Uncommon History

Not too often in my internet travels do I come across articles that transcend the typical battle or leader profiles. More often than not, when I do come across articles centered upon the lives of soldiers or civilians, one of the typical themes left out is their religious mindset and beliefs. Readers at Uncommon History know that I come from a certain perspective that religion was a driving force, and to a large extent even continues to be so today.

Today I came across an article that very much illustrates the religious passions of one woman during the Civil War that motivated her to exceedingly support the Southern view she and her family had adopted.

Eliza kept a diary throughout the war and although I have not had the opportunity to read it, many of the extracted quotes I have read  speak very plainly that there were plenty of American citizens at the time that would, and did, sacrifice all for their religious convictions.

Here are just a few quotes from her diary:

“I am becoming more firmly fixed in my conviction concerning this war that religion will be more intimately interwoven in its history than any which had ever preceded it,” she wrote on October 13, 1862. “The men who have honored God are the men he has chosen to honor on almost every field.”

“And I do feel the judgments of Almighty God will rest upon the heads of the Northern people for their unjust interference, thereby thwarting our plans for the elevation of our colored people in a moral point of view.” Slavery, Eliza Fain believed, was the cornerstone of the war effort – the very reason her kin had pledged to fight and die for the cause.”

“When a band of Federal soldiers passed her home in October 1863, she challenged them to reflect upon their motives to wage war. “They have to acknowledge that slavery has been the inciting cause to this war,” she triumphantly declared.
“They all tell me if they thought they were fighting to free the Negro they would quit and go home.”

I can do no more justice at present on this intriguing woman than the fine writing of  Maggiemac at Civil War Women. You can read her article on Eliza at her blog.

Further Reading

The genesis of this day of celebrating love is among those dates clouded in a mist of uncertainty. Among the most convincing tales surrounding Valentine’s day is that it is a commemoration of the martyrdom of a Christian who refused to recant his faith in Jesus Christ. This beleiver, named Valentine, was killed for his faith (perhaps also because as a temple priest, Valentine had defied the Roman Emperor Claudius) on February 14, 269 AD. It is said, in this version of the story, that the daughter of his jailer had befriended him and before his death, left her a farewell letter in which he closed with, “From Your Valentine.”

According to history, the Queen of Roman gods and goddesses, known as Juno, was honored every February 14th. It had become the custom for young girls to write their names on slips of paper and young men would draw these names from their container. During the festival that followed the following day, known as Lupercalia, the boy and girl matched by the paper slip would participate in the festivities together. Tradition has it that eventually some of these pairs would fall in love and even marry. Over time, Popes of the Roman Catolic faith were apt to replace pagan festivals with celebrations of their own faithful followers. Thus was the case in 496 AD when Pope Gelasius decreed that February 14th of each year would be a day of memorial to honor Saint Valentine.

Over time, Valentine became regarded as the patron saint of lovers and a custom of exchanging messages of love and friendship emerged. These simple yet intimate messages of endearing love were soon followed by poems, gifts and flowers.Modern commercialism has greatly affected the way in which Saint Valentine’s memorial is celebrated, but the central theme of love and friendship remains.

Of course, as is the case with many ancient customs and traditions, the actual source of the celebration is a matter of acedemic contention. Regardless of the exact history behind what is known today as Valentine’s Day, it would be wise not to engage in intellectual debate over its origins of February 14th. Instead, those who have a special love interest in their life would be well advised to leave history to scholars and arrive on time and with a token of love and gratitude. Such an act will honor the memory of Saint Valentine and keep the celebration a joyous one.

Learn more about the plight of the American Abolitionist Movement

On June 24, 1813, Henry Ward Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. At the age of 26, Henry became a Presbyterian minister and served in that capacity in Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis. In the year 1847, the Reverend Beecher went to Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. He was a skilled orator and popular preacher who drew in thousands to Plymouth Church each Sunday.

His Congregationalist pulpit was a favorite place to espouse his political and social views which included abolition, women’s suffrage, Darwin’s theory of evolution, as well as temperance. It was from this pulpit that he became an outspoken critic of the Kansas-Nebraska bill and through his political activism, Henry Beecher raised money to purchase rifles that were used to oppose the spread of slavery. Armed with these “Beecher Rifles,” volunteers including John Brown and his five sons departed for the contested ground of Kansas.

As a civil war loomed nearby in 1860, Beecher exchanged his Free Soil Party membership for that of the Republican party. As the lines were drawn and sides taken, Beecher used the resources of his congregation to raise and equip a regiment of volunteer infantry. His associations, and politics throughout the war abdicated a complete end to slavery. He even went so far as to converse with President Lincoln about proclaiming an end to slavery. His abolition aims did not end there as Beecher embarked upon a speaking tour in England in order to raise opposition to further support for the Confederate South. When the war came to an end, the Reverend Beecher advocated that, “Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.” Reverend Beecher died on March 8, 1887 and was buried in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.

The Beecher family included a number of political, social and abolition activists that included:

- Sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- Sister, Catharine Beecher, educator
- Brother, Charles Beecher, activist
- Sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker, activist
- Nephew, Edgar Beecher Bronson

Interesting side-notes:
In 1870, Henry Beecher was accused of having an affair with Elizabeth Tilton, the married wife of a family friend. The information reached the ears of women’s rights and free love activist, Victoria Woodhull, who publicly claimed that Beecher had embraced the free-love doctrine that he had denounced from his pulpit. Subsequently, Woodhull was arrested for using the mail system to send obscene material. Beecher was eventually exonerated by the Plymouth Church of any wrong doing.

Strict adherence to Calvinistic orthodoxy reigned supreme in the Beecher houshould and the family did not celebrate Christmas or birthdays in order to avoid ‘undue frivolity.”

“I don’t like these cold, precise, perfect people, who, in order not to speak wrong, never speak at all, and in order not to do wrong, never do anything.”

Further Reading

The following is the population breakdown for the United States in 1860.

STATE	TOTAL POPULATION	TOTAL # OF SLAVES	# OF FAMILIES	TOTAL FREE POPULATION	TOTAL # SLAVEHOLDERS	% OF FAMILIES OWNING SLAVES	SLAVES AS % OF POPULATION
ALABAMA	964,201	435,080	96,603	529,121	33,730	35%	45%
ARKANSAS	435,450	111,115	57,244	324,335	11,481	20%	26%
CALIFORNIA	379,985	0	98,767	379,994	0	0%	0%
CONNECTICUT	460,138	0	94,831	460,147	0	0%	0%
DELAWARE	112,216	1,798	18,966	110,418	587	3%	2%
FLORIDA	140,424	61,745	15,090	78,679	5,152	34%	44%
GEORGIA	1,057,286	462,198	109,919	595,088	41,084	37%	44%
ILLINOIS	1,711,942	0	315,539	1,711,951	0	0%	0%
INDIANA	1,350,419	0	248,664	1,350,428	0	0%	0%
IOWA	674,904	0	124,098	674,913	0	0%	0%
KANSAS	107,206	2	21,912	107,204	2	0%	0%
KENTUCKY	1,155,684	225,483	166,321	930,201	38,645	23%	20%
LOUISIANA	708,002	331,726	74,725	376,276	22,033	29%	47%
MAINE	628,270	0	120,863	628,279	0	0%	0%
MARYLAND	687,049	87,189	110,278	599,860	13,783	12%	13%
MASSACHUSETTS	1,231,057	0	251,287	1,231,066	0	0%	0%
MICHIGAN	749,104	0	144,761	749,113	0	0%	0%
MINNESOTA	172,014	0	37,319	172,023	0	0%	0%
MISSISSIPPI	791,305	436,631	63,015	354,674	30,943	49%	55%
MISSOURI	1,182,012	114,931	192,073	1,067,081	24,320	13%	10%
NEBRASKA	28,841	15	5,931	28,826	6	0%	0%
NEVADA	6,848	0	2,027	6,857	0	0%	0%
NEW HAMPSHIRE	326,064	0	69,018	326,073	0	0%	0%
NEW JERSEY	672,035	0	130,348	672,017	0	0%	0%
NEW YORK	3,880,726	0	758,420	3,880,735	0	0%	0%
NORTH CAROLINA	992,622	331,059	125,090	661,563	34,658	28%	33%
OHIO	2,339,502	0	434,134	2,339,511	0	0%	0%
OREGON	52,456	0	11,063	52,465	0	0%	0%
PENNSYLVANIA	2,906,206	0	524,558	2,906,215	0	0%	0%
RHODE ISLAND	174,611	0	35,209	174,620	0	0%	0%
SOUTH CAROLINA	703,708	402,406	58,642	301,302	26,701	46%	57%
TENNESSEE	1,109,801	275,719	149,335	834,082	36,844	25%	25%
TEXAS	604,215	182,566	76,781	421,649	21,878	28%	30%
VERMONT	315,089	0	63,781	315,098	0	0%	0%
VIRGINIA	1,596,318	490,865	201,523	1,105,453	52,128	26%	31%
WISCONSIN	775,872	0	147,473	775,881	0	0%	0%
Total	31,183,582	3,950,528	5,155,608	27,233,198	393,975	8%	13%

Further Reading

Us Census Bureau

Finding that perfect gift for Civil War history buffs can sometimes seem rather daunting. Today I received an email newsletter that takes the guesswork out of your gift-giving predicament. What would a Civil War historian want more than an the acreage of an actual battlefield?

Through CWPTs “Give and Acre” gift-giving campaign, your donation to save precious acreage on endangered Civil War battlefields will speak highly to your fellow historian. The recipient of your gift will receive a personalized ecard as well as a one-year subscription to CWPTs magazine, Hallowed Ground.

The Give an Acre website allows you to choose from a select list of endangered battlefields or simply make the donation and CWPT will choose the most critical acreage to apply your gift to.

Your tax deductible gift will always be remembered and cherished by the recipient. The nation will be rewarded as well with further preservation of a perishable piece of its history.