Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Brigadier General John Gregg, CSA
Mrs. Elektratig and I were in Longview, Texas over last weekend for a wedding. Longview, it turns out, is in Gregg County, named for John Gregg, a member of the Texas secession convention, a Confederate congressman, and a Confederate officer who fought in both the western and eastern theaters. He ultimately rose to the rank of Brigadier General and was killed in action outside Richmond in 1864. I noticed that there was a memorial to him in town, and we made a visit.
As a northerner who doesn't get south alot (they don't let me out much), I still find it weird that there are public memorials to secessionists and Confederates. I therefore thought I'd document our visit and the memorial with some pictures, which I've posted at Flickr. A few of them are also included in this post.
The memorial, which is outside the Gregg County court house, included two inscribed markers. The first, commemorating the Texas secession convention, read as follows:
Texas Secession Convention.
This meeting, which had John Gregg as a key member, was extra-legal governing body of delegates from over Texas. Held January – March 1861. Drew up secession ordinance – ratified by 3 to 1 popular vote. Selected delegates to convention of southern states in Montgomery, Ala. Declared office of anti-secessionist governor Sam Houston vacant, putting in Lt. Governor Edward Clark. Ratified C.S.A. Constitution. Raised troops to seize U.S. property, getting $3,000,000 worth by surrender. Placed troops at outposts to protect frontier.
The second memorialized Gen. Gregg:
General John Gregg 1828 – 1864.
Born Alabama. Came to Texas 1854. Judge, Confederate congressman. Organized 7th Texas infantry as Colonel 1861. Captured at Fort Donelson, Tenn. 1862. Promoted Brigadier General after exchange. Commanded brigade Vicksburg campaign 1863. Severely wounded Battle of Chickamauga Oct. 1863. Returning to action 1864 led Hood's Texas Brigade in heavy fighting in Virginia. Killed in action at Richmond, Oct. 7, 1864. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy erected by the State of Texas.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
The Return of Mollie Moo
Every spring farmer Harry brings three or four cows from his farm down the road to our paddock. Molly Moo, the grande dame of Harry's Herd, is inevitably among them. Mollie's getting up there in years, but she's as irascible as ever.
Mollie and two of farmer Harry's "little girls" arrived last weekend, a little earlier than usual. Mistress Karen says that's because Mollie was bullying all the calves and Farmer Harry had to get her away from them.
Click on any photo to enlarge alot.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Willie the Pimp
When Hot Rats came out I was, I think, in tenth grade. Peaches was a great song, but the cut that I really loved was Willie the Pimp. Enjoy.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Spring Has Sprung, Part II
A little cooler on Sunday, but a beautiful weekend overall. Photos are of a friend's garden here in northwest New Jersey. Click to enlarge. The originals are at Flickr.
Spring is Sprung
Playing with my fisheye yesterday, at last a glorious spring day here in northwest New Jersey. Click to enlarge.
Town Line, NY Really Did Secede from the Union in 1861
Several years ago I posted an entry referring to a report that, at the outset of the Civil War, the town of Town Line, New York, located in Erie County near Buffalo, had seceded from the Union: Did Town Line, NY Really Secede from the Union in 1861? In the post I questioned whether the report could possibly be true.
Correspondent Jeff Cooke has helpfully pointed me to a recent article in the Buffalo History Gazette that appears to confirm the truth of the report: Hamlet of Town Line "Heads South" in 1861: Nearby Hamlet Left Union in Civil War Days. According to the article, in late 1861 or early 1862 the eligible voters of the town voted by a count of 80 to 45 to secede from the Union. The reasons the town did so seem to be lost to history:
Why Town Line left the Union is a mystery. It's [sic] residents at that time were sons and daughters of pioneers who came from Vermont or Germany. Such ancestry would almost guarantee an abhorrence of slavery, but Town Line then was a Democratic stronghold. There was little economic reason for such sympathy, for Town Line residents were either farmers or woodsmen.
Town Line remained out of the Union, according to the article, for eighty-five years. On January 24, 1946 town residents decided to rejoin the Union by a vote of 90 to 23.
The picture, taken from the article, purports to show the "Old School house, now a Blacksmith shop, where Town Line voted for the Stars and Bars of the South."
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