Secession ball stirs controversy

CHARLESTON -- The shots are solely verbal -- and expected to remain that way -- but at least one Civil War Sesquicentennial event is triggering conflict.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans plan to hold a $100-per-person "Secession Ball" on Dec. 20 in Gaillard Municipal Auditorium. It will feature a play highlighting key moments from the signing of South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession 150 years ago, an act that severed the state's ties to the Union and put the nation on the path to the Civil War.

Jeff Antley, who is organizing the event, said the Secession Ball honors the men who stood up for their rights.

"To say that we are commemorating and celebrating the signers of the ordinance and the act of South Carolina going that route is an accurate statement," Antley said. "The secession movement in South Carolina was a demonstration of freedom."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans to protest the event, said Charleston branch President Dot Scott. She deferred further comment to Lonnie Randolph, president of the state NAACP.

"It's amazing to me how history can be rewritten to be what you wanted it to be rather than what happened," Randolph said. "You couldn't pay the folks in Charleston to hold a Holocaust gala, could you? But you know, these are nothing but black people, so nobody pays them any attention."

When Southerners refer to states' rights, he said, "they are really talking about their idea of one right -- to buy and sell human beings."

"It has nothing to do with slavery as far as I'm concerned," he said. "What I'm doing is honoring the men from this state who stood up for their self-government and their rights under law -- the right to secede was understood."

Antley said, "Slavery is an abomination, but slavery is not just a Southern problem. It's an American problem. To lay the fault and the institution of slavery on the South is just ignorance of history."

Antley said about 500 people are expected to attend the ball, which begins with a 45-minute play and concludes with a dinner and dancing. S.C. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, an ardent Civil War re-enactor, is among the actors in the play. The actual ordinance of secession document also will be on display.

Randolph said the state NAACP is consulting with its national office in Baltimore regarding the format of the protests, which also could extend to other 150th anniversary events. "There is not one event that's off the table," he said.

Asked whether there could be good Sesquicentennial events, Randolph said, "If there were a dialogue to sit down and discuss that event 150 years ago and how it still negatively impacts the lives of so many people in this state and around the country, that would be a good discussion, but not an event to sit down and tell lies about what happened and glamorize those people who thought America was so sorry and so bad that they wanted to blow it to hell. That's what they did -- that's what they attempted to do, and we want to make that honorable?"

Charleston is receiving increased national attention as the nation's plans for the Sesquicentennial move forward. This was where it began, with the state becoming the first to secede on Dec. 20, 1860, and firing the first shot on April 12, 1861.

Most of the Lowcountry's Sesquicentennial events have been announced with little controversy -- many involve lectures by respected historians and scholars.

In its vision statement for the observance, the National Park Service said it "will address the institution of slavery as the principal cause of the Civil War, as well as the transition from slavery to freedom -- after the war -- for the 4 million previously enslaved African Americans."

Michael Allen of the National Park Service said he is aware of plans for the Secession Ball but noted that most Sesquicentennial events have found common ground among those with differing viewpoints.

"Now some people might be upset with some pieces of the pie. I understand that," he said. "I think that's the growth of me, as a person of African decent, is to realize that people view this in different ways."

Allen said other Sesquicentennial commemorations being planned will mark events that have a strong black history component, such as Robert Smalls' theft of the Confederate ship Planter and the 54th Massachusetts' assault on Battery Wagener.

"At least what's being pulled together by various groups, be they black or white or whatever, will at least be more broad based and diverse than what was done in 1961," Allen said. "Hopefully, at the end of the day, all Carolinians can benefit from this four-year journey."

Tom O'Rourke, director of the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, said Sesquicentennial organizers were fooling themselves if they thought the Confederate side of the story was going to be buried in the observances.

"I think there will be controversy, I think there will be hurt feelings, and I think that as this anniversary passes, we will question what else we could have done to tell the whole story," he said. "But I am OK with all of that. ... I think all discussion is progress."

Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/12/03/1847335/secession-ball-stirs-controversy.html#ixzz1737LSVRv

I'm not getting what I want for Christmas and I want all mankind to suffer. . .

Careful, mstar. Next thing you know the Yanks here will be accusing the South of seizing Saint Nicholas to make them be nice and play by the rules. Oh, wait ... we did that already. From the Baltimore Sun, July 2, 1861:

Seizure of the Steamer Saint Nicholas. -- Information was received yesterday that the steamer St. Nicholas, which runs between this port and Washington, was seized on Saturday by Confederates, off Piney Point, at the mouth of the Potomac. She left this city on Friday and stopped at the usual landings. When she reached Point Lookout [Maryland], where a number of passengers got on board, Capt. Hollins, late in command of the U. S. steam frigate Susquehanna, took command and went across the Potomac to Coan river [Virginia], where her passengers landed. Several ladies who were on board were cared for by the Virginians.

A large number of passengers who left this city by the steamer were bound to Virginia, and most of those who got on board at Point Lookout were Virginians, awaiting her arrival. After the passengers were landed at Coan river, one hundred Tennessee infantry and twenty-five sailors were put on board, and the boat, under command of Capt. Hollins, started for Rappahannock [Virginia]. She succeeded in running the blockade, and on her way captured three prizes, one schooner laden with ice, one with coffee, and one with coal – all of which were towed up to Fredericksburg. It is reported that one-thousand Tennessee troops are stationed at Heathsville.

The St. Nicholas has run regularly on the Potomac, but was not permitted to stop at any of the landings on the Virginia side. She is one among the best boats running from Baltimore, and of excellent speed.

My wife, our oldest son, and I visited Point Lookout this past summer. Her great-grandfather was a Confederate prisoner at the Union prison there and was known to have died at the prison, although he was not listed in the original Union records as having died there. Reportedly the same thing happened to many other Confederate prisoners whose deaths were not reported in the Union records.

We visited the private Confederate memorial outside of the Point Lookout State Park. The private memorial was set up because Maryland refuses to let Confederate flags be flown in the state park except on one or two days a year. My wife discovered a memorial brick at the private memorial that bore her ancestor's name and Confederate unit. One of his other descendants must have placed it there among the hundreds of similar memorial bricks. Made the trip special for her.

There were a number of plaques at the private memorial that list comments about the prison by some of the prisoners. Here are some of the comments. The plaques list the name and unit of the prisoner who made the comments:

The 1st day of January 64 was so cold that 5 of our men froze to death before morning. ... The 17th was so cold that we all had to lie down and wrap up in our blankets to keep from freezing for we had no wood for a fire.

Our tents were miserable affairs, being full of holes and very rotten. They were of the "Sibley pattern," and into each one of these sixteen men were crowded. In order to lay down at night, the men were compelled to lay so close together as to exclude sleep. ... On the 9th day of November, snow fell and there was not a stick of wood in the camp. The day was bitter cold, most of us were but poorly clad and very few had shoes of any description. ... The supply of blankets was very scant, and "bunks" were unknown. The cold ground was our bed. To add to our discomforts, the tide from the bay occasionally backed into the camp, and compelled those whose tents had been flooded to stand all night.

From Camp Chase we were taken to Pt Lookout and put into open prison without house or shelter. ,,, On the first night in that prison, the guards shot into the prison all around the fusillade lasting 10 minutes. It was like a strong skirmish fight. The guards beat was a wall around the prison. The following morning, we were told the firing the night before was simply a custom when a new lot of prisoners were put in. Some of my company were killed and others wounded.

I meant to say the bad decision was by the father, the son and other young men of the South were put in a bad position by the slavery obsessed secessionists. Do you think the "cause" was worth the lives of men like Henry Jackson? I don't. I have more regard for the lives of Southerners.

Thank you for your kind words and concern for my g grandparents' close relative and neighbor, Henry Jackson.

Yes, he was a brave fine young man. . . devoted to his father, family, and his ancestor's ideals and values. . . the same values as those of his beloved father.

AND JUST as his ancestors' before him, he chose to suffer, fight and ultimately give his precious life to preserve those same freedoms.

. . . BUT "Stop The Press" right here!

What an unusual phenomenon. . . dang why didn't we see this before. . . the coven must be right. . . young brave fine southern sucker Henry Jackson emerged from a void. . . a phenomenon . . . one of a kind!

. . . darn where's "The Enquirer" when the world needs them. . . aliens and crop circles pale in comparison to this anomaly.

ANYWAY. . . below is some personal information on
SIMON LEGREE aka Col. Stephen Jackson, my g grandparents' close relation, neighbor, and friend

AND much more important in the coven's opinion the plague of the earth. . . the Hitler of the day.

Colonel Stephen Jackson (1808-1887) Stephen Jackson was born February 12, 1808 in Chesterfield District, South Carolina, the son of Henry A. Jackson and Mary Blakeney. He was the grandson of Colonel Stephen Jackson who acquired the nickname "Killing Stephen Jackson" during the Revolutionary War in regards to his exploits during that period. His maternal great grandfather was Captain John Blakeney, a Captain of Militia during the Revolutionary War. He married Roxanna Timmons (June 28, 1814 through June 7, 1902, daughter of Isaac Timmon and Sarah Davis). They were the parents of seven children: Maximillan Frank Jackson, who married Susannah Burch; Henry Andrew Jackson; Henrietta Francis Jackson , who married William M. Burch; Louisa Jane Blakeney Jackson, who married Isaac S. Huntley; Susanna Jackson, who married Wesley J. Redfearn; Mary C. Jackson, who married Pickett Laney; and William Stephen Jackson. Stephen Jackson was one of the most influential men of his era in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Very wealthy, he often signed security bonds for neighbors and was appointed guardian ad litum for many of the areas minor children and legal cases. He was a leader in the Chesterfield County Secession Movement in 1860, and was the speaker who called for a vote on leaving the Union November 19, 1860. He was a delegate from Chesterfield County to the South Carolina Secession meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, and was signer for the Ordinance of Secession. Tradition states that General Sherman placed a reward for his arrest on him when the Union Army was present in the County in 1865. After the war, Jackson was a member of the State Legislator for ten years, was Sheriff of the County for eight years, and Chairman of the County Commission for ten years. He died November 16, 1887, and was buried in the family cemetery near the North Carolina line.
Unfortunately, in recent years, that cemetery was destroyed being plowed under by a local farmer. Those buried there are now remembered by the placement of a granite marker at nearby Elizabeth Baptist Church in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. (found at: Chesterfield County, SC Genealogical Services http://www.pigggenealogy.com/colonel_stephen_jackson.htm

FROM Simon L's obituary as the world rejoiced "The Hitler Of The South" was finally swept from the earth;

Col. Stephen Jackson of Chesterfield Co., South Carolina Hon. Stephen Jackson Died at Chesterfield Court House, at an early hour on the morning of the 16th of November, Hon. Stephen Jackson. Although for several months his family and intimate friends had been admonished that the powers of his vigorous constitution were declining, yet the illness which terminated his life was sudden and of short duration. He was confined to his room only a few days. Although he would never admit that he was seriously ill, his friends and physicians were alarmed at the very commencement of the attack. He was in Charleston during the festivities of the Gala week, and exposed himself a good deal. He contracted a violent and deep seated cold, which, accompanied by a high grade of catarrhal fever, racked his whole system to a degree that was too much for one who glanced at the clergy... [illegible] Although he lacked but three months of being eighty years of age, he was very erect, and moved with the firmness and agility of a man of thirty. He was fond of out door sports, and, as he remarked but a few weeks before his death, could ride after a pack of hounds as long as a fox could run before them. The deceased was the son of Henry Jackson, and a grandson of Stephen Jackson of Revolutionary fame, who moved from Virginia to South Carolina before the Revolution of 1776. His mother, who was a sister of the late General J. W. Blakney, lived to the age of ninety-four, and was able to ride about the neighborhood on horse-back till within a few months of her death. Col. Jackson was in many respects a remarkable man. Besides his powerful physical conformation, he was endowed by nature with more than ordinary intellectual powers, which, though added to some extent in development, were never subjected to the influence of liberal educational privileges- except so far as he supplied them himself. He had a quick and active mind, was a close observer of men and measures: and with just and discriminating powers, he generally arrived at correct conclusions and always stuck to them with a tenacity that smacked of Roman firmness. He was thoroughly honorable and high toned, full of public spirit, loved his country and State and was ever ready by word and deed to promote the public weal. Col. Jackson during his long life had the entire confidence of the people. He never sought popularity, yet he was always popular; firmness of purpose, promptness and energy of execution and independence of the vague and fluctuating opinions of others, after he had once deliberately formed his own, were among his predominate characteristics. To these valuable traits, fitted rather to secure the suffrages of the understanding rather to win the sympathies of the heart, he added the warm and generous affections which delighted in the intimacy of personal friendship, and which found solace and joy amid the endearments of home. He dearly loved his family, and was under all circumstances true to his friends. Col. Jackson had filled all the highest and most important offices of trust and profit in the county of Chesterfield. He was Sheriff, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, represented the County several times in the Legislature; and was with Judge Inglis and Judge McIver, a signer of the ordinance of Secession. ONE WHO KNEW HIM WELL Obituary published in "The Cheraw Reporter" 22 November 1887. Obituary contributed by Albert Jackson and Elizabeth R. Goins Picture contributed by Elizabeth R. Goins Transcribed by Janie J. Kimble

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