History Revised by Political Correctness in Louisiana
By admin | May 5, 2008
The news of the changes in long-standing proclamations declaring Confederate History and Heritage Month observances in Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana has prompted the following statement from Christopher M. Sullivan, Commander-in-Chief, Sons of Confederate Veterans:
"We learned with immense dismay of the mayors of Bossier City and Shreveport, Louisiana, departing from a long- standing tradition of issuing proclamations honoring Confederate History and Heritage Month.
"According to local news accounts they have taken it upon themselves to change the observance to ‘Civil War History Month’.
"This is a direct act of political correctness that takes on more serious proportions as it undertakes revising or eliminating true history in America.
"Cities, counties and states annually issue proclamations honoring the various cultures and events that have made the greatness of America. Confederate History and Heritage Month is one of the most widely known throughout the United States with hundreds of proclamations and observances each year which honor the Confederate soldiers who are recognized by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs with the same rights and recognition as all veterans of U. S. service.
"It is indeed disheartening to see the success of this recognition distorted and intentionally eliminated by a small element whose agenda is to impugn or eradicate the history of the Confederate military."
"It is our hope the people of Shreveport and Bossier City will show a spirit of fairness and patriotism by effectively speaking out against censorship and historical revision."
Contact, J. A. Davis, SCV PR & Media Committee, 770 297-4788.
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA COMMITTEE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
History Revised by Political Correctness in Louisiana
Elm Springs, Columbia, TN
April 14, 2008
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3rd Arkansas Infantry Letters Found (Part 5)
By admin | May 3, 2008
A Pine Bluff businessman shared recently with the Arkansas Toothpick Staff a short series of letters written by a couple of brothers in the 3rd Arkansas Infantry from Hamburg, Arkansas. We will be sharing these letters for the first time with the public one at a time, due to download size of each scan.
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Frances Clalin AKA Jack Williams
By admin | April 29, 2008
Frances Clalin known by her married name of Frances Clayton, was a woman who disguised herself as a man in order to fight in the American Civil War. She served in the Missouri artillery and cavalry units for several months. Frances Clayton took up all the manly vices. To better conceal her sex, she learned to drink, smoke, chew, and swear. She was especially fond of cigars. She even gambled, and a fellow soldier declared that he had played poker with her on a number of occasions.
—DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook, They Fought Like Demons
Frances Clayton was a woman who fought in the Union as a man named Jack Williams. She served in cavalry and artillery units, but it is unknown what unit she served in. The newspapers that reported her story told conflicting information, but most said that she and Elmer L. Clayton, her husband, had enlisted together in a Missouri regiment the fall of 1861, even though they were from Minnesota. Frances was born in Illinois and married Elmer who was born in Ohio, so both were from the North. They had a farm in Minnesota and Frances did housework until she enlisted for war. Frances and Elmer were also to have had three children. Elmer and Frances served side by side during the American Civil War until 1863, when he died in battle.
Frances is known to have fought in the Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee, February 13, 1862, where the Union won after three days of fighting. During this battle Frances was wounded, but was not discovered because of her injury. It wasn’t extremely hard for Frances to convincingly play the part of Jack Williams. She was tall and masculine, and had tan skin. She had also worked on perfecting manly activities such as smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco, swearing and gambling. Frances was quite fond of cigars as well. By doing these things, Frances increased her manly character so that she would fit in and others wouldn’t see past her disguise.
This plan was clever and effective, as some news reports state that Frances was never discovered to be a woman, but instead was discharged when she confronted her superiors.
Frances was also a said to be a good ‘horse-man’ and ‘swordsman’, and the way she carried herself in stride was soldierly, erect, and masculine. She was well trained and knew her duties well, but was also a respected person who commanded attention in the way she acted. It was said of Frances in one report that she did her duties at all times and was considered to be a fighting man. Frances was engaged in seventeen battles other than Fort Donelson, including the Battle of Murfreesboro December 31, 1862, where her husband died. The Battle of Murfreesboro was referred to as Stones River by the Union. Elmer was only a few feet in front of Frances when he died, but she didn’t stop fighting. She stepped over his body and charged when the commands came. There are two stories about how Frances was discovered to be a woman. One is that after this battle at Stones River, Frances decided to let her true identity become known and she was discharged a few days later in Louisville 1863, but the other is that Frances was wounded in the hip at Stones River, and was discharged after being discovered that way. Frances did fix the mistakes, but this error creates doubts about what really happened. After being discharged Frances tried to get back to Minnesota, and then decided to collect the bounty owed her deceased husband and herself, as well as to get some of Elmer’s belongings.
It is also speculated that she wanted to reenlist, but she was unable to. Her train was attacked by a Confederate guerrilla party, and she was robbed of her papers and her money. Frances then went from Missouri to Minnesota, then to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and on to Quincy, Illinois.
In Quincy a fund was created to aid her quest for payment by former soldiers and friends. Frances was last reported to be headed for Washington, D.C. Frances became popular with the newspapers. Her story was published in about six different papers, but they got her story jumbled up. In some articles it was stated that Frances had been wounded and discovered at Stones River where her husband died, but others said she was wounded at Fort Donelson, and was able to keep her identity a secret until her husband died and she went to her superiors with her secret. Frances was actually wounded at Donelson and was able to keep her secret unknown, and she corrected these misunderstandings in her last interview but she never stated what regiment she had served in. This was probably never asked of Frances, because the reporters were more interested in the story of a devoted wife, rather than the actual details of JackWilliams’ soldier life.
Frances didn’t become particularly well-known for her hardships or bravery, but she was still recognized for her acts of soldiery. Frances’ picture is on book covers and in pages of Civil War books, though not much information is given about her in them. This is most likely because the news wasn’t interested in her soldier life as much as it was her wife life, making it hard to find data-filled resources about her. Also, books dedicated to women like Frances have many stories to tell about more famous women, taking up the room to go into greater detail on Frances and other unfamiliar women.
Frances was brave, strong-willed and went through a lot to be with her husband, which is a noble deed. Because of her choice to be with him, she helped in battles and served her country in a way that an estimate of only 400 other women did. Frances was wounded a total of three times for her country, and was even taken prisoner once, all the while supposedly remaining Jack Williams. Frances worked hard to do her duties as a soldier, and served her country by her husband’s side for two years until he died. During these years Frances served in cavalry and artillery units for the Union. Frances gave up a lot to do this, but did it anyway. She saw her husband die right in front of her and continued to fight. Frances wasn’t even able to receive her back pay or bounty after her discharge because she was robbed by Confederate guerrillas.
This article can be downloaded from the May, 2008 edition of the newsletter located at the top of the page…great Civil War articles written by Civil War buffs in Arkansas.
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Directions to Turney Ancestor Service
By admin | April 24, 2008
Directions to Turney Ancestor Service: Go to Conway exit off onto US Highway 65 North towards Greer’s Ferry Lake, Clinton and Harrison. After you go through Greenbrier you will turn right on Highway 25 to Quitman. About 5 miles North of Quitman you will come to a sign that says Heber Springs straight ahead, there will be a store/gas station on your left and a sign saying Greer’s Ferry. Turn left at this gas station towards Greer’s Ferry for no more than 1/4 mile, Palestine Baptist church will be on your left. This is where the 1st service will be held at 10 am for my 2 Great-Grand Fathers: Cpl. John W. Turney 10th Ark. Infantry and later 10th Ark. Cavalry and James E. Bettis 8th Ark. Cavalry. Then at 12:00 noon ,2 miles away we will have the 2nd service for James’ brother at Wesley Chapel Church.
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Battle of Yellville Reenactment Cancelled
By admin | April 24, 2008
To all:
Capt Kevin Bodenhamer’s message canceling the Battle of Mountain Home this weekend is forwarded. Their ground is saturated, with more rain on the way. A reminder–the Battle of Chalk Bluff at St. Francis, AR, WILL take place the following weekend of May 2-4, rain or shine (preferably shine). <!– Arkansas Civil War –>
Capt John Malloy
7th AR/5th KS Redlegs Dismounted Cavalry, Co. I
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3rd Arkansas Infantry Letters Found (Part 4)
By admin | April 24, 2008
A Pine Bluff businessman shared recently with the Arkansas Toothpick Staff a short series of letters written by a couple of brothers in the 3rd Arkansas Infantry from Hamburg, Arkansas. We will be sharing these letters for the first time with the public one at a time, due to download size of each scan.
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Mother’s Day and Southern Ties
By admin | April 21, 2008
The United States celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother’s Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war.
In 1870, she wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother’s Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers’ Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary to plant tomatoes outdoors after Mother’s Day (and not before).
When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother’s Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May, 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
From there, the custom caught on spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
Nine years after the first official Mother’s Day, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother’s Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.
The first Mother’s Day observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, held at Anna Jarvis’s request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908. Carnations, her mother’s favorite flowers, were supplied at that first service by Miss Jarvis. White carnations were chosen because they represented the sweetness, purity and endurance of mother love. Red carnations, in time, became the symbol of a living mother. White ones now signify that one’s mother has died.
This article can be downloaded from the May, 2008 edition of the newsletter located at the top of the page…great Civil War articles written by Civil War buffs in Arkansas.
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3rd Arkansas Infantry Letters Found (Part 3)
By admin | April 17, 2008
A Pine Bluff businessman shared recently with the Arkansas Toothpick Staff a short series of letters written by a couple of brothers in the 3rd Arkansas Infantry from Hamburg, Arkansas. We will be sharing these letters for the first time with the public one at a time, due to download size of each scan.
"Camp Bartow" Pocohuntas Co. VA Page 1
"Camp Bartow" Pocohuntas Co. VA Page 2
"Camp Bartow" Pocohuntas Co. VA Page 3
"Camp Bartow" Pocohuntas Co. VA Page 4
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Battle of Yellville Update
By admin | April 16, 2008
Capt Kevin Bodenhamer has successfully moved the former Battle of
Yellville to the ASU - Mountain Home campus. The date is the same April
25-27. The weekend will take place in a pristine setting ideal for
reenacting along Dodd Creek on the ASU - Mountain Home campus located at
the junction of Hwy 62/412 and Hwy 201 south. There is no registration
fee. Amenities of sanitary facilities, firewood, straw, water and even
a Saturday evening meal are offered free of charge.
A living history for area schools will take place on Friday. Any
infantry reenactors that can possibly help with this are requested to do
so. Mountain Home is a relatively large city so quite a few kids are
expected (as well as some curious college students!).
Saturday will feature company drill at 10:00 AM, a battle at 1:30 PM,
complimentary evening meal at 5:30 PM and guided camp life tours 7:00 PM
- 9:00PM.
Sunday will start with a company drill after breakfast. Worship service
at 10:00AM. Afternoon battle at 1:30 PM.
Note: Drills will be structured to shake off a lot of rust and to gain
familiarization with battalion commands. Although our intention is to
remain Confederate, it is requested that you bring both uniforms. 1st
Sgt Riggs and I have powder for sale at $10/1lb can. Louis also has
paper lady cartridge tubes and caps. We hope to see many of you at
Mountain Home as a great warmup for Chalk Bluff the following weekend.
Respectfully,
Capt John
7th AR/5th KS Redlegs Dismounted Cavalry, Co. I
Topics: Living Histories | No Comments »
Dispatch from Patrick R. Cleburne Camp #1433 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
By admin | April 13, 2008
I bring you greetings from the Cleburne Camp. We have had a very busy and productive year. But we are just beginning.
This letter is notice that our April meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 7:00pm at Leon’s Catfish in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Leon’s is located on Highway 79 one block south of Exit 39 on I-530. Please bring your family and friends.
This meeting follows the State SCV Convention, and a report of the convention along with any awards received will be presented. Also, some of our members are being nominated for Brigade and Division offices, so hopefully good news will come on this front also.
Again, thank you for making the Cleburne Camp the envy of the Arkansas Division!
Always your loyal and obedient Servant,
Mark Kalkbrenner, Commander
Webmaster’s note: although Arkansas Division Convention has passed, results of the convention including awards presented to local members, resolutions ,and discussions from the convention will not be posted onto the Arkansas Toothpick until after the April 15 fellowship at Leon’s Catfish. You do not have to be a member to attend this event. Membership applications, however, will be available for those wanting to join the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Patrick R. Cleburne Camp. <!– Arkansas Civil War –><!– Arkansas Civil War –>
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