Another Civilian Death: James W. Jackson

James W. Jackson

       James W. Jackson was 38 years old when the Civil War arrived at his front door. James lived in Alexandria, Virginia just across the river from Washington, D.C. He was the owner and operator of the Marshall House Inn. Before Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and his 11th New York "Fire Zouaves" arrived at his inn, he was already semi-famous. James flew the Confederate (1st National) Flag atop his hotel which was clearly visible from Abraham Lincoln's office in the White House. 

James Jackson's Marshall House

       Lincoln and his cabinet had observed the large Confederate flag flying across the Potomac River and discussed it. James Jackson had been quoted as saying they would take down his flag over his dead body. When Virginia voted to secede from the union, the following day, Federal troops occupied Alexandria. Ellsworth immediately entered the Marshall House and asked a boarder about the flag. The boarder had no knowledge of the flag. Ellsworth then climbed the stairs and removed the flag from the flagpole. While making his way down the stairs, Ellsworth met James Jackson carrying a double-barreled shotgun. Jackson shot Ellsworth in the chest at close range killing him instantly. He missed with the second barrel as he shot at a Private Brownell. Brownell shot Jackson in the face and then repeatedly bayonetted his body before throwing him down the stairs. 

Private Francis Brownell (above left) and Colonel Elmer Ellsworth

       Both sides considered each man a martyr and hero. No one seemed to question the legality of soldier's employed by the Federal government trespassing and removing private property. James Jackson left behind a wife and three children ranging from ages six and twelve years old. He rests today in the city cemetery, Fairfax, Virginia. Elmer Ellsworth was 24 years old and had never married. His only brother Charley had died the year before of smallpox at age 18. Both rest today in Hudson View Cemetery, Mechanicsville, New York. 

 

Homosexual Civil War Leaders

Walt Whitman with one of his supposed lovers

       We've all heard about Walt Whitman and his homosexuality or bisexuality.  If what has been written about Whitman is true, he moved a fifteen year old boy named Bill Duckett in with him as a lover. If true, today Whitman would be viewed as a child molester instead of a great poet. Now that same sex marriages and homosexual rights groups pressuring for equal rights, it should come as no surprise that these people should attempt to degrade the names of famous Civil War heroes in an attempt to better their own cause. When I read a recent blog about some of my Confederate heroes, I couldn't help but shake my head in disgust. If your going to write as a historian, you should do a little research. Yet, the blog I read was written by a homosexual author who wants to use our heroes and good decent men to help his own cause. 

Bill Duckett with Whitman at age 15

       Among the most ridiculous stories is one that is mentioned in two books, both written by homosexuals to further their own cause. The book American Masculinites and Conduct Unbecoming both attempt to prove a love affair between General Patrick Cleburne and one of his staff officers named Irving Buck. Let's take a look at the comment Buck made about his relationship with Cleburne and what how the books attempt to twist his words. 

       Buck wrote a biography on Cleburne after the war entitled Cleburne and His Command in which he is quoted as saying, "We were close and confidential. I habitually messed with him and shared his tent and often his blankets." 

       For those of you who are not familiar with the English language and its interpretation during that time period it may be easy to mistake what Buck was saying. Every soldier in the Civil War would share blankets with another man. Does this mean every Civil War soldier was homosexual? If one studies the gear carried by the soldier and reads books like Sam Watkins's Company Aytch you will understand that each soldier carried a gum blanket (water proof blanket) and one wool blanket. To stay warm at night, one soldier would place his gum blanket on the ground, two soldiers would lie on the blanket, they would use both wool blankets and the other gum blanket on top. This was especially helpful in wet weather and kept both men dry and warm. 

       While there are those of us that are too immature to understand what "mess with him" means, everyone in the army during those days referred to eating as having mess. In other words when Irving Buck "messed" with Cleburne, it means they ate meals together. 

Patrick Cleburne a true war hero

       The author of one of these books goes a step further. He attempts to mislead the reader into believing something about Cleburne that is only half true. In his attempt to swing Cleburne to his side of the homosexual argument, he says that Cleburne was a life long bachelor. This is true in a sense. What this idiot fails to tell you in his book is the fact that Cleburne had two girlfriend's back in Helena, Arkansas during the early 1850's and until the time the war began in 1860. One was Maggie Tollison and the other was Marion A. "Mitty" Yerby. He wrote a letter to his mother proclaiming that he had several girlfriends. Another letter to his brother gave the reason why he'd waited so long before marrying. He'd been wounded in a duel helping his friend Thomas Hindman and because of his health, he refused to marry until he was certain he was physically capable of providing for a wife. Because of the bullet wound to one of his lungs, he continued to cough up blood at times. In Helena, Cleburne also had a relationship with the Hargett sisters who were considered the most beautiful women in town. (Irving Buck even mentioned a time when several ladies came to Cleburne's camp to visit. He stated they were so beautiful that he wished he was a Mormon so he could marry them all.)

       The two authors of the books mentioned above also fail to mention the fact that Cleburne became engaged to Susan Tarleton of Mobile in 1864. This piece of information would damage their argument, therefore they chose to exclude it and his pre-war girlfriends from their books. Neither author cared much for the accuracy of their books, but chose to twist things to aide their side of the argument and to sell their books. Patrick Cleburne was a moral and upright man. He would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what these future men were doing to his name. Fortunately, the only two people who believe any of this are the two authors mentioned above and they probably know better. 

James Jay Archer

       Another Confederate general accused of being a homosexual is James Jay Archer of Maryland. Archer's father died when he was a boy leaving him to be raised in a house full of women only. He attended Princeton where he earned the nickname "Sally" because of his frail build. This along with the fact that he became intoxicated and hugged a man that he said he'd shared blankets with during the Mexican War (see Patrick Cleburne above) got him painted today as a homosexual. Archer was also never seen with women and never married. This along with the fact that he may have been somewhat feminine being raised around a family of all women may have helped start the rumor. Still, there is no evidence of him being homosexual.

       William Edwin "Grumble" Jones once accused Confederate General William W. Loring of having a lovers spat with a young boy. He noted that he had never seen Loring with a woman and assumed the man was homosexual, but not in so many words. During that time period, no man would mention something like this, but he alluded to the fact. If you know anything about General Jones you will know that he earned his nickname "Grumble". After his wife drowned, Jones had such a sour disposition that he was difficult to get along with at all. 

Abraham Lincoln

       Being a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, I've heard numerous stories claiming that Abraham Lincoln was either homosexual or at the very least bi-sexual. C.A. Tripp in his book The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln claims that Lincoln spent his entire life with erotic attractions to other men. He goes on to note the living arrangements between Lincoln and his close friend Joshua Speed. They lived in a boarding house for over a year together sharing a bed. Does this make the man homosexual? Not at all, but modern authors and historians attempt to look at that time period through today's glasses. It's just not possible. As I have said numerous times, you can't study a different time period using the values of the present time to make your judgments of men. 

       As a historian, I would never paint an image of a man, North or South, friend or enemy as something that I can't prove is not true. I would never call Lincoln or Cleburne a homosexual unless I found hard evidence that it was true. These men, both important participants in our nations history whether we like either of them or not, deserve better. 

      

Edwin Stanton and the Death of Lincoln

Edwin Stanton

       I've recently began re-reading a book called The Lincoln Conspiracy by David Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier, Jr which was written in 1977. I've read reviews of this book and find that this book was put down by most historians at the time. True, the book is basically a conspiracy theory and we all know that historians despise conspiracy theories because that would make them appear they don't know the true history. The book may not be correct, but it opens up a lot of questions I've often had about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

       The book implicates Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in the plot to rid the government of Lincoln. Stanton had a lot to gain from Lincoln's death. The man didn't actually come across as being perfectly sane. In 1833, Stanton's landlady's daughter died of cholera, Stanton refused to believe the girl was dead and had her exhumed to be certain. He had a mania concerning death. He feared death, but couldn't put the thought out of his mind. In 1841, when his young daughter died, he became so grieved, he had her coffin dug up and placed in his bedroom where he kept it for two years. In 1844, his wife died and though depressed he was almost over the loss when his brother committed suicide. He had to be restrained at the funeral. 

       None of this means Stanton was in on a plot to have Lincoln assassinated. Yet, there are certain questions that should be answered before we totally dismiss this idea. The first thing that seems strange is John Wilkes Booth's diary which was complete when it came into the hands of Stanton. The diary now has 13 missing pages. According to Balsiger and Sellier, they have examined these pages that are now in the possession of Stanton's descendants and find numerous entry's that incriminate Stanton in the murder. 
       Stanton also rushed the trial of the conspirator's at the Washington Arsenal and just as quickly had them executed as if he were in fear they may know something that could be used to implicate them. Of course all this is mere conjecture. John Wilkes Booth did leave a message with Vice-President Andrew Johnson, the man who stood to replace Lincoln on the night of the assassination. It read, "Don't wish to disturb you are you at home? J. Wilkes Booth." Mary Lincoln later told a friend, "that miserable inebriate Johnson, had cognizance of my husband's death - Why, was that card of Booth's, found in his box, some acquaintance certainly existed - I have been deeply impressed, with the harrowing thought, that he, had an understanding with the conspirators & they knew their man... As sure, as you & I live, Johnson, had some hand, in all this." Balsiger and Sellier both state that Booth owed Johnson a favor for helping him earlier in the war. 
       We know that Stanton was a hard man. He wanted the South punished for the rebellion and was troubled that Lincoln wanted to "let them up easy." The 1937 book Why Was Lincoln Murdered by Otto Eisenschiml puts Stanton as the ringleader of the plot to kill Lincoln. Lincoln had asked Stanton's personal secretary Thomas Eckert to accompany him to the play because of threats against his life. Stanton claimed to have important work for Eckert and couldn't spare him. As soon as Lincoln left his office, Stanton sent Eckert home. 
       There is more incriminating evidence against Stanton. The one bridge that he failed to notify to stop anyone from leaving just happened to be the one Booth and Herold used to escape. The telegraph system immediately went dead upon Lincoln being shot. 
       Most modern historians believe that Stanton is innocent and further efforts to involve him should be stopped. I haven't really got an opinion on Stanton either way, but do find some of his actions a bit strange. 

Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest: A book review

Myth of Forrest by Ashdown and Caudill

       I just finished the book The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest by Paul Ashdown and Edward Caudill. I've read so many books on that war that I didn't recognize the authors names. The writing was very familiar to me. It reminded me of another book I'd read on a famous personality of the Civil War. After reading over half the book, it finally dawned on me who these two authors were. 

       Both Ashdown and Caudill are professors of journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They wrote the book The Mosby Myth reflecting on the life of John Singleton Mosby. Like the Mosby book, I was a bit disappointed about their writing. Both books speculate on what may or may not be correct in the present stories pertaining to Forrest and Mosby's lives. 

The Wizard of the Saddle

       Somethings they say make sense, but other things seemed to frustrate me. When they didn't have the facts to back up their claims, they simply cast doubt on the story. The biggest thing that frustrates me with the book is the fact that they continued to return to the same fact over and over. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a racist. Again, you have two people writing history from today's perspective. To be a fair historian, one cannot compare past values with present values. If the writers wanted to be fair to Forrest, they would have talked more about the belief system of all white people during that time period, not just Forrest's. Instead, they spend chapter after chapter attempting to compare Forrest to Greek myths. At one point, they even wonder if Forrest was a military genius. Maybe, both men should leave the historical writing to the historians and just concentrate on their specialty which happens to be journalism. 

       Let's compare the racist Forrest to other famous people of that war. Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, and David Porter all three ranted against the Jews. On December 17, 1862, Grant passed an order preventing Jews from passing into his lines. Sherman actually said that Africans (I will not use his word for the black race here), Mexicans, Indians, and Jews were all inferior to the white race. In 1859, Sherman wrote his wife, "the n____ here must of necessity remain slaves...damn the n____."

       Let's not stop with three of the most famous commanders on the Northern side of that war, let's see what the President of the United States had to say. The following are the words of Abraham Lincoln, also known as the 'Great Emancipator'. 

       Lincoln in 1858: "I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white races."

       Lincoln in 1859: "Negro equality! Fudge! How long, in the government of a God, great enough to make and maintain this universe, shall there continue knaves to vend, and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagogism as this."

       Lincoln to a black audience in 1862: "I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffers from your presence."

       There is more and more that can be added by Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses Grant, Sherman, and others as they rant about the superiority of the white race. What do you think would happen today if Romney was to say any of the above quotes? A good historian doesn't take today's values and apply them to times long ago.

Southern born Federal Generals in the Civil War

Virginia Born Winfield Scott

       Recently, on facebook, I noticed a couple of guys on my friends list discussing who had more generals from the other country, North or South. One young man guessed the North had more Southern born generals than the South had Northern born generals. He was quickly corrected by another friend who informed him that there were more Northern born generals who fought for the South. Initially, I believed him until I researched the situation myself. 

       After finding the answer, I realized that it should have been obvious to me all along. There were 33 Northern born Confederate Generals. There were 35 Southern born Federal generals that served during the Civil War. There were 583 generals commissioned during the Civil War on the Federal side and 425 Confederate generals commissioned during the war. Percentage wise, that puts the Confederacy in the lead, but number wise, it places the Federal army in the lead. Here is a complete list of the Southern born Federal generals and why they served the North.

       

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs

       There were nine Federal generals born in the South who grew up on Northern soil before the war. They were Montgomery C. Meigs (Georgia, grew up in Pennsylvania), Jacob Ammen (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), David B. Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), William Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), James W. Denver (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), Benjamin M. Prentiss (Virginia, grew up in Illinois), William T. Ward (Virginia, grew up in Kentucky), Louis D. Watkins (Florida, grew up in Washington, D.C.), and Joseph R. West (Louisiana, grew up in Pennsylvania). 

        

George Henry Thomas

       There were 11 Southern born Federal generals that were in the old army before the war began and refused to leave the army in which they had served their entire adult lives. These officers were Philip St. George Cooke (Virginia, father of Confederate General John R. Cooke and father-in-law of Confederate General Jeb Stuart), John W. Davidson (Virginia), Alexander B. Dyer (Virginia), Alvan C. Gillem (Tennessee), Andrew J. Hamilton (Alabama), William S. Harney (Tennessee), John Newton (Virginia), George D. Ramsey (Virginia), Winfield Scott (Virginia, the hero of the Mexican War), William R. Terrill (Virginia, his brother James B. Terrill became a general in the Confederate Army), and George Henry Thomas (Virginia, possibly the best Federal general of the entire war).

U.S. President Andrew Johnson

       Eight Federal Generals fought for the North because they opposed secession and remained loyal to the Union. They were William B. Campbell (Tennessee), Samuel P. Carter (Tennessee), Edmund J. Davis (Florida), Lawrence P. Graham (Virginia), Isham N. Haynie (Tennessee), William Hays (Virginia), Andrew Johnson (Tennessee, became president of the United States, Lincoln assigned him military governor of Tennessee with the rank of brigadier general), and James G. Spears (Tennessee).

John C. Fremont

       There were five Southern born Union generals that moved North when they reached adulthood and remained loyal when the war began. They were Thomas T. Crittenden (Alabama, moved to Indiana), John C. Fremont (Georgia, moved to Missouri), Stephen A. Hurlbut (South Carolina, moved to Illinois), Solomon Meredith (North Carolina, moved to Indiana and commanded the famed Iron Brigade), and John D. Stevenson (Virginia, moved to Missouri). 

       There was one more Federal general who had been born in the South, but was loyal to the Union because he served in the Federal Navy before the war. He was John B. McIntosh (Florida,  made New Jersey his home, he was the brother of Confederate General James M. McIntosh). 

       I will be the first to admit that I was shocked by the numbers. I knew George Thomas was born in Virginia and fought for the Union. I also knew about Winfield Scott. I'd heard about William R. Terrill and Stephen A. Hurlburt, but was truly surprised to learn that Andrew Johnson was commissioned a general by Abraham Lincoln. It just goes to show that a historian can always learn something new when he digs deep enough.

The Civil War was only fought for Slavery, money had nothing to do with it?

The Greatest President ever?

       I recently visited several Civil War blogs and only one have I had an argument with. Brooke Simpson has a blog called 'Crossroads' and he is one of those New England (historians you might say) who believes the South was entirely wrong and the North was entirely right. He refers to the Southerners who believe the war was a result of anything other than slavery as Neo-Confederates and we are all ignorant rednecks. 

       I attempted to discuss the war with Mr. Simpson in a polite way, but he refused to talk unless I agreed with everything he wrote. He then said that he didn't recognize me as a student of his and therefore I didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He asked me in a nice way to leave his blog by saying "thanks for stopping by" and therefore since I'm from Alabama, I'm an ignorant redneck. He is correct by assuming I'm not one of his students. I have over 400 books on the War Between the States and I'm no "ignorant redneck" as he believes. 

       He asked me to prove in my blog that the war was over something besides slavery. Mr. Simpson has led readers to believe he has a doctors degree. He even has to correct one writer with the fact that he has a masters degree. I have only three years of college and yet I can assure Mr. Simpson that I have read far more books than he has on that war. 

       Here is my side of the argument. I will not lower myself to the level of saying I don't believe slavery had anything to do with the war, yet unlike Mr. Simpson, I won't try and convince you that the war was entirely over the holy North waging a war against the South because slavery was wrong. As a Christian I believe slavery is wrong and would never own another human being. I have enough common sense to know that the war was fought over much more than slavery. If the war was fought over slavery, then someone needs to explain to me why 190,000 blacks fought in the Confederate Army.

       If money had nothing to do with the war, then someone needs to explain the tariff issue to me. The arguments over tariff's had begun in the early 1800's. In 1828, the Tariff of Abominations was passed through Congress. Things began to heat up and in 1832, Congress passed another tariff that was intended to calm South Carolina, but it was too little, too late. South Carolina declared these tariff's null and void according to the Constitution of the United States. The constitution gave the Federal government the right to regulate commerce, coin money and defend the national boundaries. 

       As soon as the Southern states left the Union (a right that had been taught at West Point in 1828), the United States Congress passed the Morrill Tariff. Passage was possible because many low-tariff Southerners had left Congress after their states declared their secession. The Morrill Tariff raised rates to protect and encourage industry and the high wages of industrial workers. Two additional tariffs sponsored by Morrill, each one higher, were passed during Abraham Lincoln's administration. The high rates of the Morrill tariff inaugurated a period of continuous trade protection in the United States that lasted until the Underwood Tariff of 1913. In its first year of operation, the Morrill Tariff increased the effective rate collected on dutiable imports by approximately 70%.

       According to Mr. Simpson the above had nothing to do with the war. It is just a coincidence that the passage of a high tariff occurred during the war while the Southern Congressmen were absent. But, let's see if slavery really ended with the defeat of the South in 1865 as Mr. Simpson would want you to believe. Here is a quote from wikipedia on slavery. "A few captives from other tribes who were used as slaves were not freed when African-American slaves were emancipated. Ute Woman, a Ute captured by the Arapaho and later sold to a Cheyenne, was one example. Used as a prostitute for sale to American soldiers at Cantonment in the Indian Territory, she lived in slavery until about 1880 when she died of a hemorrhage resulting from 'excessive sexual intercourse'."

       So, in the New England world of ignoring what really happened in this nations past the above never happened. The South, along with the American Indians deserved what they got because they did not bow down to the almighty Federal government. According to Mr. Simpson, money had nothing to do with the war and because I'm not one of his students, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

       

The Mad Hatter: The story of Boston Corbett

Boston Corbett

       Thomas P. Corbett was born in London, England around 1832 and emigrated with his family to New York City. He later became a hat maker in York, New York. He soon married, but lost his wife in childbirth. After her death, he packed up and moved to Boston, Massachusetts where he continued his trade as a hatter. It was there that he joined the Episcopal Church and changed his name to Boston in honor of the city where he converted to Christianity. 

       He soon began to imitate Jesus and grew his hair long in an attempt to look like his Savior. In 1858, Corbett was walking down a city street when he was tempted to sleep with a prostitute. He immediately castrated himself with a pair of scissors. He ate a meal and attended a prayer meeting, blood dripping from his crotch before almost collapsing and being carried for medical attention. 

       He joined a militia regiment at the beginning of the Civil War, but eventually moved to the 16th New York Cavalry Regiment. He was captured in 1864 by John Mosby, the 'Gray Ghost of the Confederacy' and sent to Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia. He would be exchanged within five months and return to his company as a sergeant. 

       Corbett was with the 16th New York Cavalry when they apprehended John Wilkes Booth at the Garrett Farm. He was one of the members that surrounded the barn. David Herold, Booth's accomplice surrendered, but Booth refused. The barn was set on fire to flush the assassin from his hiding place. The unit had orders that Booth must be brought back to Washington alive and no one was given permission to fire. 

       A gunshot rang out and John Wilkes Booth was hit in the neck. When the detectives walked around the barn and asked who fired the fatal shot, everyone denied they had fired their weapon. Finally, Boston Corbett admitted to having shot Booth. The detectives were very sloppy in their work and failed to check and see if Corbett's weapon had been fired at all. Today, some historians doubt the shot was fired by Corbett. Later in life, when asked why he had shot Booth, Corbett claimed the Lord had directed him to do so.

       

Another view of Sergeant Corbett

       Boston Corbett was arrested for disobeying orders, but Secretary of War Edwin Stanton would free the man. He would be given his share of the reward money for capturing Lincoln's killer. He then served as a witness against Henry Wirz, the commandant of Andersonville Prison Camp which resulted in that officers sentence to be hanged. Some believe Stanton released Corbett as an exchange for damning testimony against Wirz. 

       Following the war, Corbett returned to Boston and continued his living as a hatter again. He soon moved to Connecticut and later New Jersey. His life was slowly beginning to unravel. He attended a soldiers reunion in Ohio in 1875 where he threatened several men with a firearm. He eventually moved on to Kansas where he was arrested and sent to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane. 

       Corbett didn't stay in the asylum very long. He soon escaped and claimed he was heading to Mexico, but he traveled to Minnesota where he built a cabin in the woods near the town of Hinckley. There was a severe drought there in 1894 and a fire soon swept through the area. It is believed that almost 800 people died in the Hinckley fire. Corbett is believed to be one of those who perished. His body was never found. 

Hinckley, Minnesota following the fire

       It has been suggested that the use of Mercury in the hat making trade lead to the mental problems that plagued Corbett throughout his life. He is supposedly the first person to be coined the nickname, "Mad Hatter." 

The original Mad Hatter

Two Tragic Families: Lincoln and Davis

       Not long ago, someone asked me what Lincoln and Davis had in common while serving as our Civil War presidents. I replied that they both lost sons during the war. Someone standing nearby asked in which battles did they die. I had to explain that neither died in combat because neither child was old enough to fight.

       Besides the tragic loss of a son during the war, both families understood the tragedy of losing children. Only one of Lincoln’s sons lived beyond the age of eighteen. Davis had only one child to live to see her fifties. 

       Davis lost his first wife after only three months of marriage to malaria. Sarah Knox Taylor was only twenty-one when she died. Lincoln was in love with a girl named Ann Rutledge in 1831 and there is evidence the two planned to marry. In 1835, Ann contracted typhoid fever and died. During thunderstorms, Lincoln would be seen collapsing upon her grave and people began to worry for his sanity.

Robert Todd Lincoln

       Lincoln’s oldest son was named Robert Todd Lincoln. He lived to the age of 82. He wasn’t very close to his mother or father and unlike his brothers, he’s not buried with the rest of the family in Springfield, Illinois. He rests today in Arlington Cemetery. 

       

Edward Baker Lincoln

       The Lincoln’s second son was named Edward Baker “Eddie” Lincoln. He died in 1850 at the age of four. His death was listed as consumption, but many today believe he died of thyroid cancer. 

William Wallace Lincoln

       They’re third child was named William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln. Willie was Lincoln’s favorite, although many considered him a mama’s boy. Willie was intelligent and likable. During the Civil War, drinking water was taken straight from the Potomac River to the White House. Ironically, the Potomac River also served as the city’s septic tank. Willie and his younger brother Tad both caught typhoid fever from drinking feces contaminated water. Tad would survive the disease. Willie lingered a few weeks before succumbing. Lincoln was devastated. Twice, Lincoln had Willie disinterred so he could view his little boys body. Mary Lincoln probably suffered a nervous breakdown from the boys death. 

Thomas Lincoln

       Thomas Lincoln was three years younger than Willie. Lincoln nicknamed him “Tad” because he was born with such a large head. Tad was closer to his father due to the fact he had a learning disability and had a severe speech impediment. Some have suggested the boy may have been mildly retarded as he didn’t learn to read or dress himself until he was twelve years old. Tad would only outlive his father by six years, dying at the age of eighteen from tuberculosis.

       Life wasn’t very kind to the Davis household either. Samuel Emory Davis, the first born of Jefferson and Varina would die in 1854 at the age of two from measles. 

       

Margaret Howell Davis

       Margaret Howell Davis was born next and she lived to be 53 years old. She was the longest living child of Jefferson Davis. The cause of her death has never been established.

       

Jeff Davis, Jr.

       The third child, Jefferson Davis, Jr., was born in 1857. The boy was care free and entertaining. Davis and his wife had a difficult time with the boy. Jeff, Sr., had him taken out of the Virginia Military Institute because he fully expected him to be expelled. Margaret’s husband managed to get him a job as a bank clerk in Memphis, Tennessee. He would die there in a yellow fever epidemic at the age of twenty-one.

       The fourth child was Joseph Evan Davis was born in 1857 and this was the child that the Davis family lost during the war. He was only four years old when playing on the east portico of the White House of the Confederacy, he slipped and fell fifteen feet onto the concrete below. His skull was fractured near the forehead and he died a few moments later. Varina and Jefferson were heartbroken. Joseph was Jefferson’s favorite because he was very intelligent. Rumors abounded that Jeff, Jr., had pushed him, but nothing was ever proven. The children of Richmond raised forty dollars to buy a headstone to Joseph. Davis had the portico removed.

       

William Howell Davis

       They’re fifth child was named William Howell Davis, born in 1861. He would die of diphtheria at only ten years old. They’re last child was named Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis. She would live to adulthood, dying at age 34 of malaria having never married. She is famously known as the “Daughter of the Confederacy”. 

Varina Anne Davis

       It would be difficult to imagine losing a child, but these two families tragically outlived most of their children. It must have been horrible for both of them.

Marker for Joseph Davis, paid for by the children of Richmond

Benjamin Hardin Helm and wife: The Lincoln Connection

Confederate General Ben Hardin Helm

       Benjamin Hardin Helm, called Ben, was born in Kentucky in 1831. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1851, finishing ninth out of forty-two cadets. His high class ranking managed to obtain him a commission in the cavalry. After six months of service he was forced to resign his commission because of poor health and returned to Kentucky where he became an attorney. He eventually was elected to the Kentucky State Legislature. 

       In 1856, Helm married Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd, who became Mary Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln. Emilie was eighteen years younger than Mary Todd Lincoln and was just a child when the two married. For the rest of his life, Abraham Lincoln referred to Emilie as “Little Sister”. 

       

Emilie Todd

       Helm was an officer in the Kentucky militia when the Civil War began. He was commissioned colonel of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry Regiment after refusing an offer to be made a major in the United States Army by his brother-in-law Abraham Lincoln. 

       Ben Helm was promoted to brigadier general just before the Battle of Shiloh, although he missed that engagement. At the Battle of Baton Rouge he was severely wounded when his horse reared and fell backward onto him, shattering his left leg. His wife’s brother Aleck was killed in the same action. The entire affair occurred because of troops blundering around in the darkness, nervous and too ready to open fire, expecting the enemy to be everywhere. 

Wartime photo of Benjamin Helm

       He spent the next three months recovering from his wound. After Roger Hanson was killed at Murfreesboro, Helm received command of the “Orphan Brigade” of Kentucky infantry. Helm believed in drill, but was a more approachable man than Hanson had been. Thus, his men loved him and no other commander of the brigade was ever loved as much as Ben Helm. 

       At the Battle of Chickamauga he lead the brigade in a disjointed attack. Three separate charges were made and during the last charge Helm was hit in the left side by rifle fire. His brigade had lost 500 of the 1400 men engaged and were forced to fall back. He was carried to the rear and the wound was inspected by a surgeon. Helm asked the doctor, “Is there any hope?”

       The surgeon replied, “My dear General, there is no hope!”

Monument marking the site where Helm received his fatal wound

       He lay there for several hours waiting for the inevitable. After dark, he heard cheering coming from the front. When he asked what it meant, he was told the Confederate Army had carried the day. Helm repeated to himself over and over again, “Victory!” They were his last words. 

       

Benjamin Helm, Lincoln's favorite brother-in-law

       Benjamin Hardin Helm was buried in Atlanta, Georgia, but twenty years after the war was over his remains were removed to Kentucky. He rests today in the Helm Family Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. 

       

Military marker with Helm's last words

Helm's original marker

       After Lincoln heard of Helm’s death, Illinois Senator David Davis wrote: “I never saw Lincoln more moved than when he learned of the death of his young brother-in-law Ben Hardin Helm, only thirty-two years old, at Chickamauga. I called to see him…finding him in the greatest grief so I closed the door and left him alone.”

       Lincoln invited Helm’s widow Emilie to the White House to spend the winter. The trip was very peaceful, there was no fighting or blaming the other over the sides each had taken. Emilie’s daughter Katie and Mary’s son Tad often argued over who was president. Tad insisted that his father was the president and Katie insisted it was Jefferson Davis. 

       On another occasion New York Senator Ira Harris was visiting the White House and entered a room with Emilie and Mary sitting together. Harris stared at Emilie and said, “Well, we have whipped the rebels at Chattanooga and I hear, madam, that the scoundrels ran like scared rabbits.”

       Emilie immediately replied, “It was the example, Senator Harris, that you set them at Bull Run and Manassas.”

       The senator realized that he had met his match, so he turned on Mary Lincoln, asking, “Why isn’t Robert (the Lincoln’s oldest son) in the army? He is old enough and strong enough to serve his country. He should have gone to the front some time ago.”

       Mary turned the tables on him at once, saying, “It is my fault. He is desperate to join up, but I told him an educated man can serve his country with more intelligent purpose than an ignoramus.”

       She was basically calling Harris an ignoramus and this infuriated him even more. 

       “I have only one son and he is fighting for his country,” Harris then turned to Emilie and said, “and Madam, if I had twenty sons they should all be fighting the rebels.”

       “And if I had twenty sons, Senator Harris, they should all be opposing yours,” Emilie replied. 

       Senator Harris realized when he had been bested and immediately left the room. General Sickles, a fellow citizen of New York and friend of the senator witnessed the entire scene. He went straight to President Lincoln and told him to get that rebel out of the White House. Lincoln told Sickles that he and his wife would choose their guests without any input from others. 

       Abraham Lincoln pardoned Emilie and allowed her to return to Kentucky. She then sent a request to send clothing to freezing Confederate prisoners at Camp Douglas Prison in Chicago. Lincoln thought this was a disloyal act and ordered that she be arrested if she was indeed aiding the Confederacy. She would never speak to her brother-in-law or sister Mary again.

       Emilie Todd would survive her husband by sixty-six years, dying at the age of 93 in 1930 of a heart attack. Just before her death, her daughter found her burning her diary and asked why she would do such a thing. Emilie replied, “There is just too much bitterness in it.” 

Emilie in old age

       She rests today in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky with other members of the Todd family. One wonders why she wasn’t buried beside her husband who she loved so dearly.

Grave of Emilie Todd Helm