Florida to Dedicate CW Wreck as Underwater Archaeological Preserve
Divers from the Florida Aquarium’s Friends of the USS Narcissus group examine the wreck of the Civil War tugboat. Via TampaPlanet.com.
Sometime in the next several months, perhaps as early as late fall, the the State of Florida will dedicate the wreck of U.S.S. Narcissus, sunk in 1866 of Egmont Key, near Tampa, as the state’s 12th underwater archaeological preserve. I spoke recently to Roger C. Smith, Florida’s State Underwater Archaeologist, who confirmed that plans for the site are coming together for the formal dedication of the site. In this case, the process has been a long one due to the numerous agencies involved. Because the site lies at the edge of a commercial waterway, the project required the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Tampa Port Authority, and the U.S. Navy, that still holds title to the wreck. Smith explained that, like so many historic wrecks in shallow water, this one was first located by fishermen, and then by sport divers. A number of small artifacts were picked up by people exploring the site, including a few Confederate buttons. These led some to believe that the wreck was that of a blockade runner, but an exhaustive review of the historical record revealed none of those vessels wrecked in the area. They did, however, identify a U.S. Navy steam tug that went aground and suffered a boiler explosion at that location just after the war, U.S.S. Narcissus.
Narcissus was launched as the 82-foot-long screw steamer Mary Cook at East Albany, New York, in July 1863 and purchased by the U.S. Navy a few weeks later as U.S.S. Narcissus. She was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and assisted with operations after the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. The following December, Narcissus was sunk in shallow water by a Confederate mine, without loss of life, and was subsequently raised and repaired. The 2011 proposal to turn the site into an archaeological preserve tells the rest of the story:
Florida’s “Museums in the Sea” network of marine archaeological sites may be the best program of its type in the country. It’s great public outreach and education effort, to encourage divers and snorkelers to visit and learn more about our shared maritime past. Interpretive materials include both general brochures and guides to the wrecks themselves (see this example, for the 1715 Spanish plate ship, Urca de Lima), so that divers can actually go beyond underwater sight-seeing, to have a better understanding of the site and its significance.
Here’s a big lot of images on Flicker of divers working to document the Narcissus wreck site in 2006. It can be slow and not-very-glamorous work. They even dragged Gordon Watts, the acknowledged dean of 19th century marine steam powerplants, in on the action. It’s wet work like this that goes into generating site plans and reports like the proposal excerpted above. Designation of the site as an archaeological preserve is the culmination of many hundreds of hours of work, often done by volunteers, in recording the site, doing historical and archival research, and many other activities. It’s diligent work, but tremendously rewarding for the folks who do it, who are making a major time commitment to bring this aspect of maritime history of a larger audience.
Hats off to them all.
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Talkin’ Blockade Runners — June 5 in Conroe
On Wednesday, June 5, I’ll be giving my talk, “For-Profit Patriots: Blockade Running on the Texas Coast” at the Woodlands Civil War Round Table in Conroe, north of Houston. My talk will be at 7 p.m. at the Windsor Hill Club House, 1 East Windsor Hills Circle. Visitors are welcome, although everyone attending must be 18 or older due to the rules of the community. As before, there will be particular emphasis on two vessels wrecked here in 1865, Will o’ the Wisp and Denbigh. The official blurb:
“Patriotism, avarice and daring”? Did I write that? Gack, what turgid over-selling!
Anyway, it should be fun and informative. Hope to see you there!
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Image: Me with nautical archaeologist Amy Borgens on the Will o’ the Wisp wreck site, July 2009.
“We don’t undertake many things which we don’t surpass in”
Vince Columbo bats during a vintage base ball game between the Houston Babies and Katy Combines as part of the Galveston Island Beach Revue weekend on Saturday in Galveston. KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News.
On Saturday, two vintage baseball teams, the Houston Babies and Katy Combines, played a match as part of the Galveston Island Beach Revue, an annual kick-off to the summer beach season that’s been growing over the last few years. I didn’t make the game, but I wish I had, because it sounds like it was great fun.
Baseball has a long history in Texas, dating back before the Civil War. In March 1859, the Galveston Civilian and Gazette Weekly reported that “the Base Ball Club organized [at Richmond] on the 24th inst., numbers thirty-five members. . . . Friday has been selected as the regular practice day. We understand that the club has been organized under the same rules as govern the clubs at the North.” Even as the war was beginning in earnest, two days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, the Houston Weekly Telegraph reported that “a meeting for the purpose of organizing a Base Ball Club, was held over J. H. Evans’ store Thursday night. After the organization of the meeting, and the adoption of the name of “‘Houston Base Ball CLub,” a ballot for permanent officers was had.” By June 1861, the Galveston Weekly News noted that Houston now had two “base ball” teams taking the field. And just about exactly a year after Appomattox, the Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph was calling for the reorganization of the sport:
I think Nolan Ryan would agree.
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The Politically-Correct Origin of the Confederate Battle Flag
For many True Southrons™ today, the Confederate Battle Flag (or “Southern Cross”) has taken on a significance not only as a symbol of the Confederate military forces of 1861-65, but of the South as a whole. Some go farther still, insisting that the flag itself is a sacred Christian object, bearing the Cross of St. Andrew, reflecting the Confederate cause as explicitly Christian one.
While some folks choose to project their own religious interpretation onto the Confederate Battle Flag, the origin of the design was not only not sectarian, it was explicitly designed to avoid religious symbolism. As John Coski relates in his definitive study, The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem, the banner was designed by Confederate Congressman William Porcher Miles (right, 1822-1899), who set out in March 1861 to create a distinctive pattern for a national flag for the new Confederacy. Miles began with a familiar secessionist emblem, but subsequently modified his original layout with the intent to remove any overt Christian symbology:
William Miles’s disappointment with the Stars and Bars [i.e., the “First National” flag of the Confederacy] went beyond his strong ideological objections to the Stars and Stripes. He had hoped that the Confederacy would adopt his own design for a national flag-the pattern that later generations mistakenly and ironically insisted on calling the Stars and Bars. The design that Miles championed was apparently inspired by one of the flags used at the South Carolina secession convention in December 1860. That flag featured a blue St. George’s (or upright) cross on a red field. Emblazoned on the cross were fifteen white stars representing the slaveholding states, and on the red field were two symbols of South Carolina: the palmetto tree and the crescent. Charles Moise, a self-described “southerner of Jewish persuasion,” wrote Miles and other members of the South Carolina delegation asking that “the symbol of a particular religion” not be made the symbol of the nation.
In adapting his flag to take these criticisms into account, Miles removed the palmetto tree and crescent and substituted a diagonal cross for the St. George’s cross. Recalling (and sketching) his proposal a few months later, Miles explained that the diagonal cross was preferable because “it avoided the religious objection about the cross (from the Jews & many Protestant sects), because it did not stand out so conspicuously as if the cross had been placed upright thus.” The diagonal cross was, Miles argued, “more Heraldric [sic] than Ecclesiastical, it being the ‘saltire’ of Heraldry, and significant of strength and progress (from the Latin salto, to leap).” [1]
Miles’ design didn’t get much traction as a national flag in early 1861, but it was remembered by General P. G. T. Beauregard later that year, and was soon adopted as the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. [2] In that capacity is gained wide popularity in the South, and eventually became the key element in both the Second National and Third National Flags of the Confederacy. Miles’s original design was ultimately vindicated, and remains today one of the most widely-recognized flags anywhere.
Miles had made a point of using the heraldic term “saltire” to describe the diagonal pattern he settled on, and explicitly distanced his design from any intent at religious symbolism – “more Heraldric [sic] than Ecclesiastical.” This may come as a shock to some present-day Confederate heritage activists, some of whom wield their own religious beliefs like a cudgel and project back onto the Confederacy their own brand of Christianism. Nonetheless, the reality is that the revered Battle Flag was the result of a conscious attempt by Miles and his collaborators to make its design less Christian, and so less offensive to people of other faiths. Miles rejected the notion that his flag was a religious symbol at all, and instead sought to make it an explicitly secular one. And he did so as a member of the congressional delegation from South Carolina, the fire-eating state that led the South into secession in the first place. To put it in terms familiar to those who follow debates about its use and meaning, the design of the Confederate Battle Flag was, in the context of its time and place, a cave-in to “political correctness.”
Furthermore, as Coski pointed out recently in an essay at the New York Times Opinionator blog, contemporary references to the design as the “Southern Cross” were allusions to the astronomical constellation, not the Cross of Calvary. For patriotic Southerners like George Bagby, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, it was the constellation — usually invisible below the southern horizon to those in the northern hemisphere — that was a symbol of the Confederacy’s future greatness. Channeling the imperialistic ambitions shared by groups like the Knights of the Golden Circle, Bagby saw in the constellation the destiny of the Confederacy:
Anyone looking for the “Southern Cross” known to the Confederates of 1861 should look to the night sky, not the Holy Bible.
People can, and always will, find religious imagery and inspiration in all manner of temporal objects. That’s a matter of their particular belief, and they’re welcome to it. But neither should we confuse what people believe as a matter of faith, with the historical record. While symbols like the Confederate Battle Flag evolve through their use and association to have many different meanings to people, it’s also important to keep discussions about those meanings grounded in the words and actions of those associated with them, over the last 152 years. Open and frank discussion about those things will avail a far more comprehensive understanding of this symbol and its troubled past – and its future.
[1] John M. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006), 5-6.
[2] Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History ( Memphis: St. Lukes Press, 1988), 58.
[3] George Bagby, “Editor’s Table,” Southern Literary Messenger, January 1862, 68.
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Image: William Porcher Miles, Library of Congress.
Lexington Flag Case, Reidsville Monument Updates
Oral arguments were held Wednesday in the Virginia SCV’s appeal to reinstate their lawsuit against the City of Lexington, that had been dismissed by the district court last year. There are several news items about this, but the only one I’ve seen that describes events in the courtroom is this item from the Washington Post and the AP:
My earlier thoughts on why the Virginia SCV is probably going to lose this one are here.
In other news, it looks like the Reidsville, North Carolina monument knocked down in an automobile accident two years ago is finally being restored, this time in the Confederate veterans’ plot at the local cemetery, owned by the UDC. The question of who owned the monument itself has been central in the dispute over whether to restore at its previous location or move it to the cemetery, as the UDC wanted to do. Over time, though, challenges to ownership of the monument seem to have fallen away:
Naturally, the usual crowd is furious about this development, in the comments section. But there’s also this little gem of information, that I hadn’t been aware of before:
You really can’t make this stuff up.
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2013 Menard Summer Lecture Series
The Galveston Historical Foundation has announced its lineup for the 2013 Menard Summer Lecture Series:
Presented by Edward T. Cotham, Jr. In the spring of 1880, former President and Union General Ulysses S. Grant made a visit to Texas. Fanned by unprecedented press speculation and coverage, huge crowds and celebrities turned out to greet Grant everywhere he went. This was particularly true of the general’s visit to Galveston, at that time the largest and most prosperous city in Texas. Where did Grant go and what did he do? What did he say? And most importantly, what did he eat? Respected historian Ed Cotham answers these questions and more as he chronicles the extensive newspaper coverage of Grant’s historic visit to the island city in his newest presentation for the Menard Summer Lecture Series. June 23 – The Galveston-Houston Packet; Steamships on Buffalo Bayou Presented by Andrew W. Hall Before the railroad, before the Interurban, before the scourge of construction detours on the Gulf Freeway, Galveston and Houston were first linked by steamboat. The water link between the two cities helped establish both towns as the fastest-growing, booming communities in the state of Texas during the 19th century. The tale, largely overlooked until now, is one of cut-throat competition, horrific accidents, hard-fought battles and more. Join Galveston author Andy Hall, to explore some of this forgotten history. July 14 – Historic Tales of the Texas Republic, A Glimpse of Texas Past
Presented by Jeffery Robenalt
Though the Republic of Texas existed as a sovereign nation for just nine years, the legacy lives on in the names that distinguish the landscape of the Lone Star State. Austin, Houston, Travis, Lamar, Seguin, Burnet, Bowie, Zavala and Crockett- these historical giants, often at odds, fought through their differences to achieve independence from Mexico and established a republic destined to become the twenty-eighth state in the Union. Author Jeffrey Robenalt chronicles the fight to define and defend the Republic of Texas, from revolutionary beginnings to annexation. August 4 – The First Texas Navy, 1835-1837 Presented by James P. Bevill This powerful presentation takes place in the throes of the Texas Revolution, as the provisional government of Texas scrambled to put together a naval force to wreak havoc upon the Mexican supply lines. Having first resorted to the use of privateers (state sponsored pirates), Texas was able to borrow money in New Orleans in early 1836, to secure the warships Liberty, Invincible, Independence and the Brutus. Author and historian James Bevill tells the story of those four ships and the significant contributions of men made on the high seas in the fight for Texas independence. This remarkable story is triumphant and tragic, and an entertaining finale to the 2013 Menard Summer Lecture Series.
Each talk takes place on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm, at Menard Hall, 33rd Street and Avenue O in Galveston. Tickets are $12 for each talk, or $40 for the series. Hope to see you there.
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MoC to Debut Gettysburg Exhibit
Senior curator for the Museum of the Confederacy, Robert Hancock, holds the sword carried by Confederate Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead during the Battle of Gettysburg in a work room at the museum in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2013. The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va., will open the exhibit “Gettysburg: They walked through blood” on May 11 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Museum of the Confederacy is about to open an exhibit that rivals the scope of the battle itself (h/t C.M. Winkler):
Wowsa!
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Canister!
As a frequent Amazon customer, I get regular recommendations for books on subjects they think I might be interested in. Here’s the recommendation list I got last week:
I really cannot deny that those topics are of interest to me. Also this week I got a statement from the publisher on the steamboat book, that it’s crossed the threshold for generating royalties. Given the very narrow subject matter, I’m glad it’s officially in the black.
I also have three more speaking engagements lined up for the next few months, on Buffalo Bayou steamboats in Galveston on June 23 and in Liberty on July 15, and at the Brazoria County Historical Museum on October 17 for Texas Archaeology Month. Scheduling details to follow soon.
In other news, some of it CW-related and some not:
- Al Mackey has been doing a bang-up job at his blog, systematically knocking down cherished Southron myths about Fort Sumter. He’s cheating, of course, by using the contemporaneous words and actions of the participants themselves; he hasn’t cited Tom DiLorenzo once.
- Confirmed: Written accounts of cannibalism at Jamestown during the “starving winter” of 1609-10, thought by some modern scholars to be exaggerations, are now supported by archaeological evidence.
- David Rumsey is probably the world’s foremost private collector of historic maps. More important, he’s long been committed to sharing those with a wider audience through the Internet. A few of them can even be viewed here, overlaid in Google Maps. Even more gooder, Rumsey recently added more than 38,000 (!) items from his collection to the new Digital Public Library of America. There goes your afternoon.
- Along those same lines, blogger Brian Schrock hosts the Google Earth Time Machine, using that application’s historical imagery to track changes in human and natural geography over time. Schrock is originally from Houston, so Texas locations feature prominently in his posts.
- Corey Meyer continues to highlight the Southern nationalist movement’s recent infatuation with stickers. My own observation is that the compulsion to cover every flat surface with stickers is transitory, peaking at about age four or five. So maybe Cushman will start posting about his Barbies® soon. That’ll be fun.
- Art conservators at the Vatican believe they’ve discovered the oldest European depiction of Native Americans, dating to 1494. That’s cool.
- Over at Defending the Heritage, Robert Mestas takes the case of two Union sailors killed aboard U.S.S. Hatteras to argue that the men, both immigrants, “probably had no idea who they were fighting or what they were fighting for.” Neither Mestas nor anyone else has any idea what these individuals thought or believed, of course, but then consider the source — Mestas makes up fake quotes from Confederate veterans, too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he follows my blog, I just wish he were a little more candid with his own readers about his sources when his lifts pictures from from it.
- A relatively new blog, The Freedmen’s Patrol, has been digging down into the weeds of secession and slavery since it debuted a few months back. I’ll have more to say later, but there’s some real education happening over there, and the blog deserves more attention. For now, check out the posts on some Americans’ fixation on taking over Cuba as an annexed slave territory, as outlined here, here and here. American designs on Cuba didn’t start when the battleship Maine went boom.
- Harper Lee, arguably the greatest living Southern writer, is suing the son-in-law of her former agent to recover the copyright to her 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Got any more? Put ‘em in the comments below.
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Just Makin’ Stuff Up
This is (at least) the fourth time Gary’s posted this nonsense:
That’s not even remotely true; Hanger, Inc. dropped a not-insignificant amount of money a couple of years back on making this video (above). The company not only developed a webpage about its origins, they created a separate Internet domain for it, Hanger150.com. You go to main company website, click on “About Us,” then on “Hanger’s History.” Two clicks, that’s all. Hell, James Edward Hanger’s biography on the site begins with the sentence, “On June 1, 1861, 18-year-old engineering student James Edward Hanger left his family, forgoing his studies at Washington College. . . to join his brothers in the Confederate Army.”
Have any of the nearly 2,000 True Southrons™ over there ever nudged Gary on this foolishness? Not as far as I can tell. But then, it’s heritage: it doesn’t matter if it’s true, so long as it reaffirms your oppression under the boot heel of political correctness.
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Update, May 5: Gary clears up the confusion, while complaining about “bloggers who likes to fact check posts here and straigten [sic.] the wrongs of the world.” As usual, the true villain here is not the person who repeatedly posted something demonstrably untrue, but the person who publicly called him on it. Good times.
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Articles on U.S.S. Hatteras, U.S.S. Clifton
The new issue of the Texas Historical Commission’s newsletter, The Medallion, has articles on last fall’s expedition to the U.S.S. Hatteras wreck site (pp. 10-11), and the return of the restored “walking beam” from U.S.S. Clifton to the Battle of Sabine Pass site. The Hatteras article can be downloaded here (PDF).
Enjoy, y’all.
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Image: “The Fatal Chase” by Tom Freeman. Copyright © Tom Freeman 2012, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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