Representative Elijah Adams Morse, of Massachusetts, quoted in the Alexandria Gazette, May 31, 1890.
‘Let my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth when I make patriots and traitors equal, or when I fail to discern between the loyal soldiers who periled and laid down their lives in the defense of their country and the traitors who fought to destroy it.”
Born in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, Morse moved to Massachusetts with his parents, who settled in Boston in 1852. He attended the public schools, the Boylston School in Boston, and Onondaga Academy, New York. Enlisted in the Union Army in the Fourth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, during the Civil War. He served three months under General Butler in Virginia and one year under General Banks in Louisiana. He was promoted to corporal. Manufacturer of stove polish in Canton, Massachusetts. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1876. He was an unsuccessful Prohibition Party candidate for lieutenant governor in 1877. He served in the state senate in 1886 and 1887. He served as member of the Governor’s council in 1888.
Morse was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1897). He served as chairman of the Committee on Alcohol Liquor Traffic (Fifty-fourth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1896. He resumed manufacturing activities. He died in Canton, Massachusetts, June 5, 1898. He was interred in Canton Cemetery.
In the last issue of the Atlantic, Ga., American, we find some account of a Democratic meeting held in Appling county, in Georgia. It is reported to have been one of the largest and most enthusiastic political gatherings ever witnessed in that portion of the State, and hence the resolutions adopted on the occasion may be supposed to reflect the views and opinions of the Breckinridge leaders in Georgia. The following are the resolutions which were unanimously adapted:
“Whereas. The oft-repeated and continued aggressions of the anti-slavery party of the North leave us no hope that the “irrepressible conflict” is to have an end, or that we can ever again “dwell in unity;” be it, therefore,
Resolved, That for the future we spurn all offers of compromise. and unhesitatingly and unequivocally declare it to be the duty of every slave State, in the event of Lincoln’s election to the Presidency of these United States, without a moment’s delay — peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must — to sever the bonds which bind them to the Union and hoist the flag of a Southern confederacy.
That with John C. Breckinridge as our leader, and Toombs, Davis, Rhett, Boyce and Yancey as his aid-de-camps. we have nothing to fear. Though we may be compelled to follow them from the arena of politics to the more exciting and, to us, more agreeable one of the soldier — they promise us equality in the Union or independence out of it.
That we recommend to our brethren in each county in every slave State to call meetings without delay, to organize companies of cavalry and infantry, to arm and equip themselves, if necessary. at their own expense, and hold themselves in readiness to march at the call of their leaders.
That in thus publicly proclaiming to our enemies the course we intend to pursue, we warn them we have been so long goaded by their aggressions, their repeated violations of the most solemn compromises, that forbearance on our part has ceased to be a virtue, and can only be considered so by the craven wretch who would refuse to smite the hand that would destroy him. and that we are in sober, solemn earnest.”
Here we have clearly and bolding set forth the recklcss and revolutionary designs of a portion of the supporters of Breckinridge. We invite attention most particularly to the following points in the above resolutions, viz: That it is the duty of the Slaves States, in the event of the bare election of Lincoln, “without a moment’s delay” to sever the cords which bind them to the Union, and hoist the flag of the Southern Confederacy; that the second resolution couples the names of Mr. Breckinridge and Senator Toombs and Davis, and Messrs. Rhett, Boyce and Yancey, with such a movement, by asserting that with them as leaders and “aides decamp,” they have nothing to fear, though they “may be compelled to follow them from the arena of politics to the more exciting, and, to us, more agreeable one of the soldier:” and that they recommend their “brethren in each county of every Slave State, without delay, to organize, arm and equip themselves, and hold themselves in readiness to march at the call of their leader, whom they declare to be John J. Breckinridge and Toombs, Davis, Rhett, Boyce and Yancey.
Now, how many patriotic, honest, old line Democrats of the Jefferson, Madison, Jackson school endorse such traitorous doctrines, as those above enunciated, or will participate in measures so well calculated to produce civil war, by “precipitating the Cotton States into a revolution?” No, the true Democracy of the land are no more ready for such arming and equipping with a view to seceding in the event of Lincoln’s election, in accordance with the recognized forms of our Constitution, than are the Constitutional Union men: and if the masses in the South of those who will vote for Mr. Breckinridge believed that his views and his purposes were reflected or set forth by these resolutions, they would leave him by hundreds of thousands, and he would be left without a corporal’s guard in every Southern State where the people are permitted to vote. We call upon those who intend supporting Mr. Breckinridge as the candidate best calculated to preserve a Democratic government, to read and ponder the above resolutions.
Note: This article, originally from the Richmond Whig, was reprinted in the Alexandria Gazette, November 1, 1860 — five days before the election of Abraham Lincoln.
And so an Ohio republican Congressman thinks the exhibition of Confederate flags and the erection of Confederate monuments in the South must be prohibited, and is consulting his colleagues about the advisablllity of introducing a resolution to that effect in the U.S. House of Representatives. If he shall, it will probably be adopted, and be followed by another, prohibiting Dixey[sp.] and other southern songs from being sung, and gray cloth from being worn, throughout the limits of the South. Well, the South has stood worse things. After awhile restrictions will be put upon northern democracy. When judges are removed because their decisions are not in accord with the policy of the President, and when U.S. vessels are sent to take possession of southern towns, and their marines to search southern homes, nothing else that may be done under a republican form of government can be surprising. It is what the republicans don’t do that evokes the emotion of surprise.
An additional name, that of James W. Jackson, was added to the east side of the Alexandria Confederate Monument in 1900. Jackson, a civilian, was actually Alexandria’s first Civil War casualty, dying before any of the soldiers with whose names his is inscribed. An ardent secessionist, Jackson was the innkeeper of the Marshall House Hotel. In April 1861, he had hoisted Alexandria’s first Confederate flag over his establishment and vowed to blow to bits any Yankee who interfered with it. On the morning of May 24, 1861, as 24-year-old Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of the 11th New York Infantry marched through the occupied town, he noticed the flag. With a detail of comrades, he left the column, entered the hotel, climbed the stairs, and tore it down. True to his word, Jackson shot Ellsworth dead, only to be killed himself by another Zouave. It was said that Ellworth’s and Jackson’s blood ran together down the steps. Today a bronze plaque on the southeast corner of Pitt and King Streets, just a few blocks from the Confederate statue, marks the spot where both men died.
Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, Part 3, page 178
by: Kathryn Allamong Jacobs
The recent summary discharge of the three negro writers employed by the northern American Baptist Publication Society, simply, as acknowledged, because they are negroes, only adds one more to the innumerable instances that have, since the commencement of recorded history, demonstrated the fact that there is a natural race antipathy, that it exists in the North as well as in the South, and that a distinction made by God cannot be obliterated by man, and shows therefore that the protests of the negroes against it must be kicks against the pricks and attempts to resist the inevitable.
Senate Bill 444, the Memorial for Veterans bill, introduced in the Virginia Senate by Senator Jennifer T. Wexton:
Provides that a locality may remove, relocate, or alter a war monument or memorial, regardless of when erected.
The Committee on Local Government, comprised of 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats voted along party lines to “Pass by indefinitely” Wexton’s bill. The 7 Republicans voting to kill the bill were Senators Stanley, Hanger, DeSteph, Dunnavant, Chase, Sturtevant, and Carrico. Voting “no” on the motion to kill the bill were Democrats Marsden, Favola, Lewis, Surovell, McPike, and McClellan.
SB 444 would have stricken language passed in the Virginia legislature in 1890.
If such are erected, it shall be unlawful for the authorities of the locality, or any other person or persons, to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials so erected, or to prevent its citizens from taking proper measures and exercising proper means for the protection, preservation and care of same. For purposes of this section, “disturb or interfere with” includes removal of, damaging or defacing monuments or memorials, or, in the case of the War Between the States, the placement of Union markings or monuments on previously designated Confederate memorials or the placement of Confederate markings or monuments on previously designated Union memorials.
Wexton, a Democrat, represents parts of Fairfax and Loudon counties, and was elected to the Virginia Senate in 2014. Wexton is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, challenging the incumbent, Republican Barbara Comstock.
General Lee’s Farewell to His Army HEAD QUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VA
April 10, 1865
General Order — After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust to them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest. I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past service have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray a merciful God will extend to you blessing and protection. With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance or your kind and generous consideration of myself. I bid you an affectionate FAREWELL.
R E LEE, General
Lee’s farewell appears in the Alexandria Gazette on April 17, 1865
Read the great article, The Myth of the Kindly General Lee, in the June 4, 2017 post on The Atlantic website, by Adam Serwer. Serwer offers several great points to refute the assertion that Confederate General Robert E. Lee was a great and honorable man as his supporters so often claim.
In Lee’s own words, in an 1856 letter, argues that blacks are better off in slavery than they were in their native Africa.
I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence. Their emancipation will sooner result from the mild & melting influence of Christianity, than the storms & tempests of fiery Controversy.
I recently found a copy of a brochure, The Confederate Statue, distributed by the Office of Historic Alexandria. If I understand the coding at the bottom of the brochure, it was created in November, 2002.
The brochure compiles a number of reported facts related to the creation of the monument, including the names attached to its various sides.
I found one paragraph particularly interesting:
The name of James W. Jackson, the proprietor of the Marshall House who was killed on May 24, 1861, during the occupation of the city, was added to the east side of the statue in 1900.
James W Jackson
I find it interesting that the brochure omits the fact that Jackson was killed immediately after his murder of a U.S. Soldier, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth at the Marshall House.
Why would the city of Alexandria permit a murderer to be honored with a statue, and then neglect to mention it in the brochure they create to give background on the monument?
