A Southern Missive

LESSON 6: Stories of the Confederate South “Lily”

This piece of short historical fiction is based on events recorded in the diary of William McCarter. He was a Federal soldier in the famed, Irish Brigade. By telling the story of a young girl who was killed when Charleston, Virginia was shelled, his story illustrates the sad effects of the North’s war on the civilian population of the South. For more examples read War Crimes Against Southern Civilians by Walter Brian Cisco and published by Pelican Publishing.

TOPICS AND PROJECTS FOR WRITING AND DISCUSSION:

1. History of West Virginia – West Virginia was founded by Abraham Lincoln’s presidential decree, June 1863.  As this story takes place in October of 1862, Charleston was still part of Virginia, though the opening says (to facilitate modern understanding of geography) the setting is in Charleston, West Virginia. The following site has a good summary of the history. http://www.wvtourism.com/spec.aspx?pgID=149 and one can find a summary of West Virginia’s role in the Civil War.
2. The Suffering of the Innocent in Times of War.
3. The Irish Brigade – Read about their history, uniforms, commanders, and role during the Civil War here: http://irishvolunteers.tripod.com/index.htm
4. The flag of the Irish Brigade: (This information and image of the flag is from: http://www.anyflag.com/history/irish.htm)

This flag is one of five regimental designs  carried into battle by the New York State Volunteer Regiments. The motto written in old Irish tongue means: “Who never retreated from the clash of spears” The motto is thought to have been suggested by the Irish scholar John O’Mahoney.
5. The Richmond Howitzers:  There is a modern day reenactment unit that honors the history of this unit mentioned in the story. You can learn more of them here: http://www.howitzers.com/
6. You can find a biography of General Thomas Francis Meagher at this site: http://irishfreedom.net/Misc.%20news%20items/TFMeagher%20headstone.htm
7. Fenian Brotherhood – One site to learn a little about them is here:
8. Have children sing, “Listen to the Mockingbird.” Read about the origin of the song here: You can find the lyrics here:
9. Have students play a game of checkers.
10. civility – Courteous, polite in word and action. For some thoughtful insights, read this article:

VOCABULARY:

1. transcribe – to listen and record in writing.
2. poncho – in these days rubber coated canvas with a hole that the soldier slipped his head through.
3. gabby – talkative
4. dilemma - A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.
5. hamlet – a small village.
6. memento mori – a reminder of death.

RESOURCES:

Mc Carter, William. My Life in the Irish Brigade: The Civl War Memoirs of Private William McCarter,

116th Pennsylvania Infantry. Ed.Kevin O’Brien. Cambridge, MA: De Capo,     1996.

Jed Marum, an internationally known Irish musician, wrote a song about the little girl mentioned in McCarter’s journal.  You can learn more of Jed Marum at his website:

LYRICS to “Mama’s Lily” by Jed Marum

She was just her Mama’s Lily
A pretty child, curious and bold
As I stood there with Michael O’Reilly
She might have been seven years old
She’d been placed high atop the piano
And arranged there with love and with care
By an African servant, her nanny
Cutting locks of the little girl’s hair
There were tears soaked locks of here hair.

CHORUS:
And it’s a hard cold edge to the wind tonight
It’s a bitter wind, cuts to the bone
& cruel is fate when its power and its might
To both guilty and innocent are shown
To both guilty and innocent shown

Charlestown was easily taken
Federal batteries had helped clear the way
When we went down to see,
Michael Reilly and me
The Rebel force had melted away
She’s been standing alone in the window
Watching soldiers retreat south and west
There was nothing to do,
When a cannonball flew
Through the window,
And on through her chest
Tore her arm and her heart
From her breast

CHORUS

Now I know we must fight for the union
But what a terrible price must be paid
And to make this land free,
Michael Reilly and me
Well we joined with the Irish Brigade
Now I look through my tears on this Lily
Shattered before she could bloom …
Still through death on her face
Shine her beauty and grace
Though she died from a terrible wound
And no child should ever die from such a wound.

I just finished reading My Soul to Keep (Multnomah Books) by Melanie Wells.  I first met Melanie in January 2008 at Kathy Patrick’s Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson, Texas. A fiddle player, she accompanied guitarist and singer Trish Murphy, and I was quite impressed with Melanie. After reading her novel, My Soul to Keep,  I am even more impressed. This beautiful and quiet-spoken author is deep water.  She is a counselor in private practice in Dallas and is also the author of When the Day of Evil Comes and The Soul Hunter, two novels I now intend to read.

For anyone who knows and loves to read about Dallas, Wells’ novel is a fine read. I was raised in Dallas, in parts of the city described in the novel, and as I read, forgotten streets and locations were resurrected in my memory.  Wells is a skilled mystery writer, but she also has extraordinary talents in character development. Some children are key to her story, and though it’s tough to make a child’s character interesting and dynamic in an adult novel, Wells pulls it off.  I’ve been an English instructor with universities for many years, and I identified completely with Dylan Foster, SMU professor and the novel’s protagonist. Why? In my fourteen years of adjunct English instruction at three colleges, I have known instructors just like Dylan Foster–sensitive, somewhat eccentric, and passionate. Wells’ story reveals deep research on her part in psychological and paranormal topics.

The novel’s plot is solid, intriguing, and best of all–not predictable. While the novel has an edge to it, there’s nothing repulsive or offensive in its presentation.  Wells’ novel reveals in-depth research on her part into the criminal mind, as well tremendous general insights into human nature. The novel is written so that the pace and intensity increases as you read, and before too many pages, you find yourself solidly, though imaginatively,  a part of Dr. Foster’s world.

Wells has the gift of expression. Her writing is full of wit and understatement both in narrative sections and in dialogue.  This is a novel you should read.Here are are just a few of my favorite lines:

“God has a tendency to not follow my orders, a niggling little policy of His I find quite maddening” (52).

“The manic laughter drained from his expression, leaving the raw hate and the impentetrable mistrust from years of a hard, bottom-scraping life” (291).

“My sink is pristine. My soul could use a can of Comet” (150).

“That was his style–vandalism with a creep-out factor”  (195)

Melanie Wells website has already been mentioned on this blog, but you can find more about her here:

Lesson Five: “Manhunter”

OPENING EPIGRAPH:

“There is no hunting like the hunting of men, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”—Ernest Hemingway

Topics for discussion and writing:

1) Discuss who would be manhunters today? (Bounty hunters, criminal investigators, elite soldiers, etc.) What skills are required? How would Chicoilithe have learned his skills? Do you think he enjoyed hunting men? Why? What did Hemingway know of hunting and especially, of hunting men?
2) Chicolithe is a true character. How does knowing this affect your perspective of him?
3) Camp Ford and the lives of the prisoners held there is described in detail at this site: Research and share interesting findings.
4) One of the “red-capped Zouaves” mentioned in the story kept a diary, which you can read here:
5) Discuss the dog Nimrod? Why was he given this name? How is the term Nimrod used today? (Someone foolish or silly) Discuss its original use in the Bible. Tradition says Nimrod was the builder of the Tower of Babel. There are many other legends about the historical Nimrod.
6) Chicolithe’s “Let loose the dogs of war” is a quotation from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Discuss its original context and why Chicolithe uses this quote.
7) Kate Stone from Brokenburn Plantation wrote a famous memoir entitled, Brokenburn. Research Kate Stone and the value of her journal. Find this book, read it, and discuss the life of a young girl in the time of war. Discuss why her family moved to Tyler.
8. Another of Chicolithe’s dogs was named Cerberus. In mythology, In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a vicious three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades, the realm of the dead.
9) Another allusion is to Cortez, the Aztecs, and the dogs Cortez used. Research how the conquistadors used the Mastiff in war.

Vocabulary and interesting people mentioned:

1) Molly Moore – a famous poet and writer of the day and in years after the war. She was known as the Texas Songbird. There is a United Daughters of the Confederacy Camp named after her. She really did visit Camp Ford.
2) kepi – type of cap worn by some soldiers.
3) stockade – a fence of built around the prisoners. Camp Ford used pine logs.
4) Jayhawkers – rogue groups of men who terrorized the civilian (and sometimes military) population. Members were often deserters, criminals, escaped slaves, or fugitives from justice.
5) mush – This was made of cornmeal. You can find a recipe for this hot creal and for fried cornmeal mush here: http://southernfood.about.com/cs/cornbread/a/bl30930u.htm
6) muslin - Any of various sturdy cotton fabrics of plain weave, used especially for sheets
7) cypress brake – A brake is an area overgrown with dense brushwood, briers, and undergrowth; a thicket. As cypress trees must have water for at least some of the year, this was then a dense thicket of cypress trees.
8. towhead – a blonde
9) sic – to set the dogs on someone. Compare our “sic’em!”
10. lariats – Used for throwing. In those days in Texas, they were usually made of horsehair or leather.