USCT Sculpture at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC

From Feb. 23, WECT, Wilmington NC  

A new exhibit at the Cameron Art Museum  honors  the United States Colored Troops.

The Battle of Forks Road led to the fall of Wilmington in February 1865.  The battle was fought on the grounds of the museum. and honors 1,600 black troops who fought there.

The sculpture is called "Boundless" and features  11 black men connected with the battle and was created by sculptor Stephen Hayes.

He found descendants of the troops to create the sculpture.

You can never have too many statues and markers about history in my humble opinion.

--Old B-Runner

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

Raleigh Cannons Now at Fort Fisher

 From the June 29, 2020, Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "Confederate cannons removed from Raleigh now at Fort Fisher" by Hunter Ingram.

These were removed from the North Carolina State Capitol grounds by orders of Governor Roy Cooper after they were vandalized (hate crime), earlier in June.  The 1895 monument to Confederate military was built in 1895.

The two cannons are now at Fort Fisher and are on display by the fort's mounds where they will remain.  (See picture)

Fort Fisher is ramping up for a new $23 million visitors center and grounds which will greatly provide opportunity to display these cannons.

We can always use more cannons.  Definitely could have used more cannons on January 15, 1865.

Raleigh's Loss Is Fort Fisher's Gain.  --Old B-Runner

Raphael Semmes Statue in Mobile-- Part 3: City Fined for Unlawful Removal of It

The statue was commissioned in the late 1890s by the Ann T. Hunter Chapter Auxiliary of the Raphael Semmes  Camp 11 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).  According to the city, among the funds raised by the SCV for the erection of the monument were donations of dimes by the children of the city.

Also, according to  a 1991 Mobile Bay Monthly article, the SCV camp also oversaw fundraising for  renovation projects to it.

Mobile City Councilwoman Bess Rich said for the statue to return for public display in the city "was not achievable" but she wanted them to have a say in what happens to it next.

The mayor said the statue was removed to prevent it from being destroyed in a future demonstration, in other words, it was removed for "public safety."

The city was fined $25,000 by the state as the removal went against the Confederate Monument Protection Law.  The city has thirty days now to pay the fine.

The pedestal on which the statue stood was damaged by "vandalism" during a June 1st demonstration in Mobile.  Three days later, in the deep of the night, the statue was removed by the mayor's order.

--Old B-R'er

Raphael Semmes Statue in Mobile-- Part 2: Who Owns It?

Because of this article, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson is sure the city owns the statue.    But, in the aftermath of the June 4th removal of the eight foot tall statue from Royal and Government streets where it has stood for almost 120 years, people claiming to be descendants of the original ownership group have come forward and want it returned to them.

Camp 11 Sons of Confederate Veterans says they are the rightful owners.  A meeting will be held June 23 between the Camp and the city.

The city claims it owns the statue, but are willing to turn it over to the camp if the statue is no longer needed.  They also need to know the current value of the statue.

According to the newspapers in 1900, the statue cost $6,000 which means it would be worth  an estimated $180,000 in 2020.

--Old B-Runner

Raphael Semmes Statue in Mobile-- Part 1: Dedicated in June 1900

From June 17, 2020, AL.com  "Mobile mayor, Confederate descendants battle over monument's fate" by John Sharp.

Electra Semmes Colston unveiled the statue of her late father during a 5 p.m. ceremony 120 years ago this June 27 and then the Excelsior band launched into the song "Dixie" and an artillery squad stationed at the foot of Government Street began firing an admiral's salute.

Moments later, then-Mayor J.C. Bush stepped onto the platform and accepted the statue of Confederate Navy Admiral Raphael Semmes on behalf of the city.

This was on the front page of the Mobile Daily Register

That acceptance of the statue has played out in recent days as ownership of that statue has come into question.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Sumter vs. U.S. Navy Ironclads in My Saw the Elephant Blog

I have been writing about the Confederate Defenders of Charleston monument in Charleston, South Carolina in my Saw the Elephant: Civil war blog.  This monument celebrates the lives of those valiant defenders of Fort Sumter in the epic battles with the Union navy's ironclads during 1863-1864.

This was a fort vs. Navy battle so would nicely tie in with this blog.

Just click on the Saw the Elephant site in the My Blog List to the right of this to get to that information.

--Old B-Runner

Bruce Anderson, 142nd New York, Black Medal of Honor Recipient at Fort Fisher-- Part 1

Yesterday in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog, I was listing Blacks who were recipients of the Medal of Honor in the Civil War.  This grew out of the Richmond (Virginia) City Council looking into putting up a statue honoring 14 black Medal of Honor winners at the Battle of New Market Heights during the Petersburg Campaign.  I started this story in my Civil War II blog.

Richmond plans to put this monument up on that city's Monument Avenue which has statues of Confederates that they are trying to remove.

There is a monument in Wilmington, Delaware, honoring black Medal of Honor recipients and I was listing their names for the Army.  All of them, except Bruce Anderson,  were in United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments.

It is not often that you find a black soldier serving with a white regiment such as the 142nd New  York Infantry.

And, of course, my main interest in the Civil War is anything dealing with Fort Fisher.

I will find out more information about him.

--Old B-Runner

"Beat the Heat" At Fort Fisher: Colonial Resistance to the Stamp Act and Silent Sentinels

The next two Saturdays, the annual "Beat the Heat" lecture will continue June 30 and July 7 at 2 p.m. at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach, North Carolina.

JUNE 30:

THE ROOTS OF COLONIAL RESISTANCE TO THE STAMP ACT AND THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION

Parliament's Stamp Act of 1765 focused colonial resistance to Great Britain's attempts to impose new taxes on the colonies without the consent of colonial legislatures.

The rise of colonial resistance was also based on fiscal policy leading to an attempt to arrest British officials in Brunswick Town (across the Cape Fear River a little north of Fort Fisher) and placed Royal Governor Tryon under a short house arrest.

The lecture will be given by Fort Fisher interpreter, Rick Morrison, a retired U.S. Navy captain.


JULY 7:

"THE SILENT SENTINELS"

We pass them all the time.  They dot North Carolina's roads, parks and cemeteries.  John Winecoff, of the North Carolina Military History Society, has spent years documenting all the military memorials in the state's 100 counties.

They are silent witnesses to the sacrifices of our men and women in over 243 years of our country's history.

And, the Lectures Take Place in Air-Conditioned Comfort, Just the Thing for These Hot Summer Days.  --Old B-Runner

Push for Robert Smalls Statue in South Carolina

There is a push in South Carolina to erect a statue to Robert Smalls, the black man who seized the Confederate transport Planter in Charleston Harbor during the Civil War, sailed it out and surrendered to the Union Navy blockading the port.  he later commanded the fort.

This was quite a feat of heroism and two state senators, Greg Gregory and Darrell Jackson want it to be erected on the grounds of the state house in Columbia.

I would agree that it is a fitting statue to someone who showed such courage.

However, there are Confederate statues on the grounds and they should be allowed to remain.

--Old B-Runner

New Confederate Marker Unveiled At Fort Fisher

From the May 2, 2017 91.3 WHQR News by Vince Winkel.

Confederate  Memorial Day in a state holiday in North Carolina and observed on May 10.  Six other Southern states also observe it.  A new interpretive marker was dedicated by the Confederate Monument on Battle Acre.

During the Saturday ceremony the Christian hymn "How Firm a Foundation" was sung.  This was Robert E. Lee's favorite hymn and sung at his funeral.

Dozens off descendants of Confederate soldiers were at Battle Acre for the ceremony.

The Confederate monument was built by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and dedicated June 2, 1932.

Sadly, however, in these days of all this Confederate statue desecration, how long will it be before one of those folks will have their feelings offended and demand it be taken down?

--Old B-Runner