| Free Republic 3rd Qtr 2025 Fundraising Target: $81,000 | Receipts & Pledges to-date: $38,194 | |||
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| Woo hoo!! And we're now over 47%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless. | ||||
Posted on 07/01/2008 10:05:59 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Howdy everyone!! Are you ready for a FReepathon?!!
Well, I'm certainly glad to see this day. Glad to be home and glad to be here. I thank you all very much for all the prayers and support you gave while I was in the hospital. Thank God I got outta there with most of my parts still intact!!
And just in time to start ramping up for another exciting national election cycle! It'd be more exciting if we had a conservative running, but guess we'll have to do the best we can. I'm not excited about McCain, but we're going to have to do all we can to block the America-hating Marxist Osama Obama from gaining control of the most powerful office in the world!! And we're going to have to do all we can to unseat the Marxist left from our congress. Our freedom and our very right to exist as a free nation depends upon it!!
Thank you all very much for your continuing support for Free Republic. Thank you for making FR the very best conservative site on the Net!!
God bless you all, God bless our troops and God bless America!!
Thank you very much, gpapa!!
A nice start we have to the thon. Let’s hope to step up the pace, especially over the weekend!
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Woo hoo!!
We have incoming:
$20 from Utah
$35 from Oregon
$50 from California
Thank you all very much!!
That’s pretty! Don’t think my name’s ever looked that good! LOL!
I was raised there. It is quintessential America. I love the place.
Better, then, must you get!
Sorry, they're replaying the original Star Wars on SpikeTV.
Fantastic! Small world, for sure.
Has it changed much?
Yes and no. The gravel pit is now homes (and it was a deep pit!) and grandma's hand built home was moved to be a historical park building... but the main guy doing the restoration died, and I don't know where the house is... I'll figure it out. LOL. Coal stove aside, I remember when they built the indoor plumbing bathroom onto the back of the house. Hot dried June grass always reminds me of my childhood... playing in the chicken coop, throwing the biggest rocks we could lift into the pit, or walking through the now abandoned celery plant. It's all gone now, but somehow, I think the town's soul is pretty much the same. I live about 20 miles north now, but it's such a beautiful town. I gotta take the kids and mom down to roam the ole stompin grounds again... the first challenge is getting past Cabelas on the Lehi exit :o) Okay... we'll have elkburgers for lunch on the way.
Woo hoo!!
Just in:
$20 from South Carolina
$30 from California
$30 from Florida
Thank you all very much!!
Your description is almost photographic. Is restoration still going on since the main guy died? It must be pretty picturesque.
SOUTH CAROLINA, CALIFORNIA & FLORIDA
On July 3, 1863, Union troops repelled a massive artillery assault on Cemetery Ridge during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. During the early morning hours Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered General Longstreet to prepare General Pickett's troops for the assault.
Longstreet advised Lee of his reservations about the success of such an advance, which he did not feel Confederate troops could sustain. Lee disregarded Longstreet and maintained his order for a heavy bombardment of Union defenses on the Ridge followed by an advance of Pickett's men.
After two hours of heavy shelling, Confederate Colonel Alexander sent word to General Pickett that the Union troops were withdrawing and encouraged him to come quickly in the interval. Pickett sent his note to General Longstreet who, based on Lee's orders and despite his own reservations, approved the charge.
During the first three days of July 1863, Union and Confederate forces met in battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, an encounter that many historians consider the turning point in the Civil War.
The culminating event of the battle was Pickett's Charge, the unsuccessful assault on the Union center ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) and executed by numerous troops, including an infantry division under the command of Gen. George E. Pickett (1825-1875).
Preparations for the famous charge, which occurred on the battle's third day, included the traditional artillery barrage described in these documents. In a letter written on the field of battle, Gen. James Longstreet (1821-1904) informed Col. Edward P. Alexander (1835-1910), reserve artillery commander, of the intended Confederate advance, which he said would be dependent on Alexander's battery providing the necessary artillery support. Longstreet also ordered Alexander to advise General Pickett when to initiate the charge.
"General, I have no division..."
- Major General George Edward Pickett to General Lee at Gettysburg
July 3, 1863
Having retained Longstreet's order, Alexander later mounted the item on a larger backing sheet and added to it copies of his battlefield dispatches to both Longstreet and Pickett, which depict the increasing urgency of the Confederate position.
At 1:25 p.m., Alexander wrote to Pickett, "If you are to advance at all, you must come at once or we will not be able to support you as we ought . . . " Fifteen minutes later, the artillery commander wrote again to Pickett, "For God's sake come on quick or we cannot support you. Ammunition nearly out."
Although Pickett's name is associated with the failed charge, he did not command the attack, and his troops comprised only a portion of the advancing columns. He was responsible for forming the brigades involved in the charge and conducted himself honorably throughout the engagement. Still, history has treated him unfairly, and he will forever bear the onus of defeat.
The attack, commonly known as Pickett's Charge or Longstreet's Assault, was an attempt to penetrate the center of Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. During the attack, only one Confederate brigade temporarily reached the top of the ridge—afterwards called the high watermark of the Confederacy—led by Brigadier General Lewis Armistead who, just before being shot, yelled, "Give them cold steel, boys!"
Brigadier General Louis Addison Armistead
Lewis Armistead The only brigade commander in Pickett's Division to breach the Union line, General Armistead was shot in the arm by Union rifle fire after placing a hand on one of Lt. Cushing's cannon in the center of the Angle.
He was subsequently taken prisoner by Federal forces and taken by ambulance to a Union field hospital. Despite the efforts of Union surgeons, the general died on July 5 and was buried near the field hospital.
His remains were later recovered by friends who had the general interred at St. Paul's Church in Baltimore...
Read more: NPS Archives
Lewis "Lo" Armistead commanded a brigade in George Pickett's division of James Longstreet's I Corps. He was nicknamed "Lo" for "Lothario" which was meant to be a joke because his demeanor was shy and silent. Armistead's brigade arrived at Gettysburg after the Second Day's fighting, resting near the Chambersburg Pike. On 3 July, his brigade took up positions in a swale in front of Spangler's Woods, along with the brigades of Richard Garnett and James Kemper.
During Longstreet's assault, Armistead's brigade was assigned to the second rank to support Garnett and Kemper although it is not clear where, exactly, his troops were laterally positioned with respect to the two front brigades.
As the assault progressed, Armistead, on foot, took off his black slouch hat and placed it on the tip of his sword for his men to see and follow. By the time the front ranks reached The Angle, they were hoplessly intermingled, causing the assault to slow. Armistead, with his hat on his sword shouted, "Come on boys, give them the cold steel. Who will follow me?"
Stepping over the wall with about 200 men following, he headed for Alonzo Cushing's battery of 3-inch rifles. Just as he put his hands on one of the guns, he was wounded in three places in the chest and arm. He died two days later.
Armistead
The Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
By Sheldon A. Munn
The memorial conceived and sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, centers on a monument of two sculpted bronze figures atop a large granite base.
The figures portray the historically verified encounter between Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead and Captain Henry Harrison Bingham. Bingham was an aide to Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock on Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's charge of July 3rd, 1863. This attack became known throughout the world as the "High Tide of the Confederacy."
Although Armistead and Hancock had been friends and fellow officers for many years, their political differences came between them at the outbreak of the Civil War. Armistead joined the newly formed Confederacy while Hancock chose to stay by the flag of the United States. Both officers served their countries well and were promoted into leadership positions.
After the two men went their separate ways, it was twenty-seven months before they were to meet again. This meeting finally took place on the battlefield remembered forever as "Gettysburg." During Pickett's charge, both officers were wounded. Armistead was mortally wounded and Hancock received a wound from which he would be in hospital care for many months. Armistead's cries for help were heard by several officers nearby, and it was a fellow fraternity brother, Captain Bingham, who arrived and offered aid to his fallen comrade-in-arms.
Armistead spoke of his close relationship with Hancock and he asked Captain Bingham to relay a message to his old friend. He entrusted his personal effects to the captain. Armistead died two days later at the George Spangler farm hospital site.
Sheldon Munn Freemasons at Gettysburg
Friend to Friend
Gettysburg, Pa. The Bryan house on 2d Corps line, near scene of Pickett's Charge
The charge ultimately proved disastrous for the Confederates, with casualties approaching 60 percent. As a consequence, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was forced to retreat and ultimately abandon his attempt to reach Washington, D.C. via Pennsylvania.
Army of Northern Virginia, haggard and tattered,Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown's Body (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1928), 316.
Tramping back on the pikes, through the dust-white summer,
With your wounds still fresh, your burden of prisoners.
Your burden of sick and wounded,
"One long groan of human anguish six miles long."
Some seventy years later, Confederate veteran John H. Robertson, one of many Confederate soldiers captured during Pickett's charge, recalled his experience as a federal prisoner of war:
I was captured at the battle of Gettysburg in Longstreet's charge and was taken to Fort Delaware, an island of 90 acres of land where the Union prisoners were kept. We were detailed to work in the fields and our rations was corn bread and pickled beef.
However I fared better than some of the prisoners for I was given the privilege of making jewelry for the use of the Union soldiers. I made rings from the buttons from their overcoats and when they were polished the brass made very nice looking rings.
These I sold to the soldiers of the Union Army who were our guards and with the money thus obtained I could buy food and clothing. The Union guards kept a commissary and they had a big supply of chocolate. I ate chocolate candy and drank hot chocolate in place of coffee until I have never wanted any chocolate since.
"John H. Robertson,"
Marlin, Texas,
Miss Effie Cowan, interviewer,
ca. 1936-40.
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
Robertson was fortunate as 28,063 Confederates and 23,049 Union soldiers were killed or wounded at Gettysburg. President Lincoln paid tribute to the Union soldiers' sacrifice in the Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of a National Cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
Three Confederate prisoners,
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
July 1863.
Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army,
Julian Vannerson, 1863. LC-B8172-0001
Gettysburg, Pa. Headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee
on the Chambersburg Pike
Library of Congress
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