Blog Moved To Website

Hello Readers of the First White House Blog,
Our blog has moved to our web page, www.firstwhitehouse.org. There you will find several years worth of blogs archived. We hope you will browse through them and look at all our cool new stuff as well.
We are very proud of our website. We will be blogging there from time to time and posting pictures and articles about what is going on down at the FWH.


Please come visit us in person, but if not convenient, then please visit our website and Facebook page too!!!
All the best,
Anne and the gang at the First White House of the Confederacy

News from First White House of Confederacy

Hello Bloggers,

Our big news is that we have a new Regent for the First White House of the Confederacy here in Montgomery Alabama, across from the Alabama State Capitol. Her name is Seibels Marshall.

 Seibels was installed as the seventh Regent of the White House Association of Alabama on October 28, 2015, at our annual fall meeting,  and she and her new Board are doing a splendid job for us.

Last week we celebrated our annual Robert E. Lee Birthday party at the First White House. Commander Bill Rambo, Director of the Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury AL was our guest speaker. He told us in detail about the different horses owned by Robert E. Lee.

Being an avid horseman himself, Mr. Rambo was able to share what color the horses were, sorrel, roam, etc. and it was a unique presentation. Of course we all remember Traveler, but not so much the other horses Lee acquired during the war and before. Thanks to him for sharing with us.

Birthday cake was served and everyone had an enjoyable time. We appreciate so much the media coverage we received on channel 12 and channel 8 news.

Update On First White House of Confederacy

We are having our usual busy summer at the First White House. We have had lots of visitors including two groups of International Students from Maxwell Air Force Base and people from many different States as well as right here in Montgomery.

We are making progress on the repairs upstairs. We have finished work in three upstairs bedrooms, the nursery, and the Relic Room. Next week we will move furniture back into Mrs. Davis's New York Bedroom and begin repairing the ceiling in the upstairs hall and do more painting there. And after that we will begin painting downstairs.

The outside of the House has been washed down and the outside driveway, sidewalk, brick wall and fence have all been pressure washed. The City has repainted the yellow curb markers. Everything just looks beautiful. The grass and plantings look great too. In short, the House looks loved and cared for.

It is so important for us to put our best foot forward at all times, wanting our tourists to have an enjoyable experience and for them to feel the ambience of this historical significance and importance of our Museum.

Please come and visit us if you have not been in a long time. We are eager to welcome you!

Fundraiser Tonight For First White House

The bi-annual fundraiser reception for the artifacts and relics in the First White House of the Confederacy will be tonight at the Alabama State Archives from 5:30 - 7:30. We are expecting 100 people and refreshments will be served.


Our speaker is S. Waite Rawls, III, Co-CEO of the American Civil War Museum which includes the Museum of the Confederacy and the Second White House. Waite is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and received his MBA and JD from the University of Virginia.


He joined the Franklin Civil War roundtable at age 9, an extraordinary feat as their age limit at the time was 18! I will tell you the story some time of how that came about...Waite is personable and will be speaking about the Second White House, which should be of great interest to our guests tonight.


We hope to raise much needed funds for the First White House as there is always much to do to keep our Museum House and its contents in mint condition. We hope if you are reading this, that you will plan a trip to Montgomery soon to visit the First White House. You will be warmly welcomed.


And of course, if you are in the vicinity, please join us tonight for what promises to be a delightful evening, weather wise and with great conviviality.

Regents of the White House Association of Alabama

There have been six Regents of the White House Association since  its inception in 1900, not counting Mrs. Jefferson Davis who was Queen Regent and remains so in perpetuity. Mrs. Davis's long-time family friend, Mrs. Jesse Drew Beale (Carrie Phelan Beale) was our first Regent. She served from 1900 to 1906, followed by Mrs. Isaac Ross from 1906 to 1919 and  Mrs.. Chappell Cory from 1919 to 1951. 


Mrs.. Fleming Rowell served as Regent from 1951 to 1980, and Mrs. John H. Napier, III was Regent from 1980 to 2009.  She now holds the title of Honorary Regent for Life. Anne Tidmore is the current Regent, having served from 2009 until the current time.


 All five of the past Regents have pictures hanging on the wall to the left as you enter the front hall. In addition Mrs. Cory's portrait hangs in the front hall on the right as you come in, and Mrs. Beale's hangs upstairs in the New York bedroom


Come and see us and enjoy the ambience of this very old historic house.

Upcoming Fundraiser For The First White House

The White House Association of Alabama is hosting a Reception on May 7, from 5:30 - 7:30 at the Alabama Department of Archives, with the proceeds to benefit the artifacts and collection in the First White House.


Our guest speaker will be S. Waite Rawls, III, Director of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. He will be speaking on the Second White House - Then and Now.


I know it will be a wonderful evening and we hope to have a large and enthusiastic crowd to enjoy the event and to hear Waite. There is no set admission price, but guests are encouraged to make a donation to the First White House of the Confederacy.


As a friend of mine once said: "If you come, bring; if you can't come, send"!!!

Arkansas Proposes Ending R.E. Lee Birthday

In the Montgomery Advertiser, Thursday, January 22, 2015, I read an article by Norman Merchant of the Associated Press saying that two Arkansas legislators had introduced a bill ending the holiday commemorating the birth of Robert E. Lee.

According to the article, Arkansas has recognized Lee's birthday since the 1940s and State lawmakers voted to recognize Martin Luther King's birthday in 1983. Two years later the State of Arkansas combined the celebration of King and Lee.

Norman Merchant reports that the Arkansas Governor, Asa Hutchinson had not decided whether to support the proposal, as of this past Wednesday

Alabama and Mississippi are the other two states to jointly celebrate King and Lee's birthdays on the third Monday in January. As of now, no bills have been filed in either of these two states to change the holiday.

In Virginia, Robert E. Lee's native State,  there is a separate holiday for Robert E. Lee. The Arkansas legislator does not envision doing that in Arkansas. As my Mother would say, I supposed he proposes to "let the cat die" on that one. Isn't it a shame that "political correctness" has become a phobia.

Robert E. Lee Birthday Party Big Success

Hello readers, I am happy to report that the annual Robert E. Lee birthday celebration at the First White House of the Confederacy, held Monday, January 19, 2015, was a great success! We had a fine crowd, including lots of children, and everyone had a good time.


 The Honorable Mark Anderson, our speaker, made an important talk, emphasizing Lee's  great challenge to his soldiers, with these words: "You cannot barter manhood for peace, nor the right of self-government for life or property...Let us then oppose constancy to adversity, fortitude to suffering, and courage to danger, with the firm assurance that He who gave freedom to our fathers will bless the efforts of their children to preserve it."


 The Judge ended his remarks by saying: "...as we remember and honor Robert E. Lee, the great Virginian, the great Southerner, the great American, the great man, let our response be that of Isaiah (Old Testament prophet) who said 'Here I am. Send me'."

Celebrating Robert E. Lee's 208th Birthday at Confederate First White House

Robert E. Lee's birthday is commemorated annually at the historic First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery. Monday, January 19 is the date and folks from across the city and environs will gather at 11:00 that morning.




Our speaker will be the Honorable W. Mark Anderson, III., well-known speaker, historian, and friend of the First White House. His remarks are always thoughtful and insightful.


Robert E. Lee served in the U.S. Army for 32 years. When War came he chose to resign his commission and fight on the side of the Confederacy and his beloved State of Virginia.  He became the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the War, winning many battles against much larger Union armies.  By 1865, despite inflicting heavy causalities on the North, but unable to turn the tide, Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.


After the war, Lee became President of Washington College, later named Washington and Lee University. He and his wife and all seven children are buried in the crypt of the Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.


It is always an honor and a privilege to remember General Lee as we do each year.


 

Endangered Civil War Battlefields And Other Wars To Be Saved

Congress enacted landmark Legislation this week to preserve America's endangered battlefields, expanding the existing program to provide grants for the acquisition of land at Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields. The legislation reauthorizes the Civil War Battlefield Preservation program, a matching grants program that encourages private sector investment in historic battlefield protection to now include these additional battlefields.

Since the program was first funded by Congress in 1999, it has been used to preserve more that 23,000 acres of battlefield land in 17 states. Some of the most famous have been saved, including Antietam, MD., Chancellorsville and Manassas, VA; Chattanooga and Franklin TN; Gettysburg PA; Perryville KY and Vicksburg MS.

The Civil War Trust is the premier nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of America's hallowed battlegrounds. To date the Trust has preserved more than 40,000 acres of battlefield lands in 20 states. Learn more at www.civilwar.org

John Basil Turchin, Infamous Union Officer During WBTS

A friend shared information about John Turchin after my recent (11/10/14) blog about Union General William T. Sherman. I had never heard of Turchin, but apparently he was the "author" of the "Sherman Plan". Here is what he told me.

Turchin  was born Ivan Vasilovitch Turchininoff in Russia. He and his wife, also Russian, migrated to America and Americanized their names. He had served in the military in Russia and when the War Between the States began, he was commissioned Colonel of the 19th Illinois.

Turchin was placed in command of a brigade by Federal General Don Carlos Buell, and with these men Turchin captured Huntsville and Athens, Alabama. Holding to the Imperial Russian theory that "to the victor belong the spoils", he and his troops became especially notorious for their disregard of the persons and property of enemy civilians.

The story goes that while capturing Athens one of Turchin's regiments was shot up by local guerrillas, and Turchin determined to punish the town. Everything possible was stolen or destroyed and the women were brutally treated. For this and also for allowing his wife to accompany him (a big no-no) General Buell relieved him of command, court-marshaled him and recommended dismissal .

Before that could happen, his wife rushed to Washington and persuaded President Lincoln not only to pardon him, but to promote him to brigadier-general. Turchin's legacy to the nation is significant because his theories on war helped develop a mentality among Union officers and officials in Washington that targeting certain civilians was a necessary wartime measure. Turchin's punitive approach is seen, as I mentioned, in Sherman's "March to the Sea".

It was perhaps ironic that Turchin, in later years, suffered severe dementia, and died penniless in an  insane asylum in Anna, Illinois at the age of 79. He is buried next to his wife. You may want to read more about this Machiavellian man who had such influence on the outcome of the War and the way the post-War South was treated.  

Recap 1864 Events of War Between the States

As this year draws to a close I want to remind us of some of the events of 1864. One of the biggest might have been March 9th when Lincoln appointed Union General Ulysses S. Grant to command all the armies of the United States, and appointed General William T.Sherman to succeed Grant as commander in the west.

A massive campaign in Virginia began in May when Grant began advancing toward Richmond against Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Granit had an army of 120,000 and Lee's forces were down to 64,000.

In the west, Sherman began advancing toward Atlanta with 100,000 men to fight Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee with 60,000.

In June the battle at Cold Harbor in Virginia resulted in 7,000 Union casualties. Also in June the Union forces missed a chance to capture Petersburg, but began a nine month siege of that city.

In July Sherman battled the Confederates, now under General John B. Hood, who replaced Johnston. Atlanta was captured in September.

In October a Union victory by Cavalry General Philip H. Sheridan was won over Jubal Early and his Southern troops in the Shenandoah Valley. Oh, if only we still had the great and good Stonewall Jackson.

In November Sherman began his March to the Sea which we  discussed in our November 10 blog, and in December, Hood's Confederate Army of the Tennessee, now down to 23,000 was crushed at Nashville by Union General George H. Thomas and his 55,000 troops. I talked about the Battle of Franklin in my December 8 blog, and how that contributed greatly to the disaster at Nashville.

By December 21, 1864 Sherman had reached Savannah, telegraphing President Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. After four years of fighting, 1865 and the eventual downfall of the Confederacy loom ahead.  

The Zouaves in the War Between the States

The Zouave regiments of both North and South during the War Between the States are depicted in many paintings and pictures. The name and  uniforms were  North African-inspired. There were about 70 volunteer Zouave regiments in the Union army and about 25 in the Confederate army during the war.


I read this in the American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War, Volume I: "One company of exotic Zouaves, patterned after the famous French fighting forces, thrilled the public with elaborate drills, but when these warriors went into battle they learned the hard way that their bizarre uniforms were not suited to combat".


The Zouave uniforms were sometimes quite elaborate. Some wore a fez with colored tassel, and turban, short fitting jacket, wide baggy red pantaloons and white leggings. The jackets were cooler than the usual wool ones worn by most of the armies.


Winslow Homer did an 1864 oil painting of two 5th New York Zouaves titled The Brierwood Pipe,  and of course Mathew Brady took photos of them!

Battle of Franklin, Tenn, 150 years ago November 30

I haven't seen anything in the Montgomery Advertiser about it, but the 150th commemoration of the Battle of Franklin, TN was held November 30, 2014. Did any of our readers go?

It reads as if the battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864, was doomed from the start. Confederate Lt. General John B. Hood, after failing to destroy the Federals near Spring Hill on the 29th,  led a frontal assault against the Federals the next day, but was driven back with heavy losses. There were over 6000 Confederate casualties, including six Generals dead, and four others wounded. To put it bluntly, the attack was a total disaster.

Why was Hood the one in charge? Had it just come down to that? I wonder? The upshot was this: The Army of Tennessee was all but destroyed after Franklin, but rather than retreat, Hood felt he had no choice except to advance against  the Union Army at Nashville. That also ended very badly as one might guess; the Army of Tennessee never fought again, and Hood's career was ruined.

My heart goes out to the brave men that fought so valiantly with so little to show for it. I really want to read more about this particular battle and about Hood, so I can understand what happened and why.

Things to Ponder about Sherman and His March

In the Fall, 2014 issue of Hallowed Ground, the Civil War Trust magazine is an article titled Scorched Earth, Sherman's March to the Sea, by John F. Marszalek. I think we could safely say Sherman and Grant were the two men most hated by the South during and after "the War", but here is something to think about.

Marszalek says " Major General William Tecumseh Sherman carved a swath of destruction through Georgia, then offered generous surrender terms." Did he? I didn't know that. The author goes on, "His vision of hard war brought the Confederacy to its knees, but forestalled thousands of battlefield and civilian deaths." Again, I did not know that.

Marszalek makes the case that Sherman was not a brute but "that he wanted to wage a war that did not result in countless deaths. He saw destruction of property as less onerous than casualties." Less than 3000 casualties resulted from the six weeks march through Georgia. The author concludes" Yet the March is remembered to this day as barbarism unleashed. there was glory to die in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, but only humiliation to have one's barn burned..."

Daughter of the Confederacy, Winnie Davis

Jefferson and Varina Davis's sixth child and second daughter was born in June of 1864. She was known most her life as the "Daughter of the Confederacy". The first published biography of her is titled :Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause" written by Heath Hardage Lee.

Heath Lee comes from a museum education, historic preservation and writing background. She is currently working as the Coordinator of the History Series for Salisbury House and Gardens, a 1920s house museum in Des Moines, Iowa. Her hometown is Richmond, Virginia. This is her first book, well documented and researched.

Montgomery author, now deceased, Judith Oliver wrote a novel about Winnie, "Devotion" which has sold well at our First White House of the Confederacy gift shop. Winnie never married and became an icon of the "Lost Cause" often accompanying her famous father in his later years when he spoke to Confederate Veterans and other Southern groups.

I am anxious to read this highly praised biography by Ms. Lee. The forward is written by J.E.B. Stuart IV. Winnie was born a month after the death of the beloved Confederate hero, General J.E.B. Stuart. 

2015 Fundraiser for First White House of Confederacy

 In 2015 Civil War buffs will celebrate the last year of the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States which was fought from 1861-1865. The First White House of the Confederacy commemorated 2011 with our first fundraiser and it is fitting that 2015 will commemorate the end of the War with our now bi-annual fundraiser scheduled for May 7th, 2015.

Our speaker in May will be Waite Rawls, President and CEO of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. This should be very timely as the Museum of the Confederacy currently has plans to combine forces with the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, the site of the historic Tredegar Iron Works.

This should be a boon for both institutions. Katherine Calos of the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote on November 13, 2013 quoting Edward L. Ayers, President of the University of Richmond. Ayers said: 'I think it is going to be a great thing for the city...a great thing for people who care about the Civil War and its going to be a great thing for people who care about the mission of both institutions..' 

 Calos wrote that Ayers continued: "You have the best collection of Confederate materials in the world and now you'll have it in a place where they can actually be displayed and esteemed probably more than ever".

The article in the Times-Dispatch goes on to say that more than 20 million dollars had been committed to the 30 million dollar project, so it is a plan well underway. Money talks loudly!

What will happen to the White House of the Confederacy (located next door to Museum)? According to the article it will continue to tell the story of Jefferson Davis and his family during the War, but I wonder how many people will come to visit once the Museum moves. I suppose only time and circumstances will tell.  

First White House Quilt Visits Quilts in Birmingham

September 10, 2014,  I was privileged to visit the Birmingham Museum of Art with Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff, Montgomery author and quilt expert, and Ryan Blocker, Textile Curator at the Alabama Department of Archives. We were guests of Graham Boettcher, Ph.D., the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, and two of his colleagues.

 

We took our baby quilt and they brought out their two quilts, one a gunboat quilt and one a baby quilt.. Our gunboat quilt is in a traveling exhibit as longtime readers of this blog know, but it was good to see three of the four quilts together and notice their similarities.

It was also fascinating to think that after so many years, the three quilts were reunited for a brief time. I wrote an article for the Alabama Heritage Magazine,  Summer  2014 issue, on the conservation of our two quilts. It is titled "The Tale of Two Quilts: A Sesquicentennial Project".

I hope you will all make plans to visit the First White House of the Confederacy and see our  baby quilt as well as all the other treasures we have in our wonderful House Museum!

 

 

Jefferson Davis Book

I received notice that the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia is inviting nominations for an annual competition to honor historical research and writing on life in the Confederate States during the Civil War.


If anyone is interested one can go to the website www.moc.org. Should be of interest to some of you "wanna be" writers.

The Movie, 'Gone With the Wind" Turns 75 Years Old

I saw in the Montgomery Advertiser today, September 21, 2014 that the movie version of "Gone With the Wind" is celebrating its 75th Anniversary December 15th in Atlanta, Georgia. Bryan Alexander writes "For its 75th anniversary, the film will see screenings in more than 650 theatres nationwide on Sept. 28 and Oct 1..."




I have a DVD copy, do you? I will watch it to celebrate, but just for fun, I may head for the movie theatre nearby. There is nothing like the big screen.  As soon as I saw the caption in the paper today I automatically began humming the theme song. Bet you can't watch it without shedding a tear or two.


Of course the movie is based on the novel by the same name by Margaret Mitchell. I have blogged about GWTW many times as it is one of my favorites. The Advertiser article said it is the box office gold standard by which all other movies have not been able to top. It won 10 academy awards.