VIRGINIA: More Civil War-Era Graffiti Found
CULPEPER, Va. — More Civil War-era writing has been found in the historic Graffiti House in Brandy Station.
Graffiti House, Brandy Station.
Brandy Station Foundation president Jim McKinney tells the Culpeper Star-Exponent it’s the first time that Civil War-era writing has been uncovered on a wall on the first floor.
All other writings were found on walls on the second floor.
Architectural conservator Chris Mills uncovered the new section of plaster containing graffiti last week.
He says he found the writing in a bathroom that was added under a stairway in the 1930s.
McKinney says the writing appears to have been made by Union soldiers during the Union’s occupation of the house between November 1863 and May of 1864.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — ‘American Sniper’ draws big crowds in South, D.C.
The film “American Sniper” has become a smash hit, as it draws big crowds in the South and in Washington, D.C., where receipts were up 102 percent on Saturday, according to a box office report.
- Bradley Cooper.
The movie about the Navy SEAL credited with the most kills in U.S. military history broke box office records upon its release and is reportedly headed toward gross earnings of $300 million, a big achievement for Warner Brothers and director Clint Eastwood.
“American Sniper” earned $200.1 million through Sunday in the United States after raking in $64.4 million on Saturday and Sunday, the third-highest January weekend for a film. It remains at the top of the box office in North America for a second week.
The story of the late Chris Kyle has sparked debate over the moral gray areas of the Iraq War. A former rancher and rodeo cowboy, Kyle served four tours in Iraq and shot a record 160-plus people as a sniper.
The film received strong marks from critics and eight Oscar nominations. While audiences flocked to theaters around the country, interest was particularly strong in the South and the heartland, analysts said: Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., saw viewership up 63 percent on Saturday, while audiences in Cleveland grew by 73 percent.
“Many exhibitors are hearing from their theater managers that the infrequent moviegoers who go only two to three times a year, are coming out to see this movie,” Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman told Deadline Hollywood, an industry publication. “This a movie about patriotism, recognizing heroes, those who served; it’s about family.”
American Sniper has also generated controversy in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore and actor Seth Rogen criticized the film after its release for glorifying violence. Their comments were met with an immediate backlash from Republican lawmakers and pundits, who called Kyle a hero.
“The petulant, knee-jerk backlash vs American Sniper is driven by fear of facing the idea that maybe our soldiers fought for a just cause,” tweeted Dan McLaughlin, a contributor at RedState.
Other commentators said Eastwood, who opposed the Iraq War, should have done more to challenge Kyle’s black-and-white view of Muslim insurgents, who he repeatedly calls “savages” and “evil.”
“The problem is that the film makes no attempt to tell us anything beyond Kyle’s limited comprehension of what was happening,” wrote Peter Maass for The Intercept, a publication founded by Glenn Greenwald.
Maass criticizes the movie, which was based on Kyle’s best-selling autobiography, for giving “a grunt’s view that the people killed in Iraq were animals deserving their six-feet-under fate” without any further discussion or context.
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SOUTH CAROLINA: Would a North-South railroad fended off the Civil War?
CLEMSON, S.C. -A century and a half after the Civil War, a Clemson historian wonders whether a railroad linking Ohio and South Carolina – a railroad proposed but never built – might have helped stave off the conflict.
Photo of trains during the American Civil War / Public Domain
In his book “The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road,” H. Roger Grant examines the attempt to build what would have been the first railroad across the Appalachians linking North and South.
Grant suggests it could have forged stronger economic bonds between the regions. He says with people concerned about money, they might have been less susceptible to shrill Northern abolitionists or to Southerners calling for secession.
Even Abraham Lincoln said in 1861 it would have been impossible to dissolve the Union had the nation been linked more closely with railroads.
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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TEXAS: Civil War Park Dedication
COLLEGE STATION, Tx. — On Thursday, April 9, the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial board of directors invites all military veterans, community partners and the public to its Civil War Memorial site dedication at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex.
The event will recognize the installation of two bronze statues crafted by local artist J. Payne Lara in the likeness of military men from the American Civil War – one Union Army soldier and one Confederate States Army soldier. The site’s theme depicts the final days of the war, showing soldiers as they may have looked after engaging in lengthy days of battle.
The memorial pays tribute to those veterans of both sides who endured incredibly harsh conditions, poor food, diseases, and horrendous battles large and small. Those who survived their time in uniform began the long trip home to face new realities, an uncertain future, and a Union restored.
Keynote Address:
“The Citizen Soldiers of the American Civil War” – T. Michael Parrish, Ph.D.
Parrish is Linden G. Bowers Professor of American History at Baylor University where he teaches courses on Texas history, Civil War and Reconstruction, and U.S. history. Early in his career, he worked as a research archivist at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum. Parrish is author of Brothers in Gray: The Civil War Letters of the Pierson Family, among other books, and also serves as editor or co-editor for three Civil War book series. Parrish was named for his great grandfather, a second lieutenant in the 37th Alabama Infantry, Confederate Army of Tennessee.
Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra
Throughout the program, orchestra members will perform selections from the works of modern composers and film scores that capture the spirit of the American Civil War. These selections will be featured in BVSO’s season finale titled “Civil War Tribute” on April 26 at Rudder Theatre.
Other notable activities
- Cannon shot – Sul Ross Camp #1457 and 7th Texas Light Artillery
- Posting of Colors – Reenactors Honor Guard
- Reading of soldiers’ letters – Bill Youngkin
- History of Taps – Mike Guidry
- Rifle salute – Ross Volunteers
- Taps – Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band Bugler
150th anniversary
The event will also commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the surrender of the Confederate States Army under General Robert E. Lee to the Union Army under Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. This surrender triggered a series of surrenders across the south, signaling the end of the Civil War.
For more information, or to contact members of the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, click here.
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The mission of the Memorial for all Veterans of the Brazos Valley, Inc. is to take a proactive role in honoring veterans who have served in the uniformed services of the United States. The entire Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial grounds include more than 22 war panels and seven statues across 12 wooded acres within Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station, Texas. The Memorial continues to be developed with generous support from the cities of Bryan, College Station, Brazos County, the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, and from numerous individuals, corporations and organizations throughout the seven-county Brazos Valley region.
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