Appomattox

[DanielC]

Thanks for sharing Your stories Betty and Rick. Fascinating! My Virginia cousins who were avid diggers and belong to the NVRHA took me digging at a very early age and I've been hooked on the military battles of the Civil War ever since. Historical preservation down south is head and shoulders over what we have up here. Betty do you have any pictures of Lew's brother?

[Rick Smith]

(08-10-2015 03:21 PM)DanielC Wrote:  Thanks for sharing Your stories Betty and Rick. Fascinating! My Virginia cousins who were avid diggers and belong to the NVRHA took me digging at a very early age and I've been hooked on the military battles of the Civil War ever since. Historical preservation down south is head and shoulders over what we have up here. Betty do you have any pictures of Lew's brother?

Dan,

You are welcome.

Since you are a Stonewall admirer, as I am, you probably know that there is a beautiful little spot not as far from you as Appomattox called Guinea Station and is the location of the Chandler Plantation {no longer existing}. The small overseer's house and office still stands and inside is the bedroom where Jackson died after being wounded during the Battle of Chancellorsville.

I know it is a long road for you, but if you have not been, it may be worth the ride.

Take care,

Rick

[L Verge]

Y'all are lucky knowing so much about your ancestors' war records. I know one great-uncle was in the Confederate Navy and imprisoned at Point Lookout and that another on the other side of the family fought in a Maryland unit for the Confederacy and was killed in the last days of the war in the fighting around the Weldon Railroad.

Dan - Spend days in Virginia and also take in the town of Lexington since you admire Stonewall. His home is there, Washington and Lee University, the Lee Chapel, VMI, and even a museum honoring WWII General and post-war statesman George C. Marshall.

[DanielC]

Great suggestions Laurie and Rick. I'm hoping to get down that way again sometime in the near future. the Lee Chapel, Stonewall's gravesite are two of the MUST see sites for me! one night in D.C. two hours at Gettysburg, and passing all the sites heading north and not stopping, was extremely difficult. I did get to visit Roanoke Island while down in N.C. which was part of Burnside's expedition, but I did not get to see much other than the earthworks from the "Lost Colony".

[HerbS]

I once had an older adult student show me his ancestor's bible[NY-regiment].He had an apple blossom from a apple tree at Appomattox!WOW,that was a historical moment!

[Rick Smith]

(08-11-2015 08:59 AM)Rosieo Wrote:  

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

(08-10-2015 07:14 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

[Gene C]

(08-11-2015 08:59 AM)Rosieo Wrote:  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.

I was unaware that we were writing for an "audience."
Just a quick note to all my fans.
I'll be making a personal appearance in Springfield, IL for the 2015 Springfield Tour (non drinking/tourist thread) this comming Oct 2 & 3rd, along with Joe Di Cola and a few others. See you there.

Now back to your regulary scheduled post
- the Appomattox Park is very nice. Here is the web sit for the National Park.
http://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm

[Gene C]

(08-11-2015 10:47 AM)Rosieo Wrote:  This is disrespectful to people who do a web search and end up here. People anywhere in the world could end up here. And it is disrespectful to me because I asked legit questions. I am an intelligent citizen and child of God. As are you. I am not angry but disappointed.

- No disrespect intended to the "audience". It seems to me you are making an assumption on how someone else feels
- I really don't see how my specific comment to the audience was disrespectful. So far you are the only one who has commented on it.
- All I was attempting to do was make a legitimate response to your legitimate question, in a "light frame of mind". This is our third annual Springfield Tour and there is a seperate thread about it with over 200 posts and 56,000 views.
- And, I did turn the conversation back to Appomattox. You have made two (and somewhat lengthy) posts in this thread and haven't said anything about what happened at Appomattox.

My intent was not to show disrespect to you or anyone, so I apologize to you if that's how you interpreted it.

[Rsmyth]

After Guinea Station my family and I drove to Ellwood Plantation in Orange County, VA to see the burial site of Jackson's arm. It was getting dark as I stepped over the chain link fence and ran a couple hundred yards alongside a corn field to arrive at the small (one stone) graveyard. I got my picture.

[DanielC]

(08-11-2015 10:40 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(08-11-2015 08:59 AM)Rosieo Wrote:  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.

I was unaware that we were writing for an "audience."
Just a quick note to all my fans.
I'll be making a personal appearance in Springfield, IL for the 2015 Springfield Tour (non drinking/tourist thread) this comming Oct 2 & 3rd, along with Joe Di Cola and a few others. See you there.

Now back to your regulary scheduled post
- the Appomattox Park is very nice. Here is the web sit for the National Park.
http://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm

Thank you for the link Gene. Looks like a beautiful site to visit. Is the House a replica? The reason I ask is that I was surprised to find out when I visited the Petersen House recently that the only original part left was the railing, some of the floor, and threshold to the room where Mary waited. I guess surprised probably not the best choice of words do to the structures age, relic hunters etc.. As for your Springfield tour not even a little libation? I think it would be only fitting if we could raise a toast at the spot Fido had his unfortunate encounter. If that location is even known.

[L Verge]

As an animal lover, Dan, I think it is very thoughtful of you to propose visiting the site of Fido's demise and honoring him with a toast. I remember crying when I first learned how he died. "Assassinated" was the first word that came to mind - just like his owner years later.

[Jim Page]

(08-11-2015 05:26 PM)DanielC Wrote:  . . . I was surprised to find out when I visited the Petersen House recently that the only original part left was the railing, some of the floor, and threshold to the room where Mary waited.

Daniel, that's all that's original of the Petersen House? I certainly didn't know that, and I've been there a lot and read about it even more.

I was under the impression that the ground floor of the Petersen House was basically as it was in the 1860s, though I'm sure there have been alterations, as with any old dwelling.

The other floors have probably been substantially altered as I think there are offices up there now, but that's just surmise on my part. But compared to, say, the Surratt boarding house, I thought the Petersen House was much more original.

Jim Garrett, can you add any info to this interesting topic?

--Jim

[DanielC]

(08-11-2015 05:56 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  

(08-11-2015 05:26 PM)DanielC Wrote:  . . . I was surprised to find out when I visited the Petersen House recently that the only original part left was the railing, some of the floor, and threshold to the room where Mary waited.

Daniel, that's all that's original of the Petersen House? I certainly didn't know that, and I've been there a lot and read about it even more.

I was under the impression that the ground floor of the Petersen House was basically as it was in the 1860s, though I'm sure there have been alterations, as with any old dwelling.







The other floors have probably been substantially altered as I think there are offices up there now, but that's just surmise on my part. But compared to, say, the Surratt boarding house, I thought the Petersen House was much more original.

Jim Garrett, can you add any info to this interesting topic?

--Jim

Hi Jim,

That was per the Guide that particular day. I'm interested in Jim's feedback.

Best,

[L Verge]

There were a good deal of repairs and renovations made to Petersen House over twenty years ago. If I remember correctly, they found some of the Ulke brothers' photographic plates under parts of the floor. Kathy Canavan may have information on that also.