LET FREEDOM RING continued
Gazette Farewell
by Wesley May
Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote: “The old
order changeth, yielding place to new” … I have
just reached the seventh anniversary of my first
article written for the Pinehurst Gazette in 2013.
Those seven years have been a Golden Period of
retirement.
My first article entitled, “Interpreting
Words,” described my primary concern that our
political leader’s public persuasion often was
not matched by their subsequent deeds. Their
rhetoric to gain power, frequently did not match
their subsequent deeds in governing.
Since 2013, that problem has decayed even
more with the arrival of the “AOC generation.”
That change, as I struggle to understand their
theorizing, represents a lack of knowledge
of Civics and related studies that previously
defined the foundation for developing the
essential citizenship knowledge base to fulfill
Lincoln’s goal of “government of the people, by
the people and for the people.”
So I’ve decided to shift my focus from purely
scholarly considerations toward a more plebeian
one of capitalizing on the great tourism benefits
generated by our decision to retire in Pinehurst.
Golf initially was a primary motivation back in
1994. But as my age moved deeper into the 80’s,
I realized that the broad palette of historical
tourist sites in our chosen retirement area was
a far superior stimulus for retirement writing.
Actually that approach might even create an
opportunity to influence those who, as in my
previous observation, had never been exposed
to basic civics and related studies. That fault
raised a high barrier to learning about the full
pedigree and benefits of the Republic created by
our founders.
For example, do you realize that there
are two important historical sites in Virginia,
located close together and just a short drive
from Pinehurst: Appomattox Court House and
Bedford. You may have heard of General Lee’s
surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at
Appomattox on April 9, 1865, initiating impetus
to end our Civil War. It was the motivating
precursor that would eventually allow President
Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln after his
assassination just six days later (April 15), to
declare the end of conflict on August 20, 1866
(i.e.16 months after Appomattox surrender).
We made the 3-hour trip to Appomattox on
February 17, 2020, and its historical importance
and easy access make it a top choice for any local
family outing, especially if the family includes
youth up to college age!
The most significant impact on us of what
we learned at Appomattox which was the
extreme courtesy and honor that each side
displayed in interactions between the former
military adversaries on surrender day. General
Ulysses S. Grant, in command of the Union
Army at Appomattox, directed Major General
Joshua Chamberlain to preside over the official
Confederate surrender on April 12,1865.
Significantly, General Chamberlain was famous
for having been awarded a Medal of Honor
for his bravery in the defense of Little Round
Top during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2,
1863. His unit withstood repeated Confederate
attacks and finally forced their withdrawal
with an inspired, downhill bayonet charge. The
Gettysburg victory helped to turn the tide of the
war!
Then, in a subsequent report, General
Chamberlain noted that at the Appomattox
Surrender Ceremony formation, the
Confederate General John Brown Gordon “was
riding in advance of his troops, his chin drooped
to his breast, downhearted and dejected in
appearance almost beyond description.”
Chamberlain then perceptively ordered
his bugler to sound “Marching Salute” thereby
rendering an honor to each unit in the
Confederate formation. General Gordon “caught
in a moment its significance, and instantly
assumed the finest attitude of a soldier” and
led his troops to return honor with honor. To
complete the Confederate arrival, Chamberlain
concluded: “At a distance of possibly twelve
feet from our line, the Confederates halted and
turned face towards us. Their lines were formed
with the greatest care, with every officer in
his appointed position, and thereupon began
the formality of surrender.” Although the
subsequent political Reconstruction process
encountered many divisive problems, the
military surrender process was the epitome of
an honorable surrender
The terms of surrender were very generous.
Each who surrendered received a formal printed
Parole that insured safe passage home, and each
received free rations, free public transportation,
and return of the horse or other animal that was
owned.
NOTE: More details on Appomattox
surrender: these 2 Internet references, although
lengthy, are truly excellent:
(1)https://confederate.ultimateflags.
com/2016/11/21/last-salute-gordonchamberlain
appomattox/—
The Last Salute: Gordon and Chamberlain at
Appomattox
(2)https://www.battlefields.org/learn/
primary-sources/last-salute-army-northernvirginia
The Last Salute of the Army of Northern
Virginia
The next day we made the short trip to
Bedford to learn more about the rightfully
famous Bedford Boys. We visited the National
D-Day Memorial which celebrates the largest
amphibious operation ever undertaken and
which launched the defeat of Hitler’s Third
Reich! Bedford was selected as the Memorial’s
site in recognition that this small US town’s loss
of more men per capita in the D-Day battle on
the beaches of Normandy than any other place
in America!
I hope that my new orientation will still
provide inspiration for narratives suitable
for publication in the Gazette. Nevertheless,
I’ll close with a statement reemphasizing
what history could have taught us IF public
and collegiate courses had retained their
LET FREEDOM RING con't. next column LET FREEDOM RING con't. p. 24
There is nothing wrong with America
that faith, love of freedom, intelligence,
and energy of her citizens cannot cure.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
No. 138 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.27
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