Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site

One of the best known and most beautiful of the South's historic antebellum plantation homes, historic Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville has been a Louisiana landmark since 1834.

Named after a play its builders, Daniel and Martha Barrow Turnbull, saw on their honeymoon, Rosedown is now a state historic site and is open to the public year-round. In addition to preserving one of the finest collections of antebellum plantation structures in the nation, the park also preserves Rosedown's magnificent gardens which also date from the antebellum era.

Construction of the main house at Rosedown began in 1834. Framed by a beautiful avenue of live oaks, the facade of the Federal-Greek Revival style home is one of the most recognized in the South. Other surrounding plantation structures, including a doctor's office, kitchen, etc., were built in similar styles and many survive today.

Gardens at Rosedown Plantation

Rosedown's magnificent gardens date back to at least 1836, when Martha Turnbull made the first entry in her "garden diary" that survives today. Over the decades that followed she created one of the largest private gardens of the 19th century, importing exotic plants from Asia and other overseas destinations. Rosedown, in fact, was the site of one of the first known plantings of camellias in America and blooms from the original stock can still be seen there. The 28-acre gardens are also known for their azaleas and other beautiful flowering plants.

Camellia at Rosedown

The Turnbull family continued to live at Rosedown throughout the Civil War, despite the terrible violence that took place within earshot of the home during the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson. The home was not damaged during the shelling of St. Francisville by Union warships, although the arrival of Federal forces in the area meant freedom for the more than 100 slaves who lived and worked on the farm. After its fall in July of 1863, nearby Port Hudson became a major recruiting and training center for African American soldiers who came from area plantations to join the Union army.

Rosedown survived, however, and today is one of the most beautiful of the numerous historic plantations that line the Mississippi River from Natchez down to St. Francisville. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/rosedown.

Port Hudson State Historic Site - Zachary, Louisiana

Confederate Earthworks at Port Hudson

Although its story is often overshadowed by that of the Battle of Vicksburg, which took place at the same time, the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson was one of the monumental confrontations of the Civil War.

After a failed attempt to retake Baton Rouge in August of 1862, Confederate forces in Louisiana withdrew about 30 miles up the Mississippi River to Port Hudson. A small community located atop high bluffs overlooking a bend of the river, Port Hudson offered the ideal place for a citadel to prevent Union warships from reaching the vital junction of the Mississippi and Red Rivers.

Garrison Flag that flew over Port Hudson

Over the months that followed, the position was heavily fortified and by early 1863 a Confederate force of around 7,500 men held the position and manned the heavy guns that aimed down on the channel of the Mississippi. A flotilla of Union warships commanded by Admiral David G. Farragut tried to blast its way past Port Hudson on March 14, 1863, but only two of the vessels made it. The U.S.S. Mississippi was destroyed and the other ships had to turn back. Port Hudson had proved its worth as a defensive position.

Cannon at Port Hudson, Louisiana

Determined to eliminate the Confederate bastion, Union General Nathaniel P. Banks moved against it with more than 30,000 men in May of 1863. The severely outnumbered Confederates dug in even deeper and devastated the Union army in its two major attempts to storm the works. An attack on June 14, 1863 went so bad for the Federals that they suffered casualties of 1,792 men compared to only 47 of the Confederates, giving Southern General Franklin Gardner one of the most lopsided tactical victories of the Civil War.

Port Hudson held out until after the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July of 1863. The fall of that city gave Union ships coming down the Mississippi access to the river's confluence with the Red River and there was no longer any reason for the Confederates in Louisiana to continue to hold out. Gardner surrendered on July 9, 1863, having withstood until then the longest total siege of the Civil War.

To learn more about the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson and to see photos of Port Hudson State Historic Site and other points of interest in the area, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/porthudson.

Oakley Plantation (Audubon SHS) - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Oakley Plantation

Built in around 1806, Oakley Plantation at Audubon State Historic Site has been a Louisiana landmark for more than 200 years.

Built with clear West Indian influences, the house dates from the days when the Florida Parishes of Louisiana were still part of Spain. Oakley was still new in 1810 when the territory east of the Mississippi, south of the 31st parallel, north of Lake Pontchartrain and Gulf of Mexico and west of the Perdido River rebelled against the Spanish and declared its independence. The Republic of West Florida, so named because it was part of colonial West Florida and not present-day West Florida, lasted for only three months before it was taken over by the United States.

Footpath at Oakley Plantation

Oakley Plantation's best known interaction with history, however, came in 1821 when famed naturalist John James Audubon was hired by Mr. and Mrs. James Pirrie, the plantation owners, to teach drawing to their daughter Eliza. Although he remained there only a few months, the plantation became a landmark location in the life and career of Audubon because it was here that he began work on 32 of his famed paintings of North American birds. He was so taken with the farm and its surroundings, in fact, that he described its beauty as "almost supernatural."

Oakley Plantation is now preserved at Audubon State Historic Site on the outskirts of St. Francisville, Louisiana. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/audubon.

Grave of the best known Private Soldier of the Confederacy - Milledgeville, Georgia

Private Edwin F. Jemison, 2nd Louisiana Infantry

A stone monument at Memory Hill Cemetery in historic Milledgeville, Georgia, bears a name that touches the heart of many who read about or study the Civil War: Edwin F. Jemison.

Jemison was a 16 year old volunteer in Louisiana when the haunting photograph that many consider the best known image of a private soldier of the Confederacy was taken. He never saw his 18th birthday.

Born into a prominent Georgia family, Edwin F. Jemison (who signed his military papers as E.F. Jemison) was a descendant of early Quakers who had founded the town of Wrightsboro, Georgia, and was the great-grandson of a hero of the American Revolution. His family had moved to Louisiana from Georgia during the 1850s and had acquired large holdings in the Monroe area. When President Abraham Lincoln called for hundreds of thousands of volunteers to put down the rebellion in the South, Jemison was among the Southern men and boys who turned out to defend their homeland.

Grave of Edwin F. Jemison

Edwin F. Jemison was mustered into the 2nd Louisiana Infantry Regiment on May 11, 1861, and served in Companies I, B and C during his 12-months tour of duty. Possibly because of his young age, he was detached early in his service to assist at the headquarters of General John B. Magruder. By the winter of 1861-1862, however, he was in the ranks in Virginia where the 2nd Louisiana had been sent to defend the Confederate capital city of Richmond.

Only 17 years old, he was shot down when his regiment stepped out in one of the human waves sent by General Robert E. Lee against Union artillery positions at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. His sad eyes, however, stare out through the years to remind us of the cost of war thanks to the 150 year old photograph that has been widely reprinted since the war.

A monument to Jemison was placed in the family plot at Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville soon after the war and visitors today can view his grave and read an interpretive panel that tells his tragic story. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jemison.

The Confederate States of America was formed 150 Years Ago Today

Alabama State Capitol Building

On February 4, 1861, delegates from the seven Southern states that had declared their independence from the Union met in Montgomery, Alabama, and declared the existence of a new nation, the Confederate States of America.

The meeting took place at the historic Alabama State Capitol Building, which also would serve as the first capitol of the Confederacy. As the delegates convened in the magnificent old building, they declared themselves a provisional legislature for the new Southern nation and authorized a committee to begin work on drafting a Constitution that would unify the seceded states for their common defense and welfare.

First Capitol of the Confederacy

The move would set the stage for the largest conflict of arms ever to take place on the North American continent. The new Southern nation defied the will of the old Union and attempts at negotiation to resolve the difference between the two governments would fail. It would be from Montgomery, two months later, that President Jefferson Davis would issue the order for Confederate guns to open fire on Fort Sumter. That attack would officially open the War Between the States or Civil War. By the time the war came to an end, the history of the United States and its people would be forever changed.

The historic Alabama Capitol Building which served as the First Capitol of the Confederacy remains in use today. It stands atop Goat Hill at the end of Dexter Avenue and has looked out on an amazing array of monumental historical events, from the formation of the Confederacy and beginning of the Civil War to the end of the Selma to Montgomery March during the Civil Rights Movement.

To learn more about the building's role as the First Capitol of the Confederacy, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/montgomerycapitol1.

Two Florida Civil War Battlefields facing Possible Closure

Olustee Battlefield

With the 150th anniversary observation of the Civil War now underway and tourists flocking to Civil War sites across the nation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is considering locking the gates to the only two state-owned Civil War battlefields.

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park and Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park are among 53 parks and historic sites DEP is considering closing to save $6.5 million from the agency's $1.5 BILLION budget. The cut would represent the closing of one-third of Florida's state parks and historic sites while barely impacting DEP's massive budget.

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park (just east of Lake City) preserves the scene of the February 20, 1864 engagement that was the largest Civil War battle in Florida. The Battle of Olustee was a massive Confederate victory that preserved the supply lines providing beef and other food for Southern armies and stopped a Union plan to restore the allegiance of at least part of the state in time for its electoral votes to be counted in the 1864 Presidential Election. Olustee was the bloodiest battle of the war for the Union army in terms of the number of men involved (around 10,000). To read more about this highly significant park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/olustee.

Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park (south of Tallahassee) preserves earthworks and other features from the last significant Confederate victory of the Civil War. The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought on March 6, 1865, and preserved Tallahassee's status as the only unconquered Southern capital east of the Mississippi River. The battle also prevented the destruction of much of the infrastructure and public and private property across a large area of North Florida and South Georgia. The cadets from West Florida Seminary (today's Florida State University) fought in the battle and to this day the FSU ROTC is one of only three in the nation authorized by the Pentagon to carry battle streamers.  To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.

Natural Bridge Battlefield

Both battlefields are also landmarks of black history. At Olustee, the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a famed African American regiment, took part in heavy fighting and played a key role in the escape of the Union army from the battlefield. At Natural Bridge, virtually all of the Union soldiers engaged were from the 2nd and 99th U.S. Colored Troops. More than 150 men from the two African American regiments were killed, wounded or captured in the battle.

I encourage you to contact Governor Rick Scott of Florida to voice your opposition to these proposed closings. You can obtain his address or write him through an online form by clicking here.

Fort Pickens - Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Fort Pickens

Battered over the years by hurricane, war and even a massive accidental explosion, the old brick walls of Fort Pickens continue to defy man and the elements at the western end of Florida's beautiful Santa Rosa Island.

Surrounded by the most beautiful beaches in the world, the brick walls of the historic fort stand in stark contrast to the gleaming white sands that attract millions of visitors to Northwest Florida each year. It is a little known fact that Fort Pickens was almost the spot where the Civil War began 150 years ago.

Aware that state troops from Alabama and Florida were gathering to seize the fortifications at Pensacola Bay, Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer of the U.S. Army moved his tiny garrison across the bay from Fort Barrancas on the mainland to Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island in January of 1861. With fewer than 100 men, he held the fort and refused three demands that he surrender from Colonel William H. Chase, who commanded the growing force of Southern troops arrayed against the fort.

Fort Pickens

Built in 1829-1834, the huge five-sided fort was designed to sweep the entrance to Pensacola Bay with the fire of hundreds of cannon. With Fort McRee across the channel and Fort Barrancas on the mainland, it presented a formidable defense against any attack by a foreign navy. In Union hands, however, the fort also bottled up the entrance to Pensacola Bay preventing Southern forces from making use of the harbor there and the outstanding navy yard captured from Federal forces.

With more than 1,000 men at his disposal, Colonel Chase was moving in the direction of storming the fort and taking it from its small garrison when, unexpectedly, President James Buchanan agreed to the so-called "Fort Pickens Truce" on January 29, 1861. The truce provided that Federal forces would not try to reinforce the fort so long as Southern troops did not move against it. The agreement halted militia forces in their tracks and prevented the looming battle at Fort Pickens from taking place. Bloodshed was averted, but Fort Pickens would remain in Union hands throughout the war and Pensacola as a port was of no use to the Confederacy.

To learn more about Fort Pickens, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortpickens1.

An Eyewitness Account of the Nancy Harts - LaGrange, Georgia

Home of 2nd Lieutenant, Mrs. Peter Heard

The events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War reminded me of one of my favorite stories about the war, the almost legendary tale of the Nancy Harts.

The Nancy Harts, as the story goes, were an all female military company that organized in LaGrange, Georgia, to defend the city against Union raiders. Most of the city's men and boys were away in the Confederate service and the community was only lightly defended, so the women of LaGrange took it upon themselves to provide for their own defense. They gave their company the name of Georgia's legendary female fighter of the American Revolution, Nancy Hart.

They drilled regularly under the direction of a disabled Confederate soldier and became quite proficient in their marksmanship and military order. The legend continues that when Union troops approached the city in 1865 during Wilson's Raid, the Nancy Harts formed ranks and marched out to meet them. A truce was negotiated, however, and bloodshed was averted.

It is a fascinating legend and I recently came across an 1861 account of the actual formation and naming of Georgia's all female Confederate company. The article first appeared in the LaGrange Reporter, but was reprinted by the Atlanta Southern Confederacy a few days later:

The Company Drilled near Belleview House

June 1, 1861,

Southern Confederacy (Atlanta), p. 2.

The “Nancy Harts” of LaGrange.

We are informed that the ladies of LaGrange, to the number of about forty organized themselves, on Saturday last, into a military corps for the purpose of drilling and target practice. They elected Dr. A.C. Ware as their Captain; and, we believe, resolved to meet every Saturday. The following are their officers:

Dr. A.C. Ware, Captain

Mrs. Nannia Morgan, First Lieutenant

“  Peter A. Heard, Second Lieutenant

Miss Aley Smith, Third Lieutenant.

“ Andelle Bull, First Sergeant.

“ Augusta Hill, Second Sergeant.

“ M.E. Colquitt, Third Sergeant.

“ Pack Beall, First Corporal

“ Lelia Pullen, Second Corporal

“ Sallie Bull, Third Corporal.

“ Ella Key, Treasurer.

The corps not having a name, and it being their determination to prepare to defend their homes, if necessary, as did Nancy Hart of olden time, we have taken the liberty of calling them the “Nancy Harts” until they shall adopt one. We have no doubt they will prove as true as did Nancy Hart if the emergency ever presents itself; and, therefore, we do not think a more appropriate name could be suggested. The “Nancy harts” of LaGrange! That’s it, ladies. – LaGrange Reporter.

To learn more about the Nancy Harts, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nancyharts.

Key West Lighthouse - Key West, Florida

Photo by Lauren Pitone

Built in 1847-1849, the Key West Lighthouse is one of the most elegant such towers that dot the Southern coastline.

Located in the island city of Key West at the southern tip of Florida, the lighthouse replaced an earlier structure that was demolished in the Great Hurricane of 1846. A number of people had taken shelter in the original tower, hoping that its strong brick walls would protect them from the wind and waves of the storm. When it collapsed, fourteen people died, including six children of lighthouse keeper Barbara Mabrity.

Despite the tragedy, Mabrity stayed on to serve as keeper of the new lighthouse when it was completed in 1849. She remained on the job until the Civil War, when at the age of 82 her anti-Union statements caused her to lose her federal job.

The lighthouse was heightened to 86 feet, its present height, during the 1890s and remained in use until it was deactivated in 1969. Now operated by the Key West Art & Historical Society, it has been beautifully restored and is open to the public.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/keywestlighthouse.

Eatonton, Georgia - Home of the Brer Rabbit Statue

Brer Rabbit Statue in Eatonton

One of the most unusual sights in the South is the full color statue of the famed mythical character Brer Rabbit on the lawn of the Putnam County Courthouse in Eatonton, Georgia.

Incorporated in 1809 and located 39 miles north of Macon and 77 miles southeast of Atlanta, Eatonton was the birthplace of beloved Southern writer Joel Chandler Harris. It was Harris who took stories he had heard from elderly slaves as he was growing up and preserved them on paper in his series of Uncle Remus books.

Many of the stories preserved by Harris actually bridge three cultures. The stories of the wily Brer Fox and the crafty Brer Rabbit actually have their foundation in the tales told long ago by Creek Indian elders who amused villagers by bringing to life the creatures of the forest around them. These tales captivated African American story tellers as settlement and slavery spread west into the lands of the Creek Nation and the stories continued to be told even after most of the Creeks were moved west on the Trail of Tears.

Uncle Remus Museum

So far as is known, Harris was the first person to put many of the old stories down on paper (while also creating some new ones of his own). He used the figure of an elderly slave named Uncle Remus to tell the stories and both Uncle Remus and the fanciful characters of the tales become beloved fixtures of American literature.

Eatonton is the perfect place to explore this unique part of Southern literary history. In addition to the Brer Rabbit Statue on the courthouse lawn, the town is home to the Uncle Remus Museum which preserves the stories and details the early life of Joel Chandler Harris.

The town is also located near the famed Rock Eagle Effigy Mound, one of only two verified stone effigy mounds east of the Mississippi River. The nearby Rock Hawk, also now open to the public, is the other.

Eatonton is on the trail of Sherman's March to the Sea and the vicinity is rich in Civil War history. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/eatonton.

Crossing of the Dan - South Boston, Virginia

Site of the Crossing of the Dan

One of the greatest military accomplishments of the American Revolution was not a battle, but a retreat.

In January and February of 1781, American General Nathaniel Greene led his army across North Carolina and into Virginia in what became known as the "Race to the Dan." The race was against the larger and much better equipped army of Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis, the British commander in the South.

Greene's subordinate, General Daniel Morgan, had achieved a stunning victory over a British force led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, on January 20, 1781. Not only was "Bloody Ban" Tarleton driven from the field, but more than 300 of his men were killed and wounded and another 630 taken prisoner.

Taking the prisoners and captured supplies and turning north, Morgan reunited with the main army under Greene and the Americans started a rapid retreat north across North Carolina. Aware the Cornwallis would be desperate to rescued the captured British soldiers and that they could not hope to stand against his main army, the Patriot generals launched a race for the Dan River in Virginia. If they could reach and cross that natural barrier ahead of Cornwallis, they knew they could end their campaign with success.

Crossing of the Dan Exhibit

For nearly four weeks the Americans stayed just ahead of the oncoming British as they moved rapidly through North Carolina and into Virginia. Ferry boats were destroyed along the way and rear guard actions help hold the British back just long enough for Greene to reach the Dan.

On February 14, 1781, he led his army across on a flotilla of flats and boats, successfully outrunning Cornwallis and bringing the prisoners captured by Morgan across the river and to safety. The British reached the Dan River shortly after the Americans had completed their crossing, but had no way to cross after them. Cornwallis withdrew back into North Carolina.

To learn more about Greene's great accomplishment and to see photos of the Crossing of the Dan Exhibit in South Boston, Virginia, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/crossingthedan.

(Photos by Heather LaBone)

Civil War Daily - A New Blog of Interest!

Fort Barrancas, Florida

I've launched a new blog that might be of interest as we observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (or War Between the States).

Civil War Daily can be found at http://civilwardaily.blogspot.com.

The site will feature daily posts on the events, battles, campaigns, people and places of the Civil War to help those with an interest in the military aspects of the conflict to learn more about the war as it happened, day by day, 150 years ago. Today's post, on the state seizure of Fort Pulaski, Georgia (January 3, 1861), is the first.

Fort Sumter in 1861

I hope to continue to post new articles daily (or as close to it as I can) for the next four years. I hope you will visit Civil War Daily regularly and join in posting comments, information, questions and otherwise discussing the military history of the war. The purpose of this site is to focus on military aspects only. There are plenty of other places to discuss (or argue about) the causes of the war, etc., but I thought it would be nice for those of us with an interest in military history to have a place to learn and share.

If you are in Florida or have an interest in Florida history, you might also be interested in a series that I have started at Civil War Florida on the military aspects of the secession of that state from the Union. You can read those at http://civilwarflorida.blogspot.com.

The Evacuation of Fort Moultrie - December 26, 1860

Fort Moultrie, South Carolina

One of the first military events of the Civil War took place 150 years ago tonight when Major Robert Anderson and the U.S. garrison of Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, slipped across Charleston Harbor and occupied Fort Sumter.

It was a move, in Anderson's words, meant to "prevent the effusion in blood." In reality, it would lead to the outbreak of the bloodiest war in American history.

Fort Moultrie, located on Sullivan's Island across from Charleston, had long been the primary post for U.S. troops maintaining and garrisoning the forts that guarded the South Carolina harbor. Soldiers from William Tecumseh Sherman to Edgar Allen Poe had been stationed there and during the 1830s it had served as the prison for the famed Seminole warrior Osceola. His grave, in fact, can still be seen just outside the walls of the old brick fort.

1860 Sketch of Evacuation of Fort Moultrie

When South Carolina became the first Southern state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860, Fort Moultrie was held by a small garrison of men from two companies of the First U.S. Artillery. A report of the time listed their number as no more than 65 in all. They were commanded by Major Robert Anderson, a Kentucky-born graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who had served in the U.S. Army for more than 30 years and been severely wounded at the Battle of Molino del Rey during the Mexican War.

The author of a textbook on field artillery tactics, Anderson knew he could not hope to hold Fort Moultrie against any determined assault by South Carolina militia. The fort had been designed to sweep the channel of the harbor and its land defenses were minimal. If he hoped to maintain the U.S. presence in Charleston Harbor, his one option was to move his men across the channel to Fort Sumter.

Fort Sumter in distance from Fort Moultrie

Still incomplete in 1860, Fort Sumter was located on a small man-made island in the harbor and could be much more easily defended since any attacking force would have to approach by boat under the guns of the fort. Although the conditions there were much less comfortable than at Fort Moultrie, Anderson made the decision to move his men over.

Led by Anderson in person, the bulk of his force went over to Fort Sumter in boats on the night of December 26, 1860. Left behind were twelve men and a surgeon, commanded by Captain J.G. Foster of the engineers, who were ordered to spike the heavy guns in Fort Moultrie and destroy their carriages. This work was accomplished during the night of the 26th and the fort's flagstaff was also cut down.

To learn more about Fort Moultrie, now a national park area and open to the public daily, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/SCMoultrie1.

Merry Christmas!!

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

      The Holy Bible (Luke, Chapter 2)

The "Real" Rooster Cogburn?! - Fort Smith, Arkansas

The Real Rooster Cogburn?

With the coming release of the Hollywood remake of the classic movie "True Grit," one of the most beloved Western figures of all time is seeing a bit of a rebirth as well - Rooster Cogburn.

John Wayne won the only Academy Award of his career for playing the rough and tumble Deputy U.S. Marshal and now Jeff Bridges will take his turn at bringing the character from the pages of the 1968 novel "True Grit" by Arkansas writer Charles Portis. For the uninitiated, the book (and movies) tell the story of a young girl's quest to bring the man who murdered her father to justice in the court of Fort Smith's famed "Hanging Judge," Isaac C. Parker. She goes to Fort Smith, on the western border of Arkansas, from nearby Yell County and hires a man with "grit" - Deputy U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. The two set out into the Indian Nations of what is now Oklahoma in search of the murderer.

Although Portis is a very reclusive man, he has been quoted in the past as saying that the character of Rooster Cogburn was actually created as a compilation of the men who served as Deputy Marshals for the U.S. Court for the Western District of Arkansas. And indeed, some of the events in the story he told were loose adaptations of real events involving several of these famed western lawmen.

There is strong circumstantial evidence - and perhaps a bit more than that - however, that the actual character of Rooster Cogburn was based on a real-life one-eyed Deputy U.S. Marshal from Fort Smith. Descendants of Cal Whitson, a man who served as a frontier lawman during the late 1800s, believe that their ancestor was the "real" Rooster Cogburn.

Whitson, like Cogburn, was a former Civil War soldier who served as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Fort Smith during the days of the "Hanging Judge." He was the only such lawman in the history of Parker's court known to have lost an eye (his left, which he covered by keeping the brim of his hat intentionally pulled down on that side). And there is more.


To learn the story of Cal Whitson, the "real" Rooster Cogburn, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/roostercogburn.

Coldwater Covered Bridge - Oxford, Alabama

The oldest covered bridge in Alabama stands less than five minutes off Interstate 20 between Birmingham and Atlanta.

Coldwater Covered Bridge is part of one of the most beautiful city parks in the world, Oxford Lake Park in Oxford, Alabama. Built no later than 1850, and possibly even earlier, the 63' long bridge was built by a former slave to span Coldwater Creek, a rushing mountain stream that flows just south of Oxford and Anniston.

Damaged by fire in 1920, the bridge was repaired and continued to carry traffic over Coldwater Creek until it was eventually replaced by a modern concrete bridge. Allowed to fall into disrepair, it was saved from deterioration in 1990 and relocated about 8 miles to Oxford Lake Park. Beautifully restored, it can now be visited any day for free and even carries a popular walking path across the creek flowing out from the lake.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, Coldwater Covered Bridge is a landmark of Southern history. Read more and see additional photos by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/coldwater.

"A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida" - Now in Print!

I'm pleased to announce that my new short novel - A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida - is now available.

Set in the most unique Southern small town of them all, the book tells the story of an old man who finds himself alone and distressed on a Christmas Eve night. Isolated from his community and all but forgotten, he experiences redemption through the words of a mysterious man he sees lurking around his barn.

This is my first venture into nonfiction writing, so I hope you enjoy it. The book includes snippets of true history and is set in the days of the Great Depression. I began writing it as a script for a church drama, but it slowly grew into a small book.

A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida can be ordered through Amazon.com by clicking the ad in this posting. All of my other books are nonfiction and can be purchased there as well. You can also learn about our unique little community of Two Egg by visiting http://www.twoeggfla.com/.

Best,
Dale Cox