Posted on 01/19/2006 11:20:56 AM PST by sheltonmac
You probably won't find anything special printed on your calendar for the 19th and 21st of January. In case you are wondering, those are the respective birthdays of Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
As a nation we have already honored Martin Luther King, Jr., and will commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln next month, but Lee and Jackson are especially dear to my heart. They were great men who embodied the inspiring courage, uncompromising honesty, principled conviction and moral fortitude we no longer see in our leaders today.
Both Lee and Jackson were men of action who fought valiantly to defend their homes and families. Jackson made it clear that if it were up to him, the South would "raise the black flag" and show no quarter to the enemy invading their homeland. They realized that while war was sometimes necessary, it should never be entered into lightly. As Lee put it, "It is good that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it."
Lee and Jackson were Southern gents through and through. Consider Lee's Definition of a Gentleman:
The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly—the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light.
The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past.
A true man of Honor feels humble himself when he cannot help humbling others.
Jackson's wife, Mary Anna, wrote of her husband that he "was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one of the 'unappropriated blessings' under the type of truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bachelor friends could be fortunate to win her."
Both Lee and Jackson believed in principle over pragmatism. Lee once said, "I think it better to do right, even if we suffer in so doing, than to incur the reproach of our consciences and posterity." Jackson summed it up this way: "Duty is ours; consequences are God's."
Jackson never lived to see the fall of his beloved South, but Lee was gracious even in defeat. When approached by those who wished to remain bitter after surrendering he said, "Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans." It was his position that "we must forgive our enemies. I can truly say that not a day has passed since the war began that I have not prayed for them."
Above all, Lee and Jackson were men of God. Lee loved to pray. He would be sure to let people know that he was praying for them, and he felt encouraged when he was remembered in their prayers. Once, upon hearing that others had been praying for him, he remarked, "I sincerely thank you for that, and I can only say that I am a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone, and that I need all the prayers you can offer for me."
Jackson was the epitome of a life devoted to prayer. No matter was too insignificant that it did not warrant communion with the Father: "I have so fixed the habit in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God's blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward. I never change my classes in the lecture room without a minute's petition for the cadets who go out and for those who come in."
Jackson had an intimate knowledge of the sovereignty of God and rested in the promises of his Heavenly Father. Following the loss of his first wife, Ellie, who died almost immediately after giving birth to a stillborn son, he wrote to his sister-in-law, "I have been called to pass through the deep waters of affliction, but all has been satisfied. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. … I can willingly submit to anything if God strengthens me." It was this unshakeable faith that taught him "to feel as safe in battle as in bed."
The more I see what passes for leadership today in our government, in our churches and in our homes, the more I am convinced that we need men like Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson. I guess it's time for me to watch Gods and Generals again.
When is George Thomas' birthday? He was the most consistently successful of any major Union field commander, but then I am prejudiced being a Virginian.
Sure...you might notice that the day goes practically uncelebrated or unnoticed in our state. Much to my dismay.
I however am flying my flag :)
Typical ignorant statement, from a typical ignorant Yankee.
Sherman....one of the greatest I agree
Typical ignorant statement, from a typical ignorant Yankee.
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Don't kid yourself. There were plenty of mostly poor white Southerners who did not want to fight to maintain the southern aristocracy.
Hardly. The generals of the Confederacy came closer to upholding the ideals of the U.S. Constitution than most of those following the Unionist dictator.
I would not presume to claim to know which most of the founding fathers would have joined alongside. But we do know which was raised by Revolutionary War hero *Lighthorse Harry* Lee.
Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right.
--Thomas Jefferson
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.
Any people whatsoever have the right to abolish the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better.
This is a most valuable, a most sacred right.'
--Abraham Lincoln; 1848
Though I disagree with the southern cause, I hold Lee in very high esteem. He was a rare and wonderful man. I'm so pleased I have a son who shares his birthdate today!
Read my posts. Andrew Jackson threatened to invade South Carolinia for the treasonous act of secession. Central Texas (the hill country) and Eastern Tennessee provided more troops to the Union than to the confederacy.
Born on July 31, 1816, in Southampton County, Virginia.
Happy birthday to your son! My youngest is 2 today.
Andrew Jackson threatened to invade South Carolinia for the treasonous act of secession. Central Texas (the hill country) and Eastern Tennessee provided more troops to the Union than to the confederacy.
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Well known facts. Poor southern whites understood that the war was being waged by the rich planters (with many exemptions) and the poor were fighting it. It's a complex issue but glorifying the Confederacy and its supporters both in the North and Sought makes no sense.
Awwwwww, a sweet 2 year old! Mine is 24....does that mean I'm getting old? I hope not! Lol! Happy birthday to yours as well!
I did not know today was Confederate Heroes Day. That would explain the flags being at half-staff. Thanks for clearing that up for me. It always makes me happy when the Glorious Cause in the War of Northern Aggression is remembered.
And here we go...
None of us is old - conservatives only "mature." :-).
*spit* NOT likely...
That is WHY he was successful! (Because he WAS a Virginian)
:)
That is WHY he was successful! (Because he WAS a Virginian)
:)
If it weren't for the traitors to the crown in the 18th century who took us to war over manufactured causes, there would have BEEN no Civil War as Slavery would have already have been ended, and the Northern Electoral Bloc could not have cut the South out of the ability to have any say in the choosing of the President.
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