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Monday, May 1, 2017
Traveller. A difficult horse but Robert E. Lee loved him and made him famous.
The reason I chose Traveller is because I know nothing about Southern history and because it seems that Robert E. Lee was in the minority in his love for this particular horse… Traveller wasn’t your garden variety, easy to love, easy to ride horse. He was a bit of a pain.
It gives me pleasure to write about a horse that most would dump but that one cherished – and from that, they built a very strong, unbreakable bond.
More @ Horse & Man
Another welcome home for Lee, Traveler
Via Billy
The men in white robes at the 1924 dedication of the General Lee
statue were the
Richmond Light Infantry Blues, a Virginia state militia.
I understand that Charlottesville
City Council might give away the Robert E. Lee statue if there is no
buyer. Please put my name on the list in that event.
As
a resident of Chesterfield County, I’m not aware of any statues in
Chesterfield — certainly nothing as imposing as the magnificent
portrayal of Lee and Traveler.
Our front yard in Bon Air, a Richmond suburb, will nicely accommodate the statue.
The
decision to remove and even get rid of the statue is absolutely
baffling to me. What if, nearly 100 years from now, Virginians look at
Richmond statues and decide they are an embarrassment? Would statues of
our recent Richmond tennis star Arthur Ashe, famed tap dancer Bill
Robinson and the planned statue of Maggie Walker, history-making banker,
be offered for sale? Given away?
Like
the council members, I am embarrassed by our history of slavery. But I
grew up with a grandmother whose mother’s first husband was killed in
the Civil War. We proudly have his diploma from the University of
Virginia’s medical school hanging in our home, because that is a touch
of history in our family.
I am
named for our only family Civil War hero, Molly Tynes. Our granddaughter
in Waynesboro, Molly Tynes, is named for her also. There are a monument
and a highway marker to Molly in Tazewell.
Molly, a young woman, is
remembered and honored for riding by horseback 44 miles and over five
mountains at night — a 12-hour ride — to warn Wytheville that Northern
forces were on the way to destroy the railroad. Molly saved Wytheville
from the Yankees. After many years of bragging that my great-great-aunt
bravely helped save Southwest Virginia, am I to go to Tazewell and
insist that the monument and sign honoring her be removed?
Are we to be the Taliban of Virginia, destroying art works of history just because, now, we don’t like the history?
Robert E. Lee and Traveler are welcome in our front yard.
Nancy Tynes St. Clair Finch, Chesterfield County
Righteous Dad! Senator Sasse Says Raise Future Adults, Not Eternal Children
Via Billy
Senator Ben Sasse has done the unthinkable for a politician: written an excellent book, not specifically about politics, and made it immensely readable.
It would be easy to write a tome blaming millennials for their failure to launch. Much has been dissected about kids these days with their astronomical expectations and minimal dedication. Sasse doesn’t take the easy route. Instead he looks at how society is dissuading kids from growing up and how we can stop it.
Senator Ben Sasse has done the unthinkable for a politician: written an excellent book, not specifically about politics, and made it immensely readable.
It would be easy to write a tome blaming millennials for their failure to launch. Much has been dissected about kids these days with their astronomical expectations and minimal dedication. Sasse doesn’t take the easy route. Instead he looks at how society is dissuading kids from growing up and how we can stop it.
More @ HEATSTREET
Recent regional climate COOLING on the Antarctic Peninsula and associated impacts on the cryosphere
Via Billy
Highlights
- •
- We examine climate variability since the 1950s in the Antarctic Peninsula region.
- •
- This region is often cited among those with the fastest warming rates on Earth.
- •
- A re-assessment of climate data shows a cooling trend initiated around 1998/1999.
- •
- This recent cooling has already impacted the cryosphere in the northern AP.
- •
- Observed changes on glacial mass balances, snow cover and permafrost state
Abstract
More @ Science Direct
Trump Sleeps Four Hours a Night: 'You make a mistake here, there is nothing to work out'
Via Billy
Hours shy of his 100th day in power, President Trump strides into the Oval Office. The energy in the world's most famous room changes instantly and perceptibly as he sits down.
It's a little after 3 in the afternoon. Trump says he already has been up and working for 12 hours. He and first lady Melania Trump have met with Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife, Juliana Awada.
Hours shy of his 100th day in power, President Trump strides into the Oval Office. The energy in the world's most famous room changes instantly and perceptibly as he sits down.
It's a little after 3 in the afternoon. Trump says he already has been up and working for 12 hours. He and first lady Melania Trump have met with Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife, Juliana Awada.
More @ Washington Examiner
The Antidote for Yankee Self-Righteous Delusional Disorder
No Yankee ever stretched the truth. That is probably why Daniel Boone once said he never wanted to live within 100 miles of a “d—d Yankee.”The closing days of the sesquicentennial has offered media outlets the chance to reflect on the outcome of the War. The results were to be expected. Both “conservative” and “liberal” websites have lamented that the end of the War did not produce the sweeping political and social revolution that could have been, or in their minds should have been. Three pieces are of note.
The first, authored by Josh Gelernter for the “conservative” National Review, suggests that Southerners should discard their “romance of the Confederacy” for the “better part of its heritage,” namely the thousands (estimated 110,000) of Southerners who resisted secession and fought for the Union. After all, they weren’t traitors. Gelernter offers this advice out of respect for his family, many of whom fought for the Confederacy but ultimately “picked the wrong side.” The Confederacy should be buried along with its cause and its symbols. “[M]ore than one of every ten southerners who fought in the war fought to end slavery and keep the country united. The South ought to be very proud of that,” he writes.
More @ The Abbeville Institute
An Early Canadian Slave Transaction
The erroneous belief that the American South was the only region in North America tainted by African slavery is contradicted by Carter Woodson’s writings. He states “[In] my article on “The Slave in Canada,” printed in The Journal of Negro History for July, 1920, (Vol. V, No. 3), several instances of Negro slavery in Canada were given. The latest is mentioned in Le Bulletin des Recherches Historiques for October, 1927, (Vol. XXXIII, No. 10), at p. 584. I translate it from the French the article referred to.” Additionally, while Michigan was still a territory, complaints of Canadian slaves escaping across the border into Michigan were common.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com The Great American Political Divide
An Early Canadian Slave Transaction
“Honorable William Renwick Riddell, Justice of Appeal, Ontario.
In July, 1748, Jean-Pierre Roma, Commandant for the (French) King at the island of St. Jean (now Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence), on his passage to Quebec, made a singular gift to his friend, Fleury de la Gorgendiere, (the younger). He gave him a mulatto girl, five months old and named Marie.
The gift made to Mr. Fleury de la Gorgendiere is explained by the fact that the mother of the child, the slave of Roma, died in giving it birth. Roma not being able to charge himself with raising the orphan, preferred to give it to M. Fleury de la Gorgendiere.
The deed of gift was drawn up by the Notary, Jean-Claude Panet, July 15, 1748; and in it is the stipulation that in case of the death of Fleury and his wife, the mulatto will return Mdll. Roma (her grandmother). If she cannot take her it is stipulated that she will receive her freedom.
Such sales of the creatures of God may seem curious – they were, however, according to the customs of the time and were made almost in every country.”
(Journal of Negro History, Carter G. Woodson, editor, Vol. XIII, No. 2, April, 1928, page 207)
Robeson County Confederate Monument Unveiling, Friday, 10 May, 1907
The following is a news account of the unveiling of the Confederate Monument in Lumberton, North Carolina in 1907, a scene replicated across the South in similar ceremonies which honored the service and sacrifice of Southern men who left their homes and families to defend their States and country. It is important to note that these monuments were left to the custody of public authorities who were expected to provide perpetual care and faithfully honor the men who gave their lives for political freedom and liberty.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com The Great American Political Divide
Robeson County Confederate Monument Unveiling, Friday, 10 May, 1907 (The year my Mother was born) Confederate Memorial Day-05, 10, 1911
(Transcribed from The Robesonian of 13 May, 1907.)
“The most notable day in the history of Robeson county was the unveiling of the Confederate monument on Friday, the Tenth of May. This occasion had long been looked forward to, and by daybreak people were gathering from every direction. Carriages, buggies, wagons, carts, automobiles, wheels and every kind of vehicle was put in use on that day to bring the people interested.
By ten ‘clock it was with difficulty that one could make his way along the streets. Never before has such an immense crowd been assembled in Robeson county. No drinking, no misbehavior of any kind was witnessed that day. A matter of much comment was the splendid appearance of those present. Robeson well has a right to feel proud of her citizenship.
The streets and public buildings of the town were elaborately and beautifully decorated in national colors, and suspended across Main Street, banners were hung with the word “Welcome” on them in letters to catch the eye of every passerby. On the corner of Fifth and Main Streets, a booth was beautifully decorated, and here the badges of the day were bestowed upon the Veterans.
Governor [Robert B.] Glenn was met at the train at 10 o’clock, and driven in a carriage to the handsome home of Col. N. A. McLean. The Red Springs (Where my Mother went to college. Flora Macdonald College, Red Springs + Macdonald, NC - Many links are clickable) Daughters of the Confederacy were met at the station and taken to the home of Mr. & Mrs. McIntyre, where a splendid reception was tendered them.
The parade started at 11 o’clock at the Waverly hotel, in charge of Capt. A. J. McKinnon, chief marshal. First came the marshals, numbering about 75, on prancing horses with sashes of national colors flying in the breeze, making as fine an appearance of any body of horsemen could desire; following in succession came the Lumberton and Maxton brass bands, making every pulse [quicken] as they steadily marched and played stirring martial music; [then] the Maxton Guards, Lumber Bridge Infantry, Camps Ryan Hoke and Rowland [of the] United Confederate Veterans, numbering about five hundred, led by Capt. [James] I. Metts of Wilmington . . . the old Confederate flag of the Fifty-first [North Carolina] Regiment was borne by Gen. S. J. Cobb, marching to the time of the music and wearing with pride their badges of honor.
The sight of these veterans, the men who faced death long ago for their country and future generations [inspired] the hearts of all, and too, it was a scene of pathos. Some who received lifelong injuries, and others who faced the guns and death so fearlessly in the 60’s are bowed with age, but from the eyes of these worn veterans, flashed the fires of old time courage and vigor. As they marched along cheer after cheer arose from the vast throng and the enthusiasm was great.
Last in the parade came the floats of Maxton, Red Springs, Fairmont, Lumberton, and several others, all beautifully and tastefully decorated in national colors. The individuality of the different floats was striking; not one in arrangement bore any resemblance to another, yet all were beautifully planned and decorated.
In the Maxton float was Miss Bonnie Dixie McBryde, and sponsors. After marching around the town, the parade proceeded to the court house square, where they halted and Governor Glenn, Miss McBryde and others who were to take part in the program, were assembled on the improvised rostrum beside the monument, in the midst of the gaze of thousands of curious, interested eyes.
The seats arranged on the grounds of the court house square, were soon filled with veterans, and th4 masses were gathered as closely around the platform as possible, in order that they might hear each word that fe4ll from the lips of their beloved and honored governor.
Mr. Stephen McIntyre was master of ceremonies, fittingly welcomed the visitors and expressed [the] regret of the committee that the monument was not complete; the statue having failed to arrive in time for erection.
He spoke of the energy and determination and devotion of those who had caused the monument to be erected, [and] in glowing terms of commendation, making mention of our worthy county Treasurer, M.G. McKenzie, who for the past ten years had labored toward the end which is at last attained.
The choir sang in ringing voices, the old but ever new song, the “Old North State,” after which Miss Bonnie McBryde, the accomplished and attractive young daughter of Capt. Thomas A. McBryde, pulled the cord that caused the white veil to fall, revealing the monument, standing there in solemn grandeur, to the eager gaze of thousands. A wild, joyous cheer rose from the throats of all, mingling with a dozen factory whistles and the military salute, three volley being fired.
Miss Katie Lee McKinnon then beautifully recited “The Conquered Banner.” (I recited this many times growing up) Miss McKinnon is a reciter of exceptional ability, and her very successful effort was warmly appreciated and brought tears to the eyes of many, as she spoke in thrilling tones.
Governor Glenn was presented by Mr. S. McIntyre, who said that no introduction of Governor R.B. Glenn was needed, for his name throughout the State was synonymous with progress and advancement, intellectual and moral. He welcomed him to the county of Robeson in most admirable and suitable words.
Governor Glenn arose and addressed the people . . . his kind benevolent countenance won the hearts of the spectators from the beginning [and a] hush fell on that vast throng and all listened with bated breath to one of the most masterly efforts ever produced in Robeson. He assured his hearers in the beginning that the purpose of the gathering was not only to unveil the monument erected to those who had met death in a noble cause, but to give a hearty handshake to those who still linger, and to instill noble aspirations and loyalty in the hearts of the coming generations. He paid a most splendid and touching tribute to the veterans who sat facing him, that the world has never seen braver or more worthy soldiers than those who followed Lee and Jackson from 1861 to 1865; that none were more deserving than those who went from North Carolina, the Tar Heel State, the grandest commonwealth south of the Mason and Dixon line.
In glowing terms that inspired his hearers, he spoke of the glorious deeds done in the 60s by the gallant sons of the Old North State. His recitals of the deeds done by the North Carolina sons at Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg [and] Appomattox was thrilling and carried the thoughts of listening veterans back, – back, to the cruel hardships of war. North Carolina, he said, entered the great struggle unwillingly, but once started, there was no turning back. Always in the midst of the battle, with a never-faltering courage, they deserved the highest tribute which could be paid them.
While Governor Glenn said the men of the South were brave and noble, he said the women were even more so. Without the courage and never failing sympathy of the good women of the South, they could never have held out [against the enemy] as they did.
In his closing remarks he besought the veterans to live lives of honor and such as would entitle them to enter and belong to the Great Army and serve under the banner of the Great Captain. He urged the young people that they live such lives as will make them worthy of the responsibilities of the future, [and] that they might worthily take the places of the older ones when they should pass away and be able to finish the task committed to their care with honor.
When Governor Glenn took his seat, there arose cheer after cheer [and] the people were most enthusiastic in their enjoyment and appreciation of his powerful address.
Crosses of Honor were presented to 15 Veterans when the address closed. After which, the monument was formally turned over to the custody and care of the commissioners of Robeson county, and Rev. C.H. Durham dismissed the audience.
An elaborate dinner was spread on tables in the court house yard where the veterans and military were served dinner. At 4:50PM the Daughters of the Confederacy visited the graves of Confederate soldiers which they covered with many beautiful flowers. The occasion was one which will live long in the memories of all who attended. It was the biggest day Lumberton has ever known. The crowd was estimated at seven thousand people.”
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