"Roundheads and Ramblings"
daily events
|
Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2012 3:13 PM
In recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, "Civil War-Era
Memories" features excerpts from The Memphis Daily Appeal of 150 years
ago.
May 7, 1862
Corinth. - Scouting parties report the enemy is digging
entrenchments, laying plank roads and building bridges over the swamps
and ditches as he advances. General Beauregard ...made a speech in which
he said he hoped soon to be in possession of some northern cities to
compensate for the loss of New Orleans.
May 8, 1862
WANTED. A GENTLEMAN wishes a SUBSTITUTE, with the privilege of going
into cavalry, infantry or artillery. Will pay a liberal price.
The Poor and the Erring. - Struck with the need there is for a place
that should prove an asylum for the wretched and a place of reform for
the erring, the good ladies of this city, in April, 1860, organized the
society of the "Home for the Homeless." Since then they have contributed
and expended a large amount of money, and performed a good deal of
downright hard work...
May 12, 1862
There is no longer any choice about taking Confederate money. In
compliance with orders from General Beauregard, Colonel Rosser,
commander of the post here, has ordered the provost marshal to arrest
anyone who refuses to accept Confederate bills in their ordinary
business transactions and all banks and corporations must accept the
currency.
May 13, 1862
The Gunboat Fight at Fort Pillow. - We fought the enemy with four of
our lightest boats, one hour and thirty minutes. ...our sharpshooters
literally mowed them down. We fought side by side with the enemy, and
not one shot passed through our cotton breastworks. But although our
upper works are riddled, we are all ready to butt again. We will be able
to hold the river.
W. C. C.
Street railroads - What a blessing it would be to have street
railroads in the city at this moment, that we might ride along in
comfortable cars ...protected from the clouds of dust that annoy the
weary plodder on foot on soil covered sidewalks.
Compiled by Rosemary Nelms and Jan Smith, The Commercial Appeal News Library
|
|
|
Posted on Monday, May 07, 2012 2:58 PM
In recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, "Civil War-Era
Memories" features excerpts from The Memphis Daily Appeal of 150 years
ago.
May 1, 1862 BY TELEGRAPH / Corinth - Forrest's cavalry met the enemy just between
Monterey and Purdy roads. After a conflict in the commencement of which
our cavalry had been partially surprised, losing a few men . . . two
pieces of the Washington artillery came to their relief and drove the
enemy to the rear with loss to them.
May 4, 1862 Municipal Election - On the 26th of June, seven weeks from Thursday
next, our regular annual city election takes place. Up to this time, not
a single person has announced himself as a candidate for the place of
Mayor, or for any other office.
The fall of New Orleans has virtually opened the navigation of the
Mississippi river to the enemy's gunboats, from its mouth to its source.
Forts Pillow and Wright can now serve only as temporary defenses to
delay and not altogether impede the approach of the enemy from above.
May 5, 1862 In Pants. -- Among the parties introduced in court yesterday to the
Recorder was Miss Lydia Angela, who, having become disgusted with
crinoline, and especially with the frightful outspreading, skyscraping,
flower-bed-containing fashionable bonnet, had put on a neat coat and
pants, a tidy white stand up collar and a felt hat, and was parading the
town unencumbered by flowing garments or head covering monstrosity. For
thus indulging her dislikes, and entering her practical protest against
the fashionable bonnet she repudiates, Lydia was compelled to pay six
dollars to the city treasury.
May 6, 1862 Federal Intelligence from Memphis -- There are 5000 bales of cotton,
7000 bbls. sugar and 20,000 bbls. molasses, now lying upon the levee, of
which the cotton will be burned, and the sugar and molasses rolled into
the river on the approach of the Federal forces. The citizens and
newspapers are opposed to burning the city, but soldiers and country
people favor it. |
|
|
Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 2:12 PM
For a good part of my childhood, I believed that May was my own private month, centered on my birthday and designed solely to shower me with delights. It didn't occur to me to consider how many people there were in the world, or to divide that number by the available 365 birthdays a year. I knew no one else born on May 5th or any other day of the month, and since there were no other major holidays to distract me, I saw no reason NOT to believe that May was mine. I was evidently part of a "Me" generation long before the term became fashionable.
My month started on May Day, which seemed just a warm-up exercise for the main event. We had three May Day rules in our house, and I tried my best to observe them all. First, my mother assured me that if I wanted to be beautiful, I needed to get up before sunrise on that day and wash my face in the dew on our front lawn. Willing to do anything it took for such a transformation, I faithfully set my alarm and tiptoed out in the cold, scrubbed hard at my little turned-up nose, and dashed inside for the closest mirror. Nothing ever changed, but the hope was always there. Next, if I wanted to bring on good luck, I had to make a paper May Basket, stuff it with some freshly-picked flowers, and hang it on someone's doorknob without getting caught. There were a number of elderly women on our street, and they always moved slowly enough to allow me time to ring the doorbell and scurry away. Sometimes, admittedly, the flowers were nothing more than a couple of scraggly dandelions, but the thought was there. Finally, May 1st was the first day I was allowed to go barefoot in the spring. More often than not, May 1st was cold, or wet, or both, but the anticipation was wonderful.
Then came "my day" itself. Birthdays seldom live up to their hype, and mine were not exceptions. I never found a pony in the back yard, and parties usually turned out to be huge flops. I remember one when I decided to forget ordinary cake and serve strawberry pie with a layer of cream cheese on the bottom, just like my mother served to her bridge club. My little friends took one look at the offering and went "Eeeewwww!" Not even my father's offer to take everyone out for ice cream cones could salvage that one. Still, it was my party and my day.
Eventually I learned that in other parts of the world, May celebrations occurred for reasons I had never heard of. May 5th is actually a nationally holiday in Mexico. It celebrates a classic "David and Goliath" story of a small Mexican militia that held off an invasion by the French Foreign Legion at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. May Day was, and still is, a major civic holiday in much of the rest of the world. It was originally planned to mark the date of the Haymarket Riot of 1886, which resulted in the adoption of the eight-hour work day for American laborers. As May 1st became known as International Workers Day, many socialist and anarchist groups used it as an excuse for demonstrations, and Communist governments retaliated with public parades of their military preparedness. In Oxford, England, university students still hold ceremonies at dawn, and until fairly recently, some foolhearty students defied university officials by diving into the River Cherwell from Magdalan Bridge. Dangerous practice, that! The river is only about three feet deep.
But such international goings-on made little impact on me. My childhood month of May ended as delightfully as it had begun. Even Decoration Day, as we called it back then, had its connection to my birthday, for it was on May 5, 1868, that General Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order declaring that Union and Confederate war dead would be honored on May 30th with flowers laid on their graves in Arlington National Cemetery. My mother's family had its own Civil War soldier to honor, and Decoration Day was the traditional day for the family to gather in North Sewickley Cemetery, right outside Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, for a day of clean-up and family reminiscing. Five sisters, carting picnic baskets, flower pots, rakes, hoes, grumbling husbands, and assorted children spent the day moving from gravestone to gravestone, not mourning but celebrating the good times they remembered.
There was the marker of the family matriarch, who brought her seven children from Ireland to the hills of Pennsylvania in 1795, traveling first in steerage, and then on foot. The stone bore only the single word, "Nancy," but it still stood firmly rooted on that hillside. There was Electra, who died in the flu epidemic of 1918, and little James, a victim of diphtheria at the age of two. By noon, the decorating crew had usually made its way to a circle of pine trees, where lunch was spread on tablecloths while someone told the story of Sgt. James McCaskey, who died in defense of his country in 1862. When I was old enough to read the headstone, I discovered that it said he had died in South Carolina. When pressed, the sisters admitted that he was not really buried there, but that the fake grave served his memory just as well. That made perfect sense to me at the time. It was part of the magic that made up "My May."
|
|
|
Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 8:40 AM
In recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, "Civil War-Era
Memories" features excerpts from The Memphis Daily Appeal of 150 years
ago.
April 23, 1862
COURT SQUARE. -- Our little emerald gem of a park in Court Square now
presents a most beautiful appearance, and is a very popular place of
resort.
April 24, 1862
The Free Market. -- This benevolent and altogether praiseworthy
institution, is dispensing valuable blessings to the families of
soldiers now absent in their country's service. It is a credit to the
city of Memphis. ...Persons in the country will confer a great benefit
by sending to the market, No. 10, Shelby street, supplies of vegetables
and produce.
April 25, 1862
The Federal Congress has passed the bill to abolish slavery in the
District of Columbia, and Lincoln, true to his abolition instincts, has
signed it. Consequently it is now law.
April 27, 1862
Correspondence of the New York Tribune. -- Fort Pillow, as is well
known, is the sole obstruction between the island (Island 10) and
Memphis, and spies who have lately come up the river, say there is no
fortification worthy of the name between Memphis and New Orleans.
April 29, 1862
BURN THE COTTON. We published in our last issue the order of General
Beauregard, urging upon the planters of the Mississippi valley the
necessity and duty of burning all cotton that is in danger of falling
into the hands of the enemy. We cordially unite with him in this
injunction, and believe that the tried loyalty and patriotism of our
people will be fully equal to the sacrifice.
Our Paper. The APPEAL will continue to punctually be issued in
Memphis so long as the city is in possession of the Confederate
authorities. Should it, however, be occupied by the enemy, ...we shall
discontinue its publication here and remove to some safe point in
Mississippi, where we can express our true political sentiments, and
still breathe the pure and untainted atmosphere of Southern freedom.
Compiled by Rosemary Nelms and Jan Smith, The Commercial Appeal News Library
|
|
|
Posted on Friday, April 06, 2012 2:17 PM
Thursday, April 5, 2012.
"Spring is here and so is Easter! The Easter Bunny is one funny dude,
hopping around hiding colored eggs for children to find and enjoy. His
philosophy on life is pretty awesome too. No matter your age or
attitude, the Easter Bunny has the solution to living a good life:
Here's a few lessons in life from the Easter Bunny:
- Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
- Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
- There's no such thing as too much candy.
- All work and no play can make you a basket case.
- A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.
- Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
- Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
- Some body parts should be floppy.
- Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.
- Good things come in small, sugar-coated packages.
- The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
- To show your true colors, you have to come out of your shell.
- The best things in life are still sweet and gooey!
May the joy of the season fill your heart ~ and may you never be a rotten egg!
God Bless You!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
|
|
|
