Smoking Hot Jeb

My, but May was a tough month in the Confederacy. As I wrote on yesterday's blog, Stonewall Jackson passed away May 10, 1863; Jefferson Davis was captured May 10, 1865; William Clarke Quantrill was captured and wounded May 10, 1865. It just gets worse. On this day in 1864, Cavalry Commander J. E. B. Stuart was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, near Richmond, Virginia. He would die the next day.

The colorful Cavalier was a main character in Kirke Mechem's opera, John Brown, which I had the pleasure of attending with friends this week. I instantly recognized Jeb with his plumed hat and yellow sash, though I'm not sure that's what he would have been wearing while serving in the federal army in Territorial Kansas. What I did not recognize was the cigarette he smoked.

A cigarette??

We had just re-watched Ron Maxwell's Gods and Generals (I know, I know, but it has some great scenes!) Have I said how much I despise the portrayal, or perhaps the direction, of J. E. B. Stuart? Anyhow, in the movie when he meets General Jackson, Old Jack asked Jeb if he used tobacco and Jeb replied, "no, not in any form." My expert and Jeb biographer, Tom Perry, thinks this was based on a conversation the two had concerning alcohol, not tobacco. Even so, Tom said he had found a couple of references to Jeb's enjoying a pipe now and then, but certainly never a cigarette, and there was no indication of regular use of tobacco "in any form."

A cigarette is just about a total anachronism in the 1850s. Tobacco was primarily chewed or smoked in pipes, which were much more common than is portrayed in film. Likewise, cigars were gaining in popularity.

So why did Kirke Mechem have Jeb smoking? Literary license, I guess. In the opera, Jeb's character stood in for all things Southern, a "self-appointed Cavalier" in contrast to Brown's "Puritanical" and "Cromwellian" roots. Perhaps it was as if slavery wasn't enough, but it was necessary also to portray the sin of raising tobacco. I don't know.

I thought the opera was wonderful, though. John Brown's life lends itself to such dramatic portrayal. The music was incredible; the staging was just nearly perfect. The history, well, this is drama, not documentary, if only people can remind themselves of the difference.

I just wish Jeb could lose the cigarette.
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Icy's Scrapbooks

Icy Bowman Brown was my Grandpa's cousin, and she and her husband, Sug, owned Laurel Hill where Jeb Stuart was born. Icy reveled in the history of her home, and saved every newspaper clipping, photograph, event program--anything related to the history of this site. When I was a kid, I would go over and go through her scrapbooks with her. She even let me take them home one time! I still can't believe that. I was 15 and writing a regular column for The Enterprise in Stuart. Icy's scrapbooks were the first historic documents I ever used.

Tom Perry tells me he is concerned that they are not being properly cared for and suggested to the Patrick County Historical Society that they go to Virginia Tech with the other papers Tom donated. I think that's a great idea. It's difficult for local history groups to preserve items properly. Think of this when you're making your will or donating items. Who has the ability to care for your items and who will make it available to future researchers?

Here's a photo of Icy and her son, Bowman Brown. What a beautiful image. She had a tremendous heart, and such class. Read more on Tom's blog at the freestateofpatrick.com.

Musings

Keith Whitley (statue above, and below right) passed away in his sleep on May 9, 1989. He was 34 and died of alcohol poisoning. He had a beautiful wife and children, was at the top of his music career, was good-looking, lovable, talented.

I came across some of his performances on YouTube while searching for Jimmy Arnold videos. Jimmy (left) was a brilliantly talented musician from Fries, Virginia, the same little town my Grandma Coalson was from. (She actually lived in Iron Town for you locals.) Our friend Rob Hodge knew Jimmy, too, and gave me a copy of an article about Jimmy that appeared in a Washington, D. C., newspaper a decade ago. I hadn't thought about him in a long time. When he was just a teenager, I believe, he and Wes Golding had a band together. Wes was another phenomenal talent from Lambsburg, Virginia, who was later a part of "Boone Creek" along with Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, and Terry Baucom. (One of the best songs I have ever heard is Wes's "Raining in L. A." Some big star will have the brains to record it one day and it will be a smash.) Anyhow, I was thinking about how Jimmy and Keith came from the same culture; how God had gifted them so generously; how they self-destructed; how they were so loved and yet had such a hard time accepting the love, or believing they deserved it.

I have struggled with depression, with ups and downs, most of my life. Possessed of a creative mind and spirit, fitting in to the world is sometimes difficult. You in turns embrace and reject it, as the world, in turns, embraces and rejects you. I am so grateful for the culture, the heritage that shaped me. It's like the rich, rich forest floor--sometimes so full of life it seems to burst with fullness. Other times, it is frozen hard and impenetrable.

When you have a minute, peruse YouTube and enjoy the art created for us by Keith Whitley and Jimmy Arnold.
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Confederate Memorial Day

This is Confederate Memorial Day (or Decoration Day) in North Carolina. A dark day for the Confederacy--Stonewall Jackson died on this day in 1863, Jefferson Davis and his family were captured on this day in 1865, and William Quantrill was shot and captured in 1865 (he would die about a month later). Other states celebrate the 4th Monday in April, corresponding with Gen. Joe Johnston's surrender to "Cump" Sherman. Others celebrate June 3, which is Jefferson Davis's birthday. Virginia celebrates the last Monday in May, just like the Yankee nation. The Confederates couldn't agree on anything.

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Grizzly News

Tanya Foubert , Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, May 07, 2008

CALGARY - It's a good thing Davy Crockett didn't grow up in Alberta. A hunter who claims he shot a grizzly bear in self-defence has been charged by the Alberta government. Joe Lucas, from the Carstairs, Alta., area north of Calgary, has been charged with five counts under the Parks Act and the Wildlife Act.

"The reasoning behind the charges is it has been shown the bear may not have been shot in self-defence," Alberta Parks spokeswoman Erin Mikaluk said."It is something we take seriously, and there is a lot of education on what to do and what not to do and how to avoid encounters with bears."

Lucas was part of a hunting party in the Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park in southwestern Alberta's Kananaskis Country when he shot the four- to five-year-old female grizzly on Oct. 21, 2007.

He claimed the bear came too close to the campsite occupied by himself and his son. Mikaluk said the investigation took more than six months because there was a large quantity of evidence to collect and analyze.

"The bear, in this case, was a lot of evidence itself," she said. Lucas will appear in provincial court this summer. He is charged with unlawfully hunting wildlife, unlawfully possessing wildlife, unlawful discharge of a firearm, failing to ensure a firearm in a wildland provincial park is unloaded and fully encased and unlawfully destroying a bear. Each charge carries a fine of up to $100,000. Mikaluk said the majority of grizzly bear deaths are the result of human activity, and with only 50 in Kananaskis Country, their protection is taken seriously. The executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada applauded the decision to lay charges, saying he is encouraged to see the province doing its due diligence to protect the species.

"It seems . . . this person could of taken a number of alternate actions to protect his safety and shooting the bear was unnecessary," Jim Pissot said."We likely have fewer than 320 bears in the province outside of parks. Every single bear is critical at this point."

The provincial government suspended the spring grizzly bear hunt for three years in 2006 when experts warned the animal's numbers might be much lower than the 1,000 previously estimated. Earlier this year, it was announced the suspension will continue into 2009.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. . . .

Forward, Lads!

No matter how much Andy Waski, left, and John Sirlin, right, urge them on, the Yankees still can't whoop Stonewall!

"At Pennsylvania's Neshaminy Park, we recreated 'Actions at Chancellorsville, VA,' May 3, 1863, as a 145th Anniversary event. We were portraying units of the 3rd Division, II Corps," said Andy. This was the 19th Annual Civil War History Reenactment, held on April 26-27.

They look so nice in their blue uniforms. It's a shame they lost :)
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Clinton in Mount Airy

I was not able to attend Bill Clinton's speech at the Mount Airy Middle School (left, compliments The Surry Messenger) a few days ago (and I don't think Freddy got his sign ready in time), but my on-the-spot reporter, Tom Perry, was there in my stead.

"We did not wait for hours to see Clinton," reported Tom, "and we were some of the last to get into what I estimated was a crowd of about 600, not thousands as the media reported." Read the rest of Tom's account at: http://freestateofpatrick.com/blog/2008/05/02/sox-for-president/

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A Sad Story From Home

Pfc. Adam Marion (right) was laid to rest in Surry County, North Carolina, today. He was killed in Iraq a few days ago. Our prayers are with his family. He was a beautiful boy.

From Angela Schmoll in The Surry Messenger:

DOBSON — Jack and Tanna Wermes had never met Adam Marion, yet they stood with dozens of other people along the route that lined his return to Surry County Saturday morning.

Pfc. Marion, 26, of Turner Mountain Road, Mount Airy, died last Monday while serving with the Army National Guard in Iraq.

“We just got through grocery shopping,” said Tanna Wermes. “We didn’t know he was coming home today, but we saw all the fire trucks at the intersections and I thought, ‘It could be that boy that died.’ When we found out it was, we decided to wait.”

The Surry County Sheriff’s Office escorted Marion’s parents, Donnie and Pam Marion, to Greensboro early Saturday to meet the plane bringing their son home. There they were met by Guilford County deputies and joined by representatives of the other Surry County law enforcement agencies and the Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle group, which rides with U.S. flags and yellow banners.

“Every jurisdiction we passed through they had blocked exits and some traveled with us for awhile,” Sheriff Graham Atkinson, who drove one of the escort vehicles, said Sunday. “We saw the first people waiting for him on I-40 behind the concrete barrier. All along the way there were people pulled over and standing outside their cars, some were spontaneous and some had obviously been waiting.”

The numbers increased after the procession reached U.S. 52 and intensified more when the vehicles reached Surry County. “They were on the overpasses with flags, standing with their hands over their hearts, and a group of veterans saluting at the [Pilot Mountain] state park exit,” he said.

The numbers grew as the group neared Mount Airy. Every intersection was blocked with an emergency vehicle or personnel, and some joined the procession as it traveled across the county.“I think all the businesses on 601 [in Mount Airy] must have shut their doors,” Atkinson said. “There were employees and people lining the street.”

Where the procession exited U.S. 601 at E. Atkins Street, small flags lined the side of the road near Lowes where Marion worked as a teenager. Residents from across the county, including Lowes’ employees, stood among the flags. Deputy clerks, who work with his mother, who is clerk of Superior Court, held a large yellow sign that read, “We love you Adam.”

“I remember that red hair and that smile,” said Laura Wright, who worked with Marion and recalled him with a smile. “He had the greatest personality and never met a stranger. My heart goes out to his sister, his mom and dad and his niece and nephew. I’m keeping them in my prayers. I wish they would send all the soldiers home.”

C.J. Karcanes, who waited with his motorcycle adorned with flags at the top of the exit ramp, said he felt Marion needed to be honored with more than people showing up. He’d been waiting more than an hour for the procession to arrive. “He’s a fallen hero and he deserves every bit of recognition we can give him,” he said. “I wish there could have been a parade with a brass band and him coming home alive.”

The groups of residents lined the route all the way to Moody-Davis Funeral Home on Kapp Street, where emergency and military personnel formed a double line. Marion’s family received friends Sunday evening at Piney Grove Baptist Church with hundreds of people turning out to pay their respects.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to The Children’s Center of Surry, P.O. Box 692. Dobson, N.C. 27017. Online condolences may be made at www.moodyfuneralservices.com.



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Post Script

Of course, though Chancellorsville was a Confederate victory, General Thomas J. Jackson was mortally wounded. On this day in 1863, he lay dying. On May 10, he would utter his last immortal words, "Let us cross over the river and rest in the shade of the trees."

Amen.