession in 1860.

As soon as the Confederate States of America was established, Brown spoke out against expansion of the Confederate central government's powers. He denounced Davis in particular. Brown even tried to stop Colonel Francis Bartow from taking Georgia troops out of the state to the First Battle of Bull Run. He objected strenuously to military conscription by the Confederacy. When Union troops under Sherman overran much of Georgia in 1864, Brown called for an end to the war.

After the war, Brown was briefly held as a political prisoner in Washington, D.C. He was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1865 to 1870, when he resigned to become president of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. He supported President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policy, even becoming a Republican "scalawag" for a time.
 After Reconstruction, he became a Democrat again and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1880. Soon after his election to the Senate, Brown became the first Georgia official to support public education for all children—not a popular position at the time. He was re-elected in 1885, but retired in 1891 due to poor health. He died in 1894 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

His son, Joseph Mackey Brown, would also become governor of Georgia (twice.)


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## Milkman (Apr 30, 2010)

I want to thank all who have contributed to, and read this thread.

 I  hope we all learned more about that terrible period we call the War Between the States with this thread.

Hope everyone enjoyed it.


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## Milkman (Apr 18, 2013)

Bump for some informative reading.  Dont forget that Confederate Memorial Day is April 26th in Ga.


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## BriarPatch99 (Apr 18, 2013)

Thanks for bumping this up!


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## Artfuldodger (Apr 18, 2013)

BriarPatch99 said:


> Thanks for bumping this up!



X2, I've never seen this thread and found it very interesting. I remember watching the men working on the Stone Mountain carving in the late 60's.


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## cobra97 (Apr 20, 2013)

Milkman said:


> Bump for some informative reading.  Dont forget that Confederate Memorial Day is April 26th in Ga.



I need some help. I found both April 22 and April 26 listed as Confederate Memorial Day. Also lists the 22 for Fl. and Al. in addition to Ga. I found one Ga. page that talks about the 1984 law that dropped holiday names but charges the governor with designating Jan 19, April 26 or June 3 or an alternative date more suitable - for commemorating any or all of the persons or events formerly recognized on those three dates. 
I concluded the pages listing the 22nd for Ga. were wrong but probably still good for Fl and Al. Since I live in Florida I am planning on visiting a local cemetery where there is one veteran buried and placing The Flag next to his stone. I have been doing this For several years.

 Help and comments solicitation. 

Thanks,
Terry


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## Artfuldodger (Apr 20, 2013)

If the Confederate Generals  had respect for William T. Sherman, how do ya'll feel about the man? I was taught to hate and despise the man growing up as with all Yankees. I realize now that's a foolish way to be taught as I am now back in the Union. My state, i've always been in the Union. 
General Joe Johnston respected the man. I guess what I'm looking for is was he doing what he thought was correct for his cause?
“Total war”, or “hard war” as Sherman called it, was a strategy to destroy all objects of military value to the enemy. In doing so, Sherman hoped to cut off its access to resources, and strangle the enemy into submission. Even from the start of the war the Confederate army was ill equipped, but the destruction of the limited resources still available was a terrible blow. These tactics created resentment in the Southern people which remained long after the war was over. To his credit, Sherman was preoccupied with the care of those civilians in the area of combat. After the capture of Atlanta, he ordered all civilians to leave the city, as he knew that they would be in greater danger within it, than outside of it. Sherman burned the resources critical to the enemy’s war effort within the city according to his total war policy. However, this fire spread throughout the city and created wide spread damage. If Sherman hadn’t ordered the residents out of the city, who knows what the death toll would have been.
I've read some terrible accounts from his march to the sea. I've read some terrible accounts from all wars. We take more consideration of civilians now than even in WWII. It seemed to change after that war. Getting back to Sherman, was he a monster or was he even a good general? Was he just following orders?


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## Milkman (Apr 20, 2013)

cobra97 said:


> I need some help. I found both April 22 and April 26 listed as Confederate Memorial Day. Also lists the 22 for Fl. and Al. in addition to Ga. I found one Ga. page that talks about the 1984 law that dropped holiday names but charges the governor with designating Jan 19, April 26 or June 3 or an alternative date more suitable - for commemorating any or all of the persons or events formerly recognized on those three dates.
> I concluded the pages listing the 22nd for Ga. were wrong but probably still good for Fl and Al. Since I live in Florida I am planning on visiting a local cemetery where there is one veteran buried and placing The Flag next to his stone. I have been doing this For several years.
> 
> Help and comments solicitation.
> ...





Milkman said:


> April 26th , 1865  2nd major surrender signaling the end of the War Between the States
> 
> Confederate Gen Joseph Johnston officially surrenders his troops to Union General William Sherman
> 
> ...





Milkman said:


> Today is Confederate Memorial Day in some Southern States.
> 
> A range of events are organized on and around Confederate Memorial Day. The Main Library of the University of Georgia marks the occasion by publicly displaying the original Constitution of the Confederate States of America.
> 
> ...




Cobra,

Note that I quoted 2 posts I did above.  I hope this helps clear up why some states observe on different dates. Ga still gives 4/26 as a state holiday.  

I think I said it in the quoted posts above but 4/26 is the date Gen Joe Johnston officially surrendered to the devil Sherman


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## Milkman (Apr 20, 2013)

Artfuldodger said:


> If the Confederate Generals  had respect for William T. Sherman, how do ya'll feel about the man? I was taught to hate and despise the man growing up as with all Yankees. I realize now that's a foolish way to be taught as I am now back in the Union. My state, i've always been in the Union.
> General Joe Johnston respected the man. I guess what I'm looking for is was he doing what he thought was correct for his cause?
> “Total war”, or “hard war” as Sherman called it, was a strategy to destroy all objects of military value to the enemy. In doing so, Sherman hoped to cut off its access to resources, and strangle the enemy into submission. Even from the start of the war the Confederate army was ill equipped, but the destruction of the limited resources still available was a terrible blow. These tactics created resentment in the Southern people which remained long after the war was over. To his credit, Sherman was preoccupied with the care of those civilians in the area of combat. After the capture of Atlanta, he ordered all civilians to leave the city, as he knew that they would be in greater danger within it, than outside of it. Sherman burned the resources critical to the enemy’s war effort within the city according to his total war policy. However, this fire spread throughout the city and created wide spread damage. If Sherman hadn’t ordered the residents out of the city, who knows what the death toll would have been.
> I've read some terrible accounts from his march to the sea. I've read some terrible accounts from all wars. We take more consideration of civilians now than even in WWII. It seemed to change after that war. Getting back to Sherman, was he a monster or was he even a good general? Was he just following orders?




We had some discussion about Sherman in this thread a while back.   

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=583785


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## cobra97 (Apr 20, 2013)

Milkman said:


> Cobra,
> 
> Note that I quoted 2 posts I did above.  I hope this helps clear up why some states observe on different dates. Ga still gives 4/26 as a state holiday.
> 
> I think I said it in the quoted posts above but 4/26 is the date Gen Joe Johnston officially surrendered to the devil Sherman



Thanks, that helped. Appreciate your response.


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## Milkman (Apr 26, 2013)

April 26th is Confederate Memorial Day in GA.


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## Milkman (Apr 10, 2021)

Bump


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## Gbr5pb (Apr 10, 2021)

Uh oh someone going to get there little feelings hurt ?


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## Milkman (Apr 10, 2021)

@BriarPatch99 I think post #35 is about a relative of yours if I remember correctly.


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## BriarPatch99 (Apr 10, 2021)

Milkman said:


> @BriarPatch99 I think post #35 is about a relative of yours if I remember correctly.



I am pretty sure he is a relative.   ...  I am going to do a little digging...


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## BriarPatch99 (Apr 10, 2021)

We are ...connect back at 6 Grand father Major Richard Snowden Kirkland Jr. of North Carolina ....


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## westcobbdog (Apr 11, 2021)

Milkman said:


> Richard R. Kirkland, Confederate Hero
> 
> 
> Richard R. Kirkland was the fifth son of John and Mary Vaughn Kirkland. He was born near Flat Rock, Kershaw District, South Carolina in August 1843. His parents were worthy people whose patriotic roots went back to the Revolutionary War. It is written that the Kirkland's sent four sons to fight for South Carolina during the War Between the States.
> ...


General Kirkland was a great man indeed. Regarding providing aid to the enemy Sam Watkins tells of many a reb killed by union sharpshooters attempting to aid the wounded enemy lying wounded near their works.  He mentions a few occasions where Yankees shot their own trying to gain the shelter of confederate lines or shot as they were given water by a compassionate reb. Forget, nah.


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## BriarPatch99 (Apr 11, 2021)

Another Confederate Ancestor .... Asa Beasley.    Georgia 20th Infantry Company G . killed April 14, 1863(?) in Petersburg VA.


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