North Carolina: Restored Confederate Flag Returned to Museum

RALEIGH — A Confederate battle flag lost in the final months of the Civil War was handed over again Saturday – this time back into the collection of the N.C. Museum of History following a $6,500 restoration.

The flag was carried by the 6th Regiment of North Carolina at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek in Virginia when it was captured by a Union soldier on April 6, 1865. Forty years later, the federal government returned the flag to North Carolina, but it remained hidden in storage because the torn and dirty fabric was not suitable for display, said Jackson Marshall, assistant director of programming at the history museum.

The 6th Regiment's Battle Flag which was captured at Sailor's Creek, VA, April 6, 1865.

The 6th Regiment’s Battle Flag which was captured at Sailor’s Creek, VA, April 6, 1865.

“It’s been 100 years since the public has seen this flag,” Marshall said. “Now it’s cleaned and conserved in a way that will protect it for another 40 or 50 years.”

The museum is short on funds for restoring historic artifacts and must depend on private groups such as the Cedar Fork Rifles Preservation Society, which raised money to restore the 6th Regiment flag, he added. The museum has about 125 battle flags but only about 30 have been cleaned and preserved so they can be made available for display.

More than 100 people from across the state came to the dedication Saturday to see the flag and share stories about the N.C. 6th Regiment, which formed in Charlotte in May 1861 and fought its first major battle two months later in Manassas, Va., also known as the First Battle of Bull Run.

“It was the only North Carolina battalion at that first great battle of the war,” said Rick Walton, a Civil War historian and member the Cedar Fork Rifles Preservation Society.

Known as “the bloody 6th,” the regiment fought constantly during the war and at many famous battle sites in throughout Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina: Yorktown, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, New Bern, Plymouth, Petersburg and others. Starting out with 1,000 members, the ranks were diminished by injuries and deaths after years of fighting. Replacements were brought in whenever possible, Marshall said.

Sailor’s Creek, about 60 miles southwest of Richmond, was the last battle fought by the 6th Regiment, which carried a practically new flag that had been issued to replace others lost or captured in battle.

“We don’t know who the 6th’s flag-bearer was that day; in fact we know more about who captured it,” Walton said.

Joseph Kimball, of Littleton, N.H., got credit for taking the 6th Regiment battle flag; he was awarded one of the 57 medals handed out by the Union Army for military service on that day.

The Confederate battle flag has 13 five-pointed stars set on an “X” pattern, known as St. Andrew’s Cross but also sometimes called a Southern Cross. It is distinct from the Stars and Bars design of the Confederate States of America flag.

This 6th Regiment’s battle flag is missing a star, which was cut rather than ripped from the fabric, indicating it was likely taken as a souvenir from the battlefield or after the war, Marshall said. Conservators who prepared the flag for exhibit cleaned and protected the delicate fabric but did not change the flag’s overall appearance.

The Confederate Army lost more than 7,700 men at Sailor’s Creek. Just 72 hours later, General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

More than just a symbol of a long-ago military conflict, the flag represents family history for many of those who came to see the flag rejoin the museum’s collection, Walton added.

“What this represents to us is heritage,” he said. “It’s a visual reminder of our ancestors.”

Marshall said North Carolina troops suffered massive losses in the Civil War — as many as 35,000 men were killed and thousands more severely wounded.

“In Gettysburg, almost 25 percent of the total losses were North Carolinians killed or wounded,” Marshall said.

He said North Carolina’s Civil War heritage remains strong largely because of the losses so many families endured.

“I’m astounded at how many people give money to these efforts because they know they have a family connection,” he said. “People still remember the suffering and loss and want to keep family memories alive.”

–Renee Elder, Charlotte Observer

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Alabama: Lecture Series Discusses Civil War Journalism

MOBILE, Ala.–The next installment in University of Mobile’s Hinson Lecture Series will examine Civil War journalism with author Ford Risley.

Risley, a professor at Penn State University, will speak about the press in the American Civil War on Thursday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at Moorer Auditorium on UMobile’s campus, located at 5735 College Pkwy.

The free event includes the lecture, reception and book signing.
Risley received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida and is the author of many scholarly articles and three books.
His most recent work, “Civil War Journalism,” has been described as “an extraordinarily well-written and insightful examination of the role of the Northern and Southern press during the nation’s most wrenching time of conflict.”For more information about the Hinson Lecture, call 442-2319 or email lburnett@umobile.edu. –al.com

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Texas: City of Orange to Discuss Confederate Park

ORANGE — The Orange City Council has plenty to discuss at the Tuesday meeting.

The agenda posted Thursday states the council will discuss a resolution concerning the construction and location of the Confederate Flag Memorial located at the corner of Interstate 10 and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Orange and amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Orange by adding Article 7.1500 to regulate flagpoles, flags and banners within the city limits.

A closed session will include deliberations with the City Attorney John Cash Smith concerning the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property concerning the Confederate Veterans Memorial Park.

Granvel Block purchased the land in May 2009 for $10,000 and transferred the deed to Sons of Confederate Veterans, located in Columbia, Tennessee, in May 2010 according to deed records.

Block has been raising funds for the construction of the park since at least 2011 and estimates it will cost $50,000 to erect.

Block wrote in The Confederate, a newsletter of the Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans Winter 2001 issue, “Neither our organization, nor our symbols should be penalized for actions by any other group. Our organization was formed to vindicate the memory of our Confederate ancestors and guard their history. Their symbols are a large part of that memory and history. These symbols represent our pride of no matter what misperception others may have regarding there history. We are not here to change history, or allow it to be changed; we have called to teach the truth.”

The permit issued for the park by the City of Orange states it is for a New Veterans Memorial.

The park has been a concerned of several citizens who have spoken out against it at recent city council meetings and at Orange County Commissioners Court. A Town Hall meeting and a Concerned Citizens Forum have been held in recent weeks to give the residents an opportunity to speak their opinion concerning the memorial.

Block has not attended the meetings, nor has a representative of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The resolution opposing the park states in part, “Whereas, the confederate flag and related symbols and icons have come to be widely viewed by Americans of all races as symbols embodying the principle of racism, discrimination, segregation and oppression.

Whereas, the proposed plans of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Inc. to construct such a memorial at such a highly visible location; the construction of a confederate veterans war memorial displays such symbols along a street named after Martin Luther King, Jr. would be an insult to Dr. King’s life work of seeking to banish racism and segregation; and

Whereas, it appears clear that a decision by the City of Orange to deny, or rescind, a building permit to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. for the proposed construction of such a memorial based upon the City of Orange’s disfavor of the content of the symbols and ideas endorsed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. would be constitutionally indefensible, and

Whereas, the City of Orange stakeholders have made financial investments into the quality of life and tourism; where the Sons of Confederate  Veterans, Inc. are not presenting an image that supports tourism or economic development and are more than likely going to damage the reputation and hinder economic development of the City of Orange; and encourage other stakeholders to pass this type of resolution.”

Council member Annette Pernell said she is glad the city is coming out to do something.

“Something is better than nothing,” Pernell said. “The city is trying to do what is best for all citizens.”

Orange City Council meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Orange Public Library Auditorium located at 220 North 5th Street in Orange.

–Dawn Burleigh, The Orange Leader

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Virginia: Civil War and Emancipation Day Make History Resonate

RICHMOND — Richmond lives and breathes history and for those who are curious about the past — or are full-blown history buffs — Saturday is when the city comes alive.

More than 25 activity centers will be open to the public, featuring walking tours, dramatic readings, lectures and more during the fourth annual Civil War & Emancipation Day.

Hear about Richmond’s 1863 Bread Riot or walk its Slave Trail at dusk by torchlight from Ancarrow’s Landing to Lumpkin’s Jail.

DEAN HOFFMEYER/TIMES-DISPATCH Helice Henderson of Charlottesville leaned in for a closer look at an original signed copy of the 13th Amendment, on display last year at the Virginia Historical Society as part of Richmond’s Civil War & Emancipation Day programs.

DEAN HOFFMEYER/TIMES-DISPATCH
Helice Henderson of Charlottesville leaned in for a closer look at an original signed copy of the 13th Amendment, on display last year at the Virginia Historical Society as part of Richmond’s Civil War & Emancipation Day programs.

Witness dramatic monologues at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic site or learn about Mary Bowser, a free black woman who served as a spy for the Union Army.

Know what a Civil War Zouave uniform looks like? The Virginia Historical Society recently acquired one of these rare uniforms and it’ll be on display for the first — and only — time this year on Saturday.

The day’s festivities are put on by The Future of Richmond’s Past, a collaborative effort among local historical societies, museums, colleges and universities, and cultural and tourism organizations to promote the anniversaries of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The day is “a great opportunity for Richmonders to be tourists in their own city,” said Jennifer Guild, senior officer for public relations and marketing at the Virginia Historical Society. “This event shows not only the collaborative partnerships that exist within the cultural community, but also their deep desire to make stories from the past accessible to everyone.”

Organizers said more than 5,200 people visited sites last year.

Andy Talkov, Virginia Historical Society’s head of program development, said the organization tries to find unique exhibits or programs for Civil War & Emancipation Day and this year’s will be hard to top.

In December, it acquired a one-of-a-kind collection that includes a complete Zouave uniform with leather leggings, a fez (a felt hat with a tassel), bright red pants and even a revolver.

The Zouave was a militia soldier who served in Northern Africa with the French Army during the 1800s. Nearly 240 organizations in America in the 1800s adopted the Zouave uniforms and fierce military styles.

The uniform obtained by the historical society belonged to a soldier in the 5th New York Infantry. Supporting documentation shows that he was issued the uniform in September 1861 and died eight months later in Virginia. He was buried in Hampton.

“His experience in the Civil War was in Virginia,” Talkov said, “and he’s still on Virginia soil.”

The uniform has never been on display. Saturday’s exhibit, called “Who Are You Wearing?: The Civil War Zouave Fever,” is the only day this year that the society has plans to show it to the public.

Some of the new events planned this year include several activities at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site such as a guided tour of her home, a walking tour of Historic Jackson Ward and a special exhibit called “Lifting as We Climb: Maggie Walker’s Workforce.”

Anyone with historic family documents can bring them to the Library of Virginia to be scanned as part of the Civil War 150 Legacy Project. While the Confederate Memorial Chapel, near the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, was open to the public last year, this year includes a tour of the former grounds of Robert E. Lee’s Camp #1.

One of the unique things about Civil War & Emancipation Day, said University of Richmond President Edward Ayers, is that it’s all about commemorating two distinct concepts at the same time: the Civil War, and all of the darkness that came with it, as well as freedom.

Ayers will moderate a panel discussion at the Museum of the Confederacy called “Union Spies in Richmond, the Difference Between Fact and Fiction.”

The panelists include Dr. Elizabeth Varon, author of “Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy,” and novelist Lois Leveen, who wrote “The Secrets of Mary Bowser,” about the life and legend of the woman thought to be a Union spy planted in the Confederate White House.

Ayers said that in a city like Richmond that’s full of history, folks often take for granted what they think they know. They pass by statues on Monument Avenue or historical markers in Shockoe Bottom and become desensitized to the significance of those people and places.

But Ayers said organizers of Civil War & Emancipation Day hope their efforts will open Richmond residents’ eyes to what lies, sometimes literally, beneath their feet.

More than just a day to attract tourists, “this is for ourselves,” Ayers said, referring to Richmond residents, “to open the city (and) make history resonate.”

–HOLLY PRESTIDGE, Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Virginia: Point of Rocks to be Turned Into Public Park

POINT OF ROCKS — Chesterfield County is adding to its long list of assets that tell the county’s deep and colorful history.

The county this year purchased 29 acres of the historic Point of Rocks property — a pivotal location in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign during the Civil War — from the family that has owned the site for 371 years in an effort to preserve it and its history for the future.

Detail of Point of Rocks from Isaac Bond, Map of Frederick County, 1858, Library of Congress, MSA SC 1213-1-457

Detail of Point of Rocks from Isaac Bond, Map of Frederick County, 1858, Library of Congress, MSA SC 1213-1-457

On Tuesday, a ceremonial title transfer will take place at Point of Rocks to symbolically close a deal that has been years in the making.

George Fickett, a Civil War historian and a preservationist, met Evelyn L. Cox, who lived at Point Rocks, in 1975 as he researched the Bermuda Hundred Campaign.

“She was living in the historic house and was born there,” Fickett said. “We talked for many years of her dream of the county … buying the site and it becoming a county park.”

When she died in 2003, Fickett saw a for-sale sign go up and contacted the family to start the process of the county purchasing the property. Even then, many things had to be accomplished before the sale was finalized.

One of the main items was financing the deal.

The purchase was made possible by an American Battlefield Protection Program grant, funds from the Lands and Water Conservation Fund and matching money from the county to make the $700,000 purchase.

In previous years, “we just weren’t able to pull the resources together to do it. We got this grant and helped out quite a bit,” said Mike Golden, Chesterfield’s director of parks and recreation.

Added Fickett: “I am glad I was able to make a little old lady’s dream come true.”

Point of Rocks is named for a 60-foot high sandstone cliff overlooking the Appomattox River in southeastern Chesterfield County. A trading post was established there in 1642 by Abraham Wood and the land has passed through his heirs until it was sold to the county this year.

The house that currently stands at Point of Rocks was constructed in 1841 by the Rev. John Alexander Strachan, who was the founder of Enon Baptist Church. Cox was married to Strachan’s grandson, Thomas Blackwood Cox.

When the Union army occupied Point of Rocks in May 1864, a field hospital was established on the site and the house served as the surgeons’ quarters. The Strachan family was forced from its home and most of their possessions were destroyed.

Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross, served as the superintendent of nurses at Point of Rocks from June 1864 until August 1864. Less than a year later, President Abraham Lincoln and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant visited the site with their families.

Bermuda District Supervisor Dorothy A. Jaeckle, whose district includes Point of Rocks, said it’s been a long-term goal of the county to identify and restore its historic sites.

“One of the great assets of Chesterfield County is the historic sites (and) we have such an active group of citizens that are focused on historic sites,” she said.

Plans for the site call for improved public access and parking; a trail system that would take visitors to the house and around the grounds; and ultimately a visitor’s center to tell the Point of Rocks story, particularly about its role in the Civil War.

“It was bought for its historical significance. … Like a number of our other historical parks, it would just be a great place for people to visit, take a walk, read a book and just enjoy being outside,” said Stuart W. Connock Jr., chief of the Chesterfield Department of Parks and Recreation’s planning and construction services division.

–Jeremy Slayton, Times-Dispatch

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Virginia: Southside Va. Heritage Days Recall Battle of Sutherland Station 

DINWIDDIE – The home that sits off a long stretch of highway is filled with the sounds of time. Grandfather clocks that have withstood 200 years of wear and tear now tick methodically within Fork Inn, an 1803 plantation home.

Darrell Olgers, owner and resident of Fork Inn, said the only thing historically inaccurate about the home is the number of grandfather clocks it now houses.

When it was known as Sutherland Tavern during the days of the Civil War, the home would have had only one grandfather clock in each room.

Over the years, Olgers has collected many clocks from different states that carry their own set of stories. But those that have ticked within the historic home since the beginning come with their own rich history.

Michelle Olgers shows a tour group a genuine Union Cavalry saber that was found on a battlefield by a Confederate captain from Dinwiddie County. Olgers gave tours of her historic home on Saturday during the 17th annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days.

Michelle Olgers shows a tour group a genuine Union Cavalry saber that was found on a battlefield by a Confederate captain from Dinwiddie County. Olgers gave tours of her historic home on Saturday during the 17th annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days.

The fields just beyond the home were the site of the April 2, 1865, Battle of Sutherland Station, which was the last organized battle of the Seige of Petersburg by Union troops. About a week after this battle, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Appomattox would end the Civil War.

The Olgers family commemorated the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Sutherland with the 17th annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days on Saturday and Sunday.

Where guests of the 14-room house may have walked nearly 200 years ago, Civil War re-enactors, a moonshine exhibit, a blacksmithing demonstration and antique markets set up camp for the celebration.

Behind the house, a single flag flies over one of the graves in a cemetery. Jimmy Olgers placed that flag over his great-grandfather’s grave as a way to honor his service during the Civil War.

“It was a massacre. It was such a trying time,” Jimmy Olgers said of the battle. He told stories outside the house during the two-day event.

Richard A. Stewart, curator of the Pocohantas Black History Museum in Petersburg, told stories of his ancestor’s involvement in the Civil War with his exhibit in front of the house. Because many of his ancestors received their freedom before the Civil War, they decided to remain loyal to the Confederacy once war broke out, Stewart said.

“Blacks were here and they served the Confederacy as bricklayers, cooks, butlers and carpenters. They did everything during the Civil War that they did before,” Stewart said.

One of the most popular exhibits was the house itself.

“Fork Inn is filled with ghost stories, wooden legs, tales of tavern brawls and even evidence of bullet holes,” Darrell Olgers said.

Many a visitor has asked Olgers to identify the lady at the top of the stairs in a white dress only to be surprised later by her 19th-century portrait in the living room.

Another mystery within the house is a .39-caliber bullet hole in the entryway.

“It was not uncommon for there to be brawls at the tavern. Whatever the story is behind this bullet hole, it is probably a good one,” Jimmy Olgers said.

A large trunk also sits in the entryway to the house. The inn’s owners stacked that trunk with home treasures as Union troops approached the property. They buried the trunk beneath the rooster’s pen. The stories of other treasures behind the house were told through Sunday, which also featured church service.

–VANESSA REMMERS, Progress-Index.Com
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