Posted on 02/04/2019 12:13:39 PM PST by Sean_Anthony
Woodson and Gordon are still with us---in spirit and, if you listen, they are saying: "Teach your children the whole and true story about America."
An ex-Confederate soldier said about Gen. John B. Gordon: “He was a devout and humble Christian Gentleman. I know of no man more beloved in the South, and he was probably the most popular Southern man among the people of the North.”——-Stephen D. Lee, Commander-in-Chief, United Confederate Veterans
February is Black History Month. It is also the birthday month of George Washington, our first president and father of our country… And it is the birthday month of Gen. John B. Gordon of Georgia.
John B. Gordon, born February 6, 1832, was an orator, lawyer, statesman, soldier, publisher and governor of the State of Georgia. He is best known as one of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s generals. At the South’s surrender at Appomattox, his corps encounter with the soldiers under Gen. Joshua Chamberlain is a classic story that began the healing of this country after four years of terrible bloodshed.
A beautiful statue of him on horseback stands in front of the Georgia state capitol. No calls to remove it yet.
Thats a good thing.
A cousin’s bust still stands at Vicksburg and a cannon marks the spot where he fell in Atlanta. May we never forget, North or South.
Assigned by General Lee to hold the vital sunken road, or “Bloody Lane”, during the Battle of Antietam, Gordon’s propensity for being wounded reached new heights. First, a Minié ball passed through his calf. Then, a second ball hit him higher in the same leg. A third ball went through his left arm. He continued to lead his men despite the fact that the muscles and tendons in his arm were mangled and a small artery was severed. A fourth ball hit him in his shoulder. Despite pleas that he go to the rear, he continued to lead his men. He was finally stopped by a ball that hit him in the face, passing through his left cheek and out his jaw. He fell with his face in his cap and might have drowned in his own blood if it had not drained out through a bullet hole in the cap. A Confederate surgeon thought he would not survive but after he was returned to Virginia, he was nursed back to health by his wife.[6]
What I found most amazing about Gordon was his battlefield conduct in the Sunken Road at Antietam. I quote from Wikipedia:
Assigned by General Lee to hold the vital sunken road, or “Bloody Lane”, during the Battle of Antietam, Gordon’s propensity for being wounded reached new heights. First, a Minié ball passed through his calf. Then, a second ball hit him higher in the same leg. A third ball went through his left arm. He continued to lead his men despite the fact that the muscles and tendons in his arm were mangled and a small artery was severed. A fourth ball hit him in his shoulder. Despite pleas that he go to the rear, he continued to lead his men. He was finally stopped by a ball that hit him in the face, passing through his left cheek and out his jaw. He fell with his face in his cap and might have drowned in his own blood if it had not drained out through a bullet hole in the cap. A Confederate surgeon thought he would not survive but after he was returned to Virginia, he was nursed back to health by his wife.[
“No calls to remove it yet.”
Nikki Haley must not have heard about it yet.
Definitely one of the great careers of the Civil War.
Gordon was one of those rare individuals that rose to high rank in the army without West Point credentials. He was a part time lawyer when the war started. With no military training at all, he was elected captain of Co I 6th Alabama Infantry in May 1861. Three years and eleven months later he commanded the 2nd Corp of the Army of Northern Virginia. One of his last military duties was the rather onerous task of surrendering the ANV’s infantry to the Union Army at Appomattox.
Is this who Fort Gordon was named after?
My brother was there in 1964 for Signal Corps training.
Yes.
for later
It was known as Fort Garbage, when I was stationed there in 1965.
Dear old Fort Garbage, WW2 Coal Fired Barracks, the coldest winter since 1869, Disgusta, the paved roads ended in the Black areas, a Meningitis epidemic, and a population dedicated to ripping off the soldiers.
Too bad somebody didn’t make a movie about this place but it probably couldn’t be made today.
To be fair, many of the bigger Army forts have little good said about them. My son was at Gordon for over six months and I have been there. Like Polk, Leonard Wood, Jackson and others, forts where it is largely Basic or AIT training have a lot of people that don’t have fond memories. Anyone do CS Gas training at Leonard Wood? — Well I was able to tear down that Ypres Gas Training building about forty years after I got gassed there, so you can imagine how much I liked that project.
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