I have always been fascinated by the Civil War and, just as important, Civil War memory. I have written a song based on the conflict in Charlottesville, called "I Thought the Civil War Ended." It was recorded at the Nashville TN studio of Bob Angello. This is one of those songs that I occasionally like to have recorded with just voice and guitar. I figure if a song is good, it will be impressive in that minimal form. I hope you will consider my song good. Because it was recorded in Nashville, maybe I should say "I hope y'all will consider my song good." It was put online by the always-capable Gulsvig Productions of Starbuck MN. I invite you to listen with this link from YouTube. Thanks a lot. - B.W.
Robert E. Lee is a complicated figure from U.S. history. Should he be viewed primarily on the basis of the treason he committed, by leading a war against the Union? A statue of Lee was a catalyst for the conflict in Charlottesville. Local government had already approved of taking the statue down. After that, though, we got one of those predictable "lawsuits." Ah, lawyers. We can't live with them and we can't live without them.
How might Robert E. Lee be viewed more charitably? That's easy. He pleaded, once the war was over, for the U.S. to become one again. It was a common attitude of the generals post-war. The issue had been decided. If Lee had remained belligerent, it might have encouraged a new guerilla resistance to the Union - quite problematic. The odds were decent that a substantial guerilla resistance could arise. Heaven knows the emotions remained high. It seemed rather a miracle that this miserable conflict did not develop. The South was left in ruins anyway.
I'm not sure the South has ever completely recovered. The industrial North moved forward just fine. Here in Morris MN we're pretty far to the west. The Wadsworth Trail was getting established at the time the war was winding down. "Wadsworth" was the name of a Civil War general. "Fort Wadsworth" was later re-named "Fort Sisseton." I remember chatting with the late Ed Kvatum who recalled that as a young person, he saw the old fort just sitting there and crumbling, as restoration and historical awareness efforts hadn't yet sprung up. You can purchase a book about Fort Sisseton at the Stevens County museum.
Morris has a surprising degree of Civil War connections. Most notably this is with the Sam Smith statue at Summit Cemetery. I think the level of awareness of this statue needs to be propped up a little. We have new generations coming to town who probably get little if any orientation. You can listen to my song about the statue by clicking on this link. The song is called "Ballad of Sam Smith." Thanks again.
In West Morris we have the grand "Stanton House," a Victorian mansion on Park Avenue that was originally put up by Lewis Stanton, the son of Abe Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton. There are Civil War veterans buried at local cemeteries. I remember reading about an old-timer named Amos Pushor. These guys were old-timers by the turn of the century. Undoubtedly they all had interesting stories.
The Civil War was fought by human beings in the age before killing with industrial efficiency. It may have been the last such war. Samuel Smith was present for some of the best-known battles and campaigns in the Eastern Theater, including Gettysburg. He was assigned to the ambulance corps at Gettysburg. His local statue is a smaller version of the "Running Rifleman" statue at the Gettysburg battlefield. The Gettysburg statue memorializes the famous First Minnesota Regiment. The First Minnesota was called on to plug a hole in the Union line at the end of Day 2 of the Gettysburg battle. The casualty toll was horrible. But, can we consider the First Minnesota's heroics to have been essential to preserving the Union? A "yes" argument can be made.
Personally I have always felt the South never had the resources to "win." Maybe they could have embraced hopes of inflicting so much damage with Lee's pugnacious military ways, the Southern states could have simply gotten "concessions." But President Lincoln appeared not receptive to any of that.
The Civil War was probably the biggest tragedy in U.S. history. All these years later, we have learned due to Charlottesville that the conflict is not totally behind us.
"I Thought the Civil War ended." But it's not that simple, is it.
Click on the link below to hear my song about the First Minnesota Regiment, called "Take Those Colors."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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