Stratford Hall

I haven’t commented on my header photos lately, but thought I ought to at least identify today’s subject. This photo is of Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee and of his great-grandfather, “Lighthorse” Henry Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Stratford Hall is in Virginia’s Northern Neck, so it is not easily accessible by roads, although it was a thriving port 200 years ago due to its easy accessibility from the water. This house was featured in the Mel Gibson movie “The Patriot” in the scene when the revolutionaries blow up the ship and the clueless woman says, “Oh goodie—fireworks!”

If you live anywhere near Virginia’s Northern Neck or across the River in Maryland, take advantage of your proximity by visiting Stratford Hall. I would recommend a visit on July 4th when the Hall hosts various events and has myriad 18th and 19th century period actors to help deliver the full immersion experience. You’ll love it.

Front Royal’s Festival of Leaves

A

nother weekend has passed and another huge reason to thank God for our new home town has come to our attention—the Front Royal’s Festival of Leaves.

Soon after we moved here (about two months ago) we made plans to attend the 39th Annual Festival of Leaves in downtown Front Royal. It sounded like a fun day with many events, lots of crafts, and a ton of history. We were not disappointed.

Two Confederates in front of our town hall
protecting us from the Yankee marauders

Front Royal is a thoroughly southern town. We have noticed this a good bit since we moved here, but the Confederate spirit of this town was on full resplendent display this past weekend for the Festival of Leaves.

As we walked into the central part of the town we saw Confederate soldiers, ladies dressed in mid-19th century dresses, and Confederate National and Virginia flags waving in the breeze. Of course, we were armed with our cameras and ready to capture what we saw.

The marching band from David’s school

After visiting many of the vendor stalls along Main Street, we headed to the parade route and were treated to a fantastic parade that featured bands, gymnasts, and representatives from the the locals schools and other community groups. The Front Royal regiment of Confederate soldiers kicked off the parade and got a rousing response from the crowd as they passed in front of us. The folks on the floats threw candy to the kids in the crowd. It was fun to watch the interaction between the people in the parade and the people in the crowd. In a town as small as Front Royal, many of these folks know each other and interacted with each other as the parade progressed.

We enjoyed seeing the marching band from David’s high school along with many other Skyline High School representatives. These kids are very impressive and it was great to watch them in action. The representatives from Warren County High School were also impressive. There is obviously a tremendous amount of talent here in Front Royal. We hope that David will find some clubs at the high school to get involved in to help him focus his interests. There are many that he has already expressed interest in.

When the parade was over, we headed back to the central area of town to see some of the other features of the Festival of Leaves. And we were treated to a wealth of history about this town.

Miss Blue Ridge

The town of Front Royal was overtaken by Yankee troops and was under Yankee control during part of the War Between the States. On May 23, 1862, General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson captured the town back for the Confederacy and the state of Virginia. While the town was under occupation by the Yankees, one of the women of the town became a Confederate spy. Belle Boyd’s house was open to the public and we were able to see the room where Belle locked a Yankee journalist while she went to inform Confederate leaders of some important Yankee plans she had managed to pry from the man now locked in one of the rooms in her house.

Our local troops kicking off the parade

We got to tour the Warren Rifles Confederate Memorial Museum, where we saw an amazing assortment of artifacts from the War. Included among these artifacts were letters from Confederate soldiers to their families, bibles carried by the soldiers, cannon balls, mortars, swords, rifles, pistols, dresses and uniforms, and a portion of the actual rope used to hang John Brown in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. They also have some wonderful artifacts from Mosby’s Rangers, including wood from the tree a few of the rangers were hanged on under orders of Yankee Col. Custer. It is an outstanding museum.

Major General William Mahone [csafreemans.com]

A man and woman dressed in period garb sat outside the museum. David noticed that the man had the exact same sword that I have hanging on the wall of my library at home. This reproduction Confederate battle sword is a beautiful piece of work. But when I bought it I was surprised to find a small stamp on the back of the sword that says, Made in India. So I asked this man if he had noticed the same thing on his sword. He said, “Not much of anything is made in America anymore. That’s what happens when the Yankees take over.” Yep, I love this town!

We also got to tour another of the old houses there in town. In this house there was a woman spinning wool into thread. She explained the processes for wool, flax, and cotton to us and explained some of the economic impact of these processes as they contributed to the dynamics related to the War Between the States. It was fascinating and David ate it up. This living history really awakens David’s desire to learn.

Otelia Butler Mahone [csafreemans.com]

At the end of the day, David kept saying, “this was really fun,” and “this has been such a great day!”

Kim and I have always loved the south. Kim was born and raised here in eastern Tennessee and Virginia. But I was born in Maine. God, in his grace, saw fit to move my family to Virginia when I was only three years old. But it wasn’t until now that we have lived in a truly southern town and we really love it here. We’re praising God for his goodness and mercy.

Check out more pictures at my Festival of Leaves Facebook album.

 

“To live and die in Dixie”

 

View from the top of the cemetery
looking toward town

A

merican by birth. Southern by the grace of God.

This was the quote hanging over the door to my bedroom when I was in high school. In the intemperance of youth, my reasons for aligning myself with the Confederacy were a bit misplaced. But Dr. Rembert Carter’s Western Civilizations course and his emphasis on studying primary documents rather than the history books written after the fact helped intellectually align my thinking with history, philosophy, politics, and theology. I am now more Southern than ever.

Allow that small bit of trivial context to help you understand why my family feels so at home here in Front Royal, Virginia.

We moved here just one month ago. And we loved the town right from the start. But as we have gotten to know the town and her people a bit better, we have just fallen more and more in love with Front Royal. This past Saturday, despite in impending rain storm, we decided to go exploring a bit more in the town—and our new-found love affair continues to increase in passion.

This is a truly Southern town. As we explored the town, we found the Front Royal Heritage Society, the Civil War Rifle Museum, and the Front Royal Visitor’s Center and Front Royal museum. The visitor’s center is actually housed in the historic Front Royal train station, long since replaced by a more modern train station a little ways out of town. This little museum explains the origin of the name Front Royal, the circumstances that led to Bing Crosby’s building a baseball stadium here, and many other very interesting things.

Mosby’s Monument with a cannon—top left of picture

“Erected 1899 by the survivors of Mosby’s Command in memory of seven comrades executed while prisoners of war near this spot.”

The cemetery, which is absolutely beautiful and is still being expanded and used today, contains many graves from the War Between the States as well as graves from Revolutionary War times. Two Civil War cannons flank a monument at the top of the main hill. This monument is a tribute to a group of Confederate soldiers known as Mosby’s Raiders. Some of Mosby’s Raiders were executed by Yankee troops while being held as prisoners of war. The inscription on the monument is in the callout box to the left.

David posing at some
playground equipment

Front Royal also has a ton playgrounds around the town. David has always loved playgrounds, so this is a feature of particular interest to him. And the best playground in our town is the huge one right next to our house.

So as we were exploring the town this past Saturday, David made use of a playground we had not noticed before while Kim and I took pictures of some of the houses along the street and visited a small shop nestled in the midst of the houses there. The log house you see below is actually one of the residential houses there on the street. The neighboring houses include Colonial homes, grand Victorians, early 20th century farm houses, and homes from the 1950s and 1970s. So Front Royal is Southern and yet eclectic.

Old log home near the center of town

I have a lot of Yankee friends who may not understand the appeal here. And I hope none of you are offended by my deep-rooted Confederate nature. However, I will end today’s post with a quote from Edward A. Pollard, editor of the Richmond Times Herald during the period of the War of Northern Aggression (or as the Yankee re-writers of history have misnomered it, the American Civil War).

A large proportion of the active politicians of the North pretended to give in their adhesion to the State Rights school of politics; but, like all the alliances of Northern politicians with the South—selfish, cunning, extravagant of professions, carefully avoiding trials of its fidelity unhealthy, founded on a sentiment of treachery to its own section, and educated in perfidy—it was a deceitful union, and could not withstand the test of a practical question.

Okay...it’s a written history rather than a primary document. But at least it was written by an eye-witness shortly after the war ended. And you just gotta love the antipathy dripping from the prose.

American by birth—Southern by the grace of God!

Scouting Front Royal

Y

esterday we decided to experience a little bit of our new hometown. And we enjoyed our scouting expedition. I thought I’d share a little bit of it in pictorial fashion. Big surprise, eh?

Downtown Front Royal’s bandstand

We had to do some lawn work, so we didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time exploring the town. But we really wanted to check out the Front Royal market, which is held all summer long, every Saturday near the bandstand. Looking at the town’s upcoming events, it appears that this is a central location for many of the special events in the town as well.

This market is not nearly up to the level of the Lynchburg market that we loved so much, but it was still a lot of fun to walk among the vender’s tents and talk to the people. Front Royal people are quite friendly and we enjoyed getting the chance to just meet some of them and have a few conversations.

While we browsed the various vendor offerings, David played on an old train caboose that rests on train tracks on the side of the market area. It’s a beautiful old caboose that has been restored to pristine condition and is open for the community kids to play on. David had a blast. He worked the brakes and the couplers and explored the underside of the caboose, looking very carefully at the wheels and other mechanisms down there.

David playing on the caboose

We found a local Front Royal candle maker and had a good conversation with her. We told her that we had just moved from the headquarters of the Virginia Candle Company.

We saw a group of Confederate soldiers off to the side and as we left we saw them in formation. We’re not sure what they were preparing for, but apparently they were preparing for something that was scheduled to take place later in the day.

All-in-all, it was a short but fun adventure and we learned a little more about the town. We plan to do a bit more exploring tomorrow, since I will have Labor Day off from work. We plan to visit a few local shops and enjoy some of the gorgeous mountain scenery. We’re waiting for the leaves to change to hit Skyline Drive, the entrance being just a few miles from our house. And we plan on attending a few of the local upcoming events, beginning next Saturday with an air show at the local airport. It ought to be fun.

Oh, and we have found tremendously friendly wildlife here. A family of deer walks the neighborhood each evening. We’ve seen the the deer family cross the road right in front of our house. And they just stop and look at you if you talk to them. So they are obviously not afraid of the people in the neighborhood. They really like the apples under our apple tree, so after walking the neighborhood they head to our apple tree each evening and then, after eating their fill, they head back across the street in front of our house, browse through the neighbor’s bushes, and head out for the evening.

And this little guy above is posing for a picture on top of our front porch railing. I was calling him “Jiminy,” but Kim reminded me that Jiminy was a cricket, not a grasshopper. David says his name should be “Limity Snicket.”

What a great place!

A Yankee Trick

My wife is doing geneological research. She started researching our geneology more than a decade ago and had to put it on the shelf when we adopted our son. She recently began the search for our ancestors again. And she has found it to be tremendously easier with today's technology than it was in the early days of the Internet.

But as she has done her research, other interesting tid-bits have come to light.

As Kim searched for records of her 5-times great grandfather's murder, she found an article about the murder in the Lynchburg Virginia, the newspaper that served the Lynchburg community at the time—“the time” being during the War Between the States.

A contiguous article in the paper that carried the news of her ancestor's untimely death dealt with a shocking revelation about the behavior of the Yankee troops at the battle of Fredericksburg. Here is that article:

SATURDAY,...........................DECEMBER 20, 1862

A Yankee Trick

The report which comes to us through several sources, that the Yankees actually propped up their dead at Fredericksburg to present the appearance of pickets, and cover their design of retreat, must be accepted as veritably true. And what a picture of depravity it presents! We cannot recur to an instance of similar character on record. It is a new feature in civilized warfare. Heretofore, amongst all people claiming to be one removed from barbarism, the first practise after a great battle has been to care for their wounded, and to endeavor to give to their slain the sacred rite of sepulture. But the Yankees rob the grave of its due, that they may turn even the dead to good account. Grinning, ghastly human forms, upon which the process of decay had set in, are festering in the sunlight, to excite loathing and disgust towards those who placed them there—But perhaps, it is fitting that they who came to rob, plunder, and destroy, should be denied a grave in the soil they have desolated. If the fair bosom of Virginia could throb with the impulses which now animate her sons, it would eject those alien enemies who have been pillowed there, and stir up her own patriotic dead to compel their removal from her soil. In the sublime language of the grandest prophet of the old testament, they would say, "Hell (the grave) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sward, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under foot.—Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people; the seed of evil doers shall never be renounced."

Do these people deserve to be "joined in burial" with ours? Guilty of the grossest inhumanity towards the innocent people whom they invade, and of the most shameful neglect of their own whom they abandon, are they fit to be classed amongst civilized men? They seem to be of a different race and more like Mongol Tartars than Anglo-Saxons. The record of their doings at Fredericksburg, their bombardment of a town full of women and children; their wanton destruction of property of every kind after it fell into their hands; their violation of the universal customs observed towards the dead, and their posting of putrid carcasses like so many scarecrows, to frighten away their enemies, will all tend to sink them to a level with common barbarians.

There is another fact to be deduced from this last named Yankee trick, which will go a great way towards moderating the boasts of the enemy. It proves that they were alarmed for their safety, and therefore resorted to this extraordinary expedient to conceal their flight. Such, we are led to infer, was their panic and fright, that living men could not be induced to take the post of danger to insure the safety of their companions. What an end to the much vaunted "on to Richmond" movement of McClellan's successor!

Lynchb’bg Virginian, December 20, 1862

Blog Header - February 4, 2009

Can you believe it's February already?

Today's blog header photo is from the Amusement Square sidewalk in downtown Lynchburg. The sidewalk to the left is part of the Black Water Creek bicycle and walking trail that winds through Lynchburg beginning about a mile from our house, running through the downtown area, crossing the James River and ending up on an island on the far side. It's a great trail and a beautiful place to ride a bike.

On the right you can see part of the track from the old railroad that was one of the most important depots in the War Between the States. Lynchburg was an important and highly trafficked hub for the Southern supply lines. The old depot has been converted into a restaurant (the Depot Grill, and it is fantastic!) but the track still remains in place. It runs along the James River and is still used, although the train stop has now been moved to another location.

An Ordinance

To Dissolve the Union between the State of South Carolina and other States United with Her under the Compact Entitled "The Constitution of the United States of America."

We, the People of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained,

That the Ordinance adopted by us in Convention, on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also, all Acts and parts of Acts of the General Assembly of this State, ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of "The United States of America," is hereby dissolved.

D. F. JAMISON, Del. from Barnwell, and Pres't Convention

Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery

Tomb of the Langley sisters

Yesterday I posted about the Confederate memorial cemetery that is part of the greater Lynchburg Old City Cemetery. Today I want to talk about the rest of this beautiful cemetery.

About two years ago, when we first moved to Lynchburg, my wife and I were driving around the city just checking out what was there. We saw a neighborhood of beautiful old Victorian-era homes and turned down the street to take a look at the variety of gorgeous architectural examples. At the end of the road was a stone and iron gate—the entrance of the Lynchburg Old City Cemetery.

Re-appropriated bank column

We were out without our cameras that day (a very unusual circumstance for us), so we determined to head back to the cemetery on another day. This was before we realized how much Lynchburg has to offer. So it has taken us two years to finally make it back to the cemetery.

When the rains stopped and the clouds receded, we decided to head to the Old City Cemetery—this time fully armed with photographic utensils. The cemetery is truly amazing. It is very old, containing graves that pre-date the War Between the States. And the mix of residents who have found their final resting place there is unique as well. Three-quarters of the graves in the Old City Cemetery are occupied by African Americans—slave and free. One-half of the graves contain the bodies of children.

Greek styled statue in the park

Just touring the grave sites and reading the stones is an education in the love the survivors had for these people. There are beautiful grave stones of slaves with inscriptions such as "Faithful and loving Mammy, in the family of L.S. Moore for 40 years." There is a grave just inside the entrance of a distinguished member of the Lynchburg community from pre-Civil War times. Reverend Phillip Morris was the founder and first president of what eventually became known as Virginia Seminary and College. Just a little further along the line is a beautiful tomb that houses the remains of Agnes and Lizzie Langley—two sisters who ran a "sporting house" where both races were employed and served in Lynchburg's Red Light District at about the same time that Reverend Morris was establishing his seminary.

The road winds through the beautifully landscaped hills, strewn with grave stones, monuments, and tombs of myriad design and style with the Appalachian mountains rising on the horizons all around. It is the most beautiful cemetery I've ever been in.

Table and chairs with
the chapel in the background

But the beauty increases greatly as you approach the lower area of the cemetery, past the Confederate section. There is a house that once belonged to a doctor that houses a display of the state of medical technology during the mid-18th Century. Another set of buildings houses a museum that includes examples of mourning clothing and jewelry, instruments for embalming, and stories from the Lynchburg mortician who operated the longest running funeral business in our nation's history. Dr. Dooguid's hearses are on display. The upscale stage coach that was used for the more wealthy people is leather lined with heavy black curtains surrounding the casket area. This carriage was drawn by white horses if the deceased was a child and by black horses for deceased adults. The less wealthy families caskets were drawn in a simple utility carriage to the grave site. This carriage is also on display in the museum.

Angel-topped grave stone

As the road heads back uphill past the museums, there is an old chapel on the hillside. This is the location of the first public hanging ever to take place in Lynchburg. This hanging did not go well. The rope broke when the trap was released and the convicted man fell to the ground. After receiving a drink of water, he had to march back up the gallows to be re-hung on a new rope. Because they did not think his neck had broken this second time, they left him hanging at the end of the rope for more than an hour. This whole event so bothered the 2,000 plus Lynchburg citizens who had gathered to watch the execution that there were no more public executions for another 30 years. In other words, not until the next generation did the city of Lynchburg attempt another public execution.

Just past the chapel is a beautiful park. The path the leads through the park is marked by a gorgeous marble column that was removed from the Lynchburg bank when it was remodeled. On the other side of the path is the old horse trough that was originally used in the center of the city for travelers to water their horses when they stopped to do business.

The path through the park winds around through trees, flowering shrubs, and bushes, past a Greek styled statue, a large tree with a chain swing that must be at least 30 feet high (the chain - the tree is much higher), and tables, chairs, and benches allowing people to sit and enjoy the beautiful setting.

I really do love Lynchburg.

Why I love Lynchburg - another reason

Stone gate entrance to the Confederate graveyard

I knew I loved Lynchburg. And I have been compiling many reasons why I love Lynchburg. But this past Saturday I saw something that gave me a clue why I may love Lynchburg so much: Lynchburg is a true Southern town. Or perhaps that should be Lynchburg is a true Southron town, using British orthography as the CSA did.

This past Saturday we braved the vestiges of Tropical Storm Hanna and drove to the Lynchburg Market. While we were there the rains began to diminish and we decided to head to the Lynchburg Old City Cemetery. We had visited the cemetery when we first moved here but did not have our cameras with us. So we decided to return to the cemetery after the rains stopped.

A few of the many Confederate gravestones.

In the center of this beautiful cemetery there is a cemetery for the Confederate soldiers who died in Lynchburg during the War Between the States. There are more than 2,200 confederate soldiers buried there, which provides an interesting comparison with the number of military personnel who have died in the War in Iraq. This was a very bloody war.

It is a beautiful resting place for these dead soldiers, many of whom do not even have their names inscribed on their grave stones because the town was not able to identify them. It is fascinating to read the journal of the man who buried these soldiers.

But one of the things that gave us a deeper and fuller appreciation of our town was the fact that this cemetery originally held Yankee troops as well. At the end of the war, the people of Lynchburg decided to move the bodies of the Federal soldiers to another location, leaving only the Confederate dead there as a memorial to those who had served the Constitutionally guaranteed cause of the right of the people to govern themselves free from federal interference.

The Federal troops' bodies were treated with respect and reburied in another graveyard outside of the Lynchburg city limits. But the people of Lynchburg obviously wanted to set up a memorial to their own soldiers and the soldiers fighting for the Confederacy from other towns and other states.

Blog Header - July 13, 2008

This blog header photo is of the port of Stratford Hall, birthplace of Robert E. Lee in Virginia's Northern Neck. Stratford Hall is a beautiful old plantation home situated on thousands of acres well away from the hustle and bustle of Virginia's major thoroughfares. It's a great place to get away from it all and learn a little more about Virginia's history and her huge impact on the formation and development of our nation.

The Lees were a highly influential family for generations prior to Robert E Lee's well-known impact as the highest ranking general of the Confederate forces during the War Between the States. Stratford Hall is a good place to learn this history because it is brought to life by those presenting it through period garb and various demonstrations of Colonial life through Civil War-era life. Tours are offered of the mansion and the grounds as well.

If you visit Stratford Hall on a family outing sometime, be sure to set aside time to visit Westmoreland Berry Farm on your way home. Pick some berries, enjoy some of their delightful ice cream concoctions, watch their pet goat walk across tiny 2x4 boards 20 feet above the ground, and if you're able to visit on the Fourth of July, enjoy the live bluegrass band as you sip tea or soda on the veranda. It's loads of fun and the berries are oh so good.

Blog Header - May 4, 2008

The fantastic Point of Honor in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia, is today's blog header photo. This mansion belonged to a doctor who during the War Between the States treated fallen soldiers. He was known for treating the soldiers no matter which uniform they wore, blue or gray. When asked why he gave just as good treatment to the Yankee soldiers as he did to the local southern troops he said that he took it as a "point of honor to treat anyone in need."

That is how this beautiful downtown Lynchburg house got its name. Lynchburg is full of wonderful people and wonderful stories if you just take the time to look. Perhaps all towns are like that. Maybe it would be worth it to take a look and sit and listen from time to time.

Robert E. Lee on Slavery

I'm a Southerner (that would be Southron, using Confederate orthology, but I don't want to confuse any blog readers who reside north of the Mason-Dixon line). I'm a Southerner, not because of my geographic location, but because of the cause for which the Confederate States of America fought—the right of the individual states to govern themselves according to the various rights granted them in the United States Constitution.

"To the victor go the spoils," is the phase that describes the truth that those who win the wars afterwards write the history books. So all those who learned their history from history books have trouble wrapping their minds around the absolute fact that by the time the War began, the South had overwhelmingly rejected the institution of slavery. All of the Confederate States had already placed into law the end of the slave trade in their state. All but one of them had put a date on the total abolition of slavery within their state, most with grandfather clauses and other measures intended to ease the transition to non-slave economy.

"Brought to Tears" by M. Kuntzler
depicts Robert E. Lee and
"Stonewall" Jackson at
First Baptist Church,
Federicksburg, Virginia

The War Between the States was not fought over slavery. Slavery was the final issue over which the North attempted to thwart the provisions of the U.S. constitution by forcing their will upon the states to the south—a particularly egregious attack on the Constitution because some of the northern states still approved of slavery and the slave trade within their own borders.

But don't take my opinion as fact—or the opinion of the history books that were written by those who fought an illegal war against their own nation. Take primary documents—documents written at the time that have not had the benefit of rewriting in an attempt to make palatable the sins of the victor.

The following quote was written by Confederate General Robert E. Lee in a letter to his wife, sent on December 27, 1856—a full five years before the outbreak of the War.

Slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country.... I think, however, a greater evil to the white than to the black race.

The doctrines and miracles of our Saviour have required nearly two thousand years to convert but a small part of the human race, and even among the Christian nations what gross errors still exist!

The Story of Robert E. Lee, as told in his own words and those of his contemporaries (Washington, D.C.: Colortone Press, 1964), Ralston B. Lattimore, ed., pp. 22-23; The Rewriting of America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1991), p. 184