J.D.R. Hawkins

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

Archive for the tag “University of Mississippi”

04 Aug 2021

Lest We Forget

There are so many sad stories involved with any war, but especially, the Civil War. Basically, the only way to communicate was through letters. The telegraph was fairly new, and was mostly reserved for officers and the wealthy. Therefore, many people had no way of knowing what happened to their loved ones who went off to fight and didn’t return. This is the reason for Confederate monuments and memorials, and it has NOTHING to do with racism. This was how they honored their lost loved ones, and it took decades to save up enough money to erect the monuments.

WHAT THE CIVIL WAR DID TO  FAMILIES 

(And the Mule Came Home Alone)

Here is the story of what happened to four University of Mississippi students and their families during and after the war. They all lived within 10 miles of each  other and all knew each other growing up. Three grew up in Holmes County, Mississippi near Richland, and those three all went to the Little Red Schoolhouse. The  fourth lived about 10 miles South in Camden, Mississippi, in Madison County. He may have gone to the Little Red Schoolhouse. If only I could know for sure. 

Richard C. Lipsey was his parents only child. His father was a farmer. Richard was UM Class of 1864. He joined the University Greys and he was wounded in the leg in the famous cornfield at Sharpsburg, the bloodiest 40 acres in America. His leg was amputated, and he came home to try to farm. How  does a one-legged man farm? He somehow farmed, raised mules, and got elected County Supervisor and then County Treasurer for 20 years. He was the last University Grey to die in 1920. From letters I have of his, he wanted to see any of his old friends for the last 20 years of his life. The Greys never did have a reunion. Lipsey never got to see his friends again. 

Jeremiah Gage was one of 4 Gage brothers. Three  were military age and one was 11 when the war started. Gage was UM Class of 1860, and UM Law Class of 1861. His Father died in 1860. Gage joined the Greys and he was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. He wrote his mother one last, sad letter before he died.

His older brother, Matthew was killed by a cousin in a business dispute in 1865. He had survived the war only to be killed by a cousin! Jeremiah’s younger brother was wounded in the shoulder during the war, and he lost the use of that arm from nerve damage. He came home to try to farm to support his mother and several younger sisters and brother. How does a one armed man farm? 

James F. Walton was UM Class of 1861. His Pastor father died in 1861. His only 2 brothers were at a church picnic in 1855, one of them started to drown in the swimming hole, a friend jumped in and was pulling him to shore. The other brother jumped from the bank to help, he landed on the other two, and they all three drowned. James joined the 29th Mississippi Regiment and he was wounded twice in the war. In 1864 he took sick. His mother heard he was bad sick in the hospital, and went to see him in Georgia. She found his body servant bringing the casket containing her last son home, at a train depot while changing trains. She took him home to bury him. 

James R. Montgomery was UM Class of 1858, and UM Law Class of 1861. Montgomery joined the University Greys. One younger brother was killed at Vicksburg. James was mortally wounded at Talley’s Mill in 1864. His only other brother survived the war. In 1869, four years after the war, that brother went out with the family mule to plow a field. Late that afternoon, the mule came back by himself. His father went out looking for his son. Apparently, his son had finished plowing the field, he unhitched the mule, and was leading him home. A lightning bolt hit his son and killed him, and the mule came home alone. 

As Jeremiah Gage wrote in a letter just a few months before he died, “War is a terrible thing, I hope another one never comes in my time.” 

That is only four families who lived close together, and their sons were friends. I can tell 100 of these stories from my research. Nobody knows, but me.

STARKE MILLER – Miller Civil War Tours 

(Article Courtesy of the Southern Comfort, Private Samuel A. Hughey Camp 1452, Sons of Confederate Veterans, President Jefferson Davis Chapter, Military Order of the Stars and Bars, Volume 45, Issue No. 8, August 2021)

VOLUME 45, ISSUE N0. 8 – AUGUST 2021 

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18 Jan 2018
4 Comments

The University Greys

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Following South Carolina’s secession from the Union, Mississippi seceded on January 9, 1861. Fervor about the impending war grew, with most thinking it would be little more than a skirmish that would last no more than ninety days. (If only they had been right.) Young men across the South gathered in preparation and formed militia-type military units. Once Ft. Sumter was fired upon in April, newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve as “the militia of the several States of the Union…in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed.” His actions only spurned more aggression, and Southerners felt they were left with no choice but to retaliate.

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On May 4, 1861, male students attending the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), as well as many professors, joined the fight. Known as the University Greys, 135 young men enlisted in the Confederate Army as Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. This was nearly all of the student body. In fact, only four students showed up for class the following fall, so the University closed for a time.

The University Greys fought in nearly every engagement of the Civil War, and participated in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, where they sustained a 100% casualty rate, in that everyone was either killed or wounded. Following Gettysburg, what was left of the University Grays merged with Company G, the Lamar Rifles, and fought until the end of the war.

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A special cemetery was set aside on campus for the fallen University Greys. Each grave was designated by a wooden marker. However, according to local legend, one day, a groundskeeper decided it would be easier to mow the grass if he removed all the markers. Unfortunately, once he was done with his chore, he couldn’t remember where the markers were supposed to go, so he stored them in a shed, where they were kept for years.

Although no one knows exactly where each soldier is buried, a large monument designates the sacred area and speaks of the sacrifices these admirable young men suffered. Every May, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other historical groups gather to pay their respects for the University Greys by holding a special service in honor of them.

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It’s a shame Ole Miss is consistent in forgetting how its students fought for what they deemed a worthy cause at the time. In recent years, the university has done away with its mascot, Colonel Reb, and has refused to fly the state flag. They have discussed removal of statues on campus as well as changing various street names honoring their brave warriors. Political correctness has taken precedence over historical remembrance. I certainly hope Ole Miss retains some of its amazing artwork, instead of caving in to political correctness and to those who wrongly deem all Confederate images as racist.

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https://civilwartalk.com/threads/memorial-window-to-the-university-grays-co-a-11th-mississippi.91879/

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05 Aug 2014
5 Comments

No More Ole Miss? Shameful!

Here’s the latest slap in the face for those who cherish their Confederate heritage. The University of Mississippi is planning to make even more changes to their campus. A few years ago, the university dropped “Colonel Reb” as their mascot. (And what is the new one again? No one seems to remember or care.) According to USA Today, a new Vice Chancellor for Diversity will be named. The main road through campus, Confederate Avenue, is slated to have its name changed to Chapel Lane. And plaques will also be placed on Confederate monuments, which will state the historical significance of the statues. According to Chancellor Dan Jones, these are “racially divisive sites,” and he intends to “add modern context to their symbolism.”

Not only that: the name of the school, Ole Miss, will be phased out as well. According to Jones, there will be a defined shift in the common use of the nickname “Ole Miss” to closer identify with sports and school spirit. “Some faculty are uncomfortable with (the term “Ole Miss”) — either because they see it as a nickname or because they believe it has racial overtones,” said Jones. 

According to Grayson Jennings of the SCV Virginia Flaggers, “Ed Ayers, with whom Waite Rawls (of the museum formerly known as the Museum of the Confederacy) has worked closely over the last several years, and Christie Coleman, who runs the American Civil War Center at Tredegar, to whom Rawls sold out our museum, were named among those influential in helping Chancellor Jones to construct this program to eradicate our [Confederate] history and dishonor our Veterans. 

“Mr. Rawls remains a member in good standing of the Virginia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans… while our Confederate treasures, so lovingly donated and collected ‘in eternal memory’ of our Confederate ancestors, are now subject to the same revisionist ‘modern interpretation’ that is already found at Tredegar, and is soon to be nailed to our Confederate monuments and markers on the campus of the University of Mississippi.”

Jones also said, “It is my hope that the steps outlined here – reflecting the hard work of university committees and our consultants – will prove valuable in making us a stronger and healthier university, bringing us closer to our goal of being a warm and welcoming place for every person every day, regardless of race, religious preference, country of origin, ability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender expression.” 

How is it warm and welcoming to those whose ancestors fought and died for their homelands? Some are even buried there, right on campus! What about how it offends us? I, for one, am appalled at this never ending assault on our heritage. It is unacceptable to appease one group of individuals by attempting to be politically correct without taking into account the thousands who it offends by erasing history. These attacks must stop. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are doing their best to fight off these attacks, but other groups need to get on board, like historical groups, heritage groups, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, the Confederate Rose, etc. If we don’t stand up and start making noise about this, like the people who are achieving success in defaming these historic sites and symbols, it won’t end until they’re all gone.

For more info, check out:

http://hottytoddy.com/2014/08/01/chancellor-jones-announces-plan-for-leadership-on-race-issues-and-diversity/

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