Unfortunately, as Clint’s article points out, “The marchers were trailed by several members of the Virginia Flaggers, a Southern heritage group, carrying Confederate battle flags and the bonnie blue flag—unofficial banner of the Confederate States of America. Other flaggers awaited the procession on Lafayette Boulevard near the park’s Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center.”

The VA flaggers tagging along behind the Memorial Day procession. 
(Robert A. Martin/The Free Lance-Star)

So what exactly were they doing there? There was ZERO historical significance for a Confederate flag to be present in the parade and…worse off, there was an equally moving ceremony taking place two blocks over at the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery where they would have fit in perfectly.

Their presence therefore can ONLY be interpreted as making a political statement, or maybe it was something more...I guess you can’t let a bunch of black folks have their moment too, eh flaggers? Perhaps the call to arms on their Facebook page betrays them the most. It stated: “The Fredericksburg division of the Va Flaggers will be making their official debut on Monday, adding a Confederate presence to this very Confederate UN-friendly event!”

What could be more “UN-friendly” than injecting your own brand of neo-confederate racism into a ceremony honoring African-Americans who were honoring Union soldiers? Every time these self-appointed heritage-activists show their true colors they lose more and more support. No wonder the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Museum of the Confederacy wants nothing to do with them.

I fully support the proper commemoration of the Confederate flag and that is why I do not support the VA flaggers. They are doing just as much to harm the public's perception of that banner as those they claim to stand against. Maybe if they spent a little time pursuing REAL historical preservation instead of fanning the flames of division, they could accomplish something other than pissing people off.

Eric and I have been absolutely blown away by the incredible reception that “You Stink!” has received. The print reviews have been very good so far, we’re doing radio shows from Pittsburgh and New York to Denver and beyond, national organizations are now booking us for speaking events, sports museums are carrying the book, our publisher has already offered us a contract to a companion volume and our Facebook page and blog is registering thousands of hits. Thank you!

“For baseball fans who love to devour any words about the game, ‘You Stink!’ is like a disease — you know the ‘achievements’ are awful, but you keep coming back for more.” – Bob D’Angelo, Tampa Bay Online  Read Here

“It’s comparatively easy to write books about baseball’s heroes. The people in question usually WANT to be written about. But what happens when you want to focus on the bums of baseball? This book happens.” – Ann Bendheim, Asbury Park Press  Read Here

“This book is, in the end, more than just a celebration of baseball and the worst nitwits to ever grace a field – it is a celebration of American life.” – J.David Petruzzi, historian/author  Read Here

Mike Silva, NY Baseball, AM1240 WGBB Radio (New York)  Listen here

John Steigerwald and Guy Junker, Trib-Radio (Pittsburgh)  Listen Here

Visit the official You Stink! blog

“…What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour...Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival…”

Although this is being done in fun and for charity, we also want serious participants who can play. I already have a very talented vocalist tentatively signed on (a university historian and recording artist), but need the roles of guitar, bass and possibly keys. Of course just like with a book, or a lecture, preparation means everything. No one is going to get back up in front of a crowd and petition for funds without being able to entertain. I have been practicing daily in order to get my chops back, but am nowhere near where I want to be. Our singer is about to release a new album with his own band and he won’t be able to dedicate time to a side-project until the band is assembled.

So at this point, THP is merely a vision. The process of forming an ensemble, defining a rehearsal schedule, and producing a set takes time so I can’t give you a specific timeline for all of this to come to fruition. I anticipate that this venture is still many months away from lifting off. I can say for sure is that it will ONLY happen if it’s going to be good. There is nothing worse than watching a bunch of middle-aged adults fail miserably at playing rock star. This project is NOT about forming a bar band. It's about giving folks an opportunity to share their musical talents with others while raising money and awareness for something greater than themselves.

If you are interested in playing in The Historians, please send me an email along with an audio or video sample for audition purposes. If you know of anyone else who might be interested, please pass along this post. *Serious inquiries only.

Obviously Mr. Nixon has a left-wing perspective on politics, but he also has a point. I have posted some similar thoughts on this subject myself, taking the angle that in order to accurately understand the Founding Fathers, they must first be taken down off the pedestal and examined for who they truly were…a group of wealthy elitists who were just as flawed as they were brilliant. This is not done to be anti-American or unpatriotic. It’s done in an effort to be honest about our history. Only through the acknowledgement of the Founder’s faults (as both people and as politicians) can we truly see them for who they were. This in turn allows us to see where we came from.

Elevating these men to a deity-like status teaches us nothing about our past and simply becomes another form of idol-worship. It also leads to hypocrisy. The irony IMO, is that the very same folks who reject the Occupy Wall Street Movement’s premise of the separation between the 1%’ers and the 99%’ers routinely use the legacy of the Founding Fathers, who were the original 1%’ers to support their own political agenda. This is an absolute contradiction and anyone who thinks that the Founders were really looking out for the best interests of the “little guy” has a distorted understanding of the roots of our nation.

The truth is that the Founding Fathers were not representative of the population of the country, then or now. If they represented anyone, it was a mere 2% of wealthy white men. None of these kinds of persons were considered relevant enough to have a say in the Constitution or its protections: Number of women: 0, Number of Native Americans: 0, Number of Hispanics: 0, Number of African-Americans: 0, Number of poor folks: 0, Number of indentured servants: 0, Number of Jews: 0, Number of non-land owners: 0, Number of eastern religions: 0. We sometimes forget that it took hundreds of years of internal conflict to even recognize these individuals as equals, let alone citizens.

In his book “The Founding Fathers Reconsidered” R.R. Bernstein summarizes the challenge of re-examining this aspect of American history. He writes, “At a distance of more than two centuries, it remains difficult to disentangle the founding fathers from their principal achievements – the creation of an independent nation, with a vigorous and adaptable form of government and a body of liberties that, they hoped, would be a model for the world.  Because these achievements were the product of collective deliberation, we remember the founding fathers as a group: many historians, politicians and jurists have praised them as the most creative and learned gathering of statesmen in American history; among the greatest such gatherings the world has ever seen. At the same time, especially beginning in the second half of the twentieth century, we have come to recognize the founding fathers’ limitations and failings, and we have struggled to balance gratitude with recrimination in assessing them.”

Bernstein notes in the epilogue that a gap continues to exist between the ideals and the reality of the American experiment. The right continues to propagate a mythical version of the Founding Fathers that supports their political agenda, while the left puts forth a more critical revision. Without an understanding (or at the very least, an acceptance) of who the Founders were and what they had in mind, our contemporary political debates have no clear direction as far too many of the participants in them have no compass.

Beyond the vast difference in today's historical interpretation of the Founding Fathers, there is perhaps an even bigger question. Regardless of which version is more accurate, does it even matter what they thought?

Some folks think it doesn’t. In an article titled “The Founders Fallacy” Sam Greenberg writes: “Political realities have changed in innumerable ways since the American Revolution, and many of our founders’ ideas are simply incompatible with modern America. Therefore, the fact that this country’s founders subscribed to certain (often conflicting) ideologies does not mean that they should impede political development hundreds of years later. To nevertheless assert that the founding fathers should guide today’s political debates betrays the government’s responsibility to govern in the 21st century, not the 18th. Consequently, asking what the Founding Fathers would think about the current state of American politics is an exercise in futility.”

Photograph by John Cummings III 

Last night’s talk at the Richmond Civil War Roundtable couldn’t have gone better. They had a record crowd for the month of May and I could not have asked for a better audience. It was a real thrill for me to meet folks like Waite Rawles III and John Coski of the Museum of the Confederacy and Brent Morgan from the Virginia Genealogical Society. Thanks to this event, I also have a couple tentative talks scheduled for the Sons of the American Revolution. My presentation was titled “The Battle of Spotsylvania: In Their Words” and it focused on the firsthand experiences of Confederate soldiers at Spotsylvania. Here are the transcripts:

Thank you. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It is a real thrill for me to be here tonight. The Richmond Civil War Roundtable is among the most prestigious in the country and to be invited here as your guest speaker is a real privilege indeed. I am very fortunate in my work as I get to do a lot of talks, on a lot of topics, and when we were discussing my theme for this evening we finally settled on The Battle of Spotsylvania, or more specifically, the day-to-day campaign experiences of the soldiers who were both engaged and encamped there.

I wanted to take that topic one step further tonight and present the Battle of Spotsylvania with the actual words of those who experienced it firsthand. The letters that I will be reading tonight are from the collection that I used in my book titled Campfires at the Crossroads: The Civil War in Spotsylvania County. Most of them were found in the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Military Park archives, and some of the originals are part of the collection at the Museum of the Confederacy.

In an effort to write home, these troops unwittingly recorded their own legacy. In essence, they (being the average soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia) played the vital role of newsman, similar to today’s embedded journalist. If you are interested in this book or any of my books or films, I have information available along with a special discount for anyone who uses these flyers for ordering. I will also be happy to take questions or discuss anything further when I’m done.

My goal tonight is the same that I had with this book, to present an honest depiction of Johnny Reb’s wartime experiences without relying on the “romance and pageantry” that sometimes infiltrates these types of discussions.

Because we all know that it wasn’t always glorious…In fact more often than not, it was anything BUT glorious…For example, this photo, to me, is the antitheses of the glorification of war and sums up everything we could hope to recognize about the courage and sacrifice of the average Civil War soldier. Just imagine this being your son. I have four children, 2 are boys, and I cannot imagine what it was like for parents to see their kids march off to war and return home mutilated. This perspective is why I went from writing books glorifying generals to books about the sacrifice of citizens and soldiers.

As a battlefield tour guide, folks sometimes ask me what sets Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania apart from other hallowed grounds. What makes them special? I remind them that if you visit other battlefields such as Gettysburg, Antietam, or Manassas, you will see giant equestrian statues memorializing the commanders at these engagements. Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, Meade, Reynolds…all stone sentinels - all dominating the landscape. But when you visit the fields at Fredericksburg, you will see no such monuments. In fact, the only statue that you will see on the battlefield proper is the Richard Kirkland monument which depicts two common infantrymen. Spotsylvania Battlefield is also vacant of these marquee statues. There are no sword wielding titans.

So despite the fact that the most recognized officers on both sides of the war were present during these battles, it was the contributions of the common soldier that they chose to commemorate. And THAT is what makes our battlefields different. The ‘grunts’ get the credit and it is ‘their story’ that I believe we need to share during this Sesquicentennial.

Now the Confederate Army’s time in Spotsylvania was not limited to this single engagement. You have to remember that this region witnessed four major engagements over the course of the war including the: Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862, Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania in 1864. So there were Confederate troops occupying the area throughout the entire course of the war. And directly across the Rappahannock River, in Stafford County, over 140 thousand Union troops remained stationed. From 1861 to 1865, hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides of the conflict marched through, fought at and camped in the woods and fields of Spotsylvania County and the surrounding area.

The National Park Service christened the region “the Bloodiest Landscape in North America,” stating that over a four-year period more than eighty-five thousand men were wounded and over fifteen thousand were killed. A number of exceptionally significant events also took place in the vicinity, including the first clash between Grant and Lee, as well as the first recorded skirmish between the Southern forces and U.S. Colored Troops.

Spotsylvania was also the site of the infamous death of General John Sedgwick. That is actually the very first marker that you will see upon entering the Battlefield. On May 9, 1864 Sedgwick’s corps (the VI) were probing skirmish lines ahead of the left flank of Confederate defenses and he was directing artillery placements. Confederate sharpshooters were about 1,000 yards away and their shots caused members of his staff and artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick strode around in the open and was quoted as saying, “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance.”

Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he repeated, “I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance.” Just seconds later he fell forward, mortally wounded with a bullet hole below his left eye. In this instant of irony, Sedgwick became the highest ranking Union casualty of the war. Tonight however, I plan to focus not on the generals, but rather on a handful of recollections of soldiers who were engaged and encamped at and around The Battle of Spotsylvania….

This battle, (from May 8th to the 21st) also referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, was the second major battle in Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign. Following the horrific but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, the Federal army disengaged from Lee’s Army and moved to the southeast, attempting advance on Richmond and lure the Confederates into a fight under better conditions than they had experienced at the Wilderness. Grant and Meade’s movements stalled at Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 8 and this allowed the Army of Northern Virginia, who were in pursuit, an opportunity to catch up and engage them. The result was a bloody, two-week battle that included multiple combats along the Spotsylvania front.

The Union attack against the Bloody Angle at dawn, May 12-13, captured nearly a division of Lee’s army and came near to cutting the Confederate army in half. Confederate counterattacks plugged the gap, and fighting continued unabated for nearly 20 hours in what may well have been the most ferociously sustained combat of the Civil War. On May 19, a Confederate attempt to turn the Union right flank at Harris Farm was beaten back with severe casualties. Union generals Sedgwick (VI Corps commander) and Rice were killed. Confederate generals Johnson and Steuart were captured and Daniel and Perrin mortally wounded. On May 21, Grant disengaged and continued his advance on Richmond.

Now that’s the overview, but what REALLY happened there? Our first recollection comes to us from Michael F. Rinker, Company F, 136th Virginia Militia, to his parents. This is a longer letter when compared to most and it does an excellent job of describing the typical action witnessed at The Battle of Spotsylvania. It reads:

Camp Near Spotsylvania Court-House Va
Tuesday May the 17th 1864

Dear Father and Mother,

With pleasure I write to you this morning, hoping you may get this in due time. I am well, and hope you are all well. I must ask you to excuse me for not writing sooner, indeed I am ashamed that I have not written ere this. But now I will tell you why I did not write to you sooner than I did.

We have been so busy since we came over here, that indeed this is the first chance that I have had to write. The second day after we arrived here, we commenced fighting and it is not over yet. Father indeed for 5 days we were so busy fighting that we could hardly get time enough to eat our meals.

Today it is 14 days since we commenced fighting and yesterday the cannon and small arms were still at work. But the fight was not real heavy all the time, the hardest fighting was on the 5.6.& 7 and on the 9, 10 & 11 days of this month. During them six days it was awful. There was one continual roar of thunder all the time from the artillery and small arms.

For six days the Battle was kept up, all the time day and night, in the dead hour of midnight, the cannon & musketry was thundering all the time. Column after column the Yankees pushed their men up to our Breastworks and our men were cutting them down as fast as flies.

The dead Yankees are heaped up in piles half as high as a man, in front of our Breastworks, and all around on the Battlefield the dead yanks are lying just as thick as they can be, and none of them buried, they will all rotten on top of the ground.

Now you may know how it is down here. The line of Battle is 15 miles long, and for 4 days the Battle was kept up all along the line. The Yankee loss in killed and wounded is awful. Their loss will not fall short of fifty five hundred in killed and wounded, and their loss in prisoners, will reach ten or twelve thousand.

We have captured 12 or 15 fine pieces of artillery and 6 or 8 thousand small arms. The yanks lost in killed, 2 Major Generals and 3 or 4 Brigadier Generals, and their loss of Officers generally in killed wounded & prisoners is large. Their entire loss is very heavy, and I think it will be larger yet, before the fight is ended.

All the men say that this has been the hardest fight, since the war. It was awful for about 5 days, the cannon just kept one continual roar of thunder, day and night. I suppose you have heard, of the number of killed and wounded, of our company.

You have also, no doubt heard that General J.E.B. Stuart died a few days ago from a wound received near Hanover Junction. General Longstreet was painfully wounded on the second day of Battle. But he is getting well fast.

General Lee got a dispatch yesterday afternoon from General Breckinridge stating that he had whipped and routed the yanks 2 miles above New Market and run them to Mt. Jackson where the yanks burnt a Bridge. We are all glad to hear, that the yanks have been whipped in the valley. Noah is well.

We have plenty to eat. Noah give me the things that you sent to me and I am very much obliged to you for them. I will try and bring something when I get home. Tell mother, I would like to have one pair of socks sent to me by the first one of our men that comes over.

Write soon and give me all the news. I hope you will excuse me for not writing sooner, for indeed I did not have time hardly to eat my meals, we were busy all the time.

Our men are still in line of Battle, day & night all the time, some times they commence fighting at midnight. There is no telling how much longer the fight will last. Our men lay in our Breastworks day and night.

One night last week the yanks charged our Breastworks 9 different times, and every time our men run them back, with great slaughter. If I can get time I will write to you soon or as soon as I hear from you all. I will close.

Your son, Mike.

With these words you can get a real sense of the rigors of this engagement…This was a marathon of killing that literally went on for days and weeks. I’m amazed at the promise that is proposed in the piece. Despite the desperateness of their situation this guy sounds confident that they will prevail. Our next account is from Walter Battle (an appropriately named chap) who was a private in the 4th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. As a member of Ramsuer’s Brigade he saw heavy fighting at Spotsylvania on May the 11th and 12th and drove the enemy from the captured Mule Shoe on the 12th. He wrote the following:

Our brigade after, we had charged and run the Yankees from their works, was not long enough to cover the line held by Johnston’s division, so the Yankees held a position on our right, upon a hill which enabled them to keep up an incessant enfilading fire upon us; two thirds of the men which we lost were done in that way. Men were killed while squatting just as low and as close to the breastworks as it was possible for them to get.

Tom Atkinson, poor fellow, was shot through the head, right by my side, another man in Company “E” was killed on the other; the man in front was shot through the body. I did not realize then what a hot place we were in. It was a wonder to me that the last one of us was not killed. We were exposed to that fire for twenty-two hours.

Gen. Rodes sent word to Gen. Ramseur he would send his reinforcements, but Gen. R. sent him word that he had taken the position and he was confident his brigade would hold it. All he wanted to let us alone and send us ammunition, which he did. I shot away 120 rounds of cartridges myself, three cartridge boxes full.

That’s 120 rounds fired by himself in a single engagement. Now to get a feel for the amount of fire that was laid down during that battle there is a sign on the Spotsylvania Battlefield that marks the site of a 22-inch tree that was supposedly felled by small arms fire. The trunk is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington DC. Pvt. Battle also wrote on May 14th that:

Last Thursday though is the day that will be remembered by both armies as long as one man is left to tell the tale. At daylight they attacked the line a little to our right, drove our men out of both lines of breastworks and the result was hanging in the scales when our brigade was taken from one position and moved around in front of them.

The stars and stripes were floating proudly all along our works when the order was given to "forward without firing." We commenced moving up pretty briskly, when our men commenced falling so fast, that the order was given to "double quick." No sooner said than done.

We rushed forward with a yell and took the first line of works like a flash. We remained there long enough to fire a round or two and clear the way in front of us, when the order came to charge the other. We took that also with a large number of prisoners, then the fight commenced in earnest.

It was a continuous charge and a war of musketry from that time, nine o'clock, until three o'clock in the morning, when we evacuated that line for another which had been established and fortified during the night.

There is not a man in this brigade who will ever forget the sad requiem, which those minie balls sung over the dead and dying for twenty-two long hours; they put one in mind of some musical instrument; some sounded like wounded men crying; some like humming of bees; some like cats in the depth of the night, while others cut through the air with only a "Zip" like noise.

I know it to be the hottest and the hardest fought battle that has even been on this continent. You would hardly recognize any of us at present. Every one looks as if he had passed through a hard spell of sickness, black and muddy as hogs. There was no one too nice that day to drop himself behind the breastworks. Brigadiers and Colonels lay as low in the trench and water as the men.

It rained all that day and night, and the water was from three to six inches deep all along. If it had been winter the last man would have been frozen. I am too worn out to write anything of any interest. I am about half deaf yet, as is every one else from the effects of the cannonading. My love to all, and believe me, your sincere son,

So far we've heard from the enlisted men. For an officer’s point of view on Spotsylvania we can turn to the mapmaker of the Confederacy Jedediah Hotchkiss who wrote a letter to his wife Sara on May 15, 1864. He writes:

May 15th 1864
Hd. Qrs. 2nd Corps -- Near Spotsylvania C. H. --

My Dear Sara --

I wrote you a few lines day before yesterday, immediately after our desperate battle & hope they reached you -- we have not had any fight since then -- only a little skirmishing -- the enemy has fallen back from our left & we drove him back on our right, he is still lying between us & the river -- not daring to attack & unwilling to retreat -- his losses have been great -- as we find many dead in the lines he has abandoned -- many more than we have lost –

Our loss has been far less than at Chancellorsville -- 3500 it is thought will cover all our losses since we started, & we have captured some 4500 of the enemy -- saying nothing about the killed & wounded -- the Yankee papers say the lost 20000 in the first fight -- if so they have lost 50000 in all -- too large an estimate I suppose, but not much, for they made 8 or 10 attacks upon our breastworks, where our men were defended & protected & were repulsed with terrible slaughter we are cheered today by the news from the Valley

-- but saddened, deeply saddened by the death of Gen. J. E. Stuart -- one of the noblest spirits in the Confederacy -- peace to his ashes, his memory is embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen -- for he has done noble service for us -- he has gone to join our noble army of sainted heroes above, Jackson, Ashby & hundred upon hundreds more -- Heaven console his wife & defend her & his babes -- how little I thought I witnessed their last farewell when I saw them part at Orange C. H. the day I first came back to camp. Gen. Daniels has died too, a noble North Carolinian –

Heaven has been merciful to us in enabling us to keep back the past that came like an army of locusts, but what a sacrifice have we made to propitiate the favor -- I suppose we shall have to fight Grant again & perhaps not far from here, but I have an abiding confidence in our ability to cope with him, by Divine assistance, -- his army has become demoralized by his repeated & unsuccessful attacks, though he gained some temporary advantages & took considerable artillery from us –

yet his men know that he has made no advance towards conquering our army & that he has made no progress towards Richmond -- the time of many of them is out & they are going home -- the larger portion of his veterans has been destroyed or captured --

May 16th All quiet still this morning -- we are in the same position, the enemy has gone towards Fredericksburg -- we have had heavy rains every day & it is very muddy -- I have no time to write more -- Love & Kisses for you all & may Heaven bless you -- Write often --

Your Aff husband
Jed. Hotchkiss

He’s also confident, but you can also get a sense of his trepidation which of course was warranted. At this point in the conflict, it was quickly becoming a war of attrition. Our next piece is actually a pair of letters that reinforce the tragedy of war on the home front. The first is a very brief note from Isaac Newton Cooper of the 3rd South Carolina Infantry to his sister that was written when he was encamped in Fredericksburg with the latter coming during the Battle of Spotsylvania.

Now the 3rd South Carolina was part of General Joseph B. Kershaw’s Brigade, in the First Corp. under Major General Richard Heron Anderson. Retired NPS Ranger Mac Wycoff, who I am sure you are all familiar with wrote and excellent bio on this unit titled A history of the Third South Carolina Infantry, 1861-1865. His letter reads:

Camp near Fredericksburg
April 18, 1863

To Sister E.F. Cooper (Edney)

Give my respects to Minervy Cooper. Tell Sister Mary they must write to me. They must nor forget me because I am so far away. Give my love to Brother Dave. Be good boys and stop swearing as it is a bad habit.

Lt. I.N. Cooper

This was followed one year later by a subsequent death notification after Cooper was killed in action and buried at Spotsylvania, Virginia, on or about May 16, 1864. It reads:

Near Spottsylvania C.H. May (16), 1864

It becomes my painful duty to inform you that your husband Lt. I.N. Cooper was mortally wounded on the 8th of May near this village it will indeed be painful intelligence to you and his children to learn of your great loss—he was wounded in the head by a bomb shell and has been lying insensible ever since.

The Surgeon thinks he will die in a few hours. I was in hopes at first that he would recover & be to you & his country but he is getting worse. He was a true friend to me and a brave officer and soldier lost one of my best friends and his country a true and gallant officer and your loss is greater than all.

He was anxious to live through this war on account of you and his children and he never lay down at night without praying for you and his children.

So this letter was the equivalency of the Yellow Telegrams that wartime widows received during World War II. You have to remember that this one fight resulted in close to 30,000 total casualties.

Estimated numbers of dead are close to or just over 3000 Union troops and between 1500-1700 Confederates lost.

The last letter I would like to share with you personifies the entire focus of our talk tonight. Perhaps no other transcript in this collection better represents the sacrifice of soldiers who were encamped in the Spotsylvania area than this letter penned by Private James Robert Montgomery. Private Montgomery was a courier enlisted in Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry. On May 10, 1864, he was struck by a shell fragment while attempting to deliver communications for General Heth. As he lay dying from a mortal wound, he wrote the following letter to his father:

Spotsylvania County, Va.
May 10

Dear Father

This is my last letter to you. I went into battle this evening as courier for Genl. Heth. I have been struck by a piece of shell and my right shoulder is horribly mangled & I know death is inevitable.

I am very weak but I write to you because I know you would be delighted to read a word from your dying son. I know death is near, that I will die far from home and friends of my early youth but I have friends here too who are kind to me.

My friend Fairfax will write you at my request and give you the particulars of my death. My grave will be marked so that you may visit it if you desire to do so, but it is optionary with you whether you let my remains rest here or in Miss.

I would like to rest in the grave yard with my dear mother and brothers but it’s a matter of minor importance. Let us all try to reunite in heaven.

I pray my God to forgive my sins and I feel that his promises are true that he will forgive me and save me. Give my love to all my friends. My strength fails me. My horse and my equipments will be left for you. Again, a long farewell to you. May we meet in heaven.

Your dying son,
J.R. Montgomery

So there we have several looks at the Battle of Spotsylvania as seen through the eyes of those who actually fought and died there. Their words serve as a valuable reminder for a number of reasons. Living in Virginia, we are all blessed to live in a state that is so rich in Civil War history. With all of these historical places surrounding us, it is very easy to forget the awful hardships and carnage that took place here.

As a guide I often find myself reminding my clients of this fact. You see, when you come to the Old Dominion and tour the hallowed grounds, everything is perfect. The grass is neatly trimmed and the markers are polished. The freshly painted cannons are all lined up neatly and the landmark buildings are restored to their original splendor. But we must consciously remind ourselves that the beauty that surrounds us is a façade and that the men that fought and died here baptized the soil in their blood.

That is the part of Civil War memory that must not be taken for granted. We must strive to remind others that although our Battlefields (like Spotsylvania) are beautiful, that events that took place there were anything but. We can do this by preserving and presenting their words for future generations. Only then will we truly acknowledge the memory of the common Civil War soldier, and give them their proper place in our nation’s story.

Today, the baseball-writer in me posts... 

Tragedy struck yesterday when Mariano Rivera, unquestionably the greatest closer in the history of professional baseball, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while chasing a fly ball during batting practice before the Yankees’ game against the Royals. As he ran towards centerfield, the 42 year-old pitcher’s knee buckled and he crashed into the wall, falling onto the warning track dirt, clutching his right knee as he grimaced in pain.

This freak-accident for lack of a better term, most likely ended the career of a first-ballot hall of famer who many (myself included) feel privileged to watch. To date Rivera still has the career record for saves with 608 and many believed that this year was to be his farewell season. Now it appears that his epic story has abruptly come to an end, caused by a simple misstep while shagging balls in the outfield.

Back in 2004 I submitted a short piece on “The Sandman” for a publication by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It was later reprinted in Baseball-Almanac and has been quoted in a number of publications since. Titled "A Man With A Message" the gist of the article revolved around Rivera’s religious faith:

Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankees’ top relief pitcher, is arguably the most effective closer in postseason baseball history, recording final outs in three Yankee world title seasons (1998, 1999 and 2000). He also owns the Major League record for most postseason saves with twenty-five, as well as most World Series saves with eight. Rivera also established the longest scoreless innings streak in postseason play with thirty-three innings pitched and was named as the World Series MVP in 1999 and the Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series in 2003. He currently leads the Yankees as the club’s all-time saves leader with two hundred eighty-three and boasts an incredible Earned Run Average (runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched) below 1.00 in postseason play.

With such a tremendous gift it is no wonder that Rivera is a deeply religious man who can often be seen reading the Bible in the Yankees’ clubhouse before and after games. He once joked in an interview that he thought “the Good Lord was a Yankee.” Active in the Christian community, Rivera often lends his time, talent and testimonies to numerous religious organizations that are both sports and non-sports related. Not long ago, he financed the construction of a church in his native Panama City and announced his intention to become an evangelical minister at the conclusion of his baseball career. If he retires after the 2007 season, Mariano will be eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. Although Cooperstown has been historically hesitant to embrace relievers, the consensus of most experts is that Rivera will have little trouble being elected, most likely on his first attempt.

During an interview with Sports Spectrum Magazine, a leading Christian-based sports publication, Rivera spoke about adversity and how it led him to faith. “Every time I was going through a hard time, somebody was there to help. It’s not too often when you play in the minor leagues that a coach will tell you he will take care of your son while you stay with your wife at the hospital. My pitching coach did that, and one lady from Panama-I never knew her (before)-offered to stay with my wife while I was playing. Even though I had nobody here, I was never alone. That made me accept Jesus as my Savior. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. It was the Lord putting someone there for me.”

In a sports world that is now dominated by media-hype and big endorsement contracts, players like Rivera and their traditional values provide a glimmer of hope that there are still positive role models worthy of our children’s attention. Mariano is well aware of the responsibilities that go with being a professional athlete and is constantly working to promote Christian ministries that focus on kids. Last season, he appeared courtesy of Athletes in Action at two Staten Island churches sharing his faith and his desire to be a worthy “hero”. A few weeks later over one hundred and seventy five fans participating in the Operation Blessing Back to School Challenge watched him beat the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings. All attendees from the group were “being rewarded for pledging to say in school and off drugs while committing to excel for the Glory of God with integrity.”

Unfortunately today, many athletes do not appreciate their blessings or use their time in the spotlight for the betterment of others. Someone once said in regards to the selfishness of the modern athlete, “The players of yesterday played for the name on the front of the uniform. The players of today play for the name on the back.” Some players, like Rivera, not only exhibit loyalty to their team, but also a loyalty to their religious convictions as well. Perhaps that is why he dominates like no other on the mound and will go down in history as one of the greatest clutch performers in all of baseball.

Few athletes have dominated at their respective position (in any sport) like Mariano Rivera. He now sits aside a very exclusive group of game-changing icons that include Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. With his tragic and premature departure, both the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball will no doubt struggle to find a suitable replacement. We fans will also have to look long and hard to find an athlete of this caliber.

Thanks Mo. Get well.

As I’ve been playing a lot of drums lately I thought it would be interesting to stay in that mindset and share the story of John George, a Revolutionary War drummer who served in General George Washington’s Headquarters Guard.

You may recall another posting that I did a few months back that examined the legacy of the drummer boy. As primarily noncombatants, it is rare to have a detailed look at the service of any military musician. George is an exception to that rule as he served the Continental Army’s supreme commander as his personal percussionist. His descendants have also done an exceptional job keeping his legacy alive through public commemorations. Arville L. Funk’s study titled From a Sketchbook of Indiana History, includes a profile of the first “famous” American drummer. It reads:

In a little known grave in south-western Marion County, Indiana, lie the remains of an old soldier traditionally acclaimed as “George Washington’s drummer boy.” This is the grave of Sergeant John George, a Revolutionary War veteran of the First Battalion of the New Jersey Continental Line.

Through extensive and alert research by Chester Swift of Indianapolis into Revolutionary war records, muster rolls, field reports, pension records, etc., there is evidence that Sergeant George might have been the personal drummer boy of Washington’s Headquarters Guard during a large portion of the Revolutionary War.

John George was born in Raritan, New Jersey, on November 11, 1759. On January 1, 1777, at the age of 17, George enlisted as a private in Captain John Flahaven’s company of Col. Matthias Ogden’s First New Jersey Battalion. On September 8th of that year, Private George, who was listed on the company’s rolls as a drummer, fought in his first battle, a short engagement at Clay Creek, which was a prelude to the important Battle of Brandywine. Later, Ogden’s battalion was to participate in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth, serving as a part of the famous Maxwell Brigade.

The Maxwell Brigade served during the entire war under the personal command of General Washington and was considered to be one of the elite units of the American army. According to John George’s service records, he served his first three-year enlistment as a private and a drummer with the brigade at a salary of $7.30 a month. When his three-year enlistment expired, George reenlisted as a sergeant in Captain Aaron Ogden’s company of the First Battalion (Maxwell’s Brigade) for the duration of the war.

The First Battalion wintered with Washington at historic Valley Forge in the snows of 1777-78. It was also present at Yorktown when British General Cornwallis surrendered his command in October of 1781. After the actual fighting ended in the war, Sergeant George continued to serve with the Continental Army until the peace treaty was signed in 1783. Records indicate that he was discharged along with the last of Washington’s Guard at New Windsor, New York, in June of 1783. He and other members of the Guard were decorated with the badge of Military Merit by Washington in recognition of their more than six years of faithful service to his commander.

After his discharge from the army, Sergeant George migrated to Mercer County, Kentucky, to receive his 100 acre veteran’s land grant for his wartime service. His Kentucky farm was near the historic old frontier settlement of Harrodsburg. The old veteran farmed his land grant for over fifty years. While farming in Mercer County, George married and raised a large family. In 1821, George applied for and received a Revolutionary War pension for his military service almost forty years previous. He first received nine dollars a month, but his pension records indicates that this was later increased to twelve dollars because he had been a non-commissioned officer.

At the death of his wife in Mercer County, George migrated to Perry Township in Marion County, Indiana, to reside with his daughter and her husband. This was in June of 1838, and the old drummer was now about eighty years of age. His daughter had married Peter Stuck and their residence was just east of where the campus of Indiana Central College is now located.

The old soldier lived with the Stucks until his death on November 28, 1847. He was buried in an early Perry Township cemetery, Round Hill Cemetery, now at the intersection of Epler Road and South Meridian Street. His grave is just a few yards from the main entrance of the cemetery and is marked with the usual simple government stone.

Down through the years, the older residents of Perry Township have maintained that Sergeant George was definitely a drummer boy of Washington’s Guard and many claimed to have seen a certificate signed by Washington personally, confirming George’s assignment as a drummer with the Guard. The certificate has been lost for many years, but the research of Revolutionary War records indicates that John George could have been the Guard’s drummer for more than half of the war.

The Great old soldier’s great-great grandson, Colonel Walter H. Unversaw now lives in Kokomo, and is chairman of a memorial fund that is raising money to erect a suitable monument at the grave of Sergeant John George. The monument will be a life size figure of a Revolutionary war drummer boy, honoring the “Legendary” drummer boy of George Washington, now buried in a almost forgotten grave in Indiana.

Now back to practicing...

This week also marks the 148th anniversary of the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864). As The Wilderness Battlefield does not have its own Visitors Center, the CBVC also doubles for it.

One of the new installations (also written by John and our film-friend Donald Pfanz) tells an exceptionally tragic story from the Wilderness. The central character, John Williams Patterson, was a colonel of the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry who was killed May 5, 1864. According to the exhibit Patterson died the day after returning to camp from leave, and one day before his 29th birthday. He was shot as he led the regiment against attacking Confederates at the intersection of the Brock and Orange Plank roads. His body was left on the field as the regiment fell back, but was retrieved the next day.

Patterson was first buried at the 6th Corps field hospital. In 1865 his body was moved to Wilderness Cemetery No. 2, near where he received his fatal wound. In 1869, when the cemetery was emptied for transfer of the bodies to Fredericksburg, Patterson’s was taken north to Pennsylvania and reburied in the Southside Cemetery. (The preserved grave marker that is on display had also arrived in Pittsburgh with the body. The board reads, in black ink, “Col. Jno. W. Patterson, 102 Pa., Killed May 1864.”)

The exhibit is titled “A Family Shattered” and features photographs, letters and other items preserved by Patterson’s descendants. These include an 1861 recruiting poster; two flasks; a bullet that apparently passed through Patterson’s chest at the Battle of Fair Oaks and a poster from the Orphan’s Court, advertising the sale of the Patterson home when his death left his wife and children destitute.

The loss of Col. Patterson financially devastated his family, leaving them in near-poverty. His wife, Almira, had a widow’s pension of about $360 per year. Although Patterson had owned his house free and clear, the Allegheny County, Pa., Orphans’ Court compelled Almira to sell it in March 1865 to provide funds to support her and her three young children.

William A. Phillis III, a descendant of John Williams Patterson wrote an excellent study of his great-great grandfather that was published in the Wilderness Dispatch Vol. 8 No. 2 Summer 2003. In it he writes:

Colonel John Williams Patterson of the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry (Wheaton’s Brigade, Getty’s Division of the VI Corps) was killed at the corner of Brock Road and Orange Plank Road on May 5th, 1864. Col. William H. Moody of the 139th Pennsylvania wrote of Col. Patterson’s death, "Col. John W. Patterson, of Pittsburgh, commanding the 102d, was shot dead on that day. Poor Patterson! I shook hands and spoke with him just before the advance was ordered, and a moment afterwards he received a bullet through the brains. May Heaven console his stricken widow and children. "‘After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well"‘.

Col. Patterson’s death was a disaster for his family. Almira Wendt Patterson, the widow of the colonel, was orphaned at age 12, widowed at 29 and her youngest child, Mary Richards Patterson, died of scarlet fever at the age of 6. Almira and John’s children, Fred Wendt Patterson (b. 1860) and Agnes Wendt Patterson (b. 1861) were made wards of the Orphans Court in Pittsburgh and the widow’s house and belongings were sold by the court. The widow lived on a Widow’s Pension until she died in 1908 and was buried in New Brighton, Pennsylvania in a grave marked "Almira Patterson, Wife of Colonel John W. Patterson". (More here)

On a side-note, my Revolutionary War readers may be interested to know that Patterson came from a long line of ancestors who had served the military in the Revolution, War of 1812 and the French and Indian War. (List here)

I am particularly taken with this display, not because there is a tie to my hometown, but due to the fact that this is an example of the kinds of exhibits that we need more of. Far too many museums feature ‘nameless’ photos of soldiers without the detailed story behind them. This exhibit allows the visitor to directly connect with the man in the image, as well as his family. We not only see what his experiences were in the war, but also the repercussions of his death on the home front and how it affected his wife and children. It magnifies the tragedy of the Civil War and gives us much to ponder during the Sesquicentennial.

I highly recommend making a visit to the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitors Center to see this unique and touching exhibit. The Pattersons' story is one that was repeated thousands of times over the course of the Civil War. This is the history that we should labor to preserve and present. I also recommend visiting the FSNMPS blog Mysteries and Conundrums for more stories like that of John Williams Patterson.

Visit the official Facebook page

UPDATE 4/27: Our friend John Fea has an excellent post on the growing movement to counter the rampant spread of historical myths. He writes: 

Think about how someone like David Barton disseminates his views. He has an organization. He has a radio program. He speaks in churches and other venues. He conducts historical tours. He has a staff. He writes for general readers. I am not suggesting some type of organization designed for the sole purpose of debunking Barton's ideas or the ideas of any other pseudo-historian. There are a few people already doing that and doing it well. What I am suggesting is an organization that promotes good American history in some of the same venues where Barton has found success. Such an organization would have a positive, not a defensive, mission. Such an organization would teach American history for its intrinsic value, its power to create citizens in a democratic society, and its ability to shape, albeit in a limited way, public discourse.

Count me in. And if you need any incentive to join us, just watch this nonsense...

You Stink! proves there is crying in baseball.

It’s been several years since I’ve had the opportunity to announce the arrival of a new book. Therefore it is with a great sense of pride (and gratitude) that I can finally say that You Stink! Major League Baseball’s Terrible Teams and Pathetic Players is now available!

This particular title is extra-special to me for a few reasons. First, I got to co-write it with my friend Eric Wittenberg, an exceptional historian who I have always had the greatest respect for (see his announcement post here). Second, this book took a REALLY long time to come to fruition. In fact, it’s been 38 years since Eric first dreamed up the concept and well over 4 years since we initially penned the first draft. Third, we got the coolest mascot in the history of the game to write our Foreword: Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic.

Although the finished product has exceeded all of our expectations, there was a time when we weren’t sure if the book would ever see the light of day. Our original manuscript (6 chapters longer) was turned down by multiple publishers who all loved the idea, but also felt that sports books were too much of a gamble in today’s fickle book market. Thankfully, The Kent State University Press folks believed in our vision and helped us to streamline the final draft. Looking back, I’m glad we took the long way around as we could not have asked for a better publisher.

This book, like all books, represents the work of many folks. Peer-reviewers, editors, proofreaders, designers and publicists all contribute to the final product and we were very blessed to have KSUP’s all-star team working with us. We also had the assistance and support of some excellent organizations like Baseball-Almanac, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Associated Press, who patiently assisted us as we researched the statistics, photographs and illustrations that complement our narrative. (The final count is 350 pages w/ 54 photographs and 50 stats tables). Of course our families also deserve a thank you as this casual “side-project” ultimately became an obsession for Eric and me. In fact, I would say that we probably spent more time tweaking this manuscript than any other. My father deserves a special shout out as he proofread this monster...twice. Thanks dad!

Now that the finished book has reached the shelves, our work begins again. No doubt we’ll be doing lots of press, speaking engagements, and signings on this one. Some special events and appearances are already in the works and don’t be surprised if you see or hear us on some of your favorite sports talk shows. This book is special and I am very thankful to have been a part of it. Needless to say my blogging attentions will be primarily focused on this release in the near-term, so be sure to follow us over on the official You Stink! blog and Facebook page. I will likely be posting more frequently over there.

An excerpted version of my essay on the speculation surrounding Alexander Hamilton’s sexuality is appearing in the May-June issue of The Gay and Lesbian Review/Worldwide. Titled “Alexander Hamilton’s Smoking Gun,” this 3-page feature presents Hamilton’s rumored homosexuality and includes several curious letters written by Hamilton to his friend and confidant John Laurens.

This is my first piece to be published in The (G&LR), which is a highly respected historical journal. The Mission of the publication is to “...provide a forum for enlightened discussion of issues and ideas.” As this is not one of the usual publications that I write for, I am excited about the opportunity to reach a whole new audience with my study into the lives and legacies of the Founding Fathers and I would like to thank Richard Schneider, Jr., Ph.D. who is the editor and chief of the publication for peer reviewing and selecting my essay for publication.

You can view a hi-res PDF of the printed article here. For related topics on history, politics and culture, visit The (G&LR) website.

Uh-oh! Looks like David Barton is trying his hand at playing historian again. (Tip o’ the hat to John Fea.) Barton’s new release is titled The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson and it has already revealed itself to be another religious-propaganda piece disguised as historical study.

Here's the publisher's pitch: America has forgotten. Its roots, its purpose, its identity―all have become shrouded behind a veil of political correctness bent on twisting the nation's founding, and its founders, to fit within a misshapen modern world. The time has come to remember again. David Barton is dedicated to presenting America's history with an emphasis on our moral, religious, and constitutional heritage.

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of Mr. Barton. In fact, I’ve taken both he and his Wallbuilders organization to task on here before (read here). It is also no secret that I am probably more well-versed in the subject of Thomas Jefferson than any other Founding Father. My next book project features him and although I do not consider myself to be at the level of a Jefferson scholar, I already know from the promo copy that several of the “counterpoints” showcased in this book are wrong. Anyone who believes Barton’s assertions that Thomas Jefferson was a devout Christian who founded the University of Virginia to be a religious institution and wanted to establish America as a Christian nation is well...nuts.

As I have zero interest in voluntarily subjecting myself to his work any further, I am simply going to quote from a couple of the reviews that are posted on Amazon. Notice the difference between the Bartonites (pro) and the educated critics (cons). One side appears to take the accuracy of the information into consideration, while the other, much like its author, simply uses the public forum to infer their political ideology instead of supporting their argument. If you’re not some kind of hardcore conservative, uber-evangelical, Tea Party type, this is probably not the book for you. If you are, definitely put this on you reading list for 2012.

PROS: All the insulting reviews I see on here are probably written by the same left-wing propagandists who have been ripping out the true history of our great country to advance their own socialist ideas and poison the minds of the children in school since the 1960's. The fruits of their labor is well demonstrated by the Occupy Wall Street imbeciles. This is second Barton book I have purchased and, contrary to what these detractors in here say, his footnotes all lead to factual material that says exactly what he says it does. Pay no attention to the far left liberal goofballs making dumb comments on here. This is a great book for those who really want to know the truth about Thomas Jefferson. The politically correct apologists have tried to smear the Founding Fathers for a long time by taking their comments and writings out of context. This was an incredible book and necessary to truly grasp the accurate account of the beliefs of Thomas Jefferson in reference to faith and Jesus.

CONS: As a student of Revolutionary War history, I started to read this book. I stopped reading after the first few pages. It was a political diatribe of the worst sort. He tried to convey to his readers that modern ills are from his distorted historical view. I found it was more to promote the political division of this country than give an accurate historical view of the subject. Where Barton is concerned Lies should be in the title but not in the way he is using it here. He has repeatedly made things up and this has been well documented. Chris Rodda has EXHAUSTIVELY studied the materials and find that Barton repeatedly misleads the reader. She actually shows her references and tells the truth. That is very refreshing. To my mind, Barton is not very respectful of his audience at all. I would be deeply offended for being lied to. Of course, if you find Glenn Beck someone worthy of vouching for the truth or sanity then you are going to love this. Just don't look for evidence.

PS. Longtime Barton critic and detractor Chris Rodda is actually offering a FREE download of her book to compare against Barton's. She's successfully debunked Barton's claims before and will no doubt do it again.

Director of Archaeology Matthew Reeves supervising a dig of the
slave quarters at Montpelier Watch Video

My next post will discuss the subject of James Madison and slavery. Much like his friend Thomas Jefferson, Madison was also conflicted over the institution, yet he never emancipated his own slaves. The folks at Montpelier have done a commendable job of addressing this unpleasant aspect of Madison’s life. The contradiction of preaching the virtues of freedom while simultaneously withholding it from an entire race of people is a frequent and complex dichotomy in the legacy of many of the Founding Fathers. Far too many folks either forget that, or simply ignore it in support of their political propaganda. Just yesterday I heard a radio clip in which conservative talk-show host Mark Levin vehemently proclaimed that "The Founders believed in liberty for everyone...no matter what their color, creed, sex or lineage was." Really?

UPDATE 4/18: While compiling research for this post I came to the conclusion that the Montpelier Foundation has already put together an extensive FAQ on this subject. As I cannot possibly hope to supersede their efforts, I am linking it here. I did want to highlight the following quote which illustrates the contradiction that I mentioned above:

In general, it appears that Madison did not think slavery was good politically, economically, or morally, and from that perspective he would have liked to have seen it restricted or eliminated. In his view, slavery perpetuated an inefficient system of production that could, ultimately, be detrimental to the future of the nation. Moreover, Madison viewed slavery as "a blot on our republican character." In his personal life, however, Madison continued to own many slaves. He does remind his overseers to treat the slaves with "humanity," but not so much as to make them forget their proper place as slaves.

This photograph is believed to be one of the only ones in existence to have
captured a military baseball game during the Civil War. It features soldiers of
Company G, 48th New York State Volunteers playing a game at Fort Pulaski,
Georgia. (Courtesy of Fort Pulaski Military Park)

As I’m in a fully-focused baseball state-of-mind in preparation for the release of You Stink! Major League Baseball’s Terrible Teams and Pathetic Players I thought that I would share an article on the game of baseball during the Civil War. I originally wrote a much shorter form of this piece for Baseball-Almanac and later penned an expanded feature-length version for Civil War Historian magazine. My early work as a baseball historian was actually what led to me becoming a published author. I am now in the process of developing a talk based on You Stink! as my co-author Eric Wittenberg and I plan to do speaking engagements together (whenever possible) as well as apart. Enjoy...

It is considered America’s National Pastime, but far more than just a mere sporting event, baseball has become a major part of the American consciousness. In their book “The Pictorial History of Baseball,” John S. Bowman and Joel Zoss stated, “As part of the fabric of American culture, baseball is the common social ground between strangers, a world of possibilities and of chance, where ‘it’s never over till it’s over.’” Rooted in the American Spirit, rich in legends, folklore and history, it is ultimately a timeless tradition where every game is a new nine-inning chapter and every participant has the chance to be a hero.

One of the simplest and best explanations of the game’s impact on society was penned in 1866 when Charles A. Peverelly wrote, “The game of baseball has now become beyond question the leading feature of the outdoor sports of the United States ... It is a game which is peculiarly suited to the American temperament and disposition; ... in short, the pastime suits the people, and the people suit the pastime.”

During war, following natural disaster, or in the midst of economic hardship, this “game” has always provided an emotional escape for people from every race, religion and background who can collectively find solace at the ballpark. Therefore, it somehow seems fitting that the origins of modern baseball can be traced back to a divided America, when the country was in the midst of a great Civil War. Despite the political and social grievances that resulted in the separation of the North and South, both sides shared some common interests, such as playing baseball.

Although a primitive form of baseball was somewhat popular in larger communities on both sides of the Mason Dixon line, it did not achieve widespread popularity until after the start of the war. The mass concentration of young men in army camps and prisons eventually converted the sport formerly reserved for “gentlemen” into a recreational pastime that could be enjoyed by people from all backgrounds. For instance, both officers and enlisted men played side by side and soldiers earned their places on the team because of their athletic talents, not their military rank or social standing.

[NOTE: In 1857, a convention of amateur ball clubs was called to discuss rules and other issues. Twenty five teams from the northeast sent delegates. The following year, they formed the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league. The league’s annual convention in 1868 drew delegates from over 100 clubs. As the league grew, so did the expenses of playing. Charging admission to games started to become more common, and teams often had to seek out donations or sponsors to make trips.]

Both Union and Confederate officers endorsed baseball as a much-needed morale builder that also provided both mental and physical conditioning. After long details at camp, it eased the boredom and created team spirit among the men. Some soldiers actually took baseball equipment to war with them. When proper equipment was not available they often improvised with fence posts, barrel staves or tree branches for bats and yarn or rag-wrapped walnuts or lumps of cork for balls.

To this day, casualties from the American Civil War (620,000+) still exceed our country’s losses in all other military conflicts. It is estimated that the Union armies had from 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men. The Confederate strength, known less accurately because of missing records, was from 750,000 to 1,250,000. From 1861 to 1865, both armies suffered tremendous losses and the subsequent damage to the country’s infrastructure cost millions to rebuild.

One of the most widely credited (and criticized) participants in the destruction was Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, who put it best when he said, “War is all Hell.” Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee echoed that sentiment when he stated that, “It is well that war is so terrible -- lest we should grow too fond of it.” Perhaps if either side could have foreseen the tragedy that would befall them, a compromise may have been offered in place of musket fire.

Unfortunately, a magnanimous and peaceful conclusion was not meant to be. For four years, a horrific conflict of epic proportions scarred the country’s land and traumatized her citizens. When it finally ended, nearly 2% of the country’s population was dead and millions of dollars in damage had devastated the country’s infrastructure.

Therefore, despite being a welcome distraction while on campaign, baseball was played on some of the most sacred and hallowed of soil that was baptized in the blood of thousands. In addition to the camps, forts and battlefields, contests were also held within the walls of some of the most despicable prison camps one could imagine. These “detention centers” were often death sentences in themselves, as soldiers died from starvation, exposure, disease and dysentery. Without a doubt, these “ballparks on battlefields” were the worst fields whose history goes far beyond that of the game.

The benefits of playing while at war went far beyond fitness, as often the teamwork displayed on the baseball diamond translated into a teamwork mentality on the battlefield. Many times, soldiers would write of these games in the letters sent home, as they were much more pleasant to recall than the hardship of battle. This was perhaps one of the earliest forms of sports journalism and the precursor to the “box-score beat writers” of the 20th-century.

Private Alpheris B. Parker of the 10th Massachusetts wrote, “The parade ground has been a busy place for a week or so past, ball-playing having become a mania in camp. Officers and men forget, for a time, the differences in rank and indulge in the invigorating sport with a schoolboy’s ardor.”

Another private writing home from Virginia recalled, “It is astonishing how indifferent a person can become to danger. The report of musketry is heard but a very little distance from us...yet over there on the other side of the road most of our company, playing bat ball and perhaps in less than half an hour, they may be called to play a Ball game of a more serious nature.”

Sometimes games would be interrupted by the call of battle. George Putnam, a Union soldier humorously wrote of a game that was “called-early” due to the surprise attack on their camp by Confederate infantry, “Suddenly there was a scattering of fire, which three outfielders caught the brunt; the centerfield was hit and was captured, left and right field managed to get back to our lines. The attack...was repelled without serious difficulty, but we had lost not only our centerfield, but...the only baseball in Alexandria, Texas.”

It has been disputed for decades whether Union General Abner Doubleday was in fact the “father of the modern game.” Many baseball historians still reject the notion that Doubleday designed the first baseball diamond and drew up the modern rules. Nothing in his personal writings corroborates this story, which was originally put forward by an elderly Civil War veteran, Abner Graves, who served under him. Still, the City of Cooperstown, NY dedicated Doubleday Field in 1920 as the “official” birthplace of organized baseball. Later, Cooperstown became the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Doubleday was an 1842 graduate of West Point (graduating with A.P. Stewart, D.H. Hill, Earl Van Dorn and James Longstreet) and served in both the Mexican and Seminole Wars. In 1861, he was stationed at the garrison in Charleston Harbor. It is said that it was Doubleday, an artillery officer, who aimed the first Fort Sumter guns in response to the Confederate bombardment that initiated the war. Later he served in the Shenandoah region as a brigadier of volunteers and was assigned to a brigade of Irwin McDowell’s corps during the campaign of Second Manassas. He also commanded a division of the 1st Corps at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg as well as Gettysburg, where he assumed the command of the 1st Corps after the fall of General John F. Reynolds, helping to repel “Pickett’s Charge.”

Strangely, Doubleday’s outstanding military service is often forgotten, yet his controversial baseball legacy lives on. A report published in 1908 by the Spalding Commission (appointed to research the origin of baseball) credited Union General Abner Doubleday as being the “father of the modern game.” It stated, “Baseball was invented in 1839 at Cooperstown, NY by Abner Doubleday-afterward General Doubleday, a hero of the battle of Gettysburg-and the foundation of this invention was an American children’s game called “One Old Cat.”

Since then, Alexander J. Cartwright, Jr., a descendent of a British sea captain, has been designated as the game’s principal founder. According to sources at the Fort Ward Museum, “In 1842, at the age of 22, Cartwright was among a group of men from New York City’s financial district who gathered at a vacant lot at 27th Street and 4th Avenue in Manhattan to play ‘baseball.’ In 1845, they organized themselves into the Knickerbockers Base Ball Club, restricting the membership to 40 males and assessed annual dues of five dollars. The following year, Cartwright devised new rules and regulations, instituting foul lines, nine players to a team, nine innings to a game and set up a square infield, known as the ‘diamond’ with 90-foot baselines to a side, bases in each corner. He also drew up guidelines for punctuality, designated the use of an umpire, determined that three strikes constituted an out, and that there would be three outs per side each inning.”

Cartwright left the New York area in 1849 to travel. He was drawn by the Gold Rush and stories of adventures in the West. Along the way, he taught the game to Native Americans and mountain men he encountered, spreading interest in the fledgling sport west of the Mississippi. Cartwright died in Hawaii in July of 1892. However, for decades to come, it was Doubleday who remained in the hearts and minds of enthusiasts everywhere as baseball’s father.

To his credit, the general is said to have always demurred on assertions by others that he was the founder of the national game. Yet the legend persisted decades after his death. Regardless of falsely being credited as the sole “inventor” of the modern version, Doubleday was an evident student and fan of the game. Some historians believe that he helped to organize contests in camp while deployed, possibly prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville. At the time of the engagement in early May, some 142 years ago, Doubleday was in command of the 3rd Division, 1st Corps. According to John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Doubleday was in the area from the summer of 1862 through the Battle of Fredericksburg in December, and the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.

It has been determined that baseball was played “extensively” by Union soldiers in nearby Stafford County during that time, but there is no known documentation of Doubleday’s hand in games thereabouts. Perhaps a more realistic accolade would credit him with the promotion of the exercise as opposed to the invention of it.

Many of these contests were attended by thousands of spectators and often made front-page news equal to the war reports from the field. Ultimately, the Civil War helped fuel a boom in the popularity of baseball, evidenced by the fact that a ball club called the Washington Nationals was born in 1860--145 years before a Major League Baseball team was given the same name in the nation’s capital city of Washington D.C.

In 1861 at the start of the war, an amateur team made up of members of the 71st New York Regiment defeated the Washington Nationals baseball club by a score of 41 to 13. When the 71st New York later returned to man the defense of Washington in 1862, the teams played a rematch, which the Nationals won, 28 to 13. Unfortunately, the victory came in part because some of the 71st Regiment’s best athletes had been killed at Bull Run only weeks after their first game. One of the largest attendances for a sporting event in the nineteenth century occurred on Christmas in 1862 when the 165th New York Volunteer Regiment (Zouaves) played at Hilton Head, South Carolina with more than 40,000 troops looking on. The Zouaves’ opponent was a team composed of men selected from other Union regiments. Interestingly, A.G. Mills, who would later become the president of the National League, participated in the game.

According to George B. Kirsch’s 2003 book “Baseball in Blue & Gray,” John G.B. Adams of the 19th Massachusetts Regiment recounted that “base ball fever broke out” at a Falmouth encampment in early 1863 with both enlisted men and officers playing. The prize was “sixty dollars a side,” meaning the winning team paid the losers that sum. “It was a grand time, and all agreed it was nicer to play base than minie [bullet] ball.”

Adams reported that around the same time, several Union soldiers watched Confederate soldiers play baseball across the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg. Nicholas E. Young of the 27th New York Regiment, who later became a president of baseball’s National League, played the game at White Oak Church in Stafford County. Union soldier Mason Whiting Tyler wrote home that baseball was “all the rage now in the Army of the Potomac.”

George T. Stevens of the New York Volunteers said that in Falmouth, “there were many excellent players in the different regiments, and it was common for one regiment or brigade to challenge another regiment or brigade. These matches were followed by great crowds of soldiers with intense interest.”

Although early forms of baseball had already become high society’s pastime years before the first shots of the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, it was the mass participation of everyday soldiers that helped spread the game’s popularity across the nation. In his 1911 history of baseball titled “America’s National Game,” Albert G. Spalding wrote, “Modern baseball had been born in the brain of an American soldier. It received its baptism in the bloody days of our Nation’s direst danger. It had its early evolution when soldiers, North and South, were striving to forget their foes by cultivating, through this grand game, fraternal friendship with comrades in arms.”

He added, “No human mind may measure the blessings conferred by the game of Base Ball on the soldiers of our Civil War. It calmed the restless spirits of men who, after four years of bitter strife, found themselves at once in a monotonous era, with nothing at all to do.”

During the War Between the States, countless baseball games, originally known as “Town Ball,” were organized in army camps and prisons on both sides of the Mason Dixon Line. Very little documentation exists regarding these games and most information has been derived from letters written by officers and enlisted men to their families on the home front. For the hundreds of pictures taken during the Civil War by photography pioneer Mathew Brady’s studio, there is only one photo in the National Archives that clearly captured a baseball game underway in the background. The image was taken at Fort Pulaski, Georgia and shows the “original” New York Yankees of the 48th Volunteers, playing a game in the fortification’s yard.

Several newspaper artists also depicted primitive ballgames and other forms of recreation devised to help boost troop morale and maintain physical fitness. Regardless of the lack of “media coverage,” military historians have proven that baseball was a common ground in a country divided and helped both Union and Confederate soldiers temporarily escape the horror of war.

“Town Ball” is a direct descendant of the British game of “Rounders.” It was played in the United States as far back as the early 1800’s and is considered a stepping stone toward modern baseball. Often referred to as “The Massachusetts Game” it is still played by the Leatherstocking Base Ball Club every Sunday in Cooperstown, New York. According to the game’s official rules as published by The Massachusetts Association of Base Ball Players, May 13, 1858: “Basetenders (infielders) and scouts (outfielders) recorded outs by plugging or soaking runners — a term used to describe hitting the runner (tagging them did not count) with the ball.”

Some additional “Town Ball” rules that are familiar to today’s standard “Baseball” game include: “The Ball being struck at three times and missed, and caught each time by a player on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. Or, if the Ball be ticked or knocked, and caught on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. But if the ball is not caught after being struck at three times, it shall be considered a knock, and the Striker obliged to run. Should the Striker stand at the Bat without striking at good balls thrown repeatedly at him, for the apparent purpose of delaying the game, or of giving advantage to players, the referees, after warning him, shall call one strike, and if he persists in such action, two and three strikes; when three strikes are called, he shall be subject to the same rules as if he struck at three fair balls.”

Army encampments were not the only locations to host “Town Ball” games. Prisons also held them as POW’s struggled to escape the hopelessness of their situation and combat the mind-numbing boredom that confronted them each day. One such institution was Salisbury Prison, which was the only Confederate jail located in North Carolina. The compound was established on 16 acres purchased by the Confederate government on November 2, 1861. The prison consisted of an old cotton factory building measuring 90 x 50 feet, six brick tenements, a large house, a smith shop and a few other small buildings.

Day-to-day life was tough, but prisoners had a large yard with plenty of room to move about. One of the favorite activities before the prison became overcrowded was baseball. So prevalent was the game at Salisbury that it was captured in an 1863 print. This illustration represents one of the earliest depictions of the game and recalls the days before overcrowding greatly diminished the camp’s living conditions. The illustration was penned by Otto Boetticher, a commercial artist from New York City, who had enlisted in the 68th New York Volunteers in 1861 at the age of 45. He was captured in 1862 and was sent to the prison camp at Salisbury. During his time there he produced a drawing that depicted the game in a more pastoral than prison-like setting.

A field reporter named W.C. Bates mentioned the presence of baseball at Salisbury in his “Stars and Stripes” publication. He added ”that we have no official report of the match-game of baseball played in Salisbury between the New Orleans and Tuscaloosa boys, resulting in the triumph of the latter; the cells of the Parish Prison were unfavorable to the development of the skill of the ‘New Orleans nine.’ Prisoner Gray mentions that baseball was played nearly every day the weather permitted. Claims have been made that these were the first baseball games played in the South.”

“Prisoner Gray” was actually Dr. Charles Carroll Gray, who indicated in his diary on July 4th that the day was “celebrated with music, reading of the Declaration of Independence, sack and foot races in the afternoon, and also a baseball game.” Gray fondly recalled that baseball was played almost every day. Sgt. William J. Crossley of Company C, 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, described in his memoirs at Salisbury prison that “the great game of baseball generated as much enjoyment to the Rebs as the Yanks, for they came in hundreds to see the sport.”

More than a decade after the Civil War ended, the National League was developed. Coincidentally, it was the same year that General George Armstrong Custer was killed, along with two hundred and sixty-four Union Calvary troopers, after engaging Indian warriors at Little Bighorn. The year was 1876, and the National League of Professional Baseball was formed with an eight-team circuit consisting of the Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Red Legs, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Mutuals and St. Louis Browns. It has been reported that many members of the U.S. Calvary, most of them veterans of the Civil War, engaged in baseball games to pass the time while protecting the western territories. Some of them returned home to witness the likes of Ross Barnes of Chicago hit the first National League home run which was an inside the park variation. A Cincinnati pitcher named William “Cherokee” Fisher served up that historic pitch.

Regardless of its location, whether in prison camps or in the field, baseball provided an escape from the harsh realities of war and ultimately improved the morale of troops who were obviously homesick, scared, and in some cases, traumatized by the horrors they had witnessed on the battlefield. After the war ended, many men from both sides returned home to share the game that they had learned near the battlefield. Eventually organized baseball grew in popularity abroad and helped bring together a country that had been torn apart for so many years.

Today, over a century later, baseball is still a popular American institution and remains a testament to both “Billy Yank” AND “Johnny Reb” who laid down their muskets to pick up a ball and help to establish a National Pastime. Perhaps it was Walt Whitman, one of America’s most prolific poets, who correctly predicted how a game played with a stick would grow into one of our country’s most prized possessions. He wrote, “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, and give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses and be a blessing to us.”

Baseball during the Civil War was indeed a blessing, but the fields that hosted it were anything but. Even today it is far too easy for us to look back and forget the carnage that took place across the American landscape during the “Great Divide.” Each year, millions of tourists travel to our National Battlefield Parks to honor the memories of their fallen ancestors. When they arrive, everything is perfect. The grass is neatly trimmed and the markers are polished. The freshly painted cannons are all lined up neatly and the flags dance in the gentle breeze that greets each visitor. There is a sense of romance and pageantry that is virtually impossible to escape.

In truth, they are standing in the shadow of death. And it is this shadow that hangs over every field that witnessed America’s War Between the States. Some were battlefields, and some were ball fields. Unfortunately most were killing fields too.

Sources:

Adams, J.G. B. Reminiscences of the 19th Massachusetts Regiment. Boston: Wright and Porter, 1899.

Aubrecht, Michael A., “Baseball and the Blue and Gray,” Baseball-Almanac. Pinstripe Press: 2004.

Fort Ward Museum. “Civil War Baseball: Battling on the Diamond.” Fort Ward Museum and Historical Site webpage.

Frommer, Harvey. “Primitive Baseball: The First Quarter Century of the National Pastime.”

Kirsch, George B., “Bats, Balls and Bullets: Baseball and the Civil War,” Civil War Times Illustrated. Vol. XXXVI, No. 2 (May, 1998).

Kirsch, George B. Baseball in Blue & Gray: The National Pastime During the Civil War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.

Millen, Patricia, “ From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War,” Heritage Books (January 2001).

The truth is that Robert E. Lee struggled greatly with what would not only be the biggest, but also perhaps the most difficult decision of his life. One has to remember that he was one of the most respected military officers in the country at the time, likened only to George Washington in popularity among his peers, and that his entire family legacy was based on serving the United States. Lee’s military career spanned over three decades of exemplary service. To assume that he would cast aside his sense of duty to the Union so callously is not only an oversimplification of the decision, but also of the man. Here is how Mort and I have chosen to depict the real event:  

The Great Decision, Lee at Arlington House, April 19, 1861
By Michael Aubrecht (written for American Spirit Publishing)
ORDER PAINTING HERE

Remembered today as the leader of the Confederate States Army, Robert E. Lee’s military service was one of distinction long before the Civil War. With a family tree firmly rooted in the armed forces of early Colonial America, his service to the United States Army spanned 32 years. During this time he gained a reputation as a gifted engineer and an exceptional officer. After fighting in the Mexican-American War, he served as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

In October of 1859, President James Buchanan personally requested Lee to assume the command of a contingent of United States Marines and suppress a group of 21 abolitionists who had seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA in an attempt to incite a slave rebellion. Later known as “John Brown’s Raid,” this seminal event is often referred to as the actual start the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee was therefore a leading commander, albeit on different sides, at the very beginning of the conflict and at the very end of it.

When newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln gave control of the Union Army to Winfield Scott, the general immediately requested that Robert E. Lee be given a top command position. On April 18, 1861, then Colonel Lee was summoned to Washington D.C. where he met with Francis P. Blair who said, “I come to you on the part of President Lincoln to ask whether any inducement that he can offer will prevail on you to take command of the Union army.”

Taking command of Union forces in Washington would require Lee to take up arms against his own state of Virginia. Accepting the conundrum of his situation, Lee returned to his beloved home at Arlington House where he spent the next two days pondering the repercussions of his decision. After hours of contemplative thought, he graciously rejected the offer and ended his illustrious career in the United States Army.

Lee’s resignation letter to General Scott clearly depicted the difficulty of his decision. It read: “I have felt that I ought not longer to retain any commission in the Army. I therefore tender my resignation which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed.” He closed with “Save in the defense of my native state shall I ever again draw my sword.”

Mort Kunstler’s comments:

In 1995, while I was working on the book Jackson & Lee – Legends in Grey, I did a small painting which I called “The Great Decision.” As the subject of the piece was so compelling, I knew that I would eventually use it as the study for a major oil painting. Now all these years later, I have finally done it!

Robert E. Lee was a colonel in the United States Army when the Civil War started. On April 18, 1861 he was summoned across the Potomac to the nation’s capital and offered command of the Federal Army. Although he harbored mixed emotions over the issues of secession and slavery, he could not take up his sword against his home state of Virginia. After departing Washington, D.C. and returning to his home at Arlington House (located at the present day location of Arlington National Cemetery), he spent April 19th pondering his great decision. The following day he tendered his resignation from the U.S. Army, traveled south to Richmond and accepted command of Virginia’s troops with the rank of major general.

There are always problems to solve with every painting, but with “The Great Decision” they were very different. The challenge for an artist to depict Lee’s decision was quite rudimentary.  However, Robert E. Lee, on April 19, 1861 simply did not look like the Robert E. Lee that we tend to remember.  He was much younger, dark-haired and did not have a beard. This required me to reacquaint myself with a man whom I had painted dozens of times before.

I made arrangements to visit Arlington House and meet with its curator Maria Capozzi. Unfortunately, my arrival took place just a few weeks after an earthquake had rumbled across the Piedmont Region of Virginia on August 23, 2011. As a result there was structural damage to the building and all of the beautiful fully-restored rooms had been emptied of all furnishings. Despite this, Ms. Capozzi was still able to provide me with the information that I needed.

I finally settled on what is called the “White Parlor” for the location of the painting although Lee may have thought about his epic decision just about anywhere on the grounds. I still faced the problem of portraying him without his trademark white hair and beard. I realized that if I presented the scene in the evening it would be difficult to tell whether Lee’s hair was light or dark. I also felt that if I could compel the eye of the viewer to focus on the back view of the man, they would naturally pan to the left and see his reflection in the mirror.  This was accomplished by the use of the lighting effect from the fire. I also posed Lee with his hand upon his chin. This served two purposes. First, the gesture is one of deep thought.  Second, the hand would serve to cover the fact that he had no beard at that time.

I had chosen the White Parlor for my scene specifically for its proportions and elegant furnishings. The mantle above the fireplace was personally designed by the general and the furnishings were chosen by both Lee and his wife, Mary Custis Lee. The bust I included is of George Washington, Mary Custis Lee’s ancestor.

As my firsthand observations for this painting were made wearing a hard hat, while Lee’s magnificent manor was undergoing restoration, I can only hope that by the time this print is released, Arlington House will be fully restored and open to the public once again. It is a home that has witnessed so many historical moments, including the one where one of America’s greatest soldiers made one of his most difficult decisions.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank Ed Jones and John Hennessy for setting up this invitation to speak today. When I was conducting research for my book on Fredericksburg’s historical churches, St. George’s was one of my favorites. I don’t just say that in passing. As you can see here, every press and promotional photo that was taken of me following the book’s release, including the story that Ed’s folks did in The Free Lance-Star, was taken here at this church. And the posters for my first speaking engagements also used St. George’s clock tower as the imagery. So for me to have the opportunity to come back here and speak about the Great Revival today is really a thrill.

Let's begin by briefly looking at the subject of faith and its impact during the Civil War and then we’ll specifically examine St. George’s experiences. Please note that I made a conscious effort in this talk to include letters that I will read from as I want you to experience the story of the Great Revival through the words of those who actually lived it – and not just mine. I also want to leave some time for any questions or discussion that you may have.

Religion in America during the 19th-Century played a vital role politically, socially, and of course spiritually. Therefore it is no surprise that faith remained a welcome companion to soldiers out in the field and citizens back on the home front. Many troops became 'born-again' during the American Civil War as the romance and pageantry that once attracted volunteers by the thousands wore away as the killing fields spread across the country. From firesides of the Eastern Campaign here in Virginia to the army campsites of Tennessee, both soldiers and citizens came to Christ by the thousands.

Reverend John C. Granberry who was a Chaplain of the 11th Virginia Regiment observed this phenomenon firsthand and wrote to the Richmond Christian Advocate:

I have never before witnessed such a wide-spread and powerful religious interest among the soldiers…It would delight your heart to mark the seriousness, order, and deep feeling, which characterizes all our meetings.

Chaplain William B. Owen of the 17th Mississippi Infantry Regiment echoed that sentiment after he preached several evenings of revival sermons. He recalled that:

It was a touching scene to see the stern veterans of many a hard-fought field, who would not hesitate to enter the deadly breach or charge the heaviest battery, trembling under the power of divine truth.

Throughout the Civil War the church was repeatedly called upon to meet many new challenges that came with a divided nation. Protecting the sanctity of religious practices remained a top priority for those who were extremely concerned about the repercussions of the wartime climate. First and foremost was the inevitable splitting of the denominations following the South's secession. And although there appeared to be no immediate hostilities harbored by Christian leaders on either side, the fact remained that the political split in the country - also split the church. This had a profound effect on virtually every aspect of their operations.

For example, up until the outbreak of the Civil War, the American Bible Society, based in New York, handled the production and distribution of most religious materials including Bibles and tracts. After the conflict began, an entirely new system had to be formed in order to meet the needs of the Southern congregations. Many of these dilemmas were addressed in the minutes of the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly who addressed the need to establish a new chapter of the Bible Society to shoulder the task of producing and distributing religious materials in the Confederate States. The result was the Southern Baptist Bible Society who began producing bibles. Privatized organizations representing a multitude of denominations also stepped forward by printing and distributing gospel tracts in the field.

(On a quick side-note, if you ever want to dig deeper into this subject, let me recommend a visit to the National Civil War Chaplains Museum down at Liberty University. They have an amazing collection of bibles and other religious artifacts that once belonged to soldiers and chaplains.)

Maintaining the Sabbath and deploying chaplains and priests into army camps to conduct worship services while on campaign remained a critical need. Whenever possible, a schedule of morning and evening worship on Sundays, as well as Wednesday prayer meetings, was implemented. Often, preachers from nearby congregations would travel out to the camps to minister to the troops. Some of the more noteworthy men to come out of this service were the Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacy who preached to thousands as a member of Stonewall Jackson’s staff and Father William Corby of the famed Irish Brigade who later became the president of Notre Dame.

Despite their postwar accolades these men were not always met with enthusiasm. According to some accounts, religion did not accompany many soldiers at the start of the war. The magazine Christianity Today recalled the trials and tribulations with living a Godly life while on campaign. It stated:

Day-to-day army life was so boring that men were often tempted to 'make some foolishness,' as one soldier typified it. Christians complained that no Sabbath was observed. General Robert McAllister, an officer who was working closely with the United States Christian Commission, complained that a 'tide of irreligion' had rolled over his army 'like a mighty wave.'

Confederate General Braxton Bragg echoed this frustration and complained that, “We have lost more valuable lives at the hands of whiskey sellers than by the [minie]balls of our enemies.”

One Confederate officer who was perhaps the most pious of his peers was General Thomas Jackson. After realizing a lack of participation in the early war effort by the church, Jackson sent a letter to the Southern Presbyterian General Assembly, petitioning them for support. In it he stated:

Each branch of the Christian Church should send into the army some of its most prominent ministers who are distinguished for their piety, talents and zeal; and such ministers should labor to produce concert of action among chaplains and Christians in the army. These ministers should give special attention to preaching to regiments which are without chaplains, and induce them to take steps to get chaplains, to let the regiments name the denominations from which they desire chaplains selected, and then to see that suitable chaplains are secured.

He added:

A bad selection of a chaplain may prove a curse instead of a blessing. ...Denominational distinctions should be kept out of view, and not touched upon. And, as a general rule, I do not think a chaplain who would preach denominational sermons should be in the army. His congregation is his regiment, and it is composed of various denominations. I would like to see no question asked in the army of what denomination a chaplain belongs to; but let the question be, Does he preach the Gospel?

As the war progressed, a movement referred to as "The Great Revival" took place across the South. Beginning in the fall of 1863, this event was in full progress throughout the Army of Northern Virginia where thousands of rebel soldiers in Robert E. Lee's force were converted before the revival was interrupted by General U.S. Grant's attack in May of 1864.

The beginning of this revival appears to have started in the winter of 1862-1863 in Fredericksburg and the rest of the Lower Valley, and Chancellorsville, though its roots were earlier in the war. Some have narrowed it down to the first service performed at the Williams Street Methodist Church in Fredericksburg by the chaplain of the 17th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, of Barksdale’s Brigade, Rev. William B. Owen. He was soon joined by privates Clairborne McDonald and Thomas West of the 13th Mississippi, and they appeared to be filling the fairly large church seven nights a week. It was written in a letter by private William H. Hill of Company H, 13th Mississippi, that:

From 40 to 50 soldiers are at the mourner’s bench every night waiting to be saved from their sins. 

During the revival, preachers told of how soldiers would form “reading clubs,” in which they would pass around a well-worn Bible, sharing the Gospel. Always hungry for scarce Testaments and religious tracts, the soldiers would see chaplains approaching camp and cry out “Yonder comes the Bible and Tract man!” and run up to him and beg for Bibles and Testaments “as if they were gold guineas for free distribution.” One minister recalled “I have never seen more diligent Bible-readers than we had in the Army of Northern Virginia.”

Dr. Gardiner H. Shattuck, Jr., author of A Shield and Hiding Place: The Religious Life of the Civil War Armies, reported that:

The best estimates of conversions in the Union forces place the figure between 100,000 and 200,000 men-about 5-10 percent of all individuals engaged in the conflict. In the smaller Confederate armies, at least 100,000 were converted. Since these numbers include only 'conversions' and do not represent the number of soldiers actually swept up in the revivals-a yet more substantial figure-the impact of revivals during the Civil War surely was tremendous.

At a local level the numbers were a bit more modest. In The Great Revival of 1863 historian Troy Harman writes:

The revivals from the autumn of 1862 through the spring of 1863 also included large gatherings in the churches of Fredericksburg, which were mostly abandoned by the citizens of that town during the battle. When services were first held in these shell-marked churches in January 1863, the numbers were moderate enough to meet in smaller buildings such as the Presbyterian Church. As the soldier congregations grew, they moved to larger structures such as those of the Methodist church, and finally the largest Episcopal sanctuary. Reverend Bennett recalled a service in the latter facility on March 27, 1863 noting, “At 11:00 [A. M.] we assembled at the Episcopal Church. On this occasion, perhaps 1,500 were in attendance, mostly soldiers. Every grade, from private to Major General was represented.”

The Reverend William Jones D.D (who wrote an excellent account of his time during the war titled Christ in the Camp) recalled his experiences of evangelizing to the troops in his memoirs when he wrote:

Long before the appointed hour the spacious Episcopal church, kindly tended by its rector, is filled - nay, packed-to its utmost capacity-lower floor, galleries, aisles, chancel, pulpit steps and vestibule-while hundreds turn disappointed away, unable to find even standing room… I remember that I preached to this vast congregation the very night before Hooker crossed the river, bringing the battles of Second Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville - that, in my closing appeal, I urged them to accept Christ then and there, because they did not know but that they were hearing their "last invitation," and that sure enough we were aroused before the day the next morning by the crossing of the enemy.

The army was not the only ones suffering. In a personal letter written from Dr. Harry Lovell, who served with the Confederate Army, local citizens and soldiers alike benefited by the presence of this much-needed revival. To his sweetheart the doctor sent:

For the last week or two there has been a good revival going on at the Episcopal Church. Several in which there were a great many soldiers received into the church and baptized. The city presents a baleful appearance. There is no estimating the suffering caused by the shelling of the place. There are hundreds of men who were yard lively who are now reduced to beggary. The poor women and children are starving in every quarter. It is or ought to be a shame in any nation to create such suffering…

Not surprising this local movement spread from the confines of the churches out into the army camps where soldiers would in turn come to town to participate in worship services. Simeon David, a member of the 14th North Carolina Infantry wrote in a letter home that:

There is a very general revival of religion going on in our Brigade at this time, baptizing every day. There are several churches in the surrounding country that our men go to every Sabbath.

Jo Shaner of the Rockbridge Artillery experienced the revival and enthusiastically wrote to his parents about his own spiritual transformation. He said:

I am happy to say that the Lord has been doing great work for us - there has been some 20 or more that has come forward and made a public profession that they intended to follow Christ and I suppose that you both will be glad to hear that I have not been left out of that number. Yes by the help of the Lord I intend to lead a new life - I feel as though I was a new man some 10 or 12 of that number joined the church - Capt Graham also expressed a desire to become a member of the church.

Now what I find to be extraordinary when reflecting on the Great Revival at St. George’s is the fact that amidst all of the occupation and destruction that descended on the city of Fredericksburg, they were one of the few churches to not only remain open - but also pro-active. Like the rest of its community, the bombardment of the town by Federal artillery in December of 1862 had a profound effect on the church and its congregation.

As one of the tallest and most distinctive structures in all of Fredericksburg, St. George’s was particularly threatened by Union cannoneers that were positioned at Stafford Heights, on the bluff just behind the stately Chatham Manor. The towering green steeple had become a target for the gunners and the structure would eventually be hit over twenty-five times during the course of that initial battle. A Union artillerist had recalled a comrade’s attempt to destroy the church’s clock: “An officer of another battery remarked that the first shot he put into the city should pass through the clock; in fact, he proposed to breach the wall in such a way that the clock would fall into the body of the church. He explained that he felt impelled to this act through a sense of predestined responsibility.” (He must have been a Presbyterian like me.)

Of course once they were in occupation of the city, St. George's took on a new role from a Federal target to Federal hospital. One of my very favorite quotes, not only from my book, but also from all quotes I've read in all of my studies of the Civil War, came from another Yankee soldier stationed up in the tower here at St. Georges. He recalled:

Orders came to withdraw the pickets from Fredericksburg. I was in the church steeple, and had been forgotten. When I came down at night, and went to my old position in the rifle pits, I found that my whole company was gone. I was holding the entire town by myself.

As the Federal Army retreated from Fredericksburg and both sides went into winter quarters, local clergy did their part in ministering to the remaining soldiers and citizens. By January and February a religious fervor was spreading. The Religious Herald reported on February 26, 1863 that revival meetings were occurring, “fifty-five consecutive days and nights without regard to weather or other untoward circumstances.” It went on to say that, “Each day, sermons and prayer meetings were virtually hourly affairs from noon until late at night as soldiers became alive with religious animation.”

A typical week of worship included Sunday School, preaching, prayer meetings, Bible classes, inquiry, exhortations, and singing meetings. The evening assemblies, which gained so much attention, were impressive sights indeed. Reverend Bennett recalled, “You behold a mass of men seated on the earth all around you…in the wild woods, under a full moon, aided by the light of side strands.” John H. Worsham, a soldier in the 21st Virginia Infantry, painted a picture of the typical outdoor revival forum, writing:

Trees were cut from the adjoining woods, rolled to this spot, and arranged for seating of at least 2,000 people. At the lower end a platform was raised with logs, rough boards were placed on them, and a bench was made at the far side for the seating of preachers. In front was a pulpit, or desk, made from a box. Around this platform and around the seats, stakes were driven into the ground about ten or fifteen feet apart. On top of them were placed baskets of iron wire, iron hoops, etc. Into these baskets were placed chunks of lightwood, and at night they were lighted and threw a red glare far beyond the confines of the place of worship.

Later in the following spring, Federal forces once again entered the city, much to the dismay of its shell-shocked citizens. The Reverend Alfred Magill Randolph, rector of St. George’s, wrote to his wife from Richmond describing the renewed plight of Fredericksburg’s townsfolk:

My Darling Sallie,

Owing to the condition of the RR and the dread of Yankee Cavalry who are thought to be between here and Ashland trains have not yet been allowed to go to Fredbg—One is expected to go this morning—if so I will go—I am very anxious about our boys—I see that several of Gen Jackson’s staff fell killed or wounded at the time he was wounded—names are not given—we learn, too, that Early’s division had the hardest fighting to do in front of Fredbg and I cannot leave here until I hear from them—it would be duty to them or to Ma—From what I gather the rectory is complete and the Yankee Army beaten and broken, but with terrible loss on our side—Our old town has again been occupied for two days by the enemy and I suppose suffered as before—I have heard as yet nothing from individual friends in the army—

Less than one year later, in April of 1864, Reverend Randolph recalled preaching a ‘revivalesque’ sermon to a large congregation in the upper part of the crippled church. Despite all of the damage and destruction in the downtown area, citizens still managed to traipse through the rubble in order to take communion at periodic Sunday services that were conducted by the reverend and no one else. Attendance at these impromptu services fluctuated from two to three hundred people, and soldiers were often present. Reverend Randolph noted that the possibility of his entire congregation returning to the town in the near future was highly improbable, as provisions were so scarce and the threat of reoccupation remained constantly on the minds of those staying behind.

Of course St. George’s, like Fredericksburg, not only survived the war, but continued to prosper. Your congregation is a testament to that resolve. Here are the meeting minutes regarding the resignation of Rev. Randolph and a collection to aid in remedying the damages caused by quote “shot and shell in the bombardment of December 1862.” In some ways this church was directly responsible for hosting the spiritual conversion of thousands of soldiers who most likely returned home and continued to spread the gospel in their own denominations.

According to historian Troy Harmon:

For the numerous Confederates who participated in revival, their lives changed as they became more sincere about service to country and about personal integrity. Because the issue of where each converted soldier would spend his eternity was settled, each of them perhaps was more apt to risk the dangers of the battlefield. Additionally, it is reasonable to believe that an ample number of them returned home in 1865 to become devout churchgoers and spiritual leaders. Whatever their legacy, these survivors must have reflected back on the two immense revivals in the Army of Northern Virginia, with both amazement and fondness. Most likely, when they pondered the hardships of the war, they shared thoughts of Reverend Wallace when he wrote, “and among the sad memories…the recollection of the great and blessed work of grace that swept through all military grades, from the General to the drummer boy is ‘the silver lining’ to the dark and heavy cloud of war that shook its terrors on our land.”

St. George’s Episcopal Church is therefore not only the site of a great revival, but also a shining example of light amidst one of the darkest periods in American history. The Rev. DD Jones summarized the positive repercussions of this movement when he wrote:  

In the midst of the titanic struggle of the American War Between the States, a spiritual war for the souls of men was waged with equal vigor. From 1861 to 1865, many thousands of soldiers professed Christ as their Savior and Lord, and many more were renewed in their commitment to serve God in camp and battlefield.

So what was the historical effect of the Great Revival here at St. George’s? How do we measure its impact? One can look at the results of a battle and immediately see how it shaped the course of the war, yet a religious experience like the one I have discussed today must be measured differently. What is its legacy? Well, its legacy can be traced through the military and civilian believers that I’ve quoted today…converts who recalled this event that occurred almost 150 years ago as being a major transformation in their lives. No doubt those that survived the war continued to practice their newfound faith.

In closing today, I want to share a thought-provoking prayer that is believed to have been found on the body of a dead Confederate soldier. This declaration (to me) personifies the transformation that I mentioned and is a lasting testament to the steadfast belief that may have come about as the result of the Great Revival.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.

[Thank you.]