Okay, it's no secret how much I love the Civil War era and everything about it. I just saw a video that had me crying in my coffee at 6 a.m. I'm usually tougher, but this one got me. It's so much how things were for our boys in blue and gray. It's called Josephine and I hope it touches others as it did me.
The War Between the States was a very sad war (not rare for a war) that built much of the military might of America. And that f-hole, arch top Gibson the guy was playing is worth about 10 grand. I have had the privilege of repairing one. Thank you for sharing this video.
You're very welcome, Thomas. And yes, extremely sad. Every day I work on my Gettysburg dead database and every day I'm humbled by what I read. There are so many poignant stories, and there's some kind of story for each soldier I find. So far there are more than 10k. It's heartbreaking work sometimes. That said, when I get all that I can possibly get from the rosters, records, descendant stories, etc. of these soldiers, I'm moving on to Antietam to start a new database. I don't ever want to stop giving these men, boys, and a few women, voices.
I hope you are trying to include as much from both sides as possible. Much effort has been spent by some groups to minimize the suffering and sacrifice by Southern patriots, particularly those "of color". For 150 years their efforts have been ignored and minimized, even denied. I am glad that the video you shared featured the pain of a Southern family. One of my all time favorite songs is Lorena. I used to perform it with a now-deceased guitarist named Howard Kelly , who looked a lot like John Hartford. The video I supplied the link to includes a photo from the War Between the States showing 3 Confederate soldiers around a campfire. Appropriately, one of them is obviously "colored"(I use the polite term from the time). The Southern forces (as they were in the Revolution and war of 1812) were integrated, a feat not duplicated by Federal forces until AFTER WWII. Keep writing on the forums. I have had my problems recently, but I keep trying. As I have said before, we may not agree on everything, but I welcome the debate. That is what it is all about. Lorena is one of the all-time favorites in the history of American music, having been one of the most popular songs in Ameria for a period of several decades.
Thomas! My life's work (well at least for many years now) has been documenting the lives of soldiers who died at Gettysburg. The color of the coat they wore doesn't even come into play. Can you name these groups? I've never once come across anyone who is a serious historian doing that. Oh, hotheads that want to fight the war over again, sure, but... nope, not real historians. Lorena's always been one of my favorites, too... that and Vacant Chair. I can't hear that one without blubbering. Yes, the video featured a southern family, but things like that would never even enter my mind. Soldiers who died were from both sides and I think of them as humans, not Yankees or Rebs. Should I be offended that you didn't know this about me? We don't agree on everything? You wound me! Really?! Uh... okay, of course we don't, but I'm not as keen for "debate" as you are. Basically because it never goes anywhere. No one ever changes their view and it just ends up causing bad feelings. I have learned generally to state my feelings (sometimes quite verbally) and then roll my eyes if the other person seems hell-bent on keeping it going. That's when I go into ignore mode. It ruffles feathers but it's fun to watch someone try to stir the pot while I'm putting water on the flame.
The Federal Government has refused to recognize the number of African Americans who fought for the South, and I have been in heated debates with some people on this forum. You have not been guilty of that. Keep up the work. The South still suffers from the exploitation that it suffered both before and after this horrendous war ( Gettysburg is only a small part of the tragedy), and the after-effects of "reconstruction" still linger. Recently we have seen the effect in several incidents scattered around our great nation, with "people of color" being the victims of brutality at the hands of people who should be protecting them. We need to remember how the divisions that exist can bring great grief to us. The more we can see the effects of hate and exploitation, the more likely we are to encourage love and brotherhood.
While doing some research on "colored" Confederate troops and the widespread denial of their service, I Googled the park service denial and came up with an interesting bit of information, check this out. I found that the denial by the National Park Service is a little broader than I thought. Not only do they deny that blacks fought for they South, they have trouble even admitting that they fought for the North, despite the much better documentation of that fact. I wonder if part of that stems from the fact that Federal law has long recognized Confederate veterans as U.S. veterans, and provides the same benefits for them as for all U.S. veterans (especially regarding graves.).
I wonder how you feel about the move to ban the Confederate battle flag on the graves of Confederate veterans buried at national cemeteries. Most of those people were not fighting to preserve slavery, and many (lies to the contrary) were African Americans. The (reconstituted) KKK routinely flies US flags. Should we also ban that flag (many people do view it as racist!!).
I like the song. Very touching. It's cool when people can actually take historical events, and wrap them around in music, and do it effectively like that. Thanks for the share.
You noticed the guitar too, huh? Yeah, I did too. Nice axe if you can get it. I just sold my baby, a 1962 Strat. Sniff.
I think this song could go for a number of the different wars. The video is obviously about the Civil War, but I like it. It is a very sad song, but it is very touching. Thank you for sharing it because I would have never found it, and it really did touch my spirit.
Tho' I'm miles away in the Far East I know something of this war. So sad that so many young people died. One good read is "Voices of the Civil War" which I bought from the now defunct (?) "Book of the Month Club". One of the stories was of a widow who sat on the top of a knoll overlooking a battle between the Greys and Blues, sipping her afternoon tea. I suppose one of the "good" thing was the old time wars were fought away from civilian areas. No doubt however civilised it is, war is always painful however gentlemanly it is fought. I play the guitar somewhat and that Gibson is something I can only dream about. What a beautiful instrument and sound and the song is hauntingly touching. Andy - Singapore
I'm glad you enjoyed it, nailah783... you're right, it could apply to other wars as well. Actually they have since changed some of the footage and the newer version has a few clips of WWII in it (possibly it's WWI... I didn't look that closely.) What makes it even more poignant now (at least to me) is the fact that the wife part of the singing duet (Joey Feek) is now in the last stages of cancer and the whole story is a very sad one for them personally as well as the topics they sang about.
Sadly, Andy, that kind of story was far too common. People used to have *picnics* while they were overlooking the battles. It's hard to comprehend, but it happened. As for being fought away from civilian areas... I'm afraid that's not accurate. One of my two favorite places in the world is Gettysburg and that one was right up to the civilians.. they were hiding in basements while the war was adding up thousands of deaths in their streets. I also go to Antietam a lot... same thing, but further from Sharpsburg at least. Fredericksburg, Vicksburg residents had to hide in nearby caves, Atlanta... all very highly populated civilian areas.
