The “Rebel Yell,” popular at many sporting events has deep confederate roots. Originally the yell was Started by Confederate companies to intimidate Union soldier. According to Yankees, no one yelled like that unless they were going to kill someone. The yell soon gained popularity throughout the Confederate army. Though today, it’s only used at sporting
‘So fearful a noise’ — Rebel Yell Read More »
The Conch Rebellion: They Fought with Bread It was the 1980’s, and drug smuggling was a noisy issue. Runners would take delivery of the stuff off shore, then travel north to big cities. So the Federal Government came up with a brilliant plan: the Border Patrol placed a roadblock at the northern limits of
A Successful Southern Secession Read More »
Louisiana seceded from the Union on the 26th of January, 1861, becoming a sovereign nation. The Confederate States of America did not yet exist. Meanwhile this land considered itself an independent country, and was preparing for its defense. Soldiers like the one you see above were being rallied to the cause. One of the first
Confederate Louisiana Republic Read More »
After its birth the First National Flag of the Confederacy became known as the Stars and Bars. Now some may raise their eyebrows, believing that term applies to the Confederate Battle Flag. I don’t want to upset anyone, but the Battle Flag was known to soldiers as the Southern Cross. (I’ve written about its
Legends of the Stars and Bars Read More »
In 2016, the state flags that lined a busy tunnel connecting the U.S. Capitol to the House office buildings came down during a construction project. It was not routine redecorating. The change followed months of controversy over state flags with Confederate imagery. In place of the flags, the tunnel now displays each state’s quarter, so
Helen Keller quarter replaces Alabama flag as Congress removes Capitol banners over … Read More »
History moves in strange ways. The Confederate ironclad CSS Stonewall never fired a shot for the South, yet she crossed the Atlantic, stared down two Union warships, and ended her career half a world away as Japan’s first ironclad warship. Here is her remarkable story. Built in France for the Confederacy In 1863, Confederate agents
From Dixie to the Land of the Rising Sun Read More »
Zebulon Baird Vance is one of the most beloved figures in North Carolina history. Before the war, he was a strong Unionist who worked hard to keep his state in the Union. Then, in a single moment in April 1861, everything changed. A Mountain Man in Congress Vance was born in 1830 in Buncombe County,
Zeb Vance: from Unionist to Secessionist Read More »
Among the many in North Carolina who joined the Confederate forces during the Civil War was a Watauga County lawyer, George N. Folk who was a representative of the General Assembly. In 1861, he resigned his seat in Raleigh, and ultimately raised, a company for Confederate service, the Watauga Rangers. In 1862, Folk was appointed
George N. Folk and the raid at Fish Springs. Read More »
Rare film footage from the 1914 reunion of the United Confederate Veterans in Jacksonville, Florida, captures a remarkable moment. Among the gray-haired veterans, a former slave named Jeff Mabry is introduced to the camera. Mabry does not appear to be wearing a uniform, but he proudly wears at least one reunion ribbon, a sign that
“Yasser Boss”: Old Jeff Mabry Attends a Reunion Read More »
Originally the humble Richmond iron steam tug James Gray, the 250-ton ship Lady Davis had a distinguished if brief career in the American Civil War. After being commissioned in the Confederate Navy in 1861 it captured the AB Thmpson, a full-rigged ship of 980 tons and a crew of 23 out of Maine into Beaufort,
