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As a Southerner and native of the Shenandoah Valley, I offer reflections on the Civil War-era South… and sometimes a little more. But… expect the unexpected
Browsing All posts tagged under »Shenandoah Valley«
Shenandoah Valley Delegates Vote on Secession
This is a record of the votes made by the Shenandoah Valley’s delegates to the Virginia Secession Convention. Keep in mind that these votes were made on April 4 and April 17 respectively. The referendum was not to take place until the latter part of May. An asterisk (*) indicates that the vote of that […]
Protect slavery or face “degredation and ruin.”
March 29, 2011 by Robert Moore
Looking back 150 years ago, from the Shenandoah Valley… this comes from the Staunton Vindicator, March 29, 1861… The question is not “Union”. That is irretrievably, hopelessly broken up. No compromise of right–no palliation of wrong, or denunciation of its resistance, can restore its fallen columns. Nor can past glory reconcile to a future of degradation. The only […]
WYSIWYG Confederates?
March 20, 2011 by Robert Moore
Pardon the silence for the last week. A few unavoidable matters over the past week set posting back a bit, but let me see if I can get things moving once again… What are WYSIWYG Confederates? Well, in Web development, WYSIWYG is an acronym for “What you see is what you get”, and, in some […]
Remember the Alamo! 175 years ago today.
March 6, 2011 by Robert Moore
There was, indeed, a Robert Moore in the Alamo when it fell, 175 years ago today. I remember reading his name on the list of those lost there, when I visited that sacred ground in Texas, a few years ago. I doubt that the Alamo’s Robert B. Moore is any relation(*), but he was born […]
One site, multiple angles for interpretation
December 19, 2010 by Robert Moore
One of my favorite historic sites in Page County, Virginia is Catherine’s Furnace. Because of efforts made in the early 2000s, the site has one Virginia Civil War Trails marker. I was fortunate to be involved in deciding that the site merited a marker, and I also wrote the text and provided images for the […]
Willa Cather’s Civil War Heritage
December 8, 2010 by Robert Moore
I’m a huge fan of Writer’s Almanac, partly because it’s a great audio morsel that brings back hints of a time long gone, and partly because I’ve enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion for years. Additionally, I enjoy the closing remark, and find it encouraging at the beginning of the work day… […]
Regarding Mrs. Fannie S. Gibbons
October 24, 2010 by Robert Moore
Having promised to tell more about the subject of the poem that I posted the other day… I really don’t know a great deal about Fannie Gibbons, but know much more about her husband. Nonetheless… Fannie Shacklett, daughter of Samuel (1804-1886) and Maria Graham Henry Shacklett (1811-1870) was born April 27, 1834; Samuel Shacklett being […]
“water of many turns”
October 9, 2010 by Robert Moore
Just the other day, I made reference to the Lenape/Delaware word “Conococheague“, which means “water of many turns.” Funny, but that pretty much summarizes the way I write this blog… not to mention the fluid nature of many blogs. The content can turn, twist, and completely shift, without warning. It’s more a reflection of what […]
How did the doctor “take care” of the witch?
October 8, 2010 by Robert Moore
Just thinking back to how the doctor “saw to it” that the witch that “cursed” my great-great grandmother would be “in hell by morning.” Frankly, we will probably never know his method, and will wonder about the wide range of possibilities. Still, Samuel Kercheval did mention a couple of methods by which one could “cure… […]
Why “Cenantua”?
October 6, 2010 by Robert Moore
I love this time of year. It’s a chilly day, the sky is overcast… … I have a fire in the wood stove… … and a relaxing cup of cappuccino in my manly-man Mickey Mouse coffee mug (what else??!!) is close at-hand. Feels like a good time to sit down and write… just wish I […]
So, finally… this Confederate vet and the witch…
October 2, 2010 by Robert Moore
One of my great-great grandfathers, Charles Robert “Tanner” Hillard, was born on October 3, 1844 (in fact, that will be 166 years ago… tomorrow), a son of Jacob (1784-1864) and Phoebe Elliott Hilliard (ca. 1822-???). As for the Civil War part goes… Charles’ younger brother, Jacob, hired himself out as a substitute (for […]
What do a Confederate veteran and a witch have in common?
October 1, 2010 by Robert Moore
Hey! It IS October, and seriously… what I said above is a sincere question. I’ll give details later this weekend… and no sarcastic answers to my question in the interim. In the meantime, like I said, it’s October! I love this time of year, and it brings to mind two things in particular… scary stuff […]
A Virginia slave in pursuit of freedom
June 3, 2010 by Robert Moore
I just finished reading something about John M. Washington, a slave who spent some time in Staunton, Virginia in the mid-1850s. To me, finding any account of a slave, for any amount of time in the Valley, is refreshing as it adds new dimensions to an understanding of what life was like here. Regretfully, I […]
Was Appomattox really sad for ALL those who loved the South in 1865?
April 11, 2010 by Robert Moore
Once again, while reading today’s post by Kevin, I’m compelled to write something longer than a comment to the post. Specifically, there was a comment at Richard Williams’ blog that was reflective of one contemporary person’s opinion of what April 9, 1865 meant to “all of us who love the South.” Well, to be frank, […]
State-by-state comparison of secession referendum numbers
December 9, 2008 by Robert Moore
Being just plain curious about the secession referendum in other states, I started looking-up the numbers a short time ago, and what I found surprised me. Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia appear to be the only states to actually allow the public to voice their opinion on the idea of secession. In Texas, the vote was […]
In an effort to separate fact from fiction
November 15, 2008 by Robert Moore
Just shifting gears a bit this evening and focusing on the complications of Civil War-era memory at the level of a small community. By no means is the following some earth-shattering historical finding, but I use it here to give an example of how we should take care in interpreting what we read… and what is […]
“Us,” “them,” and “we” in Civil War memory
November 7, 2008 by Robert Moore
Just a quick follow-up to yesterday’s post, and considering a comment made, I like to think back to something an old friend once said. It seems rather appropriate considering it was two years ago this month that this old friend, John L. Heatwole, passed away. The author of “The Burning,” John was often perplexed over the […]
Looking forward… and the thought of analyzing Southern Loyalist Claims
April 24, 2008 by Robert Moore
It might seem like I have laid aside my focus on Civil War “memory,” but I’ve actually been looking into beginning a run of posts that analyze Southern Loyalist Claims. In fact, what I may do is begin focusing on several regions (small groupings of counties in close proximity) within states and begin comparing the […]
An obsession with the American Civil War?
April 16, 2008 by Robert Moore
Yes, and some people just don’t get it. I mean, I know there are a lot of people out there who understand just what I’m getting ready to say, but I think most people just don’t understand “us.” What does it mean to be obsessed with the Civil War? This is no simple discussion when […]
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by Robert H. Moore, II
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Southern Unionists Chronicles
- In the case of Mr. Nicholas Breeden, Rockingham County, Virginia February 19, 2012
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April 17, 2011 by Robert Moore
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