Year of Glory by Monte Akers: An Excellent Book

Major General J.E.B. Stuart

       I just finished reading the book Year of Glory by Monte Akers. The book deals with Jeb Stuart's military career from June 1862 to June 1863. I'll be the first to admit that I've never been a very big Jeb Stuart fan, but Monte's book has since changed my mind. I couldn't put the book down. I even read several parts of the book to my wife and she said, "He was your clone."

       Working on the railroad I earned the nickname "Instigator" because of pulling pranks and jokes on people and enjoying a good laugh. Jeb was much the same way. This book is full of funny stories about some of Jeb's funnier moments. I'd always read how Jeb was seeking personal attention when he left Lee's Army blind in Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign. Monte Akers helps explain how and why things occurred the way they did. He doesn't do like most biographers and attempt to make his subject sinless, but points out that Stuart was human and prone to make mistakes. The book is a great read and I highly recommend it. I could hardly put it down and there is a part two to this book that I'm already in the process of purchasing. Book two covers from Gettysburg until Stuart's death and if it's half as good as this book, it will be a great book. 

       There are several interesting stories and many are commical, especially the story of a Prussian staff officer sitting on a wet painting, but there was one story that particularly interested me. In the chapter on Chancellorsville, Stuart and his staff camped beside a barn that served as a field hospital for Federal soldiers. The Prussian volunteer staff officer named Scheibert made a note of the difference in wounded Confederate soldiers and wounded Federal soldiers. According to Scheibert, Confederate soldiers considered it a disgrace to groan aloud when they were wounded, but suffered stoically in silence. He said a person could tell if the hospital was Federal or Confederate by the sounds. Scheibert mentioned meeting a captain walking to the rear during a battle with his hat covering one hand. Scheibert asked the captain if he was severely wounded, there being a great deal of blood on the officer's uniform. The captain replied, "No, only the hand is gone." Scheibert went on to mention other instances to back his claims that Southern soldiers took wounds with little complaint while the Federal soldiers groaned and cried aloud. 

       I'm not trying to say Southerner's are tougher or stronger than Federal soldiers. It was the Southern ideal of honor and bravery that made them act in such a manner even when they understood their wound was mortal. According to the book Attack and Die by Grady McWhiney and Perry Jamieson all of this was a direct result of Southerner's ancestry. The descendants of the Celtic people mostly settled in the South. The Celt's were a warring people. Take that and have part of the population intermarrying Native American's and you have yourself a perfect fighting machine. 

       Again, I highly recommend Year of Glory by Monte Akers. I have come away with a completely different view of Major General Jeb Stuart and now I must have the next book.

       

The Ultimate Civil Wargasm Part IV

The Monument to the Confederate Dead

       While in Hollywood Cemetery, we stopped by the monument to the Confederate dead. All those stones reminded me of my rock climbing days and I began to climb the monument. I got about fifteen feet off the ground when I thought about the caretakers. I was afraid they would toss us from the cemetery before we finished the job at hand, so I came back down. 

       We found Brigadier General Joseph Reid Anderson (Virginia), James Jay Archer (Maryland), Robert Chilton (Virginia), John Pegram (Virginia and killed at Hatcher's run), Samuel Garland (Virginia and killed at Fox's Gap), John Rogers Cooke (Virginia), and Major General Henry Heth (Virginia). We then ran into a snag. We couldn't find Brigadier General Philip St. George Cocke (Virginia). He was an early casualty, not from enemy fire, but from depression. The day after Christmas of 1861, he committed suicide. We were forced to spread out and comb the area around where he is marked on the map. It took us awhile and the temperature had really heated up at this point. Jerry finally found the hard to find grave. 

The writing is barely legible on Cocke's stone

       We then went to the graves of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Major General Fitzhugh Lee (Virginia), Brigadier General Eppa Hunton (Virginia), David Rumph "Neighbor" Jones (South Carolina), Samuel Jones (Virginia), Thomas Muldrop Logan (South Carolina), William "Extra Billy" Smith (Virginia), Henry Wise (Virginia), Reuben Lindsay Walker (Virginia), William Richard Terry (Virginia) and Isaac Munroe St. John (Maryland). We then visited the grave of Major General Jeb Stuart (Virginia), one of the most famous cavalrymen of the war next to Forrest, but I always consider Forrest as leading mounted infantry. At this point, we kept running into cemetery tours and were getting a lot of strange looks in our jackets.

Stacie and I with Jeb and Flora Stuart

       I hope I didn't leave anybody out. That should be 27 generals if anyone wants to go back and count them. We left the cemetery, found a place to eat, and then headed to the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy where Davis lived throughout the war. 

Stacie and I standing with President Jeff Davis

       Outside the museum we found the drive shaft and anchor of the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia. We also posed beside the anchor chain of one of the ships she sank, the U.S.S. Cumberland. We then hit the museum and toured the house. The museum was good, not near as nice as I remembered it back in 1996. The upstairs has been re-arranged to glorify the movie "Gettysburg." Another part of the museum is loaded with post war memorabilia that I could of skipped entirely. Jerry found a display that contained Bedford Forrest's field glasses and I thought I would have to pry him away from it. 

       We found one display that contained all of Lee's wartime things in a mock up of his tent. I told Jerry the cot needed a chicken underneath it. We then noticed that the museum staff had done the right thing and placed an egg beneath the cot. Lee had a pet hen during the war that slept beneath his cot and laid him an egg which he ate for breakfast each morning. 

Notice the egg just behind Lee's boots beneath his cot

       There were a lot of neat displays and some disappointing ones. A lot of things were removed for one reason or another. The trousers that Dorsey Pender was wearing at Gettysburg when he was mortally wounded in the thigh were removed. Jeb Stuart's memorabilia was neat, as was John Hunt Morgan's. The outfit that Jeff Davis was captured wearing is on display. If you remember, Davis was accused of wearing a dress by northern papers. This is not true at all and Davis had his photograph taken in the gray suit he was wearing to prove them wrong. Evidently, people didn't sue the newspapers back then when they reported false stories, but they did challenge editors to duels a lot. 

The gray suit Davis was captured wearing

Jeb Stuart's effects

       We left the Museum of the Confederacy and attempted to head to the battlefields of Gaines Mill, Cold Harbor, and Malvern Hill, but ran into another snag. We were using the GPS on Jerry's phone and it began to act as goofy as Melanie. I think Jerry has this effect on people and machines. I began to think we were stuck in Virginia's version of the Bermuda triangle. His phone kept sending us in circles and back to the toll road. We paid a toll to get on the road and then paid a toll to get off the road at least three times. I was growing frustrated. Unfortunately, Jerry thought I was aggravated at him. He would apologize to my wife at the hotel that night, but I was never upset with Jerry. Maybe I should have been, because since the trip, I've come to the conclusion that Jerry gets a percentage of toll money in Richmond. Why else would he keep sending me through the same toll road over and over?

       I finally got frustrated and decided enough was enough. We left Richmond for Petersburg and skipped the battlefields. I've always wanted to visit these three battlefields and thought I would while on this trip. My mom always said that the one thing the good Lord didn't provide me with was patience. We arrived in Petersburg with enough time to tour the battlefield before dark and visit Blandford Cemetery. I will post that blog another day. 

The Ultimate Civil Wargasm, Part I

Me with a switch trying to whip Ole Man, but he got up too quick

       Jerry, his wife Melanie, Stacie, and I had planned a trip to get over fifty Confederate general's graves, not to mention a couple of battlefields along the way. We left home about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday and drove all the way to Abingdon, Virginia where we spent the night. The next morning, the gasm began in earnest. We drove to Sinking Spring Cemetery in Abingdon the next morning and got Brigadier General John Buchanan Floyd. Floyd is the general who was in command at Fort Donelson in February of 1862 and escaped during the night to keep from surrendering to General Grant. He would spend the rest of his life in western Virginia commanding a minor post. He fretted over how the world would remember his military career and rightly so. He is considered one of the worst generals to serve the Confederacy. 

Jerry and I with General Floyd

       We then headed up the road about fifteen miles to Old Glade Spring Presbyterian Churchyard in Glade Spring, Virginia. There we visited the grave of Brigadier General William Edmondson "Grumble" Jones. General Jones had married while serving in the old U.S. Army. He was carrying his new bride to Texas when the ship they were on sank in a hurricane. Jones attempted to save his wife, but she was pulled from his grasp and drowned. Jones became a very bitter man for the remainder of his life. He despised the fun loving Jeb Stuart who he served under during the first part of the war. Jones was killed at the Battle of Piedmont when he was shot in the head. He happens to be one of Stacie's favorite Confederate generals because of his nickname "Grumble". 

Me and Stacie with Grumble Jones

       We left Old Glade Spring and headed to Wytheville, Virginia and East End Cemetery. There we visited the graves of Brigadier General William Terry and Brigadier General James Alexander Walker. Walker was chosen by Stonewall Jackson to command the famed Stonewall Brigade. I told Jerry about the time that Walker threw a brick at Stonewall Jackson while Jackson taught at V.M.I. He narrowly missed hitting Jackson in the head. Jerry said that is a good example of keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer. 

Brigadier General William Terry

Brigadier General James Alexander Walker

       We left Wytheville and headed to Radford, Virginia. This grave worried me more than any other on our list. When I searched the Wharton Family Cemetery in Radford on google maps, it showed the cemetery behind a house in a subdivision. The area on the map was behind the pool in the backyard. I told Jerry that I doubted the directions I had were accurate. Jerry said he wasn't afraid to walk up and ask the people at the house if we could go through their backyard and visit the grave. Amazingly, we drove through someone's driveway, past the house and pool and right to the cemetery. There we found the grave of Brigadier General Gabriel Colvin Wharton beneath a large tree. 

Me and Ole Man with Gabriel Colvin Wharton

       We left Radford and headed for one of the better parts of our trip. Lexington, Virginia and the graves of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson among others was awaiting us. My wife began to get excited. I watched Jerry for signs of excitement, but he was busy irritating his wife Melanie. I said, "Jerry, you have driven your wife crazy." He replied, "Yeah, but I didn't have far to drive." (More on the arguments later). 

       We arrived in Lexington and visited the home of Stonewall Jackson first. We were in a hurry and didn't tour the house (besides, I'd been through it before). We got our pictures made outside and struck out for the cemetery. It was there that we got the graves of Brigadier General William Nelson Pendleton (the general that exclaimed at First Manassas while commanding artillery, "Fire low men and may God forgive their misguided souls"), Brigadier General Edwin Gray Lee (a cousin of Robert E. Lee), Brigadier General Elisha Franklin Paxton (a friend of Stonewall Jackson and also killed at Chancellorsville), and of course Lieutenant General Stonewall Jackson. We also learned that Jerry's twin brother is buried here. (More on this later).

Friday morning found Stacie and I on the front porch of Stonewall's house

Stacie and I at Stonewall's grave

Wind had blown the flags down, so I had a good excuse to climb the fence

Me and Ole man forgot our coats for this photo with Edwin Gray Lee

Elisha Franklin "Bull" Paxton

William Nelson Pendleton

       We left Stonewall Memorial Cemetery and headed north to Lee Chapel on the grounds of Washington and Lee University. It was here that Robert E. Lee served as college president until his death. He is buried beneath the chapel that he had built on campus along with his wife, his family, along with his two sons that were Confederate generals, George Washington Custis Lee and William Henry Fitzhugh Lee. It was here that Stacie got tears in her eyes as we visited the monument to Lee. We were actually walking on top of his grave as we walked around the monument. 

Me and Stacie standing where Lee's casket sat during his funeral

Me and Ole Man with Robert E. Lee

       We then headed to V.M.I. where we toured the museum. Stacie gave me a heart attack as we approached the college when she saw the cannons Jackson commanded at First Manassas called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. She screamed and I locked up the brakes almost throwing the Ole Man through the windshield of the van. My hands shook for thirty minutes and Ole Man's hair turned a little grayer than normal. 

Jackson's artillery, the small flowers in front marks the grave of Little Sorrel his horse

       In the museum, we got to see the rain coat Stonewall was wearing when he was killed at Chancellorsville. We also saw the amputation kit used to cut off his arm. I got to pose in front of Little Sorrel which had been mounted following his death. I didn't notice anything small about Little Sorrel, it looked like a normal sized horse to me, but what do I know about horses. 

Little Sorrel

Me with Jackson's rain coat in the background

       It was at this place that I walked around a corner and found Melanie staring at painting and rolling in laughter. I walked up and asked, "Are you o.k.?" She said, "Who does that picture look just like?" I looked at the painting of Colonel Francis Henney Smith (the commandant of V.M.I. during the war) and realized he looked just like Jerry. I said, "That looks just like Ole Man." Melanie laughed and said, "And he's a Smith too." Ole Man then proceeded to pose in front of the painting of his long lost twin brother.

Jerry Smith with Francis Henney Smith

       We soon left V.M.I. and were back on the road headed to Staunton, Virginia. Jerry and Melanie were soon back to arguing as usual. (I have a theory as to why they argue so much. They like to have make up sex later at night, so they argue all day.) Here is a typical conversation as we're driving down the interstate. 

Melanie: "Tim, do you know Little Bob who lives in Russellville?"

Tim: "Never heard of him."

Melanie: "Jerry said that you knew him is why I'm asking."

Jerry: "Woman, I ain't said no such thing."

Melanie: "Yes you did."

Jerry: "Where in the world do you get this stuff. I haven't mentioned Little Bob to Tim."

Melanie: "I heard you talking to him about Little Bob."

Jerry (shaking his head): "I tell you what, that woman don't half listen."

       And the conversation continues for about another half hour. Now you know why I have so much fun with them on trips. This blog will probably take about four parts to complete and I will try to have part II on in a few days. Stay tuned....

Southern Charm: The Top Confederate Generals Who Possessed It

Thomas Benton Smith

       Confederate Brigadier General Thomas Benton Smith from Tennessee was known for his southern charm.  His staff officers often begged him to share the many pretty women who were attracted to him because of his good looks and southern charm.  All that would come to an end at the Battle of Nashville when he was struck over the head by a sword after surrendering.  He would spend the next 47 years in an insane asylum.  

Matthew Calbraith Butler

       Major General Matthew C. Butler from South Carolina may have gone a little far with his southern charm.  Despite losing a leg and having a wife he always had a lady on the side.  Somehow he kept his adulterous relationships going despite serving in the United States Congress following the war.  

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

       General Beauregard was well liked by the women of the south because he was supposed to be the next Napoleon.  His first wife had died in 1853 and he had remarried in 1860.  Following his performance in capturing Fort Sumter, southern women fawned over him.  He received so many bouquets that he didn't have enough room to display them all.  His second wife died in 1864 and the man would never remarry, however the man was never without female companionship.  

Benjamin Franklin Cheatham

       Major General Ben Cheatham obviously obtained quite a bit of southern charm.  Because as my wife says, "He must have had something but it wasn't looks!"  The lifelong bachelor was well known for his hard drinking and his colorful language.  At the Battle of Murfreesboro he was so intoxicated he couldn't even mount his horse.  At the Battle of Springhill he was rumored to be seeing a local belle named Jessie Peters while the federal army escaped a carefully laid trap.  This resulted in the high casualties at Franklin the next day.  After the war he would return to Nashville, Tennessee, get married, and settle down.  

James Euell Brown Stuart

       Major General Jeb Stuart, the eyes and ears of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was well known for his southern charm.  He was married to Flora Cooke and there is no evidence that he ever cheated on her.  He did have a fondness for ladies though.  When in camp   he always made sure there was a ball.  Several officers under his command complained that Stuart always had to kiss all the pretty girls.  His life came to a tragic end at Yellow Tavern in 1864 where he was shot in the liver.

Earl Van Dorn

       The general most known for his southern charm was Earl Van Dorn of Mississippi.  Southern women thought he was extremely handsome and charming.  He had an extremely large ego, although he  never won a battle in command of an army.  Although he was married his wife knew of his extramarital activities.  President Davis reduced him to cavalry command and Van Dorn made Springhill, Tennessee his headquarters.  He chose the home of a local doctor.  The doctors wife was named Jessie Peters and they were known to take long carriage rides together alone.  One afternoon General Van Dorn was working at Dr. Peters desk when the doctor slipped around behind him and shot him in the back of the head.  

       You have to be careful with that southern charm because it is not always a good thing.  Some southern gentlemen can get away with these things while others of us get shot in the back of the head.