Spirit of the South

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

How were things shaping up for the Confederate cause by April 1862...one year into the war? Meh - not so great. Both the battles of Shiloh and Ft. Pulaski ended in Confederate defeat. By the middle of the month, Union forces were in motion against New Orleans and the Virginia Peninsula. Stonewall was kicking up a fuss in the Shenandoah Valley but otherwise, things looked pretty bleak.

Still - I believe there were signs that spirits were high, especially in the press. Here is a little snippet from the Richmond Times-Dispatch from April 17, 1862 concerning Confederate patriotism and sympathy for the cause across the Potomac in Georgetown.

We learn that on a recent occasion in Georgetown when the clergyman of one of the churches read the prayer of thanksgiving for Northern victories, most of the congregation rose from their knees, and some of them left the church. The flame of patriotism is still burning brightly in the very strongholds of despotism.

In a matter of months, Robert E. Lee would take the helm of Rebel forces outside of Richmond and really give the Confederate populace something to cheer about. But for now....a little patriotism would have to go a long way.

Peace,

keith

JEB Stuart Was Here

[caption id="attachment_1956" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Archeological Conservator Christopher Mills hard at work preserving the Brandy Station graffiti. "][/caption]

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

I came across this article on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website about the preservation efforts of a structure located at the Brandy Station battlefield.

According to the article, the "circa-1858 structure is believed to have been used as a hospital by Confederate and Union forces during the war. For unknown reasons, patrons decided to mark up the walls with signatures, drawings and anything else that crossed their minds. Mills' challenge is to remove the post-historic paint and whitewash that subsequent owners attempted to cover the markings with, as well as stabilize the fragile plaster."

What a great way to peer into the real lives of Civil War soldiers - and although without transcripts it is undetermined at this point exactly how different graffiti is from others means of communication such as letters, diaries, or post-war writing - I am going to bet that there are some very unique expressions inscribed on the building's walls.

I am looking forward to finding out exactly what these wounded and visiting soldiers thought about the 1863 cavalry battle or about the war in general. The article mentions that they have a JEB Stuart room, named so because of a signature. I am going to assume that it is indeed Stuart's signature, even though the article is kind of vague on this point.

Peace,

Keith