Issue 36, fall 2017

Featured IN This IssueArlington after the War Page 2

Black Confederates Page 3

Trivia page 8

“Doc” Manning Page 9

WWII German POWS Page 10

Battlefield Maps Page 12

Matching Quiz Page 14

Franklin; the aftermath page 15

Photos from the war page 18

Gen. Lee was Right page 19

Misc. War Pictures Page 20

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Victory at san Jacinto Page 21

Hurricane HARVEY Page 22

Benediction PAGE 24

Arlington after the War

After the War General Lee made no effort to restore his title to Arlington but, in April 1864 Lee’s eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee, filed suit against the U. S. Government to regain the property.

Custis Lee was a Major General in the Civil War and was captured by Union forces at the Battle of Sailor's Creek VA on April 6, 1865. A jury found in favor of Custis Lee, leading to extensive appeals by both parties.

In 1882, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of Lee in United States v. Lee, 106 U. S. 196_ The court, by a 5-4 majority, found that the estate had been "illegally confiscated" in 1864 and ordered it returned. Lee was less interested in obtaining the estate than he was in just compensation for it. After several months of difficult negotiations, Lee and the federal government settled on a sale price. Congress enacted legislation funding the purchase on March 3, 1883; Lee signed over the title on March 31; and the title transfer was recorded on May 14, 1883.

In 1920, the Virginia General Assembly changed the name of Alexandria County to Arlington County to end ongoing confusion between Alexandria County and the independent city of Alexandria. The name, Arlington, was chosen to reflect the presence of the Arlington estate.

On March 4, 1925, the 68th United States Congress enacted Public Resolution 74, which authorized the restoration of the Lee Mansion in the Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. The War Department then began to restore Arlington House, and the Department of the Army continues to manage over half of the original plantation's 1,100 acres, as Arlington National Cemetery.

However, for several years after Congress enacted the authorizing legislation, the War Department, which was responsible for managing the house and grounds, largely ignored the legislation. Contra-dicting the authorizing legislation, the Department, largely at the insistence of Charles Moore, the director of the United States Commission of Fine Arts, furnished and interpreted the Mansion to "the first half of the republic:" This decision was based, in part, on the popularity of the Colonial Revival movement which was still popular in 1925. The Mansion was restored to the period of George Washington Custis, and no furniture manufactured after 1830 was accepted. This approach negated Lee's role and presence at Arling-ton.

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In 1955, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 84-107, a joint resolution that designated the manor as the "Custis-Lee Mansion" as a permanent memorial to Robert E. Lee. The resolution directed the Secretary of the Interior to erect on the premises a memorial plaque and to correct governmental records to bring them into compliance with the designation, "thus ensuring that the correct interpretation of its history would be applied. Gradually the house was furnished and interpreted to the period of Robert E. Lee.

In 1972, the 92nd Congress enacted Public Law 92-333, an Act that amended Public Law 84-107 to designate the manor as "Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial."

Major General Custis Lee

Arlington today

Black Confederates

It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, "saw the elephant" also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war.

But in the ranks it was a different story. Many Confederate officers did not obey the mandates of politicians, they frequently enlisted blacks with the simple criteria, and “Will you fight?" Historian Ervin Jordan, explains that "biracial units" were frequently organized by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids. Dr. Leonard Haynes, an African-American professor at Southern University; stated, "When you eliminate the black Confederate soldier, you've eliminated a part of the history of the South."

With the general acceptance of this period of our national history, it has

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become common for state-sponsored censorship of the nation's history. This has resulted in the elimination of the true story of the Confederacy and their gallant efforts, against overwhelming numbers and resources as it sought to preserve and perpetuate the U.S. Constitution as given us by the Founding Fathers.

The following are some of the Facts and Stories about the unheralded Blacks who fought for the Confederacy.

The Forgotten Black Confederate Soldiers

What we have been taught and come to believe has been edited, expurgated,

abridged, censored and just plain rewritten for more than 140 years.

The words of Irish-born Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne from his January, 1864, letter which proposed the mass emancipation and enlistment of Black Southerners into the Confederate Army express profoundly accurate prophecy:

Every man should endeavor to understand the meaning of subjugation before it is too late...It means the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be trained by Northern schoolteachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the war; will be impressed by the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, and our maimed veterans as fit objects for derision...The conqueror's policy is to divide the conquered into factions and stir up animosity among them... ....It is said slavery is all we are fighting for, and if we give it up we give up all. Even if this were true, which we deny, slavery is not all our enemies are fighting for. It is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties.

In 2000 the $37 Million movie Ride with the Devil was suppressed in distribution and offered in only 200 theaters for a limited three-day engagement despite the fact that it was directed by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee and had received many excellent reviews. It was suppressed by its distributor, USA Films, because it factually portrayed a Black Confederate guerrilla fighting with Confederate Bushwhackers in the Kansas-Missouri

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operations. The video release of the movie was delayed for two months to allow removal of the image of the Black Confederate from the cover art. The character was based faithfully on Free Black John Noland who rode with Quantrill as a scout and spy.

Black Southerners fought alongside white, Hispanic, Indian, Jewish and thousands of foreign-born Southerners.

They fought as documented by these various Union sources:

Frederick Douglass, Douglass' Monthly, IV [Sept. 1861,] pp 516 - "there are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate Army - as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down loyal troops, and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government...There were such soldiers at Manassas and they are probably there still."

"Negroes in the Confederate Army," Journal of Negro History, Charles Wesle, Vol. 4, #3, [1919,] 244-245 - "Seventy free blacks enlisted in the Confederate Army in Lynchburg, Virginia. Sixteen companies of free men of color marched through Augusta, Georgia on their way to join the fight in Virginia."

"The part of Adams' Brigade that the 42nd Indiana was facing were the 'Louisiana Tigers.' This name was given to Colonel Gibson's 13th Louisiana Infantry, which included five companies of 'Avegno Zouaves' who still were wearing their once dashing traditional blue jackets, red caps and red baggy trousers. These five Zouaves companies

were made up of Irish, Dutch, Negroes, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Italians." - Noe, Kenneth W., Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle. The University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, KY, 2001.

From James G. Bates' letter to his father reprinted in the 1 May 1863 "Winchester [Indiana] Journal" [the 13th IVI ["Hoosier Regiment"] was involved in operations around the Suffolk, Virginia area in April-May 1863 ] - "I can assure you [Father,] of a certainty, that the rebels have negro soldiers in their army. One of their best sharp shooters and the boldest of them all here is a Negro. He dug himself a rifle pit last night [16 April 1863] just across the river and has been annoying our pickets opposite him very much to-day. You can see him plain enough with the naked eye, occasionally, to make sure that he is a "wooly-head," and with a spy-glass there is no mistaking him."

The 85th Indiana Volunteer Infantry reported to the Indianapolis Daily Evening Gazette that on 5 March 1863: "During the fight the [artillery] battery in charge of the 85th Indiana [Volunteer Infantry] was attacked by two rebel negro regiments.

After the action at Missionary Ridge, Commissary Sergeant William F. Ruby forwarded a casualty list written in camp at Ringgold, Georgia about 29 November 1863, to William S. Lingle for publication. Ruby's letter was partially reprinted in the Lafayette Daily Courier for 8 December 1863: "Ruby says among the rebel dead on the [Missionary] Ridge he saw a number of Negroes in the Confederate butternut uniform."

Federal Official Records, Series I, Vol

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XVI Part I, pg. 805: "There were also quite a number of negroes attached to the Texas and Georgia troops, who were armed and equipped, and took part in the several engagements with my forces during the day."

Federal Official Records Series 1, Volume 15, Part 1, Pages 137-138: "Pickets were thrown out that night, and Captain Hennessy, Company E, of the Ninth Connecticut, having been sent out with his company, captured a colored rebel scout, well mounted, who had been sent out to watch our movements."

Federal Official Records, Series I, Vol. XLIX, Part II, pg. 253 - April 6, 1865: "The rebels [Forrest] are recruiting Negro troops at Enterprise, Miss., and the Negroes are all enrolled in the State."

Federal Official Records, Series I, Vol. XIV, pg. 24, second paragraph - "It is also difficult to state the force of the enemy, but it could not have been less than from 600 to 800. There were six companies of mounted riflemen, besides infantry, among which were a considerable number of colored men." - referring to Confederate forces opposing him at Pocotaligo, SC., Colonel B. C. Christ, 50th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, official report of May 30, 1862

"Sargt said war is close to being over. Saw several Negros fighting for those rebels." - From the diary of James Miles, 185th N.Y.V.I., entry dated January 8, 1865

Black Southerners also demonstrated loyalties based not on ownership, subservience or fear. The Confederate Burial Mound for Camp Morton, Indiana, at Indianapolis, Indiana, has

bronze tablets which list the nearly 1200 Confederates who died at that camp. Among those names are 26 Black Southerners, seven Hispanic Southerners and six Indian Southerners.

At a time when those Black Southerners could have walked into the Camp Commander's office, taken a short oath and signed their name to walk out the gates free men obliged to no one they chose instead to stay even unto death. Union soldiers robbed, raped and murdered Free Black and slave Southerners they had come to "emancipate." Union "recruiters" hunted, kidnapped and tortured Black Southerners to compel them to serve in the Union Army. At the Battle of the Crater white Union soldiers bayoneted retreating Black Union soldiers and the 54th Massachusetts was intentionally fired upon by Union Maine troops while assaulting Battery Wagner. The Federal Official Records and memoirs of the USCT document all of these war crimes.

Since the Civil War the United States flag has flown over a country that has continued attempted genocide against its Native Peoples with the able help of Black "Buffalo Soldiers," condoned the slavery of Orientals in California well into the 1880s, fought wars to maintain dominance over countries whose people were not white, and imprisoned its own citizens because of the color of their skin as they did with the Japanese-Americans in California from 1941-1945.

It is time that the misrepresentation which has come to be accepted as "history" is restored to its full measure and the positive and negative aspects of all parties exposed for the consideration

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of all thinking Americans.

Honoring the Black Confederates

UDC No. 900 Dedicates Two Black Confederate Soldiers Headstone

The United Daughters of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis Chapter No. 900 held dedication ceremonies marking the graves of two black Confederate soldiers in Cleveland, TN.  At both ceremonies, Chapter President Robin Ramsey welcomed everyone and the Presentation of Colors was given by members of the John C. Vaughn Camp No. 2089 Sons of the Confederate Veterans, Athens, Tn. Chapter Secretary Tonya Brantley led the pledge to the American flag and salute to the Confederate flag and the invocation

was given by Chapter Chaplain Mariann Dietrich.

Black Confederate Soldier Honored

The grave of an African-American soldier who fought for the Confederacy more than 140 years ago has been marked.

Amos Rucker, a former slave who fought for the South, was laid to rest after his death in 1905, but the grave was never marked, Confederate historians say.

“It is no difference if he was white or black. All I see is that he wore gray. These

men left their homes and their families for four years to fight and many of them

did not return,” said Kelly Barrow, author of “Black Soldiers in Confederate

Armies.”

Rucker’s Tombstone, in the South View Cemetery on Jonesboro Road, has

Rucker’s name printed on it along with the words “Confederate Soldier” and

Confederate 1st National and Battle flags.

Confederate Terrill, Black Escort toGeneral Chalmer

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Terrill, an African-American slave from Williamson County Tennessee, was an escort on General Chalmer’s staff during the War Between the States.Source: Williamson County: Confederate Civil War Veterans. The Williamson County Historical Society.

Marker Honors Slave in Confederate Army

Aaron Perry was a Union County slave who followed his owner into the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

For more than 80 years, Perry's grave in a tiny Marshville church cemetery sat unmarked save for a few bricks over it.

Now the site sports a granite marker that identifies when Perry was born and died, 1840-March 14, 1930, and the unit he served, 37th N.C. Regiment. Behind the marker sits a shining Confederate Cross of Honor.

These stories are just a sample of the many ceremonies that have been held to honor Black Confederates. If living descendants of the Veteran are located they are invited to attend and most do.

Gettysburg Trivia

1. The first Confederate troops entered Gettysburg looking for what?

2. With J.E.B. Stuart scouting in enemy territory, to whom did General Lee turn to find information about the movement of the Federal army?

3. How did Confederate General Harry Heath’s hat save his life?

4. What did Confederate General Richard Ewell say when he was struck in the leg?

5. What hazard did many soldiers suffer due to the severe rapid firing of rifles?

Answers on page 23

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Political cartoon published in 1864 by Currier and Ives portrays Lincoln telling a

joke while members of his cabinet wastefully expend greenbacks.

Dr. George Felix “Doc” Manning

By Tom Todd

George Felix "Doc" Manning, the son of Payton T. and Virginia Manning, was born October 27, 1837, in Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the medical department of the University of Alabama. He then went to Paris, France, for further medical studies. At the outset of the Civil War he returned and, with his three brothers, joined the Confederate Army as an artillery lieutenant under General Joe Wheeler. He and his three brothers vowed they would not shave until the south was victorious. They kept their vow and died with their beards.After the war the brothers joined other Confederates in exile in Mexico. Later they returned to Alabama, and Doc, with his brothers James and Frank, eventually settled near Belton, Texas, where he married Sarah Ellen Alexander. He started a medical practice in Giddings, Texas. Doc was a scrappy little fellow and became involved in a knife fight with a fellow doctor; both were severally injured but survived. By 1880, Doc and his brothers had settled in El Paso, Texas, where the brothers entered into the saloon and related businesses.A feud developed between the brothers and El Paso City Marshal Dallas Stoudemire who suspected the family of instigating several assassination plots against him. Stoudemire was appointed a deputy US Marshal and on September 18, 1882, Doc and Stoudemire became involved in a gunfight in one of the local saloons.

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Doc shot Stoudemire in the left arm and in turn, got shot in his gun arm. Doc engaged the marshal in a wrestling match in an attempt to save his own life. Doc's brother James entered the saloon and seeing that Stoudemire still had his gun, shot him behind the left ear. Both Manning’s were acquitted of murder. Doc then moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, and became a respected physician despite the fact that his right arm was virtually useless as a result of the gunfight.He died in Flagstaff on March 9, 1925 from influenza. His wife survived him until January 27, 1942. They are buried next to each other in a family plot in the Citizens Cemetery in Flagstaff. Several family members are buried here, including George Felix Manning, Jr.

Deviating from the WBTS , this is an article about WWII

and the effect it had on small Texas towns like Brownwood

after an army camp (camp bowie) was established there.

While American soldiers were being trained at Camp Bowie before going into battle during World War II, the war was over for some of the men there. They were German prisoners of war who had been captured by Allied forces, mostly from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's elite Afrika Corps in North Africa. The Geneva Convention required POWs to be kept in areas comparable to those in which they were captured, and Brownwood was deemed to be a climate similar to North Africa. The prison, located not far from the current Brownwood County Club, had three sections, according to documents at the Brownwood Public Library Genealogy Library. There was one for enlisted German soldiers and sailors who worked and enjoyed special privileges, another for those who refused to cooperate, and a

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third for sergeants and higher ranking prisoners. They began arriving at Camp Bowie in 1943. Living conditions were rather luxurious, given the conditions, because the Geneva Convention required minimum housing standards. The camp received regular visits from Swiss international inspectors. Interior decorating was common, with furnishings purchased or otherwise "appropriated." Barracks held competition for the most attractive interiors. So too were contests for the Good Barrack Keeping Program, which led to landscaping and gardens — even flower beds - -- outside the barracks. The prisoners, unimpressed with the quality of most American music, organized several bands and two orchestras. Performances were held in one barrack building, and the camp commander granted the POWs' request to convert the building into a performance hall with a stage. That led to the performance of classic German plays in the theater, and female roles were portrayed by men in costume. Participation was high, and costumes and props were made from materials they were provided for that purpose. Sometimes, though, contraband acquired through the under-ground prisoner exchange was used. Sports were also encouraged. Each barrack had a soccer team in the POW League. Uniforms were provided the prisoners, but they seldom met with their approval. Because many of them worked in the camp laundry, they managed to obtain clothing that might otherwise be abandoned.

The commander allowed them to wear that clothing as long as items were marked with a "P" and "W" on the legs to distinguish them from civilians on base. The deaths of five German prisoners were

recorded, and death certificates have been preserved. George Forst, Alfred Kafka, Walter Reese, Albin Sickel and Karl Staudinger were buried in a corner of Jordan Springs Cemetery south of the camp, until their bodies were returned to their families after the war, if possible. If families could not be found, they were buried at the State Cemetery in Austin. The death certificates did not always reflect the true cause of death, researchers said, because German officers reportedly staged deaths as punishment. All prisoners were returned to their homelands after the war.

Landscaping, including flowers in front of their barracks was important for the German POWs

held at Camp Bowie during WWII.

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German POWs grimace at newsreel coverage of the people held in German concentration

camps.

German POWs said their accommodations at the barracks where 3000 of them were held at

Camp Bowie were much like a hotel.

WBTS Relics

“Tar Bucket” Hat

Confederate “Housewife’s Kit

Battlefield Maps, Courtesy of The Civil War Trust

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MATCHINGMatch the number to the letter.

1. Colonel Ulric Dahlgren's father was an admiral in the U.S. Navy—for what is the elder Dahlgren remembered? 2. By the time Ulysses S. Grant arrived in the eastern theater his nickname had preceded him—what was his nickname? 3. What did General Lee say as the Texas Brigade moved to plug a gap in the Confederate lines along the Orange Plank Road? 4. What did Robert E. Lee say when he learned J.E.B. Stuart had died? 5. What did Ulysses Grant do when he learned the cabin he was using as a headquarters was the place where Stonewall Jackson had died? 6. The easiest victory ever granted to Confederate arms occurred where? 7. Ulysses S. Grant earned a new nickname after Cold Harbor. What was it? 8. Who once suggested to Abraham Lincoln that the country needed a dictator?9). What did the men of the 48th Pennsylvania create outside of Petersburg? 10. This millionaire soldier of fortune had a town in New Jersey named for him, along with a medal and a decoration cross—who was he? 11. This relative of two former Presidents was sent to England to try and keep the British out of the War. 12. When Federal troops made the assault that coincided with the explosion of The Crater, where was the leading Federal brigadier? 13. What was Grant's comment when he learned of the Federal repulse at The Crater? 14. What did Confederate cavalry General Wade Hampton lose at Hatcher's Run besides the battle?15. Alexander Hamilton Stephens was the Vice-President of the Confederacy. He stayed home in Crawfordville, Georgia, claiming that his failing health kept him from his duties in Richmond. What was Stephens's real reason for not being at the Confederate capital?

16. When the U.S. cotton crop was denied to the British due to the Yankee blockade, to whom did the British turn for raw cotton?

A. A bottle-shaped gun (cannon) very much admired by the Navy B. "Butcher" Grant C. A blast from a five-hundred-foot tunnel filled with gunpowder formed "The Crater." D. Drinking in his tent E. "It is the saddest affair I have witnessed in the War." F. "Hurrah for Texas—Texans always move them." G. Ordered that the house and land be unharmed. H. Federal General Phil Kearny killed at Chantilly, Virginia I. "I can scarcely think of him without weeping." J. His son, Preston, was killedK. Charles Francis Adams Sr.L. "Unconditional Surrender" GrantM. He had lost his faith in the Confederacy and more importantly in Jefferson Davis.N. General Joseph HookerO. Cold Harbor P. India

Answers

1.A 5.G 9.C 13.E2.L 6.O 1O.H 14.J3.F 7.B 11.K 15.M4.I 8.N 12.D 16.P

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Franklin Tennessee, the Aftermath

The little community of Franklin was drastically affected by the battle which occurred there in 1864. Remnants of the battle still exist to this day and sites like the Carter House attract many Civil War aficionados and general tourists each year. Among the most well-known landmarks are the Carnton Plantation home and the adjoining Confederate Cemetery. A brief history of the Carnton Plantation shows how it is forever entwined with the Battle of Franklin and its aftermath.

Carnton was built in 1826 by former Nashville mayor Randal McGavock (1768-1843). Throughout the nineteenth century it was frequently visited by those shaping Tennessee and American history, including President Andrew Jackson. Carnton grew to become one of the premier farms in Williamson County, Tennessee. Beginning at 4 p.m. on November 30, 1864, Carnton was witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. Everything the McGavock family ever knew was forever changed.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee furiously assaulted the Federal army entrenched along the southern edge of Franklin. The resulting battle, believed to be the bloodiest five hours of the Civil War, involved a massive frontal assault larger than Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. The majority of the combat occurred in the dark and at close quarters. The Battle of Franklin lasted barely five hours and led to some 9,500 soldiers being killed, wounded, captured, or counted as missing. Carnton served as the largest field hospital in the area for

hundreds of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers.A staff officer later wrote, "the wounded, in hundreds, were brought to [the house] during the battle, and all the night after. And when the noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until the wounded and dead filled that...." On the morning of December 1, 1864 the bodies of four Confederate generals killed during the fighting, Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams, and Otho F. Strahl, lay on Carnton’s back porch. The floors of the restored home are still stained with the blood of the men who were treated here.

In the spring of 1866, Col. John McGavock, seeing the deteriorating condition of the Confederate graves on the Franklin battlefield, set aside two acres of Carnton Plantation as the nation's largest private Confederate cemetery. The dead were reinterred there in order by states. In 1890, the wooden markers, which were inscribed with the names of the men, their companies and regiments, when known, were replaced with stone markers. Burial records were preserved by Col. McGavock's wife, the former Carrie Winder. She and her husband maintained the cemetery for the balance of their lives.

The Carter House also has its memories and scars. An article in the Blue and Gray Magazine, August-September 1984, highlights the story of a Union soldier who returned to the Carter House after the war, stood on the back porch, pointed to the doorway and told a story of his struggle to survive the battle of Franklin. The slice in the wooden louvered door, the bullet hole in the post, and the patched lower door panel all play a role in his story.

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During the battle, so the story goes, he sought cover in the doorway and soon drew enemy fire. He said the slice in the outer door and the hole in the post were from bullets aimed at him. Attempting to return the fire, his ramrod, when sharply drawn, hit the top of the doorway leaving small dents in the wood which are still there. When his situation became untenable, he took the butt of his musket, bashed in the lower door panel, and crawled through to safety in the house. The Carters later patched the door with a piece of sheet metal, the same patch which is on the door today.

One other fairly recent reminder of the Battle of Franklin comes from a US Newswire article written on August 17, 2009. This is the article in its entirety.“FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 17; A construction project in the area where the calamitous Battle of Franklin was fought on Nov. 30, 1864, has disturbed the resting place of an unknown soldier who was buried in a shallow grave 145 years ago during the tragic last days of the Civil War in Tennessee.

The City of Franklin's Battlefield Task Force, along with local historians and government officials, led the recovery of the soldier's remains and will direct a funeral ceremony to re-inter his body at the Historic Rest Haven Cemetery in downtown Franklin, where other brave veterans - both Union and Confederate - were laid to rest. It is not known for which army the Unknown Soldier fought. A coffin containing his remains will lie in state at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 510 West Main Street in Franklin - the circa 1827 sanctuary which served as barracks for Federal troops during their occupation of the town in 1864 - from 8

a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 until the funeral ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10.One Union and one Confederate honor-guard sentry will be posted at the front doors of the church during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. visitation period each day, and prior to the ceremony on Saturday morning.

The soldier will receive full military honors from re-enactors representing brothers-in-arms from both the Union and the Confederacy. On Saturday morning, a Union and a Confederate Chaplain will conduct a brief funeral service in the church. Following the service, the casket will be borne from the church by uniformed pallbearers (Union and Confederate) and placed on a waiting, horse-drawn caisson in front of the church. Accompanied by a color guard, honor guard, and Civil War-era bagpiper, the caisson will move north on Main Street, crossing Fifth Avenue, circling the Square, proceeding north on Third Avenue, and then west on North Margin Street to the Rest Haven Cemetery gates.

As the procession leaves St. Paul's and continues up Main Street, townspeople and visitors are invited to fall in behind the ranks of the marching re-enactors. After arriving at Rest Haven Cemetery, a brief eulogy will be delivered by the chaplains, and will conclude with period-appropriate military honors including a 21-gungun salute and the playing of "Taps" by a uniformed bugler.

A Monument to The Unknown Soldier who died on the Franklin Battlefield will be unveiled as part of the ceremony. Active participation in the ceremonies at Rest Haven and St. Paul’s is restricted to uniformed reenactors only but everyone is welcome as spectators.”

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Today, as the citizens of Franklin go about their daily routines, many remnants of that terrible day and night in November of 1864 are still visible and provide a reminder to all of perhaps the fiercest five hours of fighting in that bloody time in our nation’s history.

McGavock Cemetery

Carter House Back Door Showing Bullet Holes

And Patch

Carnton Plantation

Photos From the War

Confederate Torpedoes

Drawing of torpedoes in Yazoo River

Yankee Gun Boat

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General Lee Was Right!By Fred Reed

“The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.” Robert E. Lee

The man was perceptive. Amalgamation of the states under a central government has led to exactly the effects foreseen by General Lee.

In, say, 1950, to an appreciable, though imperfect extent America resembled a confederacy. Different regions of the America had little contact with each other, and almost no influence over one another. The federal government was small and remote. Interstates did not exist, nor of course the internet, nor even direct long-distance telephone dialing. West Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, New York City, Texas, and California had little in common, but a little conflict arose since for practical purposes they were almost different countries.

They chiefly governed themselves. The proportion of federal to state law was small. It is important to note that regional differences were great. In 1964 in rural Virginia, the boys brought shotguns to school during deer season. Nobody shot anybody because it wasn’t in the culture. The culture was uniform, so no one was upset. It is when cultures are mixed, or one rules another, that antagonism comes. Such shotgun freedom would not have worked in New York City with its variegated and often mutually hostile ethnicities.

Regions differed importantly in the degree of freedom, not just in the freedom of local populations to govern themselves but also in individual freedom. It made a large difference in the tenor of life. If in Texas, rural Virginia, or West Virginia you wanted to build an addition to your house, you did. You didn’t need licenses, permits, inspections, union-certified electricians. Speed limits? Largely ignored. Federal requirements for Coast Guard-approved flotation devices on your canoe? What the hell kind of crazy idea was that?

Democracy works better the smaller the group practicing it. In a town, people can actually understand the questions of the day. They know what matters to them. Do we build a new school, or expand the existing one? Do we want our children to recite the pledge of allegiance, or don’t we? Re-enact the Battle of Antietam? Sing Christmas carols in the town square? We can decide these things. Leave us alone.States similarly knew what their people wanted and, within the limits of human frailty, governed accordingly.

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Then came the vast empire, the phenomenal increase in the power and reach of the federal government, which really means the Northeast Corridor. The Supreme Court expanded and expanded and expanded the authority of Washington, New York’s storefront operation. The Federals now decided what could be taught in the schools, what religious practices could be permitted, what standards employers could use in hiring, who they had to hire. The media coalesced into a small number of corporations, controlled from New York but with national reach. More recently we have added surveillance of everything by Washington’s intelligence agencies.Tyranny at home said General Lee. Just so. This could happen only with the consolidation of the states into one vast empire.Tyranny comes easily when those seeking it need only corrupt a single Congress, appoint a single Supreme Court, or control the departments of one executive branch. In a confederation of largely self-governing states, those hungry to domineer would have to suborn fifty congresses. It could not be done. State governments are accessible to the governed. They can be ejected. They are much more likely to be sympathetic to the desires of their constituents since they are of the same culture.

Aggressive abroad, said General Lee. Is this not exactly what we see? At this moment Washington has the better part of a thousand military bases around the world, unnecessary except for the maintenance of empire. America exists in a state of constant war, bombing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, recently having destroyed Iraq and Libya. Washington threatens Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China.

Its military moves deeper into Africa. Washington sanctions Cuba, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, to no effect. It constantly tries to dominate other nations, for example adding to NATO.None of these wars and little if any of the imperial aggression interests more than a tiny fraction of the country’s people. To whom can the war against Afghanistan matter? Libya? Few people have heard of Montenegro. Does its membership in NATO or lack of it affect Idaho?

In a confederacy, states would have to approve a war. Few would unless the United States itself were threatened. They might well refuse to pay for wars, not for their benefit or to allow their sons, daughters, and transgenders to be conscripted. But with a central government, those benefiting from war can concentrate money and influence only on that government. For example, military industry, Israel, big oil, Wall Street. Wars might carry the votes of states with arms factories. Other states would decline.

In principle, the Constitution should have prevented the hijacking of the military that we now suffer. As we all should know, and some do, America cannot under the Constitution go to war without a declaration by Congress, the last one of which occurred in 1941. But a single central government can be corrupted more easily than fifty state governments. A few billionaires, well-funded lobbies, and the remoteness of Washington from the common consciousness make controlling the legislature as easy as buying a pair of shoes.

And thus, just as Marse Bob expected, the Federals are out of control and make war without the least reference to the nation.

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If America attacks North Korea, or Russia, or China, we will read of it the day after. The central government and only the central government decides. A few days ago I read that the Pentagon contemplates sending thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. This combines tyranny at home and aggression abroad. Who wants to send them? A few neocons in New York, the arms industry, a few generals, and several senators. It could not happen in a confederacy.Will this, as General Lee predicted, prove “the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.”? Wait.

Misc. War Pictures

Surgeon’s Implements

Lynching’s like the one portrayed here occurred during the New York City draft riots in July 1863 as mobs opposed to conscription and waging a

war to end slavery lashed out at Blacks.

THE SIEGE OF PETERSBURGBottom picture taken during the battle

Top picture taken in 1867 showing “tourists” visiting the site

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Victory at San Jacinto A Bit of Texas History

In March of 1836, things were not going well for Sam Houston's Texas revolutionaries. Having' declared independence from the official Mexican government, they were now running from the Mexican army — and running out of time.

H o u s t o n ' s m e n , t heir families uprooted and futures uncertain, were ready to fight. On April 17th, their retreat led them to a fork in the road. One road led to Louisiana and possible refuge in the United States. The other led to Harrisburg and the edge of the coast. The Texian army took the road to Harr isburg without objections from Houston.

T h e n e x t d a y , Houston reached White Oak Bayou, where he learned that Santa Anna's forces had just crossed the nearby bridge over Vince's Bayou. On the 19th, Houston crossed Buffalo Bayou between Sims' and Vince's Bayous just outside of Harrisburg. Marching down the bayou, they captured one of Santa Anna's supply boats.

Just miles away from Houston's men, Santa Anna's forces now numbered around 1,200. The Texans numbered 900. On April 20th, Sidney Sherman gave the Mexican army a quick jab with a small skirmish that quickly fizzled out. Both sides then camped for the night.

On the morning of April 21st, General Houston held a council of war.

The majority of his officers voted to await Santa Anna' attack in order to leverage their position. He let each man in the council plead his case. Then, he made a decision, which he kept to himself until that afternoon: they would attack!

Eighteen Minutes that Changed the World

Around 4:30 p.m., the Mexican soldiers awoke from their afternoon siestas to the smell of gunpowder and cries of vengeance. Flushed with victory from the siege of the Alamo, Santa Anna had failed to post sentries to monitor the Texians' activities.

Eighteen minutes was all it took for the Texians to take control of the Mexican camp. Over 600 Mexican soldiers were killed while more than 700 were allowed to surrender. Only nine Texians were killed or mortally wounded. Sam Houston had two horses shot out from under him and was himself shot in the ankle. Santa Anna was found the next day hiding in the grass dressed as a common foot soldier.

The Opening of the West

For Mexico, the defeat was the beginning of a downhill martial and political spiral that would result in the loss of nearly a million square miles in territory. For Texians, their victory led to annexation into the United States and the beginning of the Mexican-American War. In the end, the United States would gain not only Texas but also New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.

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As a result of the Battle of San Jacinto, almost a third of what is now the United States of America changed ownership. It is one of the most decisive and consequential battles in the history of the United States and indeed the Western world.

Battle of San Jacinto

Houston Accepts Santa Anna’s Surrender

HarveyAs we all aware, there is a disaster in south Texas of unbelievable magnitude. One person on-site said south Texas looked like one large inland lake about the size of Lake Michigan. Weathermen are now saying that this is the biggest rain event in the history of the U. S.

Many of our Texas Society members are directly affected by this event. Many have lost their homes and possessions and are in dire need of help. Some have lost their source of income. As you no doubt read in an email from the Texas Society Commander, a “Disaster Relief Fund” has been established at the Texas Society Headquarters. They will accept any and all monetary donations you care to send and distribute them to the MOS&B Chapters in the hard-hit areas for further distribution.

The Texas Society Executive Council has approved moving $1000 from the General Fund into the Disaster Relief Fund as start-up funds. Individual Texas MOS&B members as well as non-affected Chapters are encouraged to donate either through the MOS&B Fund or other charities of your choice.

Besides the Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. there are many worthy charities to which you can choose to make a donation. Some examples are:

All Hands: This non-profit has staff on the ground in Texas, and is in contact with emergency management officials about assisting in the response and recovery. (4/4 stars from Charity Navigator.)

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Local food banks: The Houston Press has compiled a list of food banks in the affected area, including Houston Food Bank, Galveston County Food Bank, Corpus Christi Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bank, and more. They recommend contacting a food bank directly about their need and what you can do.

Americares: The non-profit focused on medicine and health is seeking to provide emergency medical supplies and other basic resources to first responders and others in Texas. (4/4 stars from Charity Navigator.)

Portlight: A disaster response group dedicated specifically to people with disabilities. They are seeking to help affected people with evacuation and finding shelter, any medical equipment needs they might have, and more.

These are just samples of the many honest and reliable charities out there which have specific targeted people and types of assistance they provide. There are many more to be found on the Internet. Regardless of how you do it, please consider helping our unfortunate neighbors in their time of need. Ed.

Gettysburg Trivia Answers

1. Shoes2. An actor/scout named Harrison.3. General Heath lost his hat and the

only available replacement was too large so a staff officer rolled a newspaper into the crown to make a better fit. A Federal bullet struck Heath in the head but failed to penetrate the newspaper.

4. “It does not hurt a bit to be shot in a wooden leg.”

5. Rifle barrels became too hot and the powder spontaneously ignited

BANNAL AB BRAITHREAN(Band of Brothers)

Is a newsletter published of and for the

Major John Loudermilk Chapter #264 of the Military Order of the Stars and BarsIt is published electronically

and issued seasonally.Comments, suggestions or

questions may be sent to the Editor, Gary M. Loudermilk at

gmldhl@harrisbb.comTwo Time Winner of the Captain

John Morton Award for Best Chapter Newsletter

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Military Order of the Starsand Bars Benediction

Leader: I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, Members: I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.Leader: I asked for health, that I might do greater things,Members: I was given infirmity that I might do better things.Leader: I asked for riches, that I might be happy,Members: I was given poverty, that I might be wise.Leader: I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,Members: I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.Leader: I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,Members: I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.Leader: I got nothing that I asked for – but everything I had hoped for.Members: Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.ALL: I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier Found on his body in the “Devil’s Den” at Gettysburg

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