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ESSAY OF THE MONTH
Indemnity
in Black and White
Fredericksburg Church
Claims
Many of the churches that were
involved in the Battle of Fredericksburg, or any
battle for that matter, submitted itemized claims
to the court of the United States government, as a
petition to recover the cost of damages. All of
these cases took years to come to fruition and
involved a tedious and detailed investigation
whereby members of the congregation, as well as
unbiased witnesses, testified in order to prevent
the commission of insurance fraud. The required
criteria for granting a claim involved several
factors that had to be determined by the panel
conducting each investigation.
This included a formal declaration
that absolved the churches from charges of
insurrection and treason for supporting the
Confederate States of America. Although each church
was eventually granted this absolution, it was most
likely as given as an amicable political gesture on
behalf of the U.S. Government. The documentation
for each of these federal investigations is on file
at the Fredericksburg / Spotsylvania National Park
Service archives. The evidence and findings for one
witness in each congregation's testimony will be
cited throughout this study. It is important to
note that all of the churches of Fredericksburg
(and Spotsylvania) were not awarded any money for
more than fifty years after the war
concluded.
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LECTURE OF THE MONTH
Angel of
Marye's Heights
Sgt. Richard Kirkland
Thank you Jim. Good evening folks.
It is certainly an honor and a privilege to have
the opportunity to speak to you tonight. When Mr.
Ford contacted me, he initially requested a
presentation on 'Stonewall' Jackson. However, when
I heard that the theme of this year was "Great
Lives that Touched Fredericksburg during the Civil
War," there was perhaps no greater choice of topic
in my opinion than that of Sgt. Richard Rowland
Kirkland. Like many of you, I have been a longtime
admirer of the story of the 'Angel of Marye's
Heights' and this presentation forced me to further
research what is truly an extraordinary
life.
It
was no surprise that I was able to retrieve some
great sources for this evening's talk. Mac Wycoff
of the National Park Service has done a wonderful
job compiling and publishing information on Sgt.
Kirkland. I was able to find a variety of materials
in the bound volumes at Chatham, as well as in a
short biography written by a novice historian named
Les Carroll. I was also able to get transcripts of
Kirkland's personal letters from Susan Sweet of the
Orange County Round Table out in California.
Although I had previously published an essay on
Kirkland, as well as a chapter in my devotional
titled "The Southern Samaritan," I still believe
that I have just begun to scratch the surface of
this remarkable man's story, which has inevitably
touched me.
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BLOG POST OF THE MONTH
A real
Good guy
A
few years ago, I wrote a short, retrospective essay
titled Birth of a Buff. In it, I shared the story
of how my parents first introduced me to the Civil
War during a family vacation to Gettysburg in 1978.
You can view that essay, along with some incredibly
cute photos of yours truly, over on my website. If
not for the efforts of my mom and dad, who knows
what kinds of shenanigans I would have fallen into?
Another individual who deserves credit for
cultivating my interest in the "Great Divide" is
Mr. David Good, my 6th grade history teacher.
I
turn 37 in just a few weeks, and there are very few
things that I can still remember from my days at
Manilla Elementary School. Most of them however,
took place in my American history class. You know
that teacher who seemed to have a gift for igniting
interest in his/her students, the kind of teacher
that presented their curriculum in a totally
captivating way, and the type of teacher that you
actually looked forward to seeing in class each
week? That was Mr. Good. His teaching style was
extraordinary and he left an indelible impression
on me that lasts to this very day.
You
could say that he alone gave me my start as a
writer. I distinctly remember penning one of my
first historical pieces for him. It was a report on
Francis Marion "The Swamp Fox" and Mr. Good told us
stories about how he and his friends would pretend
to be Continental and British soldiers while
playing army in the woods.
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