French Connections

A few years ago….I was with Ed Kennedy and Tom Chychota in leading a Battle of the Blue Staff Ride for majors and their colonel from the French equivalent to our Command and Staff College. These guys were incredible!!!! And no wusses, believe me!!!!!! Here we are in Liberty, MO. …It was a wonderful day. Thinking of them all and their brothers and sisters in arms today. They sent me a present when they returned to Paris…a French Marine cap…it is one of my treasured possessions!!!!

Colonel Fred is on the far left…what a dear man!

Lazy Bones

More like tired bones. Gary & I have been so busy lately, there has simply been no time to catch up on photos and share the great events that have filled our lives. We'll take care of some of that this morning.

Carol Visits the Winery

The biggest event was the arrival of our dear friends, Andy & Carol Waskie from Philadelphia. Carol was among the featured speakers at Paracon 2011, held at the Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri. Andy, left, handled the powerpoint, while Carol, below, discussed haunts and history in Philly. Even though her profession is nursing, her avocation is history and she has been instrumental in Civil War Roundtables in Pennsylvania, organizing events and establishing businesses with history at the core.



Paracon 2011 was a very successful event held at one of the most haunted, and picturesque, sites in Missouri. Paranormal investigations and other events are a common occurence at the winery so look up paranormaladventuresusa.com for more information. Thanks to Beth Cooper Meyer and Nick Spantgos and their crews for working so hard to bring folks to our area and provide quality information and an interesting time.





General Meade Visits Topeka

Andy was here to portray Gen. George Meade, victor at Gettysburg, for an evening of tribute to Gen. E. V. Sumner. The event was held at the Celtic Fox in downtown Topeka. Watch this blog for more on Gen. Sumner, who was a colonel when he commanded Fort Leavenworth during Bleeding Kansas.
One of the evening's sponsors, Clay Mead (no e), and Carol Waskie. At left, General Meade (with an e), addressing the crowd.

Andy's book, Philadelphia in the Civil War is about to be released and we can hardly wait to read it. We'll have him back out for a booksigning.

Beth Cooper Meyer, tour guide, hostess, author and all around fun gal who made the ParaCon 2011 happen. She makes things happen all the time and we're so glad she's here in Topeka!

It's great when you can "volunteer" to get your friends involved -- me with Betty Lou Pardue, our celebrity auctioneer for the evening, and Janet Sage Bruce.

Event sponsors Duane and Beth Fager who do so much to support our community along with our special guests Andy and Carol Waskie. Below, Barney Heeney, me, Marge Heeney and Doug Wallace.Our dear, dear friend Lt. Col. (ret) Ed Kennedy spoke about the Command and General Staff College Hall of Fame at Fort Leavenworth. Ed was preparing for special events at the Liberty Memorial in honor of Mr. Buckles, the last remaining WWI soldier, and we're so grateful he took the time to visit us.

We were also thrilled that Michelle Martin was able to join us. Now that Michelle is a resident of Oklahoma, we don't get to see her as often as we'd like. She is a part of our Gen. E. V. Sumner National Monument Project and an advocate for history wherever she goes. Her guest for the evening was Mary Kristen Kurtis. Mary is the daughter of Bill Kurtis and is involved in much of her dad's business and an advocate for history herself.

So many more things happening. Let me hear from you and we'll all try to keep up with one another online and visit in person when possible.

All photos taken by my handsome husband, Gary Bisel. He also did the sound for our event at the Celtic Fox.

Army Strong

While at Fort Leavenworth on Tuesday, I became acquainted with the story of this little soldier, Evan Pirtle. Evan is a patient at the Shriner's Hospital in Memphis and loves soldiers. When the guys at the Command and General Staff College were made aware of his situation, they began a relationship with him that is truly amazing. Yesterday, I spoke on the phone with Evan's mother and she just wants America to know how much the military has done for her little boy and what big hearts they have. Tomorrow morning, Evan and his mom, Rachel, will join me on Topeka Talks. Join us at 9 a.m., and in the meantime, visit Evan and sign his guestbook at caringbridge.org/visit/evanpertile. This photo shows Evan happily wearing the uniform sent to him by Col. Bob Burns. Bob and Ed Kennedy told me about Evan and Rachel could not say enough about the generosity of these two men.

Black Confederates

Byron from Tennessee reports that all of Knox County has the hacking, hocking, malady from which I have been suffering. Sales of moonshine must be through the roof! "Government liquor," as Grandpa called it, just doesn't have quite the same medicinal quality. . . .

Major Melissa Tune, currently assigned to the Army's Command and General Staff College, is also a TV personality in Augusta, Georgia. She recently interviewed my bud LTC (ret) Ed Kennedy and myself for a special segment on black Confederate soldiers. Also weighing in on the discussing was Ethan Rafuse, from the CGSC's history department. She did an overview of of the subject as well as another story on the removal of a Confederate soldier's headstone in a Missouri cemetery.

It seems that someone called the cemetery claiming to be the descendant of John Noland, a black man who rode with William Clarke Quantrill. The descendant said that Noland was neither black nor Confederate and asked that the stone be removed. Actually, both Noland's race and his service are fairly well documented. Police were called and the incident is under investigation, but let me assure you, the local Sons of Confederate Veterans are outraged that a mere phone call could uproot a memorial marker.

While Tom and I were researching The Day Dixie Died, we stopped in the Augusta Public Library and were reading old newspapers on the microfilm. A black woman and her daughter sat next to me to work on a school project. Being unfamiliar with the machine, the lady asked me if I could help her thread the film. I hoped she wouldn't notice that on my screen was an ad for a slave auction in Augusta, in mid-April 1865. Listed for sale was a girl about the age of her daughter. I was so overcome I had to bite my lip to control my emotions.

And, lest any of you doubt the experts at my beck and call, this email from Col. Kennedy describes the photo at the top of the page:

Deb,

GREAT Photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post-war reunion photo:

#1 Not "Battle Flag" but the "Ensign"

#2 Shoes are 20th Century

#3 Canteen is Model 1885 U.S. Army canteen used until 1910

#4 Hat is Model 1875 U.S. Army "kepi" pattern. Used by fraternal and vet organizations

#5 Age of veteran

#6 "Uniform" is veteran reunion suit

#7 Veteran reunion ribbons and medals on uniform

Regards,
Ed

Birthday Greetings

Everyone knows this is the birthday of Lt. Gen. Thomas Jackson, CSA (1824), but he shares this day with two other prominent Civil War era personalities--U. S. Vice President John C. Breckinridge (1821) who became a major general in the Confederate Army, and John C. Fremont (1813), "The Pathfinder," first Republican candidate for president, governor of Arizona, U. S. Senator from California, and major general in the Union Army. What a day!

One of my history professors, Dr. Gunnar Alksnis, taught history through biography. His philosophy was that the best way to comprehend an era is to grasp the life of its leaders. I believe he was right. The life of Fremont (pictured in bronze in the Frontier Army Museum, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, above) is the very substance and form of America's expansion in the 19th century.

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Robert Lee Hodge

Today is also the birthday of one Robert Lee Hodge of Confederates in the Attic Fame. Born on Stonewall's birthday, and named for Robert E. Lee, Rob is actually an Ohio boy with Southern antecedents. He is the featured speaker at the Lee-Jackson dinner at the Grinter Place in Kansas City, Kansas, this Saturday. We were discussing his upcoming appearance when someone who has never met Rob inquired, "You mean the guy on the cover of that book?"

I laughed. "He's not really that scary," I promised. Rob became famous for perfecting "the bloat," the appearance of a dead, decaying corpse on the battlefield. Now a partner in Wideawake Films in Kansas City, he devotes his time to the other side of the camera.

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Col. Ed Kennedy

Speaking of our buds, Colonel Kennedy (left) was in town Saturday to speak to the local SCV Chapter. Ed's presentation on the battle and massacre at Centralia, Missouri, was excellent. He placed the atrocities committed by Confederate guerrilla Bill Anderson into the greater context of the war, with an escalation in war crimes committed by both sides. He discussed the meaning of "war crimes" and the Army's policies today and during the Civil War. This is an excellent presentation and so relavant to world affairs. Let me know if you have a group that would enjoy hearing this program and I'll get you in touch with the colonel.

Hibernating in Topeka

Have been laid low by the flu. Except for one productive day at Fort Leavenworth, this week has been a total wipe out. I'm just like a hibernating bear--every time I wake up,I look outside at the snow-packed roads and decide to go back to sleep. The cold weather doesn't help. Our low tonight is supposed to be 1, maybe 4. It's ridiculous.

Tomorrow morning, our bud Ed Kennedy is speaking here in Topeka. Tomorrow evening, Cheryl and I head to Wamego for the screening of Bloody Dawn at the historic Columbian Theater. We're packing blankets and firewood, and perhaps some spirits should we be stranded on the roadside.

Flag Waving

This is the Star Spangled Banner which flew over America when Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809. While plans are being made for the nationwide celebration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, let us take a minute to talk about flags.

Every student of American history knows that Francis Scott Key penned the words to our national anthem while a prisoner on a British ship off the coast of Baltimore. Whether you can sing it or not, it makes the heart soar to hear his heartfelt words of joy and gratitude as he beheld the symbol of his beloved young country. What you may not know is that just decades afterward, his grandson was a prisoner at Fort McHenry, the very place Key saw the banner of freedom that stirred him so.

Following the assassination of President Lincoln, untold numbers of American citizens were arrested for "disloyal utterances." Most of these offenses were mere comments critical of the Lincoln administration. Among those jailed was Frank Key Howard, Key's grandson. Howard understood perfectly the cruel irony of his situation:

"As I stood upon the very scene of that conflict," the prisoner wrote, "I could but not contrast my position with his, forty-seven years before. The flag which he had then so proudly hailed, I saw waving, at the same place, over the victims of as vulgar and brutal a despotism as modern times have witnessed."

In 1861, when the Confederate States of America had held its first meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, in order to set up a government, discussions turned to the flag. Jefferson Davis saw no need to change.

"Mr. Davis was very averse to relinquishing the old flag," wrote Varina Davis, "and insisted that a different battle-flag would make the distinction enough between the combatants; but he was overruled. . . ."

Jefferson Davis had defended the U. S. flag in the Mexican War. During the American Revolution, his father had fought to ensure that it flew forever. Now a war would be fought to decide what the flag meant.

Our flag wars continue.

(Flag above right, the 1st National Confederate Flag, the "Stars and Bars.")

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The Embattled Battle Flag

In response to yesterday's blog on the Confederate flag, I received some interesting comments. Among the most well-informed words are those from LTC (ret.) Ed Kennedy (left) of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A word of advice: NEVER argue with Ed!

Miss Deb,

In 1900, 1906, 1929 and 1958 the U.S. Congress passed successive acts that recognized Confederate soldiers as American servicemen. This was in response to many Northerners that wanted to heal the wounds of the war and reconcile. The effects of these acts granted Confederate veterans similar rights to those of U.S. veterans of the war including burial in National Cemeteries with Federally supplied headstones and pensions. The captured flags were ordered returned to their respective states as honored banners of brave foes. The Confederate Battle Flag is an American flag. Its misuse by bigots as well as anti-Southerners is despicable. Courageous and brave soldiers fought under the flag just as those who fought under our U.S. flag. It is a military symbol. The KKK has no more right to the flag than the Iranians who both burn and define the U.S. flag as one of a "terrorist" country. The descendants of the Union Army soldiers recognize the Battle Flag as a military symbol representing a worthy foe. In a 2000 Sons of Union Veterans resolution they state: "WHEREAS, we, as the descendants of Union soldiers and sailors who as members of the Grand Army of the Republic …, pledge our support and admiration for those gallant soldiers and of their respective flags...." Plainly stated, both the U.S. soldiers and descendants respect the Battle Flag and repudiate its, and the U.S. flag’s, misuse. The bottom line is that the misuse of the Battle Flag does not define it anymore than the U.S. flag, which is carried by their own rules, is defined by the KKK.

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Lincoln' Birthday Begun

Kentucky--The town square in the central Kentucky town where the 16th president first saw the light of day is being transformed to accommodate as many as a million visitors next year when the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial birthday celebration begins. A roundabout is being built downtown to ease traffic woes and Early American-style street lamps are being added, the News-Enterprise newspaper reported. Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin near what is now Hodgenville. The modest "birthplace" cabin is now surrounded by a memorial befitting a king. Like the birthplace of Wyatt Earp (see Tom's blog today), this cabin is almost certainly not the one Lincoln was born in, though there may be a couple of original logs, and the remainder may come from the same time. (Is this a great country, or what?!!) Illinois--Following a $12.5 million renovation and nearly two years of work, Union Station in downtown Springfield is scheduled to reopen to the public today as part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum complex. The building has been restored to its original appearance when it opened in 1898 as the Illinois Central Railroad depot. The first floor of Union Station will now serve as a visitor center where tourists can buy tickets to the Lincoln museum, receive information on other state tourism sites, book hotel reservations, and take advantage of free wireless Internet access, officials said. "In just two years, and over one million visitors later, the museum continues to be a top destination for folks across the country and around the world," Rick Beard, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, said. (Plus, they have a great gift shop, though the best book selection remains the gift shop at the National Park site nearby.)
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Richmond, Virginia, then (circa 1880) and now.

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Quote of the Day

Yet, Freedom! yet thy banner, torn, but flying,
Streams like the thunder-storm against the wind. -- Lord Byron