The past few weeks have really been disturbing... the idea that a monster would go and sit in a church with a group of people... and be welcomed by those people... and then have him kill all nine of them.
I just can't understand this behavior... and I have to know that there are just mean nasty ugly people on this planet.
... but this post isn't about that... or about why I think the war was fought by either side... but as I had stated in the previous post, wars are complicated issues... and tend to not be defined by sound bites like today's elections and other events are explained.
What this post is about... is a grave in an old country cemetery... that was 'discovered' by a friend... not really 'discovered' because the grave had been there for a long time. She just decided to tell me about it and send a photo.
She told me that the tree had grown around the headstone... and she wanted to make sure it was 'ok'... Well, as you can tell by the photo above, it's not ok... at some time, a storm came through the Mississippi Delta... and blew the tree over and it took the headstone with it.
It is a military headstone that belongs to a Civil War soldier... he served with the Union Army and was a member of the USCT... if you are not familiar with that acronym, it stands for United States Colored Troops.
I am trying to learn what I can about him... there isn't much, but I have found out a few things...
I drove over to look at the cemetery and the headstone this evening...
... and I think we can fix it.
After the amount of time that has surely passed since he died, I am sure there are no remains left. I thought about contacting the National Cemetery at Vicksburg to see if he could be moved there... but really, there would be nothing to move.
Anyway...
At a time when graves of Southern soldiers from the War have been dug up and violated... this white guy with a Southern Disposition is going to see what he can do about returning a level of dignity to this gentleman's resting place...
After all... the war is over...
No?
~shoes~
You tell 'em Shoes! South is not just some direction on the compass.
ReplyDeleteIDK why traffic feed shows that I am from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Not just on your feed all the feeds...Weird!
Good morning, Bluezy... I gree... we aren't just some direction on the map... and we aren't just a bunch of hayseeds... but I digress.
DeleteIf you aren't from Tuscaloosa, where are you from? You can e-mail and tell me.
~shoes~
I don't know... I actually start believing no war is ever over...
ReplyDeleteWe might need to get more carefull starting new ones...
stephanie
Good morning, Stephanie... I think you are right when you say that no war is ever over.
DeleteWhat amazes me was the level of congeniality after this war... between the two armies (for the most part)... and what I am referring to directly was the conduct between Robert E. Lee and U. S. Grant at Appomattox... relations definitely became more twisted after the assassination of Lincoln...
... yet, sometimes, they are necessary.
~shoes~
I was wondering if u were going to touch on this subject... I think the mental illness is the cause, the reason behind it is sheer racism that got twisted in a very unstable head. In Cali., there are two schools named after Robert E. Lee.. one is an elementary which I am sure most of the students have only heard bits and pieces or may not know who he was.. People are eager to have a name change.. Which will bring up questions by the kids.. and to me that's where they will have to deal with all the questions. Why is it that people are so quick to dismiss instead of dealing w/it? After all its all history.. the good and the bad is what makes up what we are.. When they(school district) named the school, back then, I am sure they had no idea.. Ignorance as usual, is the key here.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Chris... I doubt I would have written expressly about this topic, but I do find ways of weaving things like this into my posts.
DeleteThe fact that this monster was able to buy that firearm falls directly upon a clerk at a police station, although, I have read of several break downs in the system. The recent story is that a clerk keyed incorrect information into this killer's history... another is that given the mental condition he has been in, that privacy laws have kept this kind of information from being released.
Idiots... idiots are running this system.
Name changes... again, our school systems are turning out idiots...
I saw where someone was shown an image of Robert E. Lee... and one respondent answered, 'Sure I know who that is.. it's George Patton'...
Robert E. Lee is one of the most respected individuals of the Civil War... he was an officer in the American Army before the War started.. he had been asked at least three times to lead the Union Army in the event that War developed... and each time, Lee's response to Lincoln was... 'as long as Virginia doesn't secede, I will take that charge...'
One of the huge problems with History today is that of 'Presentism'... and that is applying today's standards... today's mores... to events of the past.
There is no mention of the fact that Grant owned slaves during the Civil War... There is no mention of the fact that Sherman was a racist and that his feelings were well known even then...
But history gets bastardized...
Wars are very very very complicated matters... today, everything we do is relegated to sound bites...
I fear for the direction of this Country... and it needs to be known that I am the Liberal in my family...
... but this post is about this gentleman... and getting his grave site back into a respectable state.
~shoes~
Bravo, that's a really good thing to do.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Max... thank you...
DeleteMore importantly that being a good thing to do, it is the right thing to do.
How's the playing coming along? I still want a mandolin.... what did you tell me you were playing now? It seems you have shifted from the mando to something else?
Everything going ok for you??
~shoes~
Clarification on some items here...
ReplyDelete"Morning Star" was the name of the church where this cemetery is located... I like the idea of cemeteries being located next door to churches... it's like they really don't 'go away' when they die.
Secondly, we are trying to find the care takers of this cemetery... and make sure that everything is done in accordance with laws, ordinances, and family approval...
I doubt there are any family members left.
~shoes~
Wow, that's cool that the tree grew around it. Nature will eventually take back everything. It's really great you're trying to set the tombstone right!
ReplyDeleteHi there, Madilyn... Nature does have a way of reclaiming.. no? I suppose that's all part of the plan...
DeleteYeah... I am a Southerner at heart... and he's a Union soldier... but there is just something right about honor and such.
I figure this gentleman has earned it...
He will be happy when we finish...
~shoes~
You being a Southern and him a Union soldier shouldn't have anything to do with respecting a grave. He has earned it!
DeleteMadilyn... I totally agree with you... it's just that the media etal tends to believe that people in certain parts of the country... (and this is probably true for all countries) are incapable of feeling empathy/compassion for others...
Delete~shoes~
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Shoes. It would be interesting to learn more about his background, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Sandra... I have found some information about him already... but there is more to be learned...
DeleteWe will find it...
It's always interesting to know that someone who has been gone as long as he has can suddenly spark an interest in his Life...
As Madilyn said above.. he has earned it...
~shoes~
We do know that he was at Vicksburg... and at several skirmishes/battles in Louisiana...
DeleteWe are looking for more...
~shoes~
Wars are not complicated.. We make them complicated. Wars are about selfishness, wars are about imposing our views, wars are about greed and land and territories. This planet is so big and still we need to bomb each other's ass off this rock. Sometimes people make me sick, Shoes. Sick.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, my friend... the fact that people are involved make wars complicated matters.
DeleteThe sad thing about wars is that 'everyday people' do most of the fighting and dying. As the old saying goes, 'the victor writes the history...' whether it is correct or not.
... and the World today has become one of 'sound bites'... let's explain something in a simplistic way... because... most people aren't very smart and need an explanation that will resonate with them...
... because the truth is complicated.
~shoes~
And I love you for that, Shoes. It's people like you who make up for the badness. Hope you are ok :)
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the monster killed only nine out of the group. May be, it will come back again and kill nine more people.
World wars took the lives of millions of people just because some fanatic leaders wanted to satisfy their blown up egos.
During the British rule in India, thousands of Indian soldiers were used to fight their war although India was not involved in the war and most of the soldier died fighting for the British. No one really knows where they are buried. Therefore they remain unsung unknown heroes.
Interesting post. I enjoyed reading it.
Best wishes
Joseph said:
Delete"I wonder why the monster killed only nine out of the group. May be, it will come back again and kill nine more people."
I should hope not.
The world is cruel enough the way it is...
~shoes~
Shoes- you have no idea how much the title of your post means to me. (Personal reasons)
ReplyDelete