Friday, November 30, 2012

Gift Shop at the First White House

We have an  awesome gift selection at the First White House of the Confederacy here in Montgomery. Our area is small but well stocked. We have a gold Christmas ornament of the First White House for $ 10.00 and lots of other trinkets and stocking stuffers.
 
We also have a nice array of books to sell. If you are in the area please stop by and see if there is some little something you would like to take home with you.
 
If you are out of town, we can mail whatever you want to purchase., key chains, magnets, booklets on the First White House, small flags of the Confederate States, shot glasses and other things of interest.
 
The proceeds go toward the upkeep of the relics in our wonderful Museum Home. President and Mrs. Davis would approve!!!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Comparing Dolley Madison and Varina Davis

I read an article about Dolley Madison, wife of the 4th President of the United States, James Monroe, and I was struck by the similarities between her and Varina Howell Davis, wife of  Jefferson Davis,  President of the Confederate States of America.
 
Dolley and Varina both experienced  tragedy in their lives. Dolley lost multiple family members to alcoholism, epidemics, accidents at sea and even one to murder. Varina lost four sons and one daughter, and lived through the War and the aftermath with the courage of her convictions.
 
They both married men 17 years older than themselves, men who were very intelligent but introspective. Likewise,  these women seemed polar opposites of their mates -  exuberant, gregarious and vivacious.
 
Both made excellent First Ladies, opening their "White Houses" to the best social and political minds of the day. Dolley's gatherings earned the sobriquet, "squeezes" because so many people would cram into the home of the President. Varina entertained grandly, both at the First White House in Montgomery and later in Richmond.  
 
They both faced danger courageously, Dolley, when the White House burned and she rescued many of the valuable papers, silverware and the portrait of George Washington; Varina, in the face of the   fall of the Confederacy and  subsequent imprisonment of her husband and aftermath, when they, like most in the post-war South, had gambled everything on the Confederacy and lost all. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Give Thanks

I am sure our Confederate Ancestors and others gave thanks every day that they were alive, and were not slaughtered in battle. Today (acutally tomorrow) we give special thanks as a nation, one nation under God. It made me think of one of my favorite praise songs, "Give Thanks". It goes like this:

Give Thanks 
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give thanks


Deep South Cookery - Can You Say Rebel Yell?

I came across a little paperback Cookbook among my deceased parents' treasure trove of memorabilia.  It is called Deep South Cookery and Potables, by Margueritte M. Wright, and published by - yes it was none other than - Rebel Yell Publishers !!! I thought I would see if it was still available, and I found one copy on AbeBooks.com. 
 
It begins "The recipes in these pages have one thing in common: they are all strictly Southern, just as the Bourbon that brings them to you - Rebel Yell."  The back cover says it all: "If you're a Southerner, this is your whiskey" (picture of bottle) and below: "Sold only below the Mason-Dixon Line". 
 
Since it was published 44 years ago  I guess its OK to share one of the recipes, giving full credit to Ms. Wright, so here goes, for the holidays: "Civil War Hot Toddy: Ingredients - 1 cube of sugar, 1 jigger Rebel Yell Bourbon, hot water, piece of cinnamon and twist of lemon peel. Directions - Dissolve sugar in a bit of hot water; add Rebel Yell Bourbon, then fill glass with hot water. Add stick of cinnamon and twist of lemon peel".  
 
Reminds me of this slogan: Sure I cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food!!!
 
 
 

Monday, November 19, 2012

A Little Story About The Old South

Everyone likes a good story, don't they? I heard one yesterday that could have only happened in our beloved Dixie.. It seems a Yankee had been visiting in rural Alabama and the hosts had really "put on the dawg" for him, as we like to say.

When he got home he wrote a nice thank you note and he mentioned that he especially liked the "hottuns". Mystified, they could not imagine what he was talking about, until the next mealtime when the biscuits were passed.

Sure enough, as  the bread was passed the hostess said, "here, have a hot one."  Mystery solved - the Yankee translated "hot one" into "hottun," which is exactly how it sounded. Only in the South folks!!!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Historic Marker At The Confederate Post Office

I heard Montgomery Alabama  is #3 in having the most historic markers of any city our size. And a new one is going to be unveiled on November 29th, 2012 at noon by the Montgomery Area Stamp Club. It is at the site of the Confederate Postmaster General's Office at the corner of Washington Avenue and Perry Street.
 
 The Post Office Department of the Confederate States of America was established on February 21, 1861 in Montgomery by the Provisional Confederate Government. John H. Reagan was appointed Postmaster General of the CSA.
 
In May 1861 Reagan stated he would officially assume control of the postal service of the Confederacy on June 1. The U.S. Postmaster General Montgomery Blair responded by ordering the cessation of U.S. mail service throughout the South on May 31.  Reagan did a good job but was hampered by all the problems of War, including blockades, lack of money, shortages of stamps, and interruptions in mail services.
 
The resumption of federal mail in the south took place gradually after the war came to an end but by November 1, 1866 3234 post offices out of 8,902 were returned to federal control in the south.
Reagan was arrested after the war but was pardoned and eventually became Federal chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads in the U.S. Congress.
 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Confederate Music, "Notes I Still Hear"

The Cradle of the Confederacy Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Montgomery Alabama,  has published a CD and songbook of Confederate Music. It is titled very appropriately, "Notes I Still Hear"and was written and published by the music book committee, Sue Jaworowski and Mae Manning. Lovely Leslie Kirk's photo is on the front of the CD.
 
The CD, is  by Phillip Davis and "Tiffy" MacIntosh, and has 20 songs from the period. The songbook includes the lyrics and music and  a description of each song. For example, the State song of Alabama titled "Alabama" was written by Julia Tutwiler, who  thought the people of Alabama needed inspiration after the War. She wrote this song for that purpose in 1868 or 1869 as a gift to the people of Alabama.
 
I learned it by heart as a little girl in school. The first stanza goes "Alabama, Alabama, we will aye be true to thee, From thy Southern shores where groweth By the sea thy orange tree. To the Northern vale where floweth Deep and blue thy Tennessee - Alabama, Alabama, we will aye be true to thee"! Our UDC chapter sings it along with Dixie, How Firm A Foundation and the Star S[angled Banner to begin each meeting.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Lets Look Around

I was trying to look at the First White House through the eyes of a tourist. One of the most beautiful rooms in the House is Mrs. Davis's bedroom. In it is a beautiful pine wardrobe, made by slaves and used by the Davises at Beauvoir (where he retired after the War, in Biloxi, Miss).

The remaining furniture is similar to that used by mrs. Davis at Brierfield Plantation, where they lived prior to the War, in Warren county, Miss.

The beautiful mahongany tester bed came from The Tavern in Worhtington, Mass. General Lafayette slept in it the night of June 13, 1825, on his way to the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument where he spoke. On the bed is a Cravat Crazy Quilt.  There is a mahogany desk with secret compatments. The secret compartments were necessary as banks were few and far between and people  needed a place to safely hide their valuables.

There is also a wig dresser in this room. so called because there were shelves to place the wigs.

At the foot of the bed is a slipper sofa, sometimes called a midwife sofa

On Veterans Day We Remember Our Brave Confederate Soldiers

On Veterans Day we honor all who have served our country, but  our thoughts quite naturally turn to our brave Confederate Soldiers, so many of whom gave their lives for the cause in which they believed. 90% of them, historians tell us, did not own slaves, so that was not why they were fighting. They fought for their beloved South land.
 
History is written by victors; thus, the history of the War has been painted with the slavery brush, but there was so much more to it than that, states rights, tariffs, and the fact that by virtue of the U.S. Constitution, states that no longer wanted to be in the union had the right to leave.
 
Alas, people believe "the lie", proving that if someone repeats something enough, others think it is fact. How unfortunate that our brave young men are no longer cherished and presented as heroes, but are often shunned and treated as villains, (and street names change). But some of us still remember, and in our hearts we are grateful to be descended from those who were willing to give all for what they believed was right.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Young Confederate Hero and Spy, David O. Dodd

 David O. Dodd is remembered in his home state of Arkansas as a seventeen year old teenager who chose to hang as a spy,  rather than betray his comrades. When a friend shared information about him, I was amazed, because like so many of our unsung  warriors, I had never heard of him.
 
In Little Rock, Arkansas though, he is known as a sort of a folk hero. An article by Jeannie Nuss of the Associated Press, says that he was detained after Union soldiers found encoded notes on him about their troop locations. Dodd was convicted of spying and sentenced to death, when he, according to legend, refused an offer to walk free in exchange for the name of the person who gave him the information.
 
Critics think he should not be honored because he was fighting a war to defend the institution of slavery. Others counter with the fact that to commemorate Dodd is not about honoring slavery, but about remembering the past.
 
I guess that discussion will go on until the Lord comes back again!!!