Savannah Bound-- Part 3: So Far, So Good and a Good Book

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3rd

At first everything went well at the Milwaukee Airport, even though I had to do some looking to find the Saver Parking Lot, but eventually did and got my ticket and there was a bus waiting right where I parked and took me and a couple other people to our check-in areas on the lower level.  I got off at Delta and approached the check-in, worried that I would have a line or have to mess with those kiosks.  I am not very good at kiosks.

There was no line at the counters and walked right up, gave them my name and they gave me both boarding tickets I would be needing today.

So far, no problem.  Even my suitcase was proper carry-on size.  

I went up the escalator and there was a place I was hoping would be there, the Renaissance Book Store that I remembered from previous flights out of Milwaukee.  This is an old-time bookstore selling all sorts of used books, especially two whole sets of shelves on Civil War books.  And, I had plenty of time to look for a book.  I bought a $12.50 book and the life and times of Charles Read, CSN, who had quite a distinguished career in the Confederate Navy.  It was titled "Sea Wolf of the Confederacy."

Now, You just Don't Expect to Find an Old Bookstore at an Airport.  --Old B-R'er

Oldest Autoist in Nebraska in 1935 Was a Civil War Vet-- Part 3: Has Owned Many Cars and Attended GAR Convention

After the Chicago Fire in 1871, he drifted west as far as the North Platte River where he met and entertained  such early celebrities as Buffalo Bill,  Texas Jack, Wild Bill Hickok and Duke Alexis of Russia.

(Texas Jack 's real name was John Baker  Omohundro and had been in he Confederate Army as a teenager and was a well-known frontier scout, actor and cowboy.)

HAS OWNED MANY CARS

He purchased his first car  27 years ago, hoping that it would help in his business, but it couldn't climb hills.  Three or four years later he bought another car and since then has owned many.

Mr. Woodworth returned  only Thursday from a month's trip -- this time by train-- to the G.A.R. convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He was one of those who balked at plans for a joint reunion in 1938 if the confederate veterans were allowed to march with their colors.

"I marched under those confederate colors once for a little ways," he told his comrades.  "That was when I was captured at Holly Ridge, Mississippi on December 20, 1862.  But I'll be damned  if I'll march under those same colors again unless the circumstances  are equally unfortunate."

--RoadDog

The Founder of Edwardsville, Illinois, at Center of Statue Debate-- Part 2: So, What Was His Big 'Crime?'

A FaceBook group has petitioned the City of Edwardsville to remove the statue of Ninian Edwards  and his name from the plaza where it sits.  His crime?  In this day and age you can probably guess it.

They argue that he owned slaves and used his power to protect its practice.

Well, the Confederate monuments are coming down in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis.  George Floyd was never a slave, nor were his parents or great parents.

William Furry, executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society  said it was true that Edwards owned slaves when he came to Illinois Territory, but at the time, owning slaves was the law of the land.

"Edwards was a citizen of his times, just as we all are," said Furry.  Laws change, people change, social mores change.

Ridiculous.  --RoadDog

Other Southern State Flags With Confederate Elements-- Part 2: Alabama, Arkansas and Florida Tennessee?)

ALABAMA, 1895

The St. Andrew's cross is a widely used  symbol, so the use on the Alabama flag might be a mere coincidence.  However, in 1915, the Alabama Official and Statistical Review , said, the flag "was intended  by the [state] Legislature to preserve in permanent form some of the more distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the St. Andrew's cross."

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ARKANSAS, 1924

Though the Arkansas flag  is, overall, a cousin of  the Confederate battle flag,  it was actually designed in 1912 by a young woman from the town of Wannaseka.

According to the Arkansas state historian, the diamond represents the Arkansas diamond mine,  and the three star grouping inside the diamond represent the three nations Arkansas has belonged to:  Spain, France and the United States.

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FLORIDA,  1900

Before 1899, Florida's flag  was just the state's seal on a white background.  That year, voters  agreed to add the St. Andrew's cross to the flag.

Coincidence?  The change was first proposed by  then-governor Francis P. Flemming, a staunch secessionist who had fought in the Confederate 2nd Florida Regiment during the war and was very active in veterans groups afterwards.

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And, something might be said about Tennessee's flag.

I wonder when the SPLC will come out with their hit list.

These State Flags, No Doubt, Will Be the Next to be Changed.  --RoadDog

Other Southern State Flags That Resemble the Confederate Flag: Mississippi and Georgia-- Part 1

From the July 1, 2020, CNN  "Mississippi changing its flag isn't the end  of Confederate symbols on state flags" by A.J. Willingham.

Our good friends at CNN, always looking for another way to shear the Confederacy, had this article just a few days after Mississippi's legislature voted to remove the current state flag which features a Confederate symbol in the upper left hand corner (usually referred to as the Confederate battle flag).

CNN was quick to point out that there are other Southern (and former Confederate states) which have aspects of the Confederate flag in their state flags.  After looking at the pictures of the flags, I, unfortunately, have to agree with CNN to an extent.

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GEORGIA

By far, the most striking Confederate (if you will) state flag would be Georgia's, which incorporates most of the old Mississippi state flag as well as the Confederate First National Flag in the majority of it.

This new one replaces two other designs.  In 1956, the Confederate flag was placed on the state one as the legislature was battling integration.  In 2003, with pressure against the 1956 flag rising, a new, very unpopular, ugly looking-flag was proposed and voted on by the legislature in 2001.  People didn't like it.

A new design for the flag was voted on in 2003 and that is the one used today.

As Confederadication continues.

So, Don't Be Surprised to See New State Flags in These States.  --RoadDog

The Next Time You're in Mississippi or, Confederadication Strikes Again

The next time you're in the State of Mississippi, you will notice something different.  The state flag of some 120 years is no more.  It was changed by the state legislature and signed off on by the governor.

As you know, the flag featured a Confederate Army of Northern Virginia battle flag in the union and the rest of it was the three bars on the original Confederate National Flag, the one in reality called the Stars and Bars.

Of course, with all this Confederadication (Confederate eradication) going on in the United States these days, the flag came under attack.  And, of course, like every other Confederate thing, is getting swept away.

I am of the belief that the state flag issue of Mississippi should have been up to a referendum vote across the whole state instead of a group of politicians making the decision.

This issue was put up to a vote before and the people of Mississppi voted to keep the flag as it was.

Let the People Vote!!  --RoadDog

Goodbye Dixie Highway?

I will be writing about this in my Civil War II: The Confederacy Under Attack blog as this is just another of their attempts to erase history.  Just click on  the My Blogs list to the right of this to go to the site.

--RoadDog

If You Want to Cruise the Dixie Highway, Better Do It Soon, Well, At Least in South Florida

All that boo-hoo-hoo about anything Confederate that is going on these days is about to target the Dixie Highway.  There are those who believe the name implies the "S" word (slavery) and, of course, the evil, horrible "C" word (Confederate).  And, lately, they have been pretty much getting their way.

An article in the January 20, 2020, New York Times   'We've got to change this':  Has Dixie Highway reached  the End of the Road? by Audra D.S. Burch.

In South Florida, leaders are discussing  whether to change  the name of Dixie Highway, which some say glorifies the nation's racist history.

These anti-Confederates have been very successful in their efforts since the murders in Charleston, South Carolina, so it is most likely they will succeed in their drive to do away with the racist highway.

Just Letting You Know.  --RoadDog

America's Best Burger Cities-- Part 3

8. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL-- Juicy Lucy-- Burger with cheese melted inside the patty. (I'd go here just for the name.) Also, Matt's Bar and 5-8.

9. NEW YORK CITY-- Four Seasons features a 10-ounceNunan Randi Burger for $30. (Is tthis where the Four Seasons got their start? Music and an expensive burger.) Also, Danny Meyer's Shake Shack.

10. SAVANNAH-- B&D Burger-- Fresh Angus and home-baked beans. 33 different burgers. One of these is the Tattnall (named after the commander of the Confederate Navy Squadron at Savannah during the Civil War?) which has cheddar, pineapple, terriyaki sauce and onion rings on top.

Oh Boy To That. --RoadDog

"Saw the Elephant" Civil War News-- John A. Winslow

I came across a Waymarker blog about a "history-on-a-stick" marker in Wilmington, NC, about Admiral John A. Winslow, who, as a captain during the Civil War, commanded the USS Kearsarge when it sank the CSS Alabama of Cherbourg, France. It turns out he was born in Wilmington.

He was born in 1811 in Wilmington, NC, but was educated in the north where he became an ardent abolitionist. He served during the Mexican War and shared a shipboard cabin with Raphael Semmes, whose ship, the Alabama, he later sank.

He stayed with the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, no doubt due to his abolitionist leanings. He served in the Western Waters until contracting malaria. After his recovery, he was put in command of the Kearsarge.

After the war, he remained in the US Navy, eventually attaining the rank of rear admiral.

Oh well, you can't account for the allegiances of everybody.

Win Some and Lose Some. --RoadDog

A Day with Johnny Reb and Billy Yank at the Lehmann Mansion

I spent a very enjoyable, albeit chilly, day last Saturday out at the Lehmann Mansion in Lake Villa, Illinois, at the annual Civil War Encampment. I was manning the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) tent with the camp commander John Jeffers. Our camp (as SCV groups are called) is named after the infamous Union prison in Chicago where some 6000 Confederate prisoners (out of 12,000 interned) met their deaths. You always hear about the horrors of Andersonville, but....

The Lehmann Mansion was a great victory for preservationists. It was slated to be destroyed at one time. Today, it has mostly been returned to its former glory and is used for many weddings, parties, and business functions. It is too bad people don't think about possible new uses for old and architecturally significant structures. Hear that, Walgreen's!!!

The mansion was built by Ernst Lehmann who founded Chicago's Fair Department Store chain. They got their name because of the "fair" prices they offered. At one time the main store was at State and Adams in Chicago, which would have put it on Route 66 after Jackson was made one way going east.

These reenactors, both soldiers and their wives are really gung-ho about what they love. Everything they wear, or at least everything visible, has to be from the 1860s.

You had to register with Senator Stephen Douglas to have a shot at the pigroast. Of course, Abraham Lincoln was there and this guy really looked like Lincoln. Of interest, I found out he was a member of the SCV and our camp. Camp Douglas was built on the grounds of Stephen Douglas' estate.

Also on hand were generals Grant, Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, and Pickett.

The high point of any encampment is the skirmish between the blue and gray, and this was no different.

Last year, there was a preponderance of Confederate soldiers, but the call had gone out so this year's battle was a little more even. A battery of Union cannons, about five, were there, as well as a couple Confederate cannons. Let me tell you that when one of those cannons went off, you felt the concussion of it even though we weren't in line of fire. Plus, the smoke was so dense it's a wonder anyone could see what was going on along the battlefield. AND, this was just a skirmish with maybe 200 men. Just imagine the carnage and confusion at a full-scale battle.

I had to wonder what the traffic going over the Illinois Highway 83 bridge which was adjacent to the battle were thinking as they were driving over it. At times, smoke drifted over the bridge. That had to be one weird sight.

I'm happy to report that the "Secesh" as notherners derisively called Confederates, carried the day. Secesh is short for seccessionists. I once had a fellow teacher bring in a letter from the Civil War in which the southerners were called "Secesh" and the teacher wanted to know what that meant.

More to come....

"Yankees at Tara!!" --RoadDog

Teddy Roosevelt's Confederate Ancestors

I came across an American Presidents Blog on two of Teddy Roosevelt's maternal uncles who served in the Confederate Navy.

Both were on the maternal side of his family. One was an admiral, James Dunwoody Bulloch. The other one, Irvine Bulloch, was the youngest officer on the raider Alabama and in command of one of the broadside 32-pounder cannons. He had the honor of firing the last two shots before the ship sank.

Roosevelt went to his maternal family's home in Roswell, Georgia, in 1905, becoming the first sitting US president to visit the south since Abraham Lincoln visited Richmond in the waning days of the war.

Wikipedia has a nice picture of the two brothers and this further information.

James Bulloch was in the US Navy for 14 years before going into private business. When the Civil War broke out, he became a Confederate agent in Europe. Among his many accomplishments was the construction of both the CSS Florida and CSS Alabama. Being a Confederate agent, the general amnesty did not apply to him, so he and his brother remained in Liverpool, England after the war.

After the war, at his nephew's urging, he wrote the two volume "The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe." He left Theodore Roosevelt $30,000 in his will and is buried in Liverpool with these words on his tombstone, "American by birth, and Englishman by choice."

Let's File this Under Things I Didn't Know. --RoadDog

Confederates Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

I must admit that I did not think any Confederates were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but I recently came across a blog that says around 482 were buried there in Section 16. That will also be a must-see site the next time I'm in the area.

The North started burying its dead there in 1864, after Robert E. Lee's home and grounds were confiscated for failure to pay back taxes. Imagine that? What would make Robert E. Lee not pay his taxes to the Federal government in 1862 and 1863. As I once heard in a movie, "Don't surprise me none."

As of 2006, there are 320,000 buried at Lee's former estate. Even some Confederates were buried there, but their families were not allowed to visit their graves until 1900 when Congress also authorized Confederate burials. Confederates from all around the DC area were reinterred at Arlington.

An interesting Civil War blog site. "Throwing Down the Gauntlet' at
http://madnessmike.blogspot.com/

File Under Things I Didn't Know. --RoadDog