(1) Landrieu Wants Commission on War Anniversary - Shreveport Times

  (2) Editorial: Federal Supply - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

  (3) Civil War History Comes Alive at Annual Nevada Reenactment - Las Vegas Sun

  (4) New Series of Historic Trails for Williamson, Maury Counties - Nashville Tennessean

  (5) Lotz House Adds Painting by Matilda Lotz to Collection - Williamson Herald

  (6) Funding Will Save Historic Lands - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

  (7) Preservation Association Is Hopeful for National Designation - West Central Tribune

  (8) Editorial: Touching Moment Honors Unknown Soldier - Knoxville News Sentinel

  (9) Uncovering an Abraham Lincoln Not Often Seen - Philadelphia Inquirer

(10) Editorial: Historic Journey - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

(11) Markers Honor Civil War Sites in Jefferson County - Knoxville News Sentinel

(12) War Monument Marks Anniversary Effort - Associated Press

--(1)  Landrieu Wants Commission on War Anniversary -----------------------------------------------------

Landrieu Wants Commission on War Anniversary
By John Andrew Prime
11/2/2009
Shreveport Times (LA)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20091102/NEWS01/91102019/Landrieu-wants-commission-on-war-anniversary

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., has taken up a banner of history that has fallen, at least on the field of battle.

She and fellow Democratic Sen. Jim Webb, of Virginia, have introduced the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act of 2009 "to establish a Commission to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War," a release from her office states.

"We must remember the legacies of the Civil War," Landrieu said. "The United States emerged completely altered after the four years of struggle, and as a testament of American resilience, grew stronger than it was before. The cultural and political ramifications still shape the American landscape today. It was in the era of Reconstruction that Congress adopted the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, acknowledging black Americans as free and equal citizens of the United States. The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act of 2009 is about preserving that memory."

As someone with ancestors who fought on both sides of the nation's bloodiest war, Webb said it has special significance for him.

"It is important that all Americans are aware of the many sacrifices made, by soldiers and civilians alike, for which we emerged as a stronger, more diverse and free nation because of these sacrifices," he said. "The intention of this commission is to ensure the proper recognition of the sesquicentennial and builds on my other legislative efforts to support educational and preservation efforts for this turning point in American history."

It is the latest of a series of efforts to remember a war that still divides Americans of all races and political leanings.

In 1996, Landrieu's predecessor, Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Jr., sponsored legislation that called for the start of planning for the Civil War sesquicentennial and named the U.S. Civil War Center at LSU and the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College as the co-facilitators. Later, Virginia was added to the mix of planners.

Earlier this decade, former U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery, R-Shreveport, and some two dozen other members of Congress have attempted, without success, to pass legislation creating a U.S. Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

Planning for the national centennial of the war, observed from 1961 to 1965, began in 1957. It competed with Sputnik being put into space by the Russians, the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of a president and the beginning of the Vietnam War. But the centennial still became a tourist draw, with a national commission directing activities, an esteemed figurehead in Ulysses S. Grant III, 34 state commissions creating brochures and pamphlets and 300 city commissions coordinating activities. None of that was in evidence before 1957, though.

The Landrieu-Webb proposed commission would consist of 25 members drawn from government, business and academia, and would be charged to develop and carry out programs to ensure suitable national observance of the anniversary.

It also would work with state and local governments, as well as various organizations, to assist with commemoration activities and ensure that remembrance occurs at every level.

Two national organizations whose members are descended from soldiers who fought in the conflict, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, have been working for years to properly commemorate the conflict, and it is a special interest of the SCV's new national Commander in Chief Charles "Chuck" McMichael of Shreveport.

"We started talking about it around 2000 and started our own commission two years ago to start making plans," McMichael said. Whether his group would work with a national commission "depends on who is on it and what their focus is. We're going to do our events. We'll wait and see what they come up with, but we're willing to be on the ground floor of it if they want us to be."

A number of states already have established their commissions to begin planning, which may already be late on the national level.

"Oct. 16 was the 150th anniversary of the beginning of John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry and Oct. 17 was the anniversary of the retaking of it, with Col. Robert E. Lee at the head of U.S. troops," said Gary Joiner, Shreveport historian and Civil War author. "Whether we are prepared for it or not, the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War began on Oct 17. Time waits for no one or any government entity. It marches on."

Louisiana could benefit from the tourism of Civil War interest nationally and abroad.

Shreveport has a number of attractions to serve as a springboard for tourists. It was headquarters of the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi, the seat of Louisiana's Confederate government and, in June 1865, more than two months after Lee's surrender in Virginia, the last part of the Confederacy to capitulate. It had 18 gun batteries and four earthen forts, several of which still exist to some degree.

But not all of its history is gray. It was occupied by federal troops until 1877, including black cavalry troops, and was home to one of the first people heavily involved in the state's earliest civil rights movement, Union Army Captain and one-time state Lt. Gov. C.C. Antoine. He died in 1921 and Joiner and McMichael worked with Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, then a state representative, to properly mark Antoine's grave in west Shreveport.

"Secretary of State Jay Dardenne is very interested in commemorating the Civil War in the state, and I would love to see it happen, too," Joiner said. "It is something we need to do to honor all of our past, not just Southern, not just Northern, but American. It gives us, perhaps for the first time in our history, a chance to examine all sides."

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--(2)  Editorial: Federal Supply -----------------------------------------------------

Editorial: Federal Supply
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
11/2/2009
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (VA)
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/112009/11022009/504445

Last week, Congress approved a $32 billion appropriations bill for the Interior Department. Hard as it is to swallow that big megillah, in the middle is a sweet spot: about $9 million in matching funds to help preserve Civil War battlefields.

The Civil War Preservation Trust, just one of the groups fighting to rescue battlefields threatened by development, says it has saved over 28,000 acres in 20 states. Our own Central Virginia Battlefield Trust has preserved almost 900 acres. Their efforts, and others like them, have saved much more than land--they have preserved history and, in doing so, have honored the sacrifice of all who fought in that terrible struggle.

But much remains to be done. Preservationists assert that 30 acres of battlefield are lost each day. With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War hard upon us, this is the time to focus our efforts (and our dollars) toward keeping important battlefield land from the bulldozers.

Sen. Jim Webb was on the front lines of the effort to get the $9 million commitment in the Interior bill. Now it will be up to state and local governments and preservation groups to find the matching funds. When a battlefield is lost, it's lost for good. We have much to learn from the Civil War, and much yet to contemplate. There's no better place than a grassy field, ground hallowed by the sacrifice of those who fought there, to start that process.

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--(3)  Civil War History Comes Alive at Annual Nevada Reenactment -----------------------------------------------------

Civil War History Comes Alive at Annual Nevada Reenactment
By Erin Dostal
11/2/2009
Las Vegas Sun (NV)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/02/civil-war-history-comes-alive-annual-reenactment/

When Lisa Coffey says she's into history, she means it.

Dressed as a civilian spectator from the American Civil War era in a brown, hoop skirt and off-white blouse, Coffey was one of about 200 reenactors who participated this past weekend in the Southern Nevada Living History Association's Civil War Days at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

"It's a unique experience," said Coffey, who also is the spokeswoman for the association. "I think people participate because they have a great passion for history. They want to do something more than just read a book."

The weekend's events which ran Saturday and Sunday included four generic Civil War battles, complete with cannons, cavalry and passionate war cries.

Other events included a ladies tea, masquerade ball and a period baseball game.

Hours before the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series, teams of faux Union Army "Yankee" soldiers and Confederates were duking it out.

The purpose was to show more than the bloodshed. It was to show what life during the era was like for regular citizens who fought and lived their daily lives, Coffey said.

The event, in its fourth year, was planned for accuracy, said Jason Coffey, president of the association. Everything down to the clothes they wore, the way they fought and the layout of the camps was as it would have been during the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln, played by Don Ancell of California, was on hand to give the Gettysburg Address. He was dressed in his stovepipe hat and signature suit.

Roger Hurley, a chaplain from Fontana, Calif., played the Confederate chaplain on the battlefield. He acted as any Civil War chaplain would have, he said, helping soldiers on both sides pray after they were wounded.

The event catered to about 1,500 spectators throughout the weekend about half the normal attendance, Lisa Coffey said. The event costs about $10,000 to put on, which is no small fee for the nonprofit organization.

But the Coffeys still consider the weekend a success.

Even though few Civil War battles took part in the American Southwest, Lisa Coffey didn't think the desert backdrop mattered.

"We're here to educate," she said. "History isn't just for historical sites."

For some, the event is an escape from daily life; it's a way to have fun with friends and enjoy interpretive history.

For others, like William Prescott, who returned from a tour in Iraq in 2006, it's healing.

"I had been doing this for years and years," he said. "Part of it is therapeutic."

Prescott, a 41-year-old Las Vegan, said although he felt panicked during his first reenactment after returning to the United States, his love of history keeps him coming back.

"It's one thing to read history and see it in the movies," he said. "It's another to actually feel and touch and smell what history is."

During the reenactment, participants camp in tents in the park at night, drink out of authentic metal mugs and prepare their food like Civil War-era soldiers.

For a few simpler days, the reenactors ignore modern life.

Evan Gregorio, of Downey, Calif., said he first got involved with reenacting because he had friends who did it. Now, he's hooked.

"What we do is just listen to our commander and keep the enemy from flanking," said the 15-year-old Union Army private. "I like laying around here and the battles, too."

Raquel Ayala, 40, of Las Vegas, describes the experience as "becoming a different person and going back in time."

"When I go to a Civil War reenactment, I leave everyday worries and cares aside," she said. "All the drama of my life is gone for the weekend."

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--(4)  New Series of Historic Trails for Williamson, Maury Counties -----------------------------------------------------

New Series of Historic Trails for Williamson, Maury Counties
By Suzanne Normand Blackwood
11/1/2009
Nashville Tennessean (TN)
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091101/COUNTY090101/911010324/1327/New+series+of+historic+trails+follows+Williamson++Maury+settlement++aftermath

Just visiting the Carnton Plantation or Carter House in Franklin without having visited places such as Rippavilla Plantation in Spring Hill is like watching the last five minutes of a movie.

That's how local resident and history buff Aubrey Preston describes Civil War tours that previously have been offered in the area and center on just the Battle of Franklin, which was the climax of a race between Union and Confederate forces from Columbia toward Nashville.

"What was it that built up to this big drama? It really needs to be told as one story," Preston said. "It's most accurate when you tell the stories of the two counties together."

With the unveiling Tuesday of the 84-mile Old Tennessee: Settlers to Soldiers Trail, the intertwined stories of the two counties will be told together and in a context that was influenced by the Natchez Trace, treaties marking Native American lands, presidential politics, logging, mining and more.

Gov. Phil Bredesen, along with the state commissioners of tourism, transportation and economic and community development, will come to Franklin's Public Square to outline the new program, which is expected to eventually include about 14 similar trails throughout the state.

Loop starts in Franklin

The tour, which begins and ends in historic Franklin, takes tourists through one of the oldest areas of the state, once primarily inhabited by Native Americans.

The tour visits various historic sites, shops and restaurants in Leiper's Fork, Thompson's Station, Spring Hill, Mt. Pleasant and Columbia. Included along the way are views of the area's scenic landscape and other natural features, such as the Duck River.

Various stops include historic homes and churches, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as farms and businesses that have long ties with the history of the area. Examples include the James K. Polk House in Columbia, Rattle and Snap in Mt. Pleasant, the old Harlinsdale Farm site in Franklin, Ferguson Hall in Spring Hill and Puckett's Grocery in Leiper's Fork.

Civil war sites include the Carnton Plantation, McGavock Confederate Cemetery, Carter House, Lotz House, Winstead Hill, Rippavilla Plantation, Homestead Manor and more.

Other sites include everything from the phosphate museum in Mt. Pleasant to the historic Fly and Boston communities in Maury and Williamson counties, respectively.

Preston, who was heavily involved in the project and is the one who initially presented the idea of the trail to the state Department of Tourism, said many people are familiar with the Battle of Franklin. But the tour goes much "deeper" into the chronological history leading up to the battle.

Preston said that to his knowledge, Williamson and Maury counties have never told their stories about their involvement in the Civil War as one piece.

On Nov. 29, 1864, Confederate generals led their soldiers in a fight through Spring Hill against the Union Army. The clash resulted in about 850 casualties on both sides and ended with the withdrawal of the Union Army to Franklin, where one of the bloodiest battles of the war would take place.

Rippavilla Plantation in Maury County is where Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood scolded his officers after the Spring Hill catastrophe. Oaklawn, also in Maury County, served as the headquarters for Hood's operation and was where the badly injured general slept as the Union Army secretly retreated to Franklin.

Preston said that the histories of the two counties were intertwined before the Civil War, before the buckskin-clad settlers came south from Fort Nashborough, dating from when the ancestors of the Chickasaw and Cherokee settled along local rivers.

"Visitors do not recognize our geo-political boundaries," said Mark Shore, executive director of the Williamson County Convention & Visitor's Bureau. "When there is more for a visitor to see and do in an area, economic vitality follows."

Spring Hill Alderman Jonathan Duda, who is also chairman of the Spring Hill Historic Commission, said the tour brings attention to Spring Hill's role in the Civil War, as well as other aspects of its rich history.

Duda said there are still remnants of Spring Hill as an agrarian community.

"I think there's great potential to capture some of the tourist dollars from those who pass through our community," he said, adding that he hoped the tour would have a positive effect on the city's "unique downtown."

The goal of the trail is to attract everyone from the local history buff to tourists from out of state and even tourists from other countries. The idea is to make history more accessible by creating a driving tour that can be done in one to two days at a person's leisure, Preston said.

It is hoped that tourists visiting Music City will "make the decision to stay an extra day," he said.

Back roads magnet

Backers of the trail see it as not just a history lesson, but as an economic plan drawing visitors out into the countryside.

"If we can extend a visitors stay, enhance our offerings and provide an engaging visitor experience, then they will stay longer, spend more and tell others about their experience," Shore said.

That experience includes rural villages, mom-and-pop restaurants and country stores.

Joey Davis, owner of Davis General Merchandise in the Boston community in far southwest Williamson County, said he welcomes any tourists who might want to drop in his store during the tour.

"We've got a potbellied stove for this winter," he said, noting that he already sees motorcyclists who drive through the area to take in the scenery.

"That's a big weekend thing, weather permitting," he said.

Shore said dining and lodging sites, such as bed and breakfasts, were added to the tour with the comforts of eating and sleeping in mind and the intention of boosting the regional economy and building partnerships in the region.

"For Williamson County, those partnerships may be linking the cities, villages and hamlets within the county (and), at the same time, linking together Williamson, Maury and even Lewis Counties," he said.

"The Old Tennessee Trail links our early settler heritage to our civil war history, and it links our historic sites to shopping, dining, lodging and entertainment."

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--(5)  Lotz House Adds Painting by Matilda Lotz to Collection -----------------------------------------------------

Lotz House Adds Painting by Matilda Lotz to Collection
Williamson Herald
10/29/2009
Williamson Herald (TN)
http://www.williamsonherald.com/wlife?id=67045

The Historic Lotz House Civil War Museum has unveiled an original oil painting created by a young Matilda Lotz in 1880 at the age of 22. The painting titled, "The Donkey," reflects Matilda's life of perseverance and journey.

Matilda Lotz was just a young child during the Civil War's Battle of Franklin when she and her family willingly sought refuge in the Carter's basement, which was located just 110 steps from their home. The offer to stay in the neighbor's basement provided better security from gunfire and cannon blasts versus the Lotz wooden home. It was during her disruptive childhood that Matilda, at the tender age of 6, would begin drawing sketches of animals and childish figures.

Throughout her life, Matilda Lotz had been recognized for her designs and paintings. In the late 1800s, Matilda Lotz won several gold medals and received honorable mention for her work exhibited at the Paris Salon. Matilda was also awarded two gold medals by the Paris Academy of Painting, and was the first woman ever to be honored by the Academy.

In her latter years, Matilda Lotz was commissioned to paint the portrait of George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst and former California Gov. Leland Stanford, the founder of Stanford University. To this day, her paintings hang in the Hearst Castle, and Stanford University, respectfully.

Matilda Lotz's paintings have transformed her into an internationally award-winning and renowned painter. "The Donkey" was unveiled during the Lotz House Appraisal Fair held by Executive Director of the Lotz House, J.T. Thompson and Curator Sue Armstrong Thompson. Painted by Matilda in 1880, she was only 22 at the time, the painting is one of the earliest known painting by her that still exists.

"The Donkey" was donated to the Lotz House Foundation by a family in California who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Lotz House, which has been on the National Historic Register since 1976, is located in the heart of downtown historic Franklin, Tennessee at the "epicenter" of the Battle of Franklin, which was a pivotal battle in the Civil War on Nov. 30, 1864.

The Lotz House Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and educating people on the history and culture of the historic Civil War Battle of Franklin, Tennessee in 1864. The foundation is committed to enriching lives through preserving the stories of the time along with the lifestyle, furnishings and fine art of the period.

The house is open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m. or by appointment. Admission charged. The Lotz House is located at 1111 Columbia Ave. For more information, call 790-7190 or visit www.lotzhouse.com.

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--(6)  Funding Will Save Historic Lands -----------------------------------------------------

Funding Will Save Historic Lands
By Clint Schemmer
10/29/2009
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (VA)
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/102009/10292009/504070

For those who value American history, this week should be one for the record books.

Communities across the nation are about to benefit from the largest appropriation for Civil War battlefield preservation that Congress has ever parceled out.

House and Senate members have included $9 million for preservation efforts in the fiscal 2010 Interior Appropriations Act conference report. That's nearly twice the previous single-year record for such projects, said Jim Campi, the chief government-relations official at the nonprofit Civil War Preservation Trust.

The conference report, due for a final vote in both chambers later this week, designates the money for the U.S. Department of the Interior's American Battlefield Preservation Program.

Created in 1990 in the wake of development controversies at Virginia's Manassas battlefield, the program matches government and private funds to permanently protect Civil War battle sites throughout the nation. In 2008, for example, the Virginia General Assembly set aside $5.2 million to match ABPP money.

"The American Battlefield Protection Program is always pleased when Congress recognizes the importance of saving battlefield landscapes and supports the hard work of the dedicated organizations that make preservation possible," Paul Hawke, the program's chief, said yesterday in reaction to the news. "We congratulate our partners--the Civil War Preservation Trust, state and local governments, and private nonprofits--on keeping the issue of battlefield preservation in the public eye."

Members of Virginia's congressional delegation--including Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner and 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman--supported the push for funding. Webb, who played a leading role in the effort, called the funding request's acceptance "welcome news."

"As America prepares for the 150th-anniversary commemoration of the Civil War, it is more important than ever that we preserve these landmarks for future generations to learn about the history of our nation," he said.

The conferees' report includes $200,000 for Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The park's use of the funds depends on what battlefield land is available for acquisition, Superintendent Russ Smith said.

"It's wonderful that Congress has appropriated such a large sum for the program," Smith said. "On the eve of the Civil War sesquicentennial, that will do a lot of good for battlefield preservation."

Wittman said he is pleased to have secured funding for the park to protect land that "honors the memory of those who fought while preserving our rich heritage for future generations."

"This is tremendous news that could not come at a more critical time," said James Lighthizer, president of the 55,000-member Preservation Trust. "Each day, 30 acres of our remaining Civil War battlefields are paved over and lost forever. This money will allow us to preserve thousands of acres of historic land that would otherwise be lost to development and urban sprawl."

To date, the National Park Service program has protected more than 15,000 acres at 58 battlefields in 14 states. Historic properties at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Manassas; Antietam and South Mountain, Md.; Harpers Ferry, W.Va.; Champion Hill, Miss.; and Chattanooga and Fort Donelson, Tenn., are among the sites saved.

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--(7)  Preservation Association Is Hopeful for National Designation -----------------------------------------------------

Preservation Association Hopeful Battlefield Site Is Closer to Designation as National Historic Site
By Tom Cherveny
10/29/2009
West Central Tribune (MN)
http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/59280/

Union soldiers and Dakota warriors who clashed in a violent conflict 147 years ago may be remembered on the western Minnesota prairie where they gave their lives, and where the bodies of some still lie.

Gene Flaten, representing the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association, told the Yellow Medicine County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that the group is hopeful of seeing the site of the Sept. 23, 1862, Battle of Wood Lake designated as a national historic site within a year's time.

It would represent a big step toward the group's ultimate goal of preserving the site as a national battlefield.

It's one of only two Civil War battlefield sites currently recommended by the National Park service for consideration for such a designation in Minnesota. The other is Fort Ridgely, where Union soldiers and Dakota warriors also battled in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862.

Col. Henry Sibley and his 1,600 troops thwarted an ambush by Chief Little Crow at this site in eastern Yellow Medicine County, and the battle ended what some called President Abraham Lincoln's "second war."

Flaten said the nonprofit group has entered into a 50-year lease agreement with a landowner to protect a 64-acre portion of the battlefield. It is also close to completing a perpetual easement for a 240-acre portion of the battlefield with other landowners.

"It's remarkably beautiful and pristine; much like it was when the battle occurred," said Flaten of the site.

The group would like to see the battlefield preserved to remember those on both sides who lost their lives, as well as to tell the story of the clash of two great cultures that occurred here.

The association was started in early 2006 by Tom Hosier of Rochester, and now counts over 800 members in 39 states. Flaten said the process towards becoming a designated Civil War battlefield will be a long one.

The group wants to see the area protected in its natural state.

Although some areas are now farmed- the Dakota warriors are believed to lie under a corn field- much of the battlefield surrounds a creek with 60-foot banks and remains pasture and open prairie.

Flaten said someday there could be a small hiking trail, interpretive signs and a parking area developed.

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--(8)  Editorial: Touching Moment Honors Unknown Soldier -----------------------------------------------------

Editorial: Honoring Unknown Civil War Soldier a Touching Moment
Knoxville News Sentinel
10/29/2009
Knoxville News Sentinel (TN)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/29/honoring-unknown-civil-war-soldier-a-touching/

In less than two years, Americans will be preparing to observe the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of fighting that became the Civil War and lasted from 1861 to 1865.

The conflict that ripped the nation apart settled the question of preservation of the Union and, as a result of the federal victory, ended slavery. Other matters remain with us to this day: The role of the national government versus that of the states and race as an ongoing issue in our society are two of the most visible examples.

As we approach the time to begin our observance of that conflict, we should look to an event earlier this month in Franklin, Tenn., as a calming prelude.

On Saturday, Oct. 10, as college football games dominated the attention of many in the South and the nation, a soldier who died in the Battle of Franklin 145 years ago was reburied by those who did not know his name or whose uniform he wore when he met his death, but who cared greatly about the historical significance of the event.

"This soldier represents all of the soldiers, the thousands that were lost and are still buried across the South," said Robin Hood, chairman of the Franklin Battlefield Task Force that organized the event.

The unknown soldier was among the almost 2,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed during the 1864 Battle of Franklin. Construction workers in May found the soldier's shallow grave.

The soldier's coffin was draped with a Confederate and a Union flag for services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Franklin, an appropriate site because the church had served as a barracks and a hospital during the war. Civil War re-enactors accompanied the horse-drawn carriage to Rest Haven Cemetery.

A new memorial at the cemetery features a limestone column that once was part of the state capitol, a building that served as a Union stronghold during the war. "If this man was a Union soldier, his comrades may have actually passed through those columns," Hood said. "So, it's fitting."

There were two special guests for the occasion. James Brown, 97, whose father was James H.H. Brown of Oglethorpe County, Ga., who fought for the South at Shiloh, Manassas and Gettysburg. He also was at Appomattox when Robert E. Lee surrendered, ending the war.

The other was Harold Becker, 91, whose father Charles Conrad Becker fought with the Union forces at the Battle of Franklin. He had served in the 128th Indiana Infantry.

It will be proper for the nation to observe the anniversary of the start of the Civil War, to honor those who fought on both sides and remember those affected by the conflict. We again will argue and debate causes and results.
In our observance, let us remember that on one Saturday afternoon in the fall of 2009 descendants of those who participated in that tragic American epic came together to honor an unknown soldier whose remains, like those of many who fought with and against him, are now honorably at eternal rest.

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--(9)  Uncovering an Abraham Lincoln Not Often Seen -----------------------------------------------------

Uncovering an Abraham Lincoln Not Often Seen
By Edward Colimore
10/25/2009
Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20091025_Uncovering_an_Abraham_Lincoln_not_often_seen.html

He's typically depicted in paintings and sculptures as sullen and melancholy. His cheeks are sunken, and he has a long neck. His huge, veined hands are crossed over an ill-fitting, wrinkled suit.

But a different side of Abraham Lincoln has emerged in recently discovered accounts by those who knew him well and witnessed historic moments in his life and presidency.

In notes compiled early last century by artist and interviewer James E. Kelly, and uncovered by New Jersey historian William B. Styple, Lincoln is animated and athletic, passionate and engaging. He weeps and prays as he walks the streets of Washington, assessing the Civil War's cost. He smiles, laughs, and erupts in anger.

After collecting stories for at least 16 years, Kelly planned to write a book about the Lincoln few knew. He also hoped to produce a sculpture of the president, but he died in 1933 without finishing either.

Styple discovered Kelly's unpublished notes and correspondence - from civic leaders, politicians, artists, and soldiers - in the New York Historical Society about 70 years later and has turned them into a book.

"DO NOT represent him as if he were half asleep, or in mourning," wrote a Lincoln secretary, William Stoddard, in a 1919 letter to Kelly. "Make him living! For he was one of the most 'all alive' of men. . . .

"Remember that he was exceptionally vigorous physically, and notably outspoken in all his utterances - NEVER WEAK. I have seen his face light up as if God had kindled a bonfire behind it."
Styple devoured 27 boxes of Kelly's documents and learned of the artist's unusual friendship with a physician whose descendant - a South Jersey resident - inherited some of the artist's sculptures and sketches.

"When I found Kelly's notes, I knew how important they were," said Styple, 49, author of several Civil War books and a resident of Chatham, Morris County. "After 150 years, to find 50 new personal accounts [of Lincoln] is a rarity."

Eight of Kelly's bronze statuettes, four figurines, and a dozen plaster bas-reliefs were passed through the family of a Kelly friend to Henry Ryder, a professor of economics at Gloucester County College.

"Kelly's artwork has been pretty much forgotten," Ryder said. "His accounts and conversations were never known until Bill uncovered them."

Many critically acclaimed artistic works by Kelly, including equestrian pieces, are in parks, public places, and battlefields at Freehold, N.J.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Frederick, Md.; Washington; New York; and other East Coast cities.

To complete them, Kelly did extensive homework in the same way he had begun preparations for his Lincoln project.

He sketched, painted, and sculpted aging generals while chatting about historic events in which they and others shaped the Civil War.

He was enthralled by their eyewitness descriptions of the opening shots at Fort Sumter, the killing fields of Gettysburg, the Appomattox surrender, and the assassination of Lincoln.

His interviewing ability intrigued Styple, who studied Kelly's papers, including those about his conversations with Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and Alexander S. Webb. The public can see the documents at the historical society.

"While they sat, Kelly talked to them, and they told him things they wouldn't write in their memoirs," Styple said recently, in this 200th anniversary year of Lincoln's birth. "It was like talking to a barber or bartender."

Kelly got the idea for a book and bronze sculpture of Lincoln in 1917 after sharing some of his notes about the 16th president with a librarian.

"If you write what you have told me - what the generals and other friends of Lincoln have told you, it would make a Life of Lincoln," the librarian said, according to Kelly's notes.

The artist took her advice. "From that very moment, I became desirous of gathering material - to justify me in making Abraham Lincoln an active, vigorous leader so much as inspired the poem of Walt Whitman, 'O Captain! My Captain!' " wrote the artist.

Kelly was influenced by Henry T. Blake, a civic leader in New Haven, Conn., and a businessman who met the 6-foot-4 Lincoln in 1860 and later was appalled by statues in his honor.

"He is generally represented with his head bowed down meditating, or depicted grasping his coat, as if he were sick to his stomach, while he was full of animation. . . .

"His soul was bigger than himself - a common figure with the soul of a prophet," Blake told Kelly around 1917. "When he spoke he seemed to rise, and became transfigured with fire and vigor."

Many who met Lincoln were impressed by his appearance. "There was always about his mouth a suppressed play of humor," said artist George Henry Story, who painted Lincoln's portrait. "I never saw him in shabby clothes. He was one of the best dressed men in Washington. . . .

"He was called uncouth and coarse, and all sorts of stories were told of him which were not true. He was not at all coarse or rough in build. . . . It is wrong to represent him drooping; he was alert."

There was a "solemnity, dignity and a general air that bespoke weight of character that was convincing at our first meeting," Story said. "Honesty was written in every line of that face."

The more interviews he did, Kelly wrote, the more he became convinced that Lincoln "had seldom been depicted correctly in art."

He continued his research while receiving critical acclaim for his evocative painting and his sculpture of Sheridan's ride to rally troops at the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864. Kelly was commissioned to portray, in bronze, 40 Union generals.

But he often found himself in financial difficulties that were eased by George Ryder, a New York physician and friend who admired Kelly's work, Styple said.

Kelly "was not a good businessman," Henry Ryder said. "If it wasn't for my great-uncle, a lot of the artist's work certainly would not have been saved. . . . Much of it was in a basement, and my uncle had it cast in bronze so it could be saved."

Though never completing a Lincoln book or sculpture, Kelly did leave a legacy, said Styple, who edited the artist's notes in a book released this month called Tell Me of Lincoln: Memories of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Life in Old New York by James E. Kelly.

"He lets us see Lincoln as a human being, as a man, not the godlike figure at the Lincoln Memorial," Styple said. -----------------------------------------------------

Uncovering an Abraham Lincoln Not Often Seen
By Edward Colimore

10/25/2009
Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20091025_Uncovering_an_Abraham_Lincoln_not_often_seen.html

He's typically depicted in paintings and sculptures as sullen and melancholy. His cheeks are sunken, and he has a long neck. His huge, veined hands are crossed over an ill-fitting, wrinkled suit.

But a different side of Abraham Lincoln has emerged in recently discovered accounts by those who knew him well and witnessed historic moments in his life and presidency.

In notes compiled early last century by artist and interviewer James E. Kelly, and uncovered by New Jersey historian William B. Styple, Lincoln is animated and athletic, passionate and engaging. He weeps and prays as he walks the streets of Washington, assessing the Civil War's cost. He smiles, laughs, and erupts in anger.

After collecting stories for at least 16 years, Kelly planned to write a book about the Lincoln few knew. He also hoped to produce a sculpture of the president, but he died in 1933 without finishing either.

Styple discovered Kelly's unpublished notes and correspondence - from civic leaders, politicians, artists, and soldiers - in the New York Historical Society about 70 years later and has turned them into a book.

"DO NOT represent him as if he were half asleep, or in mourning," wrote a Lincoln secretary, William Stoddard, in a 1919 letter to Kelly. "Make him living! For he was one of the most 'all alive' of men. . . .

"Remember that he was exceptionally vigorous physically, and notably outspoken in all his utterances - NEVER WEAK. I have seen his face light up as if God had kindled a bonfire behind it."
Styple devoured 27 boxes of Kelly's documents and learned of the artist's unusual friendship with a physician whose descendant - a South Jersey resident - inherited some of the artist's sculptures and sketches.

"When I found Kelly's notes, I knew how important they were," said Styple, 49, author of several Civil War books and a resident of Chatham, Morris County. "After 150 years, to find 50 new personal accounts [of Lincoln] is a rarity."

Eight of Kelly's bronze statuettes, four figurines, and a dozen plaster bas-reliefs were passed through the family of a Kelly friend to Henry Ryder, a professor of economics at Gloucester County College.

"Kelly's artwork has been pretty much forgotten," Ryder said. "His accounts and conversations were never known until Bill uncovered them."

Many critically acclaimed artistic works by Kelly, including equestrian pieces, are in parks, public places, and battlefields at Freehold, N.J.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Frederick, Md.; Washington; New York; and other East Coast cities.

To complete them, Kelly did extensive homework in the same way he had begun preparations for his Lincoln project.

He sketched, painted, and sculpted aging generals while chatting about historic events in which they and others shaped the Civil War.

He was enthralled by their eyewitness descriptions of the opening shots at Fort Sumter, the killing fields of Gettysburg, the Appomattox surrender, and the assassination of Lincoln.

His interviewing ability intrigued Styple, who studied Kelly's papers, including those about his conversations with Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and Alexander S. Webb. The public can see the documents at the historical society.

"While they sat, Kelly talked to them, and they told him things they wouldn't write in their memoirs," Styple said recently, in this 200th anniversary year of Lincoln's birth. "It was like talking to a barber or bartender."

Kelly got the idea for a book and bronze sculpture of Lincoln in 1917 after sharing some of his notes about the 16th president with a librarian.

"If you write what you have told me - what the generals and other friends of Lincoln have told you, it would make a Life of Lincoln," the librarian said, according to Kelly's notes.

The artist took her advice. "From that very moment, I became desirous of gathering material - to justify me in making Abraham Lincoln an active, vigorous leader so much as inspired the poem of Walt Whitman, 'O Captain! My Captain!' " wrote the artist.

Kelly was influenced by Henry T. Blake, a civic leader in New Haven, Conn., and a businessman who met the 6-foot-4 Lincoln in 1860 and later was appalled by statues in his honor.

"He is generally represented with his head bowed down meditating, or depicted grasping his coat, as if he were sick to his stomach, while he was full of animation. . . .

"His soul was bigger than himself - a common figure with the soul of a prophet," Blake told Kelly around 1917. "When he spoke he seemed to rise, and became transfigured with fire and vigor."

Many who met Lincoln were impressed by his appearance. "There was always about his mouth a suppressed play of humor," said artist George Henry Story, who painted Lincoln's portrait. "I never saw him in shabby clothes. He was one of the best dressed men in Washington. . . .

"He was called uncouth and coarse, and all sorts of stories were told of him which were not true. He was not at all coarse or rough in build. . . . It is wrong to represent him drooping; he was alert."

There was a "solemnity, dignity and a general air that bespoke weight of character that was convincing at our first meeting," Story said. "Honesty was written in every line of that face."

The more interviews he did, Kelly wrote, the more he became convinced that Lincoln "had seldom been depicted correctly in art."

He continued his research while receiving critical acclaim for his evocative painting and his sculpture of Sheridan's ride to rally troops at the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864. Kelly was commissioned to portray, in bronze, 40 Union generals.

But he often found himself in financial difficulties that were eased by George Ryder, a New York physician and friend who admired Kelly's work, Styple said.

Kelly "was not a good businessman," Henry Ryder said. "If it wasn't for my great-uncle, a lot of the artist's work certainly would not have been saved. . . . Much of it was in a basement, and my uncle had it cast in bronze so it could be saved."

Though never completing a Lincoln book or sculpture, Kelly did leave a legacy, said Styple, who edited the artist's notes in a book released this month called Tell Me of Lincoln: Memories of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Life in Old New York by James E. Kelly.

"He lets us see Lincoln as a human being, as a man, not the godlike figure at the Lincoln Memorial," Styple said.

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--(10)  Editorial: Historic Journey -----------------------------------------------------

Editorial: Historic Journey
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
10/25/2009
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (VA)
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/102009/10252009/502357

When it comes to history, nobody beats Virginia. Other claimants to No. 1 are mere pretenders, given Virginia's long-term impact on the nation's development.

This is the Cradle of Presidents; the home of Jamestown; the site of the Confederate capital and four of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, as well as the surrender at Appomattox. This space is far too small to enumerate the commonwealth's historic contributions.

Given the ongoing efforts to preserve so many aspects of Virginia's history, there is one particular recent success worth noting. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a driving route that begins in Gettysburg, Pa., and ends at Monticello, has been designated a National Byway by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The vast majority of the tour is, of course, in Virginia.

The designation is not about rules and regulations, and not about sacrificing property rights. It is an honorary title that puts a global spotlight on a corridor that is home to many sites that have played key roles in America's past (meaning, also, its present). The result won't be a human herd overrunning these cherished sites, but it could mean a boost to regional tourism. Those even a little bit up on history will know that Fredericksburg, along with the historic sites that surround it, is nearby.

The designation creates a marketing tool designed to spread the word that this is a fun-filled and educational way to explore the nation's past. You do it at your own speed. The route is enticingly scenic, without heavy traffic or theme-park crowds.

Visit hallowedground.org to survey the many places of note along the route, some in Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange, and Spotsylvania counties. The Web site states that the entire tour covers "11,000 years of dense history from ancient burial grounds and Native American history to 400 years of European, American, and African-American heritage."

History: Virginia's got it. So why not flaunt it?

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--(11)  Markers Honor Civil War Sites in Jefferson County -----------------------------------------------------

Markers Honor Civil War Sites in Jefferson County
By Matt Lakin
10/22/2009
Knoxville News Sentinel (TN)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/22/markers-honor-civil-war-sites-in-jefferson/

The soldiers died by the hundreds, the blue and the gray, buried in graves mostly unmarked and now forgotten.

Three new markers around Jefferson County commemorate their stories as part of the state's Civil War Trails program.

"For 145 years, the stories of what happened in Jefferson County lay hidden," said Bob Jarnagin, county historian. "We're proud to bring these stories to light and get them in front of people."

The county saw some of East Tennessee's bloodiest fighting during the winter of 1863-64, when Confederate troops under Gen. James Longstreet, beaten back from a failed siege of Knoxville, clashed with Union troops and sought food and shelter from civilians amid some of the coldest temperatures in local history.

"There were over 20,000 troops on both sides stationed in this county, skirmishing and engaging through one of the coldest winters on record," Jarnagin said. "This is their story."

The county boasts three markers so far. One, dedicated Wednesday in the cemetery of Ebenezer United Methodist Church in the Talbott community, marks the site of the Battle of Kimbrough's Crossroads, where Confederate soldiers forced Union troops into retreat Jan. 16, 1864. Two more commemorate the Battle of Hay's Ferry near Dandridge and the Battle of Mossy Creek in what's now Jefferson City.

"It's very gratifying, because our society is moving toward forgetting a lot of the things that have happened," said Roger "Butternut" Kelley, a Civil War re-enactor. "Hopefully future generations will see this and be able to remember what happened here."

The county expects to place two more signs in the coming weeks and at least another five next year, Jarnagin said.

The Civil War Trails program originated in Virginia during the 1990s and now covers more than 860 sites in five states. That number includes 148 so far in Tennessee, said Noell Rembert, Civil War heritage coordinator for the state Department of Tourist Development. Officials hope to see at least 300 markers placed around the state in time for the war's 150th anniversary in 2011.

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--(12)  War Monument Marks Anniversary Effort -----------------------------------------------------

War Monument Marks Anniversary Effort
Associated Press
10/20/2009
Associated Press (NAT)
http://www.kypost.com/content/news/commonwealth/story/War-Monument-Marks-Anniversary-Effort/Wb1unK_GPUWmq4V8XhpLSQ.cspx

On a cold December day in 1861, a few hundred German immigrants in blue Union uniforms squared off against 3,000 Confederates on foot and horseback near Munfordville, Ky.

When the withering artillery and musket fire cleared, the rebels fled, and Kentucky's first Civil War battle ended in victory for the 32nd Indiana regiment known as the "First German."

But before the regiment marched on, infantryman August Bloedner carved a limestone monument to the 13 Union dead, leaving behind the Civil War's first monument to fallen soldiers.

Now, nearly 150 years later, that monument is set to be placed in a museum, likely in Louisville, after being rescued and restored following decades of neglect and environmental wear that nearly destroyed it at Cave Hill Cemetery, where it has rested since 1867.

The Battle of Rowlett's Station, and its important monument, is just one of the stories Kentucky officials will highlight as they prepare to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the Commonwealth's unique and deeply divided place in it.

According to the Kentucky Department of Archives and Libraries, more than 75,000 Kentuckians fought for the Union, while roughly 40,000 fought for the Confederacy. As many as one-third died from combat, disease and exposure, historians estimate.

"We were a border state; presidents of the North and South were both from Kentucky; and we had stars on both flags it divided many families here," said Donna Neary, director of Kentucky's 2011-2015 Sesquicentennial Initiative aimed at commemorating the political, economic and cultural impact of the war in a slave-owning border state.

Kentucky recently received $1 million in federal funds to pay for events that will include traveling exhibitions, scholarly presentations, renovations of historic buildings and new highway markers. The commemoration will be organized by a 25-member Kentucky Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, recently created by Gov. Steve Beshear.

In addition, the state plans to spend $440,000 for improvements at the Battle of Richmond Park, near Richmond, where Union forces suffered a defeat as the Confederate Army advanced northward.

"There is no shortage of stories that have yet to be told about the Civil War in Kentucky," Neary said.

The battle story behind the Bloedner monument, the war's oldest-surviving memorial, began in an unlikely state, and from an unlikely unit, said historian Michael Peake.

The men who formed the First German Regiment were all recent immigrants between the ages of 17 and 49 and living in Louisville, New Albany, Ind., and Evansville, Ind. Some had fought in Germany and fled to America after a failed effort to unify their native country.

They volunteered to fight for their new country, driven in part to prove their loyalty amid anti-immigration political movements that targeted Germans, Irish and Catholics. Among them was Henry Eisenbeis, a carpenter from Aurora, Ind., said his great-granddaughter, Delores Eisenbeis, 73, of Louisville, whose family passed down accounts of the battle and who has made visits to the monument.

In December of 1861, the unit was sent to secure a bridge over the Green River that had been blown up by Confederate sappers near Munfordville.

During the roughly hour-long battle, which included cavalry charges and hand-to-hand combat, Eisenbeis was shot in the leg. He carried the bullet in his leg the rest of his life.

The battle was the first Civil War skirmish in Kentucky, "and these were the first men of the state to perish in the conflict," according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. While the skirmish was relatively brief, "it allowed the Union army to move forward and advance on Bowling Green," Peake said.

It was after the battle that August Bloedner carved into an outcrop of limestone the names and birth dates of the 13 regiment soldiers killed, along with images of eagle and flags.

The memorial was erected in Munfordville in January 1862, and on June 6, 1867, the dead were removed from the field where they died and reburied at Cave Hill.

But acid rain and heat and cold extremes eventually ate away the porous limestone that commemorated the battle. Most of the inscription which hailed the unit in German for "fighting nobly in defense of the free Constitution of the United States of America" disappeared.

While most of the damage occurred in recent decades, it wasn't until a Civil War memorial event was held in 2002 that historians and others began to realize the monument was disintegrating.

A wooden cover was erected to protect it from the elements, but, at the urging to Peake and others, the monument was removed from Cave Hill in 2008 for renovations.

"It was in sad, sad shape," said University of Louisville archaeologist Phil DiBlasi, who works closely with local cemeteries.

With the help of the National Cemetery Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Kentucky historical officials, contractors working at the University of Louisville recently finished cleaning the monument, including injecting microscopic glass beads into the pores to firm up the limestone.

"We normally don't take a historic object from its location, but we decided we needed to go to extreme measures to save this," said Sara Amy Leach, a senior historian with the National Cemetery Administration, who estimated the cost of the effort to be in excess of $300,000, which is being paid for by the federal government.

Now, the only question is where the original monument will rest.

In the next few weeks, National Cemetery Administration officials are likely to choose among potential locations including the Frazier International History Museum, the Hart County historical society and the Patton Museum near Fort Knox, all of which offer climate-controlled environments and the ability to showcase the monument.

Finding a proper home is important to scholars and descendants, who view it as a key piece of Kentucky's rich tapestry of Civil War history.

"It's important because it's the oldest, and these were men from Germany who were willing to fight for their country," Eisenbeis said. "It was a noble act, and it should be remembered."

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