Gridley's Mother, Ann Eliza Sholes Gridley-- Part 2

Ann Sholes and her husband Frank moved to Hillsdale, Michigan,  as newlyweds in 1845.  The Gridleys ran a  grocery store and had two sons and a daughter.  The youngest, little Helen, died at ten weeks of age.  Exactly what occurred to husband Frank is not known, but he was committed to the Michigan Insane Asylum, remaining apart from Ann until his death in 1887.

Her efforts to improve Oak Grove Cemetery through the Ladies  Cemetery Association  are well documented, as was her charity work as one of the founders of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Considered one of Hillsdale's most heroic figures, the name of Ann Gridley was chosen in 1911 as the name of the town's newly-organized Daughters of the American Revolution.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Anderson Prepares for Summer 2021-- Part 2: Was a Civil War Quarantine Fort

The Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson site  (Fort Anderson was built across the ruins of the Colonial town of Brunswick during the Civil War) will also will be debuting a few new exhibits to encourage locals and tourists to make the trek out to Brunswick County, including an inciteful 3-D model of what the ruins of St. Philips Church would have looked like before the American Revolution.

"We're going to have another new exhibit based on Fort Anderson highlighting it as a quarantine fort," Said Jim McKee.  "It is really the only thing that is completely born out of  COVID because  it allows us to tell how the fort's  primary purpose was as a quarantine station along the Cape Fear River.  So it is totally appropriate  for the time."

Blockade runners coming into Wilmington during the Civil War would have to stop at Fort Anderson to make sure they didn't also bring in diseases.

--Old B-R'er

Fort Sumter Has Sharp Decline in Attendance-- Part 3: Of History, Statues and Murders

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860 and was one of the founding members of the Confederacy.  The attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, was the first major engagement of the Civil War.  Many battles were fought in the Palmetto State and monuments and memorials are located in many towns and cities.

Notably, the Confederate Defenders statue at the Battery in downtown  Charleston that faces Fort Sumter was spray-painted and vandalized (hate crime)  during the protests this summer and has often been the focal point between BLMers and counter protesters.

Fort Sumter spokesperson Dawn Davis says it is impossible to know for certain  if the people are not visiting because of its ties to the Confederacy, but encourages people to come out and learn about the fort and engage with park rangers.

Fort Sumter has addressed the site's Confederate past before.  

Following the murders of the nine black parishioners at the Emmanuel AME Church  in 2015, only the current 50-star U.S. flag flies above the fort.

Additionally, the Park Service issued a directive removing Confederate flag items such as banners, belt buckles and other souvenirs from the gifts shops.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, December 17, 1861: Observing Sunday on Union Navy Ships in Western Waters

DECEMBER 17TH, 1861:  Flag Officer Foote, Commanding U.S. Naval Forces, Western Waters, issued a General Order regarding observance of Sunday on board ships of his flotilla:  "It is the wish ... that on Sunday the public worship of Almighty God may be observed ... and that respective commanders will either themselves, or cause other persons to pronounce prayers publically on Sunday ...."

Foote added:  Discipline to be permanent must be based on moral grounds, and officers must in themselves, show a good example in morals, order, and patriotism to secure those qualities in the men."

Since 1775, Navy regulations have required that religious services be held on board ships of the Navy in peace or war.

--Old B-Runner