J.D.R. Hawkins

One bullet can make a man a hero… or a casualty.

Archive for the tag “Illinois”

28 Jun 2023

New Musical: “The Lincolns of Springfield”

Young Abe and Mary

I was asked to help publicize a new musical that premiered on June 15 and will run up through July 30. Here is more information about the play, which looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully, you will be able to attend!

Abe and Mary’s Wedding

“The Lincolns of Springfield,” is a new musical showing in Springfield, Illinois; a town long associated with President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln.  … People interested in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War are coming from throughout the country to attend a performance during the musical’s six week run.  We would like more people throughout the United States to know about this wonderful musical and come to Springfield on a fun summer road trip.  Additionally, Civil War reenactors who attend a performance in uniform will receive a lovely gift!  

The Lincolns of Springfield chronicles the incredible story of America’s greatest President and his much-loved wife, from their first meeting, through the end of the Civil War.  The audience is led down the highly improbable, yet entirely truthful, humorous and delightfully romantic path that leads to the courtship and marriage of the most unlikely of couples, the young Abe Lincoln and Mary Todd—America’s first power couple—whose husband freed a People and saved our country.

Abe and Mary in the White House

THE LINCOLNS OF SPRINGFIELD

MATTHEW PATRICK DAVIS, DEBORAH ROBIN, ROSEMARY BLANKSON, and MICHAL DAWSON CONNOR bring Terrence L. Cranert’s stirring new musical love story to life. 
The cast is completed with a gospel choir featuring Jacquelyn Levy, Linda Broadus Miles, Lacy Nicole Mason, and Philip David Hunter and a talented ensemble featuring Noah Heie, Casey Ryan, Megan Holeman, Lauren Barette, Catherine Oregon, Christine Gillian, Matt DeNoto, and Michael Reese Shald.
This musical for the entire family premiered in Springfield, Illinois on June 15 at Hoogland Center for the Arts – Peggy Ryder Theater, 420 South Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois, and runs through July 30.
The Lincolns of Springfield tells the love story you won’t find in the history books. The audience is led down a delightfully romantic path leading to the marriage of the most unlikely of couples, Mary Todd and Abe Lincoln, a Southern Belle and a backwoods genius. The Lincolns of Springfield chronicles the incredible story of one of America’s greatest President and his much-loved wife, from their first meeting through the end of the Civil War. From the moment the curtain rises, audiences are drawn into two very different worlds… Mary’s tumultuous world of the antebellum South—with gentility and honor juxtaposed against the backdrop of the scourge of slavery—and Abe’s vibrant, fearless world of possibilities that is America’s new frontier. Currently scheduled to perform throughout June and July at the Peggy Ryder Theater of the Hoogland Center for the Arts, the producers are currently in negotiation to bring the production to the New York stage.

MEET THE CAST

MATTHEW PATRICK DAVIS (ABRAHAM LINCOLN)   Broadway credits include Side Show. Regional credits include The Wizard of Oz (TACFA); The Nightingale, Limelight, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Jolla Playhouse); A Cinderella Christmas, South Street (Pasadena Playhouse); Haunted House Party (Getty Villa); Four Chords and a Gun (Bootleg Theater); The Complete History of America (abridged) (Falcon Theatre). He is a recipient of the LA Ovation Award.

DEBORAH ROBIN (MARY TODD LINCOLN)   has also played the lead character of Doris Day in Day After Day: The Life and Music of Doris Day for which she was named Best Actress in a Musical by the Orange County Theater Guild. She also played Mary Poppins at Center Theater Group, Christine in Phantom of the Opera and Belle in Beauty & the Beast among others. 

ROSEMARY BLANKSON (ELIZABETH KECKLEY)   is also a licensed music educator and experienced vocal coach and has taught both in Georgia and California. Rosemary is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association and originated the role of Elizabeth Keckley in the debut of The Lincolns of Springfield in 2009. She has starred in many theatrical and stage productions including Hairspray, Once on This Island, Smokey Joe’s Cafe and Thoroughly Modern Millie, to name a few.

MICHAL DAWSON CONNOR (TOM LINCOLN)   is an accomplished performer and composer of choral, chamber, and solo vocal works, with a particular emphasis on slave songs created before the Civil War. Broadway credits include featured performances in the Tony-Award winning productions of RAGTIME and SHOWBOAT as well as starring roles in productions of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, BIG RIVER, and PORGY AND BESS. He’s immensely proud of performing for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Billy Graham, Elizabeth Dole, and Admiral Michael Mullen.

www.TheLincolnsOfSpringfield.com


Latest Review:   https://www.ss-mag.com/online/a-review-the-lincolns-of-springfield-the-musical 

Posted by jdrhawkins in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War and tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
18 Jul 2019

Our Country Has Become Shamefully Hypocritical

This article is the perfect example of how political correctness, according to some fanatics, has become. How is rapping about a dead president and dehumanizing females okay, but displaying the Confederate flag as part of a band’s image is now considered racist? It’s nothing less than crazy.

Rebel

ILLINOIS CANCELS CONFEDERATE RAILROAD
It’s unclear how much taxpayers will have to pay to breach a contract with a country act that has been removed from the entertainment lineup for the DuQuion State Fair, but a downstate Illinois legislator said he’s baffled by what he sees as the hypocrisy of one state fair act being canceled while another is still expected to take center stage.

The DuQuoin State Fair, which runs Aug. 23 through Sept. 2, had initially listed the country music group Confederate Railroad among those slated to perform at the event. That performance was later canceled.

State Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Louisville, said that makes no sense. He said he doesn’t listen to country music, but did look into Confederate Railroad after the group was removed from the lineup.

“It’s just a bunch of southern redneck music, I guess, is how I would term it,” Bailey said. “But yet let’s look at the other side of the coin with Snoop Dogg who is to me is as anti-American, I don’t care who the president is, as anti-American as you can get. And we don’t stand for this stuff and we should not tolerate this.”

Some on social media called for a boycott of the fair over the cancelation of Confederate Railroad.

Bailey shared on social media a graphic depicting a Confederate Railroad album cover that contained the Confederate flag next to a Snoop Dogg album cover that shows the feet of a cadaver with a toe tag labeled “Trump.”

Snoop Dogg is set to perform Aug. 16 at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

The controversy made national notoriety with country artist Charlie Daniels posted on Twitter:

@CharlieDaniels
This political correctness thing is totally out of control
When a fair cancels the Confederate Railroad band because of their name its giving in to facism, plain and simple and our freedom disappears piece by piece. Sick of it.
17.9K
10:45 PM – Jul 5, 2019
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7,086 people are talking about this

Bailey said there are some questions the Department of Agriculture is going to have to answer.

Bailey said it makes no sense to feature Snoop Dogg, who’s made controversial overtones threatening President Donald Trump, at the fair in Springfield next month while canceling a country music act.

If Confederate Railroad were to perform, Bailey said he expects it would be a sellout show, boosting the fair’s bottom line.
We’ll find out because Confederate Railroad will play Sept. 5 at Black Diamond Harley-Davidson in nearby Marion.

Shad Zimbro is Black Diamond Harley-Davidson co-owner. He says booking Confederate Railroad was not a matter of showing anyone up but simply giving southern Illinois fans the show they wanted.
(Article courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter, July 12, 2019 ed.)

 

Posted by jdrhawkins in Civil War, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
17 Nov 2016

Stick to Your Guns!

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I love some people’s tenacity! In the following article, a sixteen-year-old from Illinois stood his ground last week, and I think that’s wonderful! More people should be as brave as he is in defending his rights and opinions. Here is the article. Let me know what you think.
EXPELLED FOR CONFEDERATE FLAG HISTORY PROJECT

 

When 16-year-old Hunter Bloom brought a Confederate flag to Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois on Tuesday for a history class project, he wore the flag tied around his neck for the rest of the day.
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School officials told Hunter not to wear the flag in school again, he said, but he came back wearing it Wednesday.  “I brought in the flag to basically enlighten other students of my vision of the flag itself,” Hunter, a junior, said. “And by doing so I enlightened the entire school when I walked down the hallway [wearing the flag.]”
Hunter was asked to leave school Wednesday when he wore the flag again, he and his father Kevin Bloom said, and was told he would be suspended for a longer period of time if he wore it Thursday.
The class project was called “my vision,” Hunter said, and while he spoke to the class on his views on the Confederate flag and the meaning behind its colors and symbols, other students presented on topics such as gun control and abortion.
“I’m not a racist person,” Hunter said. “I just support pro-freedom, and I support independence and pride – and that’s what the flag stands for.”
(Article courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter, Nov. 11, 2016 ed.)
Posted by jdrhawkins in Confederate Battle Flag, Uncategorized and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 May 2015

Sioux Falls and the Civil War

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Last week, my husband and I attended a presentation hosted by the Minnehaha County Historical Society in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The program was held at the Old Courthouse Museum, and discussed “Civil War Veterans of Minnehaha County.” All of these veterans fought for the Union, and most were from the Midwest. Twenty veterans were highlighted, and most were founding fathers of Sioux Falls.

Bill Hoskins, director of the Siouxland Heritage Museums and a member of the 13th U.S. Infantry Regiment, Company D, was the speaker. According to Mr. Hoskins, there are 347 documented veterans of the Civil War who are buried in 18 cemeteries in the county. Five percent were held as prisoners of war in Andersonville, Georgia, Camp Floyd, Texas, and Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. There are only 55 Confederate soldiers who are buried in the Dakotas.

Over the course of the war, the Union army grew from 10,000 soldiers to over one million. Some were mustered out in the summer of 1866 in my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. After the war, many veterans participated in westward expansion through the Homestead Act. According to Mr. Hoskins, ex-Confederates were not allowed to participate. Many Confederates who were held captive at Rock Island Prison Camp in Illinois stayed in the Dakotas to fight Indians after they took the oath.

Fort Dakota was built on the banks of the Big Sioux River in June, 1865, where Sioux Falls is now. Two hundred and twenty-one men were members of the G.A.R. in Minnehaha County, and seventy percent were farmers. Some had various professions at the same time, such as doctors and fire chiefs. They promoted veterans’ affairs, and many were members of the Mason’s. These men helped shape South Dakota into what it is today.

Posted by jdrhawkins in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2015

Tragedy on the Mississippi

Ill-fated_Sultana,_Helena,_Arkansas,_April_27,_1865

One hundred and fifty years ago today, the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history took place. This little known event happened on the Mississippi River, not long after the Civil War ended. The name of the vessel was the Sultana.

At the close of the war, Union prisoners were released from Southern POW camps. Some of the parolees were transported to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they awaited their release. Riverboats traveling along the Mississippi River vied for the lucrative opportunity to transport newly released prisoners to their homes in the north, and were paid handsomely by the Federal government. One such vessel, the Sultana, was chosen to transport Andersonville and Alabama prisoners, who were crowded onto the boat, surpassing the 376 person limit.

The boat made its way upriver to Helena, Arkansas, where the above photo was taken. It docked in Memphis, and shortly before 2 a.m., set off for Cairo, Illinois. However, seven miles north of Memphis, the boat suddenly exploded, sending burning prisoners to their deaths or into the icy cold river, which was flooded and swollen with spring thaw. Those who weren’t burned to death or drowned managed to make their way to the riverbanks, and waited for rescue while they watched the unmanned boat spin helplessly in the water, aflame in the night sky. After being rescued, the surviving Union soldiers were taken to hospitals in Memphis. Many succumbed to their wounds, or to their weakened state as POW’s, but some survived. Approximately 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers perished.

Controversy still surrounds the tragedy, including a conspiracy theory that Confederates sabotaged the boat, but this was never proven. It is believed that a faulty boiler actually caused the explosion. Although the riverboat was overloaded, and some people were rumored to have taken bribes, no one was ever held accountable.

Today, there are monuments signifying the event. One is located in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. The disaster was overshadowed by President Lincoln’s assassination, as well as the manhunt for his killer, John Wilkes Booth, who was killed the day before in Virginia. The Sultana tragedy was barely reported in newspapers. Americans were tired of war and death, so the horrific event was essentially ignored. It was a terrible ending to a terrible war.

Posted by jdrhawkins in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, John Wilkes Booth and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
19 Oct 2012

Not a Rebel After All

What a difference one letter makes! Recently, writer, historian, and radio personality Larry Weatherford, from Danville, Illinois, made an astounding discovery when he learned that a Confederate soldier wasn’t who everyone thought he was. For years, locals were told of the lone Rebel soldier who was buried among Union dead. But recent developments have changed all that.

After curiosity compelled him, Weatherford delved deeper into the mystery concerning John C. Durbin, a Virginia native who moved to Linn County, Iowa, and was believed to have fought for a Louisiana regiment during the Civil War. After the war ended, it was thought that Durbin returned north, and later died at the National Soldiers and Sailors Home in Danville, Illinois, nearly 110 years ago. Weatherford learned that a simple “typo” gave the misconception about Durbin’s loyalty. On his headstone, the letters “LA” instead of “IA” were carved. Whoever screwed up assumed that Durbin fought for the Confederacy, so he carved “Confederate States Army” underneath.

Weatherford investigated military records to learn that there was no John C. Durbin who fought with the 24th Louisiana. However, the name appeared in documents listing members of the 24th Iowa Infantry, Company H. Weatherford also turned up pension records, census reports, and rosters to verify his findings. As a result, John C. Durbin’s headstone was corrected last month.

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