The January meeting was a tremendous one with our speaker, Alisa Dupuy. She reflected on women and their actions during the American Civil War. She went back in time and explained what women did and the way they dressed. Her character as a mother, noted that she had three children, two sons and a daughter. One son, named Edward, was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg; he was a union cavalry man. Ms. Dupuy noted that there were hundreds of women disguised as male soldiers who fought in the Civil War and their “true” identities were not discovered while on active duty. Other women who were actively engaged in the war were nurses such as Clara Barton. Some women were spies and our speaker reflected on their remarkable deeds as well. Then there was Harriet Tubman, a leader of the Underground Railroad; her deeds as a leader are still renown. Our speaker’s powerful speech recognized those strong women of the Civil War era.
Our next speaker is Scott Mingus, an author and history buff from nearby York, Pa. He brings to our round table “The 2nd Battle of Winchester”, a Confederate victory that opened the door to Gettysburg. That sounds like an interesting topic, a sort of prelude to the Battle of Gettysburg. So come with me on February 4th and enjoy this talk. See you on the 4th.
How did the U.S. get so many confederate monuments? While every statue in every town has a different origin. There are roughly 700 Confederate monuments in the United States. These monuments are spread over 31 states plus the District of Columbia. Far exceeding the 11 Confederate states that did not go up immediately after the war in 1865. During that time, commemorative markers tend to memorialize the dead. The vast Majority of them were built between 1890’s and the 1950’s, which was the era of Jim Crow segregation. These monuments tended to glorify leaders of the Confederacy. That’s why they put them in front of state buildings. Early monuments were placed in cemeteries. The value of these monuments stood for glorification of the cause of the Civil War. The Civil Rights movement spread the Confederate symbol in other ways. Some southern states placed the Confederate flag in their state flag. Two of Stonewall Jackson’s great-great grandsons sent the Richmond Mayor a message regarding the Jackson statue there. They requested the removal of his statue as well as all Confederate statues. So, you should draw your own conclusions regarding these monuments. The debate goes on.
Barry