http://www.mize.town.ms.gov/history.html
Posted on 08/22/2010 9:45:59 AM PDT by jay1949
Tishomingo County is a scenic slice of the Backcountry nestled in the Appalachian foothills of far northeast Mississippi. The Butler Dogtrot cabin was built near The Natchez Trace circa 1870 and survives as a fine example of this rustic architecture.
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Interesting. Nice blog. Love anything Appalachian!
My great grandfather was born in Obion county, Tennessee in 1855 and moved his family to Arkansas in the late 19th century before settling in the Puget Sound area around 1905.
They may have traveled through this neck of the woods. I have his model 1894 Winchester rifle he purchased new in 1895.
Were there Union supporters in this corner of Mississippi during the War? Tishimingo Dogtrot Log Cabin Republicans?
Have never been in the deep South, but it’s on my bucket list.
The French Camp dogtrot is an excellent preserved cabin — unfortunately, it is not in the Library of Congress archives. It was the subject of an interesting study which demonstrated that the old-timers knew what they were doing — dogtrot cabins produced good passive ventilation. See: http://www.arch.ced.berkeley.edu/vitalsigns/bld/Casestudies/dogtrot_high2.pdf
The battle of Iuka was fought in Tishomingo County on Sept. 19, 1862. It tends to be overlooked because of a battle in Maryland the same week. The battle of Iuka was followed a couple of weeks later by the battle of Corinth and fighting in some nearby locations—a lot of fighting in that part of Mississippi and the adjacent part of Tennessee in 1862, but most of it gets ignored (except for Shiloh).
LOL - - well, I don’t have anything specific for Tishomingo County, but there were Unionists thereabouts. Mississippi, like every Confederate state except South Carolina, had a regiment in the Union army. Also, there were far more “leave-aloners” than volunteers — “leave-aloners” being of Unionist or anti-slavery sentiments who wanted no part of the fight. This is why the Confederacy depended so heavily on conscription to fill its military ranks.
In terms of numbers, the Civil War was primarily a war of skirmishes and small-scale engagements, most of which are ignored or relegated to footnotes. By and large skirmishes were fought under commanders who knew what they were doing and wanted their men to live to fight another day. What dominates Civil War “history” are the big, bloody battles fought under the commands of West Pointers. These big affairs produced long casualty lists although they were often inconclusive. I’ve not run numbers but I’d guess that more than half of the battle casualties for both sides resulted from fewer than five per cent of the engagements.
In my bailiwick there were several skirmish-sized battles than no one who lives away knows about.
There’s a wonderful example in Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson County, Tennessee about 30 miles West of Nashville.
I had one ancestor living in Missouri who served in a Union outfit--his brother was a Confederate. Another direct ancestor was a Confederate.
I just learned that a second cousin, four times removed, is one of the Union soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (Most of my relatives with his surname were Confederates, but he was from Ohio.)
On the one hand, I’m as Southern as it gets — every one of my direct ancestors was born in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Europe. Not a Yankee in the bunch. On the other hand, some collateral kindred migrated to Indiana before the Civil War, and the only one of my kinsmen killed in the war to my knowledge was an officer in General Sherman’s army. My direct ancestor who “fought” for the Confederacy was a Unionist who was conscripted after several years of draft-dodging. (He fought in one battle, was wounded and captured, was nursed back to health in a Yankee hospital, then paroled and put on a ship to Georgia where he and others were exchanged for Yankee prisoners. Evidently the authorities expected him to report back to his unit in Winchester, VA, but he got off the train in the vicinity of Charlotte, NC, and walked home.)
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...one branch of my father’s family lived in what they called a ‘dog run’ cabin outside Monticello FL...they burned it down and raked the nails out of the ashes to take them when they left for Texas in the 1850s...I remember people living in dog run houses in the Florida panhandle in the late 1940s...it would always be a little cooler in the run.
You should check out the Battle of Franklin. Over 60,000 soldiers fought, over 8,500 casualties, including 5 confederate generals, all in a 1.5 x 2 mile area. All in all, a disaster for the south, and a battle that is often overlooked in the history books.
Mississippi ping - 3
We lived in several of these dog trot houses when I was a boy.
We moved so much and often every time a pick up truck pulled up in the yard the chickens laid down and crossed their legs.
I had a distant cousin who did a lot of genealogical research who was from Mississippi. Unfortunately he died shortly before I became interested in that so I never had any contact with him. His grandfather, I think it was, died in Corinth early in 1862--so his death was not connected to any of the battles.
Thanks for the posts! They are VERY enjoyable!
“We moved so much and often every time a pick up truck pulled up in the yard the chickens laid down and crossed their legs.”
LOL! You’re so funny! ;o)
That was a wonderful article! Thank you so much for the post and ping!
I learn something new every time you post!
NeoYankees here will try to tell you that the Jones County criminal gang was a full fledged regiment....just wait....they will be here soon as they get through with their orgy on the Buchanan thread.
My ancestors in Sullivans Hollow in Smith County tween Mt Olive and Mize used to have a log cabin standing from 1790s...the oldest continually lived in structure in the state.
A dogtrot...open air with two distinct sides.
I had fried peach pie their in 1980 with my 4X grandpa pappy Tom Sullivan’s great grandson Shep Sullivan and his wife. They by then had running water and an add on bathroom and power...but no AC. I hope it is still there. I think it is.
The annual reunion of Tom’s 1000s of descendents is last Sunday of September....I may drag some of my lads down.
I was just gazing at that last night thinking about it....weather a bit drier and cooler...a break from 4 months of tropical weather
Winstead and Breezy hills block my view to the west but that saddle between them and Lewisburg pike gives me a broad span of view from the Federal guns on the eastern flank overlooking the Harpeth all the over to town center and where the gin woulda been.
and that knoll about 500 yards in front of Carter House where that goofy Federal commander put that brigade out front to run for their lives...can't recall name right this second.
Franklin was a bloodbath....the death rattle...Hood had to have been high and crazy to do it. He could have waited and let them retreat back to Nashville the next morning and prepared for an assault on Nashville but he was still furious over Spring Hill...his fault too..sleeping. Or he coulda let Forrest have the division he wanted to flank them to the west and drive them into the Harpeth rolled up....possible given their weak western flank. Instead he just attacked a fortified position head on and wasted 1000s and 1000s of lives and his best generals.
One of wars bloodiest and least victorious victories I know of. By the way...it was Cox's brilliance for the Yankees not that fellow who got a pistol named after hisself. A mere colonel drew a lot of southern blood that evening due to Hood's irrational endeavor.
/rant
http://www.mize.town.ms.gov/history.html
I’ve read an account of the exchange between J.B. Hood and N.B. Forrest in the immediate few minutes after the plans for the Battles of Williamson County were laid out to Hood’s General Staff.
Hood had lost a leg at Chickamauga, and many think he was under the influence of whiskey and laudnum at the time of the plan. Apparently Forrest said to him something along the lines of “Sir, if you were a whole man, I’d kill you now where you stand.”
Thanks — so do I
You’re welcome — I enjoy doing them
You are most welcome
“My mother’s side of the family built a dog trot cabin in east Texas in the 1820’s.”
Similiar story to my paternal Grandmother’s family. The Durhams and McGills of Cherokee County in East Texas. Their dog trot cabin still exists and the last time I saw it it was still in good shape. The dog trot breezeway is now an enclosed hall though. The porches are still there and glass windows were installed many years ago. It looks a lot like the one pictured in the article but is in much better condition. Its on top of a high hill with great views.
When I was a youngster, the “old folks” used to have a big family reunion there every fall. (Talk about good ‘ol Southern country cookin’, yum yum!). But as they died off, the tradition finally died out. Too bad.
SirKit has a picture of his maternal Great Grandmother standing on the porch of a dogtrot cabin. It was probably taken in the very early 1900s. His Mama’s people, as well as my Daddy’s people were from the woods of MS. Sullivan’s Hollow sounds VERY familiar, for the Smith family, and my Daddy’s people, the Brown family, was from the Richton, then Rolling Fork area.
It sounds like your view is very near to that of Tod Carter when he saw his home for the first time in 3 years. He only made it there to die.... as I recall from the tour, he was mortally wounded in the garden, and his family found him after the battle and brought him to the house, where he died several days later.
I took Jr G to the Carter house after the re-burial of the civil war soldier last Oct. The funeral was wonderful and moving, the tour of the Carter house was probably too graphic for a 10 year old.
Tod was mortally wounded to the west out near Battle ave and West Carters Creek near Smith's brigade
fascinating story
amazing how we drive thru all this every day isn't it?
even my kids are learning where everything took place...they always knew the spot at Shy’s Hill where we used to live in town (Music City) and a very young Colonel Shy was bayoneted to the tree by errant sadistic Federals
i walked my American Bully just now at the path at Winstead
the Winstead plantation is another cool story...he left his estate to his slaves
never gonna hear about that from the NAACP are ya?
I grew up on Mississippi battlefields as a lad and we all dug up stuff from time to time so I've been living this forever...I bet where I live now has some history since one CSA Corps moved up and down this lane that day and not to mention all the skirmishes for 4 years...Williamson county saw a lot of minor action too
history rant/off
I’ve never heard the term “dogtrot” until this thread. What’s wrong with east MS?
Frankly, another thing about east MS is that “bless your heart” isn’t a snide comeback. We really mean it!
Lordy...even being born in raised in the same state, our culture is so different.
My grandaddy was raised in a dogtrot, along with 10 brothers and sisters...another died in infancy. My grandaddy was the one who moved to town, and made a success of himself. However, even though he was the fourth child, he was the one who supported the rest of his siblings.
He had two careers. In his first career in business, he retired at 45. He was bored so he started another career at 50, and retired at 65.
He took the social security checks and used them until he figured that they had repaid him, with interest. After that, he gave his ss checks to charity.
He tried to stop the checks, but they kept coming.
Why...that looks brand new!
You should attend simply because you are the older.
You have much needed and desired information to hand down to your younger kin.
Believe Forrest could have flanked, as he said. And an awful shame to lose Patrick Cleburne. Deo Vindice.
I agree...given anywhere near remotely even odds and Forrest always prevailed.
No question, the Federals would have been in deep doo-doo had Forrest been commissioned Bragg’s slot
Do you still feel any southern roots in your psyche?
I often wonder about that. I have distant kin like yours who just moved on and ended up on the west coast 100 years ago.
Those of us here still grounded in the south feel it like it’s in our DNA...the specialness of it and the sense of commonality....which is why we bristle as the high and mighty who scorn us...very proud of our disctinctiveness in the American fabric (yes...how Hallmark sounding).
How do those 3-4 generation now removed feel?
just wondering..
That is a good question since I always wanted to be the Confederate when we played “war between the states” as children. My father’s ancestors showed up pretty early in American history, a direct DNA line to a Virginian man in 1646. I spent some time in New Orleans and Mississippi in the 1970’s and felt right at home with the locals - people in the south are so well mannered and friendly they remind me of small town Alaskans (we lived there 25 years).
I guess I always felt a bond with southerners and plan on making an extended trip within a few years.
good for you...i was curious
as a boy we had kin in Santa Fe NM and some in Marin area in northern kali
to me as a lad it seemed like the promised land and the west was the future and I would surely live in northern Kali or maybe Montana
then I spent a bulk of my young adulthood between NYC and the tropical third world
now having been back in the South for 14 years, it would feel odd now in middle age to live anywhere else
What a very interesting exchange between you two.
My family has been in Mississippi since well before it was a state.
I’ve been in Oregon for almost 20 years. I left Mississippi when I was 19 years old, and have lived from CA to NC...and points inbetween...since then.
I have 3 grandchildren who visit Texas and Mississippi only once a year, but the South has rubbed off on them...or maybe it’s their genes.
All of them...even the youngest at 12...love sweet tea, and one knows how to make it properly. For the most part, their taste in food is more Southern.
The biggest surprise for me is that my born and raised Oregonian son-in-law would fit in better in Mississippi than he does out here....food wise, attitude wise, and politically speaking.
And, I was afraid my daughter would marry a long-haired, maggot infested, dope smoking liberal... ;o)
In this first picture, a classic dogtrot home and family. I believe this was taken somewhere near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, circa 1908. The little boy with blond hair, second left, will be in the next photo as an adult.
In this photo, the little boy from above is the grown man, standing on the back row, far left. Next to him is his wife, who is holding their first grandchild. The young lady, 3rd from left is their oldest daughter. She will be in the next photo.
This home was in Purvis, MS and was also in the dogtrot style. I visited there as a youth. It was later sold, moved, and reassembled with all the modern conveniences.The last I heard, a retired preacher and his wife live there.
And here is the young daughter from the photo above, in her later years. She and her husband had just bought this old mobile home to refurbish, planning to use it as a fish camp.
Mississippi ping to post # 49.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2575451/posts?page=49#49
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