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DanielC · 08-09-2015, 04:34 PM

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

Rick Smith · 08-09-2015, 04:40 PM

(08-09-2015 04:34 PM)DanielC Wrote: 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,

It would be a pleasure.

I also have portraits of General Lee and Stonewall hanging in my home and have many cousins in Virginia.

No apology necessary about being a Yankee; one of my dearest friends is a Yankee.

Rick

BettyO · 08-09-2015, 04:53 PM

Alright boys -

I may be threatened with being shot, but as a southern gal, I must admit that when I was young, i dated General Grant's great-great-great grandson.....

Appomattox is a wonderful place if no one has yet had the pleasure to visit it!

Jim Page · 08-09-2015, 04:54 PM

Always wanted to visit Appomattox and one day I'll do it. I was recently re-reading my great-grandfather's 1920s pension application to the state of Florida and it mentioned he was mustered out of the Confederate army in Appomattox at the end of hostilities, having retreated with his outfit from Petersburg.

I'm not to be trusted with military info and such, but I think he (Peyton Page) was a private (horse-shoer) in Company A of the First North Carolina Calvary. He did get his pension from the state of Florida, which I think was $26 a month, later raised to $40 a month.

--Jim

L Verge · 08-09-2015, 05:51 PM

That's a great history to know, Jim, that your great-grandfather was there at the end of the hostilities.

I haven't been back to Appomattox in forty years and really need to go again. The original, marble-top table that was purchased for the Surratt parlor in 1975 is identical to that in the McLean parlor at the time of the surrender. However, we later found Mrs. Surratt's original parlor table hidden in the bowels of a government warehouse several years later and negotiated a deal for its return.

Betty, you'll not get shot by me because I happen to be a fan of Gen. Grant. He was given an assignment and did what it took to get it completed. I'm sending this from a bunker that I have in my backyard, however, just in case someone of a different persuasion disagrees.

Jim Page · 08-09-2015, 06:08 PM

ROAD TRIP!!!

Laurie, I only know that old man via photos (a very severe-looking gent with a long white beard) and stories, but he sounds like he was a pistol.

He would never wear anything blue until the day he died. There's also a story in our family that he was scandalized at a doctor's visit when the female nurse asked him to remove his shirt in her presence. He refused, and when she insisted, demanded that she take her shirt off first!

--Jim

DanielC · (This post was last modified: 08-09-2015 06:19 PM by DanielC.)

(08-09-2015 04:53 PM)BettyO Wrote: Alright boys -

I may be threatened with being shot, but as a southern gal, I must admit that when I was young, i dated General Grant's great-great-great grandson.....

Appomattox is a wonderful place if no one has yet had the pleasure to visit it!

That is funny Betty! Visiting Appomattox is certainly on my bucket list. From the pictures I've seen, it looks beautiful. I just vacationed down in N.C. and It was so hard to drive by signs of all the battlefields, and historic sites I've read about, and not be able to stop. I was in D.C. just for one night and really really wanted to make a side trip visit the Surratt House. I plan on attending one of the conferences one of these years! On the way home, I passed a sign for the Jackson Shrine which is on my list as well. Has anybody been there? I'm going to put your feet to the fire and ask you of all the Civil War battlefields you have visited, which are your favorite? Two of my favorites are Antietam, and Fredericksburg. I have to qualify that with the fact that I have only been to three. Although I love Gettysburg as well, it was a bummer to see a KFC, Burger King and some other fast food place on the battlefield. Sad

Still there is nothing like standing at the Virginia monument and looking across to the copse of trees and imagine what those brave soldiers faced, and what was going through their mind. If that does not give you goose bumps nothing will. In Fredericksburg I did not get down to see the Union vantage point on it's attack on Marye's Heights. It was a long time ago that I visited that battlefield and I'm not sure if you could get a good visual. From what I recall standing at the stone wall is that there were houses so you would not get the full view.

L Verge · 08-09-2015, 06:41 PM

Daniel - I really do hope you can visit Surratt House soon as well as attend a conference. Don't let those teenagers hold you back; we have seen many "disinterested" of that age come in with an attitude and leave asking how to learn more.

I have been to the Jackson Shrine and consider it one of those little gems that is overlooked because it is not on the beaten path. We were lucky enough to be the only tourists there at that time, and the Ranger was very personable and loved the history of Jackson and his death. I don't know how much it has expanded, but it was mainly just the small cottage where he died at that time.

I have not visited too many battlefields - Bull Run, New Market, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Ft. Stevens, Cold Harbor, and the Wilderness, I believe. Antietam is my favorite by far.

Rick Smith · 08-09-2015, 07:28 PM

(08-09-2015 04:54 PM)Jim Page Wrote: Always wanted to visit Appomattox and one day I'll do it. I was recently re-reading my great-grandfather's 1920s pension application to the state of Florida and it mentioned he was mustered out of the Confederate army in Appomattox at the end of hostilities, having retreated with his outfit from Petersburg.

I'm not to be trusted with military info and such, but I think he (Peyton Page) was a private (horse-shoer) in Company A of the First North Carolina Calvary. He did get his pension from the state of Florida, which I think was $26 a month, later raised to $40 a month.

--Jim

Jim,

That is great to know your ancestor like this.

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

Thomas Thorne · 08-09-2015, 08:09 PM

I submit that of all the presidents, Grant was the best writer. His prose startlingly anticipates the much leaner language of 20th century English.

Tom

BettyO · 08-10-2015, 06:14 AM

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.

HerbS · 08-10-2015, 06:52 AM

BettyO-You never cease to amaze me!

Rick Smith · 08-10-2015, 07:25 AM

(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

BettyO · 08-10-2015, 07:39 AM

Did your great-great grandfather die in the battle, Rick?

Mine lived through the entire conflict, only to die in a street-car accident in Richmond in 1891! Very ironic indeed.....

By the way, Lew Powell's only surviving brother, George, was wounded at the Battle of the Crater with a severe hip and leg injury. He spent months in hospital and then was shipped home near the end of the war.

Rick Smith · 08-10-2015, 08:03 AM

(08-10-2015 07:39 AM)BettyO Wrote: Did your great-great grandfather die in the battle, Rick?

Mine lived through the entire conflict, only to die in a street-car accident in Richmond in 1891! Very ironic indeed.....

By the way, Lew Powell's only surviving brother, George, was wounded at the Battle of the Crater with a severe hip and leg injury. He spent months in hospital and then was shipped home near the end of the war.

Betty,

No, Robert Alley survived the battle and the war, but his elder brother, James, was wounded at Malvern Hill and died in a Richmond hospital. After the war, Robert Alley returned home to Petersburg and would eventually open a butcher shop on Washington Street. His family home was at the corner of Rome & Sheppard Streets. The site has changed considerably, but there are great efforts being made to revitalize Petersburg. It is a great city.

What regiment was George Powell in?

Rick