Huntsville, Alabama's Confederate Monument

Jane DeNeefe

       My buddy Bobby called me today to complain about a woman he saw on the news Friday night. I did a little research and found the lady to be Jane DeNeefe who was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. She moved to Huntsville and has begun a petition to have the Confederate monument removed from the Madison County Courthouse lawn. As Bobby suggested, she is probably just attempting to get her fifteen minutes of fame because I received a message from Alabama Division Commander Jimmy Hill that stated Governor Ivey has signed the Monuments bill. Therefore, no matter how many sign her petition, it will be illegal to remove the Confederate monument. 

       I found what I could about this DeNeefe. She is Huntsville's co-director of African American History Project. The thing that she said that upset my buddy Bobby so much was her statement about people who support the monument have never cracked a book. Trust me, she hasn't cracked a book, or has chosen to ignore the truth if she has. But, her own comments are what surprised me. She said, "To me, this monument represents a whitewash of the historical facts." Now that is funny. We should remove a monument because of what it represents to her. In other words it offends her, therefore it should be removed. I find something offensive each and every day. Who cares? I'm an adult and an adult is capable of ignoring something offensive. These crying liberal types obviously have never matured. They think the world should totally change so they won't be offended. 

       That is another thing that is extremely frustrating to me. These people are the ones rewriting history. Their latest sentence that is meant to discredit the real historians is one that has been popping up quite often lately. That sentence says, "It represents the glorified myths of the "Lost Cause" that dominated twentieth century thought in Alabama, ideas that have been debunked by serious scholars." What serious scholars? Let's read what a serious Civil War Historian named Bevin Alexander said the war was fought over. "Northern industrialists wanted to create a closed American economy in which only their products would be available. And these products would cost more than British products because American industry was newer and less efficient than British industry. The South was being asked to pay to strengthen Northern industry...and this conflict played an important role in the division of North and South." Now these liberals are waging a war by spreading lies, understanding that if its repeated enough, people will start to believe it. 

       So why did the North love the black man so much if that is indeed what the war was over? Let's just review what they said about black people themselves. W.C. Fowler author of The Sectional Controversy wrote about meeting a member of congress. The congressman was leaving a meeting on abolition and other issues dividing the North from the South. Fowler asked the congressman why they were so intent on freeing the slaves. The congressman replied that the North doesn't care at all for the negro, the real reason is that the South will not allow us to have a high tariff, so we touch them where they feel it, in their pocket books. 

       Now, having discovered the above, it's time to find out who made the most money off the slave trade. Was it the South? Absolutely not. The French and British made a ton of money, but so did the North. When did the North start crying that the slaves should be freed? When did they get this sudden feeling of humanity? It came about after the slave trade was outlawed. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Philadelphia even owned ships that traveled back and forth between Africa and the United States bringing slaves. While they were making money, slavery was a very fine thing. Once there was no profit for them, they were ready to make changes. 

       I get so sick of the Holy North versus the Evil South that is being taught today. Let's look at a few of those evil Southern slave owners. 

Richard De Reef of Charleston, S.C. was a black slave owner.

Nicolas Augustin Metoyer of Louisiana owned 13 slaves, his family owned 215 slaves, he was black. 

       So who actually began the idea of slavery in this country? Let's take a realistic look and see what we find. Who is called the "Father of American Slavery"? His name was Anthony Johnson and I will talk about him in detail in my next blog. To be continued.....

The Cousin of Turner Ashby: Henry Marshall Ashby

Henry Marshall Ashby

       Henry Marshall Ashby was born in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1836. Although, he attended the College of William and Mary, he failed to graduate, but became a merchant in Chattanooga, Tennessee until the Civil War began. 

       Henry entered Confederate service in early July of 1861. He organized a company of cavalry and became a captain. That company was a part of the 4th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. It eventually became part of the 2nd Tennessee Regiment. Henry Ashby became colonel of the 2nd on May 24, 1862. He was wounded in the foot on one of his raids into Kentucky in 1862. 

       His regiment served under Brigadier General John Pegram in Forrest's Cavalry Division for most of the early part of the war. Pegram's Brigade managed to capture a Federal wagon train during the fighting around Murfreesboro. He would also see action at the Battle of Chickamauga. 

       His command was then assigned to Joe Wheeler's Cavalry Corps. Although Ashby commanded four regiments, a position for higher rank, he would never be promoted to brigadier general. He would end his military career as a Confederate colonel. He would continue to face Sherman for the remainder of the war. He was wounded again at Monroe's Crossroads. He commanded a division near the end of the war, although he was only a colonel. Joseph Wheeler claimed that Ashby and two other colonels under his command had been promoted to brigadier general before the war ended, but the commissions never arrived. 

       Following the war, Ashby moved to New York City briefly. He soon returned to Knoxville, Tennessee and began practicing law. Former Major Eldad Cicero Camp of the 142nd Ohio Infantry had accused Ashby of mistreating Federal prisoners during the war. They met on Gay Street in 1868, Ashby had a cane and Camp had an umbrella, a brief fight erupted. The following day, the two men met again at Camp's law office (on the corner of present day Walnut and Main). Again Ashby wielded his cane (some say a derringer), Camp drew a pistol and killed the Confederate Colonel. 

Eldad Cicero Camp

       Although Camp was called a murderer, he was never prosecuted. Numerous Unionists during the war paid his bail. He would never serve a day for this dastardly deed. Of course Camp would eventually be relieved of his job as district attorney by President Ulysses Grant because he was enriching himself on legal fees. 

Colonel Henry Marshall Ashby's grave

       In the meantime, Colonel Ashby was buried in Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee. He was either 31 or 32 years old. He still rests there today. 

Huntsville's Early Works Museum: A Field Trip To Remember

Early Works Museum in Huntsville, Alabama

       My wife encouraged me to write this blog. I came home and vented to her about how I felt about Timmy's field trip to Huntsville, Alabama's Early Works Museum. I had vented and then as my wife can tell you, I'm pretty much over the matter. She had a better idea. She said, "You need to write a blog about this trip." This is that blog.

       We arrived in Huntsville at 10 a.m., which is about an hour east of where we live. The first stop was in Constitution Village which happens to be an example of early Alabama life. I was alright with our first stop which happened to feature a guy playing the part of John Coffee. The next stop is where I first became perturbed. An elderly gentleman passed out a piece of paper with the Alabama State Flag without any colors. He asked, "What color is the Alabama flag?" My son Timmy raises his hand and gives the correct answer. The fellow then asks, "Where did that cross originate?" Timmy again raised his hand, but another kid was called on. This boy answered, "It was designed like the Confederate flag." This is a known fact, but this guy is either ignorant or chose to be politically correct. He told the kid that he was wrong. He said, "Alabama became a state in 1819, way before the Confederacy existed, so it can't be based on the Confederate flag." He then proceeds into a long story about how people from Scotland had settled around Montgomery as his theory of where the flag came from. Then the guy begins to contradict himself. He said, "This flag of Alabama came into existence in 1892." This is about 30 years after the Confederacy. 

       My old high school history teacher was the bus driver for this trip. He and I began to discuss what this man had said. My teacher shook his head and said, "I'm not sure if they are being politically correct or they truly believe what they are teaching." I'm proud to say my old history teacher was disappointed in the way this country is becoming regarding Southern history and being politically correct. It is an attack on history. If history offends one group of people, then we must rewrite it. 

The Confederate Battle Flag and the Alabama State Flag

       The field trip then proceeded to the Early Works Museum. I understand the museum is set up for children, but I found a lot in the museum that made little sense to me. The tour guide discussed Alabama history to some degree. She spent almost five minutes discussing Native American history in Alabama. The Civil War was quickly passed over. (Dad and I found a small machine hidden away in the corner of a small room that had you match Civil War leaders with their bio's, of course it was unplugged and useless.) 

       African American history lasted forty-five minutes and the mistreatment of slaves by Southerners was repeated over and over. There were talking tree's, talking clocks, about 50 stuffed dogs that had very little to do with our state's history. 

The talking tree that traumatized my son and his best friend

       It wasn't only the lack of history, there was some history, but because so many schools had scheduled field trips there on the same day, everything became discombobulated. Groups were running into each other, tour guides arguing over where they should be, and there was no order to the timeline of history. 

       I told my old high school history teacher that I loved museums, especially history museums, but this one had done absolutely nothing for me. He agreed and mentioned that he would like to get out of there in the next fifteen minutes. I can't say it was the worst field trip I'd been on (that trip was to see the movie "Curious George" with my oldest son some ten years ago, which I slept through it was so boring), but it wasn't at all what I expected. If you can't teach history truthfully, then just don't teach it at all is what I believe. 

William Henry Carroll: Fired Before He Got Started Good

William Henry Carroll

       There is no known photograph of Confederate Brigadier General William Henry Carroll. The above drawing is the only known image of the general in existence. Even the birth date of the general is in question. It is believed that he was born in 1810. Carroll's father served as governor of Tennessee six times. His father was also close friends with President Andrew Jackson. 

       His first occupation was as a planter in Mississippi and then later became postmaster of Memphis in 1848. When the war began, Carroll was appointed colonel of the 37th Tennessee Infantry. Tennessee General Leonidas Polk sent Carroll to east Tennessee to raise more troops. Carroll was very successful in this endeavor. He raised three regiments of infantry. He was then promoted to brigadier general on October 26, 1861. 

       In Chattanooga, General Carroll was observed by Alabama Colonel Sterling A.M. Wood who noted that Carroll had been drunk for five years. Wood went on to call Carroll stupid and easily manipulated. 

       Commanding 5,000 men in Knoxville, Carroll was plagued by a shortage of arms. In January of 1862, Carroll was ordered to join Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer in eastern Kentucky. He served under Major General George Crittenden and Zollicoffer at the Battle of Mill Springs. Crittenden in overall command praised Carroll following the defeat. There were rumors circulating that both Crittenden and Carroll had been intoxicated there. 

       When Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard began to gather the army in Corinth, Carroll was in command of a brigade of Tennessee infantry in Iuka a little over twenty miles east of Corinth. Major General William Hardee went there to investigate reports of incompetence by both Crittenden and Carroll. Both men were arrested for being intoxicated on duty. Under pressure from General Bragg and others, Carroll finally resigned his commission. 

       Carroll's family had moved to Canada following the fall of Memphis and Carroll soon joined them there. He never returned to the United States alive. He died in Montreal in 1868 at about the age of 58. Originally buried in Montreal, he was exhumed in 1869 and reburied in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee. 

Me at the grave of William H. Carroll

(Note the incorrect birth and death dates)

Edward Dorr Tracy: The Confusion surrounding the Alabama General

Brigadier General Edward Dorr Tracy

       It wouldn't be a good story without a little bit of controversy. The same is true of Edward Dorr Tracy. He was born on November 5, 1833 in Macon, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia and became a lawyer at just 17 years of age. He taught school for three years and then moved to Huntsville, Alabama in 1855. He practiced law there until the war began.

       He raised a company that became a part of the 4th Alabama Infantry in early 1861. He had risen from Captain to major by the summer of 1861 and held that position at the Battle of Manassas, the first major battle of the war. Following the battle, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 19th Alabama Infantry which was commanded by Colonel Joseph Wheeler. He served in this position, becoming one of the few Confederate officers to have fought at First Manassas and the Battle of Shiloh. At the battle along the west bank of the Tennessee River, Tracy attacked the eastern flank of the Hornet's Nest and had a horse killed beneath him. During the action at Shiloh, he was noted for his bravery and coolness under fire. 

Another image of Edward Dorr Tracy

      Soon after the Battle of Shiloh, Wheeler was promoted which resulted in Tracy becoming colonel of the 19th Alabama. He saw action around Corinth and was again praised for his gallantry. His brigade marched into Kentucky under the command of Edmund Kirby Smith who recommended Tracy for promotion to brigadier general. Although, Tracy saw limited action in Kentucky, Smith praised him for being "upright, intelligent, and accomplished." When the army returned to Tennessee, Tracy was promoted to brigadier general effective on August 16, 1862. 

       His brigade was soon sent to the defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi. There, his brigade was placed in a position to guard the southern part of town. Tracy was ordered to reinforce General Bowen's division south of town when Grant was found crossing the river below Vicksburg. He marched his 1500 men south, but was forced to stop and allow stragglers to catch up. 

       On the morning of May 1, 1863, Tracy was ordered south to intercept Grant. He was reduced to only three regiments which cost him a quarter of his fighting force. His position was attacked at 7 a.m. About an hour after the engagement began, General Tracy was shot through the chest and killed instantly. He was called a "brave and skillful officer, who fell where it is the soldier's pride to fall-at the post of duty and of danger." Bowen said that Tracy had shown his "signal proof of his ability as an officer and bravery as a man."

       He rests today in Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Georgia. He was 29 years of age. So where does the controversy come from? 

The above image is listed as three different Confederate officers

       The above image has been credited as being that of Edward Dorr Tracy sometime before 1863 while he was still a colonel. There is a slight resemblance to the above photographs of Tracy, however the match is not perfect. The above photograph has been listed as that of Confederate Brigadier General James Green Martin of North Carolina. A Quick look at General Martin will quickly show you the above photo looks nothing like him.

An image of Brigadier General James Green Martin who lacks the amount of hair to match the photo above his

       In the book More Generals In Gray by Bruce Allardice is photograph of a Confederate Colonel named John Donelson Martin. The photo is provided by a descendant of Colonel Martin. Colonel John D. Martin was born in Tennessee in 1830 and his father was a wealthy business man of Nashville, Tennessee. Colonel Martin fought in the Mexican War at the age of 16. Following that war, he became a doctor. He entered the war as a captain in the 154th Tennessee Infantry. He became colonel of the regiment by January of 1862. He fought at Belmont, Shiloh, Iuka, and was mortally wounded on the first day of the fighting at the Battle of Corinth. Colonel John Donelson Martin rests today in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee. If the photograph below is that of John D. Martin as his descendants insist, then the photograph was taken between January of 1862 and October of 1862, between the time he served as a captain and the time he was killed in combat at the age of 32. Below is the photograph of John Donelson Martin.

Colonel John Donelson Martin

Alabama Brigadier General Alpheus Baker

Alpheus Baker

           Alpheus Baker was born on 28 May, 1828 in Clover Hill, South Carolina. He became a school teacher at age sixteen and taught in South Carolina, Georgia, and eventually settled in Eufaula, Alabama.  At the age of twenty, he began reading law and soon became an attorney.

      When the war began, Baker enlisted as a private and was quickly elected captain. Ordered to Fort Pillow, Tennessee on the Mississippi River, Baker was elected colonel of the 1^st Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi Infantry. He was in the process of moving artillery from New Madrid, Missouri to Island No. 10 when the fort was surrendered. He was held prisoner from April, 1862 until September.

       Upon his exchange, Baker’s regiment was reorganized as an all Alabama regiment and became the 54^th Alabama Infantry. He saw action at Fort Pemberton during the Vicksburg Campaign and was severely wounded in the foot at Champions’ Hill. General Loring, his superior there, praised him for his bravery.

A post war photograph of Alpheus Baker

       After his recovery, Baker was promoted to brigadier general on March 7, 1864. His brigade of four regiments, the 37^th, 40^th, 42^nd, and 54^th Alabama infantry were ordered to the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. He saw heavy action at Resaca and New Hope Church. At the Battle of Ezra Church, he was again praised by his immediate commander Major General Henry D. Clayton. His brigade had charged and lost almost half their men.

    Although praised by his division commanders, it appears his corps commander Lieutenant General S.D. Lee was somewhat disappointed in Baker. He called the general “indecisive” and “lacking in energy.” Baker’s brigade was soon transferred to Mobile, Alabama saving them from the blood bath at Franklin. His last battle was at Bentonville, North Carolina where his brigade numbered only 350 men, yet they captured 204 Federal troops.

       Following the war, Baker returned to his law practice. He was well known for his use of humor in the courtroom. Thirteen years after the war, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky and practiced law there. He died there in 1891 at the age of 63 and rests today in Cave Hill Cemetery. A space was left vacant at his request amid the Confederate POW’s buried there and he rests with those men today. 

Alpheus Baker late in life

Baker's tombstone

Braxton Bragg: Exactly what was that guy's problem?

General Braxton Bragg

       My old military history professor in college was a guy named Doctor Ikerman. He was the first to explain the difference in an art and a science when it comes to warfare. In science, you can repeat an experiment and it always has the same result. In art, you can get a different result each time. I still use some of his analogies when I give talks today. Historians have spent decades trying to understand the problem with Braxton Bragg's generalship. I think they too often become overly focused on his argumentative personality. While that is a big part of him becoming such a failure, that's not his greatest downfall. The man didn't understand that war was an art. 

       When he planned a battle, he planned it from A to Z. In other words, he figured he would make the first move, his enemy would react a certain way and Bragg would react to that in a sequence. He planned his battle all the way through. When his opponent didn't react as expected, it threw General Bragg into a quandary. An example is the quote Major General Breckinridge made in regard to Bragg's battle planning. He claimed that when Bragg was planning a battle, he would take no advice from his top subordinates, but when things went awry, he would accept the advice of a drummer boy. 

       Historians look at the Battle of Chickamauga and attempt to understand what Bragg was thinking. He'd won the battle, and was informed of the victory by several of his subordinates, yet he refused to believe he'd won. The main question here is why? Bragg had spent days attempting to cut Federal General Rosecrans off from Chattanooga and his base of supplies. On the night of September 18th, he went to bed thinking he'd finally gotten his army beyond Rosecrans's right flank. Rosecrans expected Bragg to do this very thing and during the night extended his left flank beyond the Confederate right. Bragg was surprised in the morning when his flank attack turned into a very costly frontal assault. 

Bragg's frontal assault on the morning of September 19, 1863

       When Rosecrans began to shift more troops from his right to the heavily engaged left, Bragg had an opportunity to strike these forces in the flank, but it went against how he had planned the battle and three of his divisions sat idly by as the opportunity was lost. Once the day was finished, he made another blunder. He changed the order of battle. To completely change the order of battle in the midst of a battle is just asking for mass confusion and that's exactly what he got. In most Confederate armies, a general was in command, lieutenant generals commanding corps' answered directly to the general. Bragg decided to mix matters up by having Lieutenant General D.H. Hill report to Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk who he made the right wing commander. He had Lieutenant General James Longstreet command the left wing and placed Major General John Bell Hood in command of Longstreet's Corps. Are you confused yet, because D.H. Hill and Leonidas Polk certainly were. 

       The blunders didn't end there. The next day, the frontal assault continued, Polk's right wing lost heavily. Luckily for Bragg's army, Rosecrans committed a blunder by creating a gap in front of Longstreet's left wing. Hood managed to attack at the right moment and break the Federal army. Once the Federal army began to retreat, Longstreet begged Bragg for reinforcements from the right wing to help him finish the enemy forces off. Bragg, far to the rear at his headquarters at Reed's Bridge refused to believe he'd won the battle. Without riding forward and observing for himself, he simply refused to send Longstreet any troops. 

       There is a comical story told about a Confederate private who'd been captured by the Federals and then escaped when their army retreated. He made his way to Bragg's headquarters and insisted on seeing the general in person. When he was brought into the presence of General Bragg, he told his commander that he'd won a great victory and that the Federal army was in full retreat. "How would you know what a retreat looks like?" snapped Bragg. "I should know," the ragged private replied, "I've been in your army almost two years."

       Even Bedford Forrest was frustrated with Bragg asking what the man fought battles for anyway. Mary Chesnut said of Bragg when he laid siege to Chattanooga: "Bragg, thanks to Longstreet and Hood, won at Chickamauga. So we looked for results that would pay for our losses in battle, at least. Certainly, they would capture Rosecrans. No! There sits Bragg--a good dog howling on his hind legs before Chattanooga, a fortified town--and some Yankee Holdfast grinning at him from his impregnable heights. Waste of time. How? He always stops to quarrel with his generals."

       That brings us to the second problem General Bragg had. He could never take the blame. At each failure or setback, his first reaction was to find someone to blame. When the repulse of Pickett's Charge occurred at Gettysburg, the first words out of General Lee's mouth was, "It's all my fault." As one historian once wrote, "Bragg would have choked on those words." I give two examples of great leaders. One is Robert E. Lee and the other is former Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Coach Bryant always took the blame for the losses and gave the players credit for the wins. Robert E. Lee praised his soldiers in victory and took the blame in defeat. Braxton Bragg wasn't capable of this at all. It was always someone else's fault. 

       At Shiloh, he blamed Randal Gibson and the Confederate soldiers. At Murfreesboro, it was General McCown and Cheatham. At Chickamauga, he blamed Polk, D.H. Hill, and Hindman. It was always someone else's fault. A leader like Lee had no problem motivating his men to fight. They knew he was there to accept fault for failures even when they weren't his fault. Bragg never!