J.D.R. Hawkins

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

Archive for the tag “Lincoln”

24 Jan 2017

The Lincoln Bible

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On Inauguration Day last Friday, the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, was sworn into office using what is known as the Lincoln Bible. He is the third president to have done so. An interesting tradition is that presidents are given the opportunity to choose which Bible they will use for their swearing in. Trump chose the Lincoln Bible, as well as a Bible his mother gave him.

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The Lincoln Bible, published in 1853, is a King James Version covered in burgundy velvet. It was first used at the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The Lincoln Bible was not considered to be anything special at the time of Lincoln’s swearing in. Similar Bibles are valued at only $30 to $40. Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court, loaned the Bible to Lincoln for the inauguration ceremony. After Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, the Bible was passed down to his family. In 1928, it was donated to the Library of Congress.

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The second president to use the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration was Barrack Obama. During his 2009 inauguration, a spokesman said Obama chose to use the Bible because he thought it represented American unity. Obama also used the Bible in 2013.

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Prior to last Friday’s ceremony, a spokesman for Trump said the newly-elected president was inspired by Lincoln’s words. “In his first inaugural address, President Lincoln appealed to the ‘better angels of our nature,” said Tom Barrack, chairman of Trump’s presidential inauguration committee. “As he takes the same oath of office 156 years later, President-elect Trump is humbled to place his hand on Bibles that hold special meaning both to his family and to our country.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/us/politics/lincoln-bible-trump-oath.html?_r=0

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/18/the-symbolism-of-trumps-two-inaugural-bible-choices-from-lincoln-to-his-mother/?utm_term=.e8901d31df77

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/17/donald-trump-inauguration-bibles/96661060/

http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln/videos/lincolns-inaugural-bible

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04 Aug 2016

The Truth is Out There

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There are so many misconceptions today about why the Civil War was fought, what motivated the South, and what the Confederate battle flag truly represented. Some people are wrongly offended by the flag because they don’t really understand what it symbolizes. I found the following letter interesting, so I wanted to share.

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The Truth About the Confederate Battle Flag

Many of the facts that I reference…were included in a message delivered several years ago by Pastor John Weaver…

Combine the current attacks against Biblical and traditional marriage, the attacks against all things Confederate, the attacks against all things Christian, and the attacks against all things constitutional and what we are witnessing is a heightened example of why the Confederate Battle Flag was created to begin with. Virtually every act of federal usurpation of liberty that we are witnessing today, and have been witnessing for much of the twentieth century, is the result of Lincoln’s war against the South. Truly, we are living in Lincoln’s America, not Washington and Jefferson’s America. Washington and Jefferson’s America died at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

Instead of lowering the Confederate flag, we should be raising it.

© Chuck Baldwin

http://www.confederateamericanpride.com/battleflag.html

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1220517550

(Courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter)

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29 Oct 2014

Haunted Houses and the Civil War

I previously mentioned a famous haunted house in Gettysburg known as the Farnsworth House, which stood witness to the battle in July, 1863, and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address the following November. So many other houses are reportedly haunted that the list is virtually endless, but a few host more Civil War ghosts than others.

One other house in Gettysburg is supposedly haunted by Jennie Wade, who resided there and was killed by a stray sharpshooter’s bullet during the battle. The Carter House and the Carnton House, both in Franklin, Tennessee, are still visited by ghosts who witnessed the horrible Battle of Franklin in 1864. The McRaven House in Vicksburg, Mississippi, as well as the Lee-Custis House in Arlington, Virginia, are also ghostly dwellings.

New Orleans entertains its share of Civil War ghosts, along with many other spiritual entities. The Beauregard-Keyes House is said to play host to its former owner, General P.G.T. Beauregard. On several occasions, witnesses have heard and/or seen Beauregard’s Confederates charge through the dining room, complete with yelling, screaming, gunfire, and cannonade.

I met a nice young man last weekend who, once he found out I was a Civil War author, proceeded to tell me about the house he grew up in near Nashville. When I asked if it was haunted, he nearly turned white as a ghost, and told me that he had witnessed strange, scary, unexplainable things. I can’t wait to hear more about what happened. Another friend lives in an old plantation house in Hernando, Mississippi. This house is haunted, too. Not long ago, he and another friend, (both Civil War reenactors) were sitting in the parlor area when a candlestick on the mantle rose up, floated over to the center of the room, and fell to the floor with a crash on its own accord. Skeptics once, they believe in the supernatural now.

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12 Apr 2011

Ft. Sumter

Today marks the 150th anniversary of what I consider to be the official start of the Civil War, when Confederate troops fired the first shots of the war on Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor. There were no casualties, and the Confederates succeeded in “capturing” the fort.

As the war progressed, each battle became bloodier than the last. Many thought the conflict would only last ninety days, and the Confederates were certain that, if they applied enough pressure, Lincoln would grant their request to become a separate nation. Instead, he called for more troops.

This month has officially been declared Confederate History/Heritage Month by many states, including Mississippi. April was an eventful month in the War Between the States. These included the firing upon Ft. Sumter, Lincoln’s assassination, General Lee’s surrender, the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of South Mills, and the surrender of New Orleans.

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23 Mar 2011

Civil War on a Cruise

We’ve all heard of cruises to the Caribbean, or to Nassau or Alaska. It is estimated that 150,000 people go on cruises each year. Cruise lines such as Carnival and Holland America take tourists all over the world, from Florida and Hawaii to the Mediterranean and Australia.

Some even offer exotic and unusual destinations. But one cruise line, Insight Cruises, offers historical destinations. Some examples are “The History of the Automobile,” “Caribbean History,” “Vietnam,” “Political History,” “Mayan Ruins,” and “WWII.”

They also offer several Civil War themed cruises, including Abraham Lincoln, Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson, religious history of the Civil War, and how the war created a new Southern woman. The History Channel sponsors these cruises. Each cruise features a guest speaker, and prices start at $649 per person. (I know people who have taken these cruises, and it was the trip of a lifetime.)

For something new, interesting and different, check out www.insightcruises.com/history.

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