Pride and Prejudice: What Does "Yankee Mean to You

Southerners reserve three insults for outlanders and assorted other pathetic creatures. They are:

This blog is barely two weeks old, but it has already taken a few pot-shots at some sacred cows, such as "bait-and-wait" deer-hunting, litterbugs and low expectations in some local schools. The ensuing conversations have largely been delightfully rambunctious, but a few visitors have registered their disagreement by simply invoking the "Yankee" Doctrine: You ain't one of us, so shut the f*** up.

It's not always aimed at carpetbagging pantywaists from states that fought for the Union 132 years ago. Fourteen states were established after the Civil War, mostly in the West, which didn't have a dog in that fight, so there are tens of millions of Americans who never set foot on a Civil War battleground, period. And the last real Yankee has been dead for 51 years (Albert Woolson of Minnesota was a Union drummer boy who died in 1956.)

No, it seems that to a grumpy Southerner a "Yankee" is anyone who "ain't from around here." "Yankee" is never a term of endearment. That epithet is fired like a squirrel-shot at any outsider who doesn't leave his/her native sensibilities at the Mason-Dixon line ... or who doesn't agree with the insulter. ("You don't like grits? What a Yankee!")

That kind of xenophobia didn't hunt before the Civil War, it didn't wash in the civil rights era, and it's unlikely to work in the blogosphere. It might surprise those parochial Southerners who still wield the word like a revenooer's axe, but non-Southerners are rarely insulted by the term. They merely know you're trying to be insulting.

And for the record: The outlanders' habit of calling all Southerners "bubba" or "redneck" or "hillbilly" is equally xenophobic. I'm afraid the American tendency to coin a slur is infinite and knows no geographical bounds. And if you're lucky enough to be a non-Southerner living in the South, then you hear ALL of them!

So, Gator-Baiters, educate this Yankee from Wyoming who loves Texas. What exactly is a "Yankee"? Can you describe what you see in your mind when you use or hear the term? Whether you're a native Southerner or a lifelong Manhattanite, why do you think this apparently archaic term is still so widely used in the new millennium?

1 Gator-baiting comments: buddy said... I'm "not from around here", either, and when I arrived here nearly 30 years ago, got the 'damn yankee' comment from some of the locals. Annoying, but expected, considering some of the Gomers who live in the backwoods.

Blog Archive ▼ 2007 (44) ▼ November (8) Pride & Prejudice: What does 'Yankee' mean to you?... Daybreaker: How come we've never seen Mile Marker ... Write Your Own Caption: The best parking spot Death Reef: A new business idea for Port Arthur? Daybreaker: Zap a Southeast Texas litterbug Drop-out Factory: Stop making excuses for Central ... Soldier's Lament: A love song to Fred Phelps Daybreaker: Is it 'hunting' if you just sit there?... ► October (36) Image is Everything: Send Gator your spooky photos... The Big Flush: Water, water everywhere Daybreaker: You can have my embalmed human head wh... Exclusive Video! Does hooker's ghost still haunt e... Daybreaker: Did Carrol Thomas cover for molester? Coming tomorrow: A real Beaumont ghost on video? Texas report concludes ... Texas has too many repo... Drivers Test #66: Life in the Stupid Lane Dirty Dancing in Texas: Paging Kevin Bacon ... Daybreaker: Happy Monday! You're becoming extinct!... Before Your Sunday Nap: A millennial meditation Daybreaker: Don't try these tax-evasion tricks at ... Walk The Line ... and you'll get hit by a train Daybreaker: Is it 'All About Me Day' in SETX? Crisis Management: FEMA fakes a press briefing Spook Me, Baby: Send Gator your Halloween photos Unsafe Sox: Kevin Millar brews tempest in a Boston... Daybreaker: Early birds will eat the worm Scooby Done: A glamour pin-up ... doggie style Nothing to See Here: What major gas leak? Hair Today, Gone to Marxist: Che's hair on the blo... Daybreaker: Funnel cake conventions sucked 'em in Out of The Box: Bopper's casket hits the road Must-Seat TV: Buses get DVDs, not seatbelts Illegals working at the federal courthouse? Yep.Bu... Ghosts of Katrina: A lesson learned under fire Forget something? Texas has your stuff 'Sweetie, I'm sorry about that hit man thing...' Hollyweird: Who'll play you in the movies? Doubting Thomas: The Supe needs a raise Kick (Democrat) Ass: Walker, Texas Ranger endorses... Gas pains in Mid-County And they think we Southerners are stupid ... A Video Conversation With ... The director of upco... So, What Exactly Is In Ethylene? Not Funny: Alligator boots

6. was denied the solace of a priest of the Roman Catholic faith because Secretary Stanton was quoted as saying that Wirz "burns already in Hell",

Wirz had a priest with him, both in his cell in the hours before his execution and on the gallows. His name was Father F.E. Boyle . Boyle later wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis, saying "I attended the Major to the scaffold, and he died in the peace of God and praying for his enemies. I know that he was indeed innocent of all the cruel charges on which his life was sworn away, and I was edified by the Christian spirit in which he submitted to his persecutors."But, according to you, I suppose, this priest (quoted in a pro-southern website), was a damnyankee liar, right? . Seriously, just type the words "Wirz" and "Boyle" into a Google search. Boyle is hardly an unknown character in the Wirz story. You can also read about Boyle and about the hanging of Wirz (who wasn't "hauled up" either) in this 1908 book, The True Story of Andersonville Prison: A Defense of Major Henry Wirz (full text available online-start at page 218 to read about Boyle).

8. was denied a funeral (& his widow was not allowed to claim his body for a Catholic mass & burial) & (to quote a Union officer) "dumped without ceremony into an hole near the gallows". (CPT Wirz's body was later exhumed & properly interred at its present site.)

Again, bull. According to the New York Times article written the day of the execution, "Agreeably to a request from Wirz, Father Boyle received the body today, and delivered it to an undertaker, who will inter it, to await the arrival of Mrs. Wirz, who is expected soon."

“People from Wyoming are not Yankees”.
This guy (The author) admits to bein’ a Yankee and even calls hisself one!
Here’s an example of a Good Yankee!

Town Hall

The Navasota Examiner & Grimes County Review
Serving Navasota and Grimes County, Texas, since 1894
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Confederate grave restored
By Joy Stephenson, Special to the Examiner

Several years ago, Grimes County Sons of Confederate Veterans helped to obtain and set a new stone for the grave of a Confederate soldier that was discovered in White Hall by former land owner Betty Greenhouse.

The story begins when Betty Greenhouse of Shepherd, Texas bought a tract of land in Grimes County, Texas. Others may have known of the existence of the burying place but did not recognize its importance.

Greenhouse confirmed that the tombstone information was correct; that the young man was indeed a soldier during the War between the States. His name is William Nelson Punchard. He was a private in Waller’s Battalion, Company C., Texas Cavalry.

Military records of the Confederacy say that he was 21 years old when he died in Plantersville, Texas, not of the wounds of battle but of pneumonia following his participation in a skirmish in Louisiana.

There are many Confederate soldiers buried in the county’s cemeteries but it was the custom of the time to bury family in a private cemetery on family land. Greenhouse cleared the gravesite of brush, restored the tombstone, and honored the grave as if the soldier was her own relative.

After a few years, Betty sold the land, but was careful about whom she sold the place to. Elaine Stuart was the purchaser and she and her son, Jeff Stuart, remain true to their word, tending the grave. The stone which heads the grave tells us William was born on January 1, 1843 in Amite County, Mississippi.

He was the son of Samuel Worcester of Salem, Massachusetts and Mary Cone Munger Punchard of Francistown, New Hampshire. The young soldier died on February 5, 1864 in Plantersville. William’s father Samuel, who died in 1883, seems to have been something of an entrepreneur. Samuel came from New England to Mississippi, where his uncle, a doctor from Salem, owned a plantation. The family soon migrated to Texas.

At various times, Samuel’s family owned land and lived in Haskell, Austin, Washington, Fayette and Montgomery counties. The family stopped moving in 1856 when they settled in what was then Montgomery County, later becoming Grimes County. William, his brothers Watt and Jim were taught at home by their mother who was a teacher. His sisters, Molly, Eudora and Sophie attended Plantersville’s Markey Boarding School.

When the Civil War began, William, 18, was an early volunteer. He traveled to Waller (not a twenty minute trip on horseback in 1862) and joined Waller’s Cavalry Regiment. He brought with him a horse valued at $250 and $35 worth of equipment, presumably a gun. It is said that he took part in the Battle of St. Charles Courthouse and another in Boutte Station, both in Louisiana.

His horse became a casualty of war during the Battle of Bonne Carre in Louisiana. Sometime during his service, William contracted pneumonia, possibly in Louisiana where he served. He became so ill that he was discharged from the Army of the Confederacy and sent home to his Plantersville family. “Wonder Drugs” had not yet been discovered and he died on February 5, 1864.

History calls the burial place “The Punchard Plantation” while others call the place “The Smith Farm”. William’s brother Watt volunteered to take his brother’s place, but contracted dysentery and was discharged. He discovered that the Confederacy needed other help and volunteered to kill wild hogs, render lard, and grind corn for the duration of the war. It is Watt’s 2-month-old infant son, Franklin Worcester Punchard, who died on August 11, 1871, who is buried in the grave with his Uncle William.

It was the custom in those days to bury an infant with or on top of a loving relative. A story is told about William Punchard’s gravestone that could come straight from “The Twilight Zone”. The stone was purchased in Salado, moved to the grave area by slaves with a wagon drawn by oxen.

En route to Plantersville, lightning struck the stone and broke it. The tomb stone was repaired, and was in the process of being set, when lightning struck it again. It was repaired a second time. However, on the day when the stone was finally being set at the gravesite, lightning struck it for the third time. The slaves refused to help with its repair again.

The top of the stone, sheared off by lightning, has been found buried in the dirt. It has not been reattached to the monument. Betty and Elaine are working on plans for repairs, as the two women remain friends though Betty now lives in Shepherd, Texas And so the story ends.

The Punchards, a bold New England family, Yankees if ever there were any, traveled the length of the country, north to south. Then the family sent their young son to fight in a war between the north and the south.

Twenty-first century women found and preserved a 100-year-old grave after lightning struck the tombstone three times. Greenhouse found the grave site approximately 15 years ago and immediately “adopted” the young man buried there more than one hundred years ago. He became “our soldier” and his grave has been cared for since. Confederate flags and bright flowers identify the location of the tombstone on which the name, rank and regiment of the late 21-year-old private is now clearly marked. The story seems to tell us that truth is stranger than fiction. There are still people who care about others, even in death.

PO Box 751, 115 Railroad St., Navasota TX 77868
Phone: 936/825-6484 - E-Mail: publisher@navasotaexaminer.com

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