Appomattox

[Rick Smith]

(08-11-2015 07:59 AM)Rosieo Wrote:  

(08-10-2015 07:25 AM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(08-10-2015 06:14 AM)BettyO Wrote:  

Quote:My great great grandfather was in the 41st Va. Inf. Regt. What was left of the 41st was at Appomattox. They were in Billy Mahone's Brigade. He was from Petersburg so did not have too far to go to get home at the end.

He is buried at Blandford Church in the Confederate cemetery, just down the road from the site of the Crater.

Rick -

Likewise, my great-great grandfather, Sergeant William Burton, 12th Virginia, CSA was in Mahone's Brigade as well. He was from Petersburg, VA and is also buried in Blandford Church Confederate Cemetery.

Betty,

Our ancestors were part of the counter attack to re-take the Crater on July 30, 1864. General Lee called up Mahone to help drive the enemy out of the works and reestablish the line. I have stood on the ground where Mahone's Brigade made their charge. They did what General Lee asked, but at considerable loss. The Roll of Honor which hangs on a wall inside Blandford Chapel is a list of the men from Mahone's Brigade who died that day. My great great grandfather is buried near the corner of Carolina & Venable. The cemetery maintains the Confederate national flag on the grave of every man who served.

Rick

Hi, Rick.

I feel you and I are at a place of understanding and mutual respect, and I believe it is okay to ask you questions this thread brings to my mind. (How is that for a loaded sentence?)

The forum is a public forum. RogerNorton is one of the top finds on a Google search for Lincoln. There are lots of members and who knows how many readers, right?

I am wondering why an Appomattox thread would not be about Appomattox? This was the anniversary year and many thoughtful and solemn things have been said on social media, via live streaming and on videos -- all available for free to the public.
I think naming a thread Appomattox and not talking about Appomattox is ignoring the audience.

Even so, I would not mention anything here about naming a drinking/tourist thread Appomattox except talk moved to the Crater. And despite what happened at the Crater, talk was of only one side’s honored dead. Anyone who reads popular Civil War books knows Mahone and of the Crater.
I wonder if scholars are so close to the Civil War that they are too close to see the big picture – a can’t-see-the-forest-for-the-trees kind of thing?

The country is rife with racial strife. We live with it. Our kids live with it. For me, I wish scholars at sites the public can read would include a short sentence recognizing the big picture. It does not have to be much but I think it would mean a lot to include something like: The Park Services recognizes the Union dead at the Crater, too.

IMO, Rick, “unreconstructed” types can credit the Park Service till the cows come home and still remain ever “unreconstructed.”

Do you think I am off base with these ideas?
-r

Rosieo,

I will not judge whether you are off base or not, but understand that Daniel C began the thread under "Confederate Flag" topic and I just made a friendly response to his very generous invitation, cited below:

RE: Confederate Flag {Daniel's Invitation}
"I'll take "Miracle Whip" over Mayonnaise any day! continuing this Flag debate is a bit of a "Lost Cause". Now that I have offended everyone, lets meet at Appomattox and have a beer."

Thus, my response to Dan & another from him:

Appomattox
Daniel,

Beer at Appomattox sounds good to me; a dram of whiskey even better {am I right Joe Beckert?} Say when.

Rick

Rick It would be a pleasure. The first round is on me! I will let you know and go on record that although I'm a Yankee from Ma. I have two Civil War generals proudly hanging in my house: Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. My cousins from Va. like to raz me and say at least I have some sense about me.

Best,

Dan

Dan is within his rights to lead us where he wishes in his topic thread.

Touching on "Unreconstructed" for the last time, hopefully. Here is what I responded to you some time ago regarding what "Unreconstructed" means to me. This was my full response:

My apologies to John and to you, Roseio, as I thought that it was a question from John, and no offense taken.

"Unreconstructed, at least to me in these days, means not to be subject to political correctness or going with the crowd, but to stand for your beliefs, in an appropriate way, with courtesy."

John asked earlier if I thought that admitting one's errors was a sign of courage; I do believe that. It is one of the defining qualities of manhood to admit when you are wrong and to learn from it. Here is a quote from a man I truly admire and respect, speaking of manhood and Christian manhood in particular:

"Circumstances do not dictate your character; they reveal it; and become the opportunity to refine and grow it."

I hope this makes things more clear to you.

Rick