Court Martial (Howitzer Style)

WILLIAM MEADE DAME, D. D.
RECTOR MEMORIAL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH
BALTIMORE, MD. 1920

"On proper occasions, promotions to higher rank were made for distinguished merit in our line. An instance will illustrate. One night, late, I was passing along when I saw this sight. The sentinel on guard in camp was lying down on a pile of bags of corn at the forage pile—sound asleep. He was lying on his left side. One of the long tails of his coat was hanging loose from his body and dangling down alongside the pile of bags. A half-grown cow had noiselessly sneaked up to the forage pile, and been attracted by that piece of cloth hanging loose—and, as calves will] do, took the end of it into her mouth and was chewing it with great satisfaction. I called several of the fellows, and we watched the proceedings. The calf got more and more of the coat tail into her mouth. At length, with her mouth full of the cloth, and perhaps with the purpose of swallowing what she had been chewing she gave a hard jerk. The cloth was old, the seams rotten—that jerk pulled the whole of that tail loose from the body of the coat. The sleeping guard never moved. We rescued the cloth from the calf, and hid it. When the sleeper awoke, to his surprise, one whole tail of his coat was gone, and he was left with only one of the long tails. Our watching group, highly delighted at the show of a sentinel sleeping, while a calf was browsing on him, told him what had happened and that the calf had carried off the other coat tail. He was inconsolable. He was the only private in the company who had a long-tailed coat and it was the pride of his heart. There was no way of repairing the loss, and he had to go around for days, sad and dejected, shorn of his glory—with only one tail to his coat."

" All this was represented to the “Battalion of Fusiliers.” Charges were preferred, and the Court Martial set. The witnesses testified to the facts—also said that if we had not driven off the calf it would have gone on, after getting the coat tail, and chewed up the sentinel, too. The findings of the Court Martial were nicely adjusted to the merits of the case. It was, that the witnesses were sentenced to punishment for driving off the calf, and not letting her eat up the sentinel."

 "For the sentinel, who appeared before the Court with the one tail to his coat, it was decreed that his conduct was the very limit. No one could ever hope to find a more thorough Fusilier than the man who went to sleep on guard and let a calf eat his clothes off. Such conduct deserved most distinguished regard, as an encouragement to the Fusiliers. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General of the Battalion, the highest rank in our corps. After a while the lost coat tail was produced, and sewed on again."

It's a matter of perception !

OK Folks, for years I thought this song was sung by a Black man.
Well jumpin Jack Rabbits, it's sung by Randy Newman, the same guy who did "Short People"

To hear it Click Here

Sail Away

In America, you get food to eat

Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet

You just sing about Jesus, drink wine all day

It's great to be an American

Ain't no lions or tigers, ain't no mamba snake

Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake

Everybody is as happy as a man can be

Climb aboard little wog, sail away with me

Sail away, sail away

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay

Sail away, sail away

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay

In America, every man is free

To take care of his home and his family

You'll be as happy as a monkey in a monkey tree

You all gonna be an American

Sail away, sail away

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay

Sail away, sail away

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay

It's a wonderful song, I'm amazed at how heartfelt it is !


 Should it make a difference if it's sung by a Black Man or a White Man ?

It's not sarcastic in my opinion but I don't know how to classify it now that I know a White Guy sings it !

UPDATE !!!!!!!

My Friend Eddie, over at Face Book has brought me out of the dark !
Click on the link below !
Songfacts
Thanks Eddie !

4/12/1865 Walking Home after the surrender !

Carlton McCarthy gives us a glimpse of the walk home !

___________________________________________________________

About the time when men who have eaten a hearty breakfast become again hungry as

good fortune would have it happen the travelers reached a house pleasantly situated, and

a comfortable place withal. Approaching the house they were met by an exceedingly kind,

energetic, and hospitable woman. She promptly asked,  “You are not deserters”  “No” said the soldiers, “we have our paroles. We are from Richmond ; we are homeward bound, and called to ask if you could spare us a dinner” ?

“Spare you a dinner? certainly I can. My husband is a miller  his mill is right across the road there, down the hill, and I have been cooking all day for the poor starving men. Take a seat on the porch there and I will get you something to eat” By the time the travelers were seated, this admirable woman was in the kitchen at work. The ”pat-a-pat, pat, pat, pat, pat-a-pat-a-pat” of the sifter, and the cracking

and “fizzing” of the fat bacon as it fried, saluted their hungry ears, and the delicious smell tickled their olfactory nerves most delightfully. Sitting thus, entertained by delightful sounds, breathing the fragrant air, and wrapped in meditation, or anticipation rather, the soldiers saw the dust rise in the air, and heard

the sound of an approaching party.

Several horsemen rode up to the road-gate, threw their bridles over the posts or tied to the overhanging boughs, and dismounted. They were evidently officers, well dressed, fine looking men, and about to enter the gate. Almost at once the men on the porch recognized General Lee and his son. An ambulance had arrived at the gate also. Without delay the party entered and approached the house, General Lee

preceding the others. Satisfied that it was the General s intention to enter the house, the two

“brave survivors “ instinctively and respect fully, venerating the approaching man, determined to give him and his companions the porch. As they were executing a rather rapid and undignified flank movement to gain the right and rear of the house, the voice of General Lee overhauled them, thus :

“Where are you men going” ?   “ This lady has offered to give us a dinner, and we are waiting for it”

replied the soldiers. “ Well, you had better move on now this gentleman will have quite

a large party on him to-day” said the General.

The soldiers touched their caps, said “ Yes” and retired, somewhat hurt, to a strong

position on a hencoop in the rear of the house.

The party then settled on the porch. The General had, of course, no authority, and

the surrender of the porch was purely respectful. Knowing this the soldiers were at first

hurt, but a moment s reflection satisfied them that the General was right. He had suspicions

of plunder, and these were increased by the movement of the men to the rear as he approached. He misinterpreted their conduct.

The lady of the house (a reward for her name!) hearing the dialogue in the yard, pushed her head through the crack of the kitchen door, and, as she tossed a lump of dough from hand to hand and gazed eagerly out, addressed the soldiers “ Ain’t that old General Lee” ?

“Yes ; General Lee and his son and other officers come to dine with you”, they replied.

“Well he ain’ t no better than the men that fought for him, and I don t reckon he is as hungry ; so you just come in here. I am going to give you yours first, and then I 11 get something for him” !

What a meal it was ! Seated at the kitchen table, the large-hearted woman bustling about

and talking away, the ravenous tramps attacked a pile of old Virginia hoe-cake and corn-dodger,

a frying pan with an inch of gravy and slices of bacon, streak of lean and streak of fat, very numerous. To finish as much rich butter milk as the drinkers could contain.

 With many heartfelt thanks the survivors bid farewell to this immortal woman, and leaving the General and his party in quiet possession of the front porch, pursued their way.

DIXIE / by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's DIXIE !

Well being an Old Hippie I found a Bob Dylan song I've never heard !

DIXIE !

(Click on this Link )

The finest body of infantry ever assembled.

From –

DETAILED MINUTIAE OF SOLDIER LIFE

IN THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA

1861-1865-

 By CARLTON MCCARTHY

The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. The officers saw the necessity for doing otherwise, and so the conflict was commenced and maintained to the end.

It is doubtful whether the Southern soldier would have submitted to any hardships which were purely the result of discipline, and, on the other hand, no amount of hardship, clearly of necessity, could cool his ardor. And in spite of all this antagonism between the officers and men, the presence of conscripts, the consolidation of commands, and many other discouraging facts, the privates in the ranks so conducted themselves that the historians of the North were forced to call them the finest body of infantry ever assembled.

The parson who led the charge at Brook Church.

The parson who led the charge at Brook Church.

From DETAILED MINUTIAE OF SOLDIER LIFE IN THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA 1861-1865- 

By- CARLTON McCARTHY

The day General Stuart fell, mortally wounded, there was a severe fight in the woods not far from the old Brook Church, a few miles from Richmond ; the enemy was making a determined stand, in order to gain time to repair a bridge which they were compelled to use, and the Confederate infantry skirmishers were pushing them hard. The fighting was stubborn and the casualties on the Confederate side very numerous. In the midst of the fight a voice was heard shouting, Where’ s my boy? I m looking for my boy! Soon the owner of the voice appeared, tall, slim, aged, with silver gray hair, dressed in a full suit of broadcloth. A tall silk hat and a clerical collar and cravat completed his attire. His voice, familiar to the people of Virginia, was deep and powerful. As he continued to shout, the men replied, Go back, old gentleman you’ll get hurt here. Go back , go back !
No, no ; said he, I can go anywhere my boy has to go, and the Lord is here. I want to see my boy, and I will see him !
Then the order, Forward ! was given and the men made once more for the enemy. The old gentleman, his beaver in one hand, a big stick in the other, his long hair flying, shouting, Come on, Boys ! disappeared in the depths of the woods, well in front. He was a Methodist minister, an old member of the Virginia Conference, but his carriage that day was soldierly and grand. One thought that his boy was there made the old man feel that he might brave the danger, too. No man who saw him there will ever forget the parson who led the charge at Brook Church.

260.000

"In 1862 Sherman was having difficulty subduing Confederate sharpshooters who were harassing federal gunboats on the Mississippi River near Memphis. He then adopted the theory of "collective responsibility" to "justify" attacking innocent civilians in retaliation for such attacks. He burned the entire town of Randolph, Tennessee, to the ground. He also began taking civilian hostages and either trading them for federal prisoners of war or executing them. 

Jackson and Meridian, Mississippi, were also burned to the ground by Sherman’s troops even though there was no Confederate army there to oppose them. After the burnings, his soldiers sacked the town, stealing anything of value and destroying the rest. As Sherman biographer John Marzalek writes, his soldiers "entered residences, appropriating whatever appeared to be of value . . . those articles which they could not carry they broke."
|
After the destruction of Meridian Sherman boasted that "for five days, ten thousand of our men worked hard and with a will, in that work of destruction, with axes, sledges, crowbars, clawbars, and with fire.... Meridian no longer exists."

In The Hard Hand of War historian Mark Grimsley argues that Sherman has been unfairly criticized as the "father" of waging war on civilians because he "pursued a policy quite in keeping with that of other Union commanders from Missouri to Virginia.” Fair enough. Why blame just Sherman when such practices were an essential part of Lincoln’s entire war plan and were routinely practiced by all federal commanders? Sherman was just the most zealous of all federal commanders in targeting Southern civilians, which is apparently, why he became one of Lincoln’s favorite generals.

In his First Inaugural Address Jefferson said that any secessionists should be allowed to "stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.” However, by 1864 Sherman would announce that "to the petulant and persistent secessionists, why, death is mercy.”
(by Gary Adams)