Posted on 01/19/2006 11:20:56 AM PST by sheltonmac
You probably won't find anything special printed on your calendar for the 19th and 21st of January. In case you are wondering, those are the respective birthdays of Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
As a nation we have already honored Martin Luther King, Jr., and will commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln next month, but Lee and Jackson are especially dear to my heart. They were great men who embodied the inspiring courage, uncompromising honesty, principled conviction and moral fortitude we no longer see in our leaders today.
Both Lee and Jackson were men of action who fought valiantly to defend their homes and families. Jackson made it clear that if it were up to him, the South would "raise the black flag" and show no quarter to the enemy invading their homeland. They realized that while war was sometimes necessary, it should never be entered into lightly. As Lee put it, "It is good that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it."
Lee and Jackson were Southern gents through and through. Consider Lee's Definition of a Gentleman:
The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly—the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light.
The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past.
A true man of Honor feels humble himself when he cannot help humbling others.
Jackson's wife, Mary Anna, wrote of her husband that he "was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one of the 'unappropriated blessings' under the type of truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bachelor friends could be fortunate to win her."
Both Lee and Jackson believed in principle over pragmatism. Lee once said, "I think it better to do right, even if we suffer in so doing, than to incur the reproach of our consciences and posterity." Jackson summed it up this way: "Duty is ours; consequences are God's."
Jackson never lived to see the fall of his beloved South, but Lee was gracious even in defeat. When approached by those who wished to remain bitter after surrendering he said, "Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans." It was his position that "we must forgive our enemies. I can truly say that not a day has passed since the war began that I have not prayed for them."
Above all, Lee and Jackson were men of God. Lee loved to pray. He would be sure to let people know that he was praying for them, and he felt encouraged when he was remembered in their prayers. Once, upon hearing that others had been praying for him, he remarked, "I sincerely thank you for that, and I can only say that I am a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone, and that I need all the prayers you can offer for me."
Jackson was the epitome of a life devoted to prayer. No matter was too insignificant that it did not warrant communion with the Father: "I have so fixed the habit in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God's blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward. I never change my classes in the lecture room without a minute's petition for the cadets who go out and for those who come in."
Jackson had an intimate knowledge of the sovereignty of God and rested in the promises of his Heavenly Father. Following the loss of his first wife, Ellie, who died almost immediately after giving birth to a stillborn son, he wrote to his sister-in-law, "I have been called to pass through the deep waters of affliction, but all has been satisfied. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. … I can willingly submit to anything if God strengthens me." It was this unshakeable faith that taught him "to feel as safe in battle as in bed."
The more I see what passes for leadership today in our government, in our churches and in our homes, the more I am convinced that we need men like Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson. I guess it's time for me to watch Gods and Generals again.
I'm not sure what you mean by "my position", since it's simply a fact that the North won, but yes, my ancestors did wear blue. Pennsylvania.
I accept that the North won. I just dislike certain people on this thread trashing the South. I have not seen you do that.
It's not a monument, it's his Tomb. He and Mrs. Grant are buried there. As Groucho used to ask , "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb"
The difference between you and I is that God gave me the good sense to be ashamed of my ancestors who fought for the confederacy. Luckily for me, I'm redeemed on my mother's side or I'd have nothing but traitorous scum on both sides.
And btw., I don't put PA in the same category as the Northeast. I am very fond of Pennsylvania, to be honest.
fwiw, i breathe a sigh of relief when i cross back into VA. (when i cross into Prince William, i'm back "inside friendly lines".)
free dixie,sw
Alas, many who live near couldn't answer that question.
"Southron" is a neoconfederate thing. It's used by wannabe secessionists and racists to differentiate themselves.
"The difference between you and I is that God gave me the good sense to be ashamed of my ancestors who fought for the confederacy. Luckily for me, I'm redeemed on my mother's side or I'd have nothing but traitorous scum on both sides."
You are right again. I think we should give your state back to Mexico. It did, after all, belong to them. I am ashamed by the fact that we took it.
There's no reason to trash the South, or any area, wholesale. I think that not everyone on this thread would agree. I also live in Northern Virginia, and if you ask anyone in Downstate Vuhginia, that's just as bad as a Yayun-kee.
At this time in American history, he is the only person to have a national holiday named for him. Personally, I don't think he was all that great a man, and certainly he does not deserve the only national holiday named for an American historical figure.
you will probably NEVER be a Virginian, though your children will be (if you have any) and your VA/dixie-born grandchildren will be SOUTHRONS.
free dixie,sw
Stop playing the race card. You are not good at it.
It was in disrepair several years ago, I was wondering if the National Park Service cleaned it up.
Grew up in Yonkers. Been a New Yorker all my life.
Thanks, It does look much better several years ago it looked horrible.
Then you know the truth of my facetious statement about the immediate environs of Grant's Tomb. I am really glad it has been returned to its original condition. When I visited it some years ago there was graffiti defacing parts of it and the stone was dark and weathered and there was a good bit of litter on the grounds. Also I went there in the morning and still felt uncomfortable about possible unwanted companions.
I reckon your Confederate ancestors would be more ashamed of you.
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