Surratt Courier

[Jim Garrett]

Congressional is truly a gem. For years it was on the brink of disrepair. Over the last couple of years, it has become rejuvenated. The the lifes of Davey Herold (obviously), John Phillip Sousa, J. Edgar Hoover and a host of others, you will be in good, famous, and infamous company. My parents, both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and my sister (shhhh, she's not suppose to be their, are all in Arlington. Since I have not served my country, and am not entitled, Congressional is a great choice. I'll be just around the corner from the rest of my family.

[Rsmyth]

Hey Jim, are there any Confederates buried in Arlington?

[Gene C]

They had to sign a loyalty oath.

[L Verge]

I believe that there is a large tomb of unknown Confederates buried near Arlington House. My grandfather had a brother who never came home from the war, and he always hoped that Charlie was in that tomb. It was not until I met James O. Hall that he helped me establish that Charlie died near the end of the war in the fighting around the Weldon Railroad in North Carolina. We still don't know where he's buried, however. His family's small, private graveyard in St. Mary's County, Maryland, however, has a tombstone for Charlie and the Confederate marker in his memory - placed by the SCV.

[GARY POPOLO]

I also want to say congrads. to both Dave Taylor and Jim Garrett on a job well done. I also want to give kudos to Louise Oertly and her staff for The Surratt Courier. I look forward to it coming in the mail each month. For a small monthly booklet each month it has such great articles to read and for someone like me who is not as knowledgeable as most of you on this form it is a great source of information about the civil war and the people who lived through it. So I thank you and your writers Louise for some of the most interesting stories of the life and times of these remarkable people. Best Gary

[L Verge]

Society members will soon be receiving their March issue of Surratt Courier (hopefully before the conference). The feature article is by our own Reignette Chilton of this forum, who shares her wealth of knowledge about the history of Mr. Lincoln's greatcoat - one of the iconic textiles of American history. The story is fascinating, and Reignette is a great writer!

[RJNorton]

Kudos to Reignette on both the excellence and thoroughness of her article entitled "One Country, One Destiny - The Odyssey of Abe Lincoln's Greatcoat" in the current Surratt Courier. Reignette, you did a superb job!

[L Verge]

Isn't that a great article? This forum and the Surratt Society are blessed with such knowledgeable people - and ones who know how to tell their stories in a well-written manner. Thank you, Reignette, you make my life so much easier. It has not been easy to keep the newsletter going every month for 39 years.

Stay tuned for April's issue, which will have an article about a little-known confrontation with John Wilkes Booth written by forum member Wesley Harris.

[Rsmyth]

I really enjoyed Reignette's article. The Donn family and the CHS both stood by their coats for many years before the museum did the right thing.

[ReignetteC]

Isn't that a great article? This forum and the Surratt Society are blessed with such knowledgeable people - and ones who know how to tell their stories in a well-written manner. Thank you, Reignette, you make my life so much easier. It has not been easy to keep the newsletter going every month for 39 years.

Stay tuned for April's issue, which will have an article about a little-known confrontation with John Wilkes Booth written by forum member Wesley Harris.

Laurie and Roger,

Thanks for the compliments; your encouraging words mean a lot - trust me. There's more to the story and I plan on "telling it all" when I publish my "little book" about the greatcoat.
Thanks again everyone,
Reignette

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I really enjoyed Reignette's article. The Donn family and the CHS both stood by their coats for many years before the museum did the right thing.

Rich,

Burke Davis, who wrote the column, "Convention Notebook," for the Greensboro Daily News, noted that Paul Angle called the CHS coat a "phony." In Davis's 1956 column, Angle said, "I concluded the coat was a phony and quietly hid it away."

Interestingly, I've contacted the CHS with the request to see the coat but to no success.

RC

[J. Beckert]

Great article, Reignette. The history of the artifacts is a fascinating story in itself.

[BettyO]

I agree!

Reignette's article is a wonderful piece of history in itself. The study of garments and social history in itself is of vital importance in our field. We have to study and understand all facets of history from all angles and artifacts
"speak" to us in such a deep and eloquent manner.

[Jenny]

Stay tuned for April's issue, which will have an article about a little-known confrontation with John Wilkes Booth written by forum member Wesley Harris.

*ventures a guess* Would that be the Harry Hawk incident?

[L Verge]

No, Jenny, not Harry Hawk. I had never heard of this incident until Wes submitted the article.

[Jenny]

Darn it!

I just got my March issue of the Courier today - loved the article on the coat!!