The irony is, on the surface, remarkable. While serving as the First Lady of the Confederacy, living in Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capitol, Varina Howell Davis rescues a young African-American boy from a brutal guardian, and takes him into the Confederate household as a member of the family, an “adopted” son. Such is the legend of Jim Limber, also known as Jim Limber Davis. But is there any truth to this story?
The story of Jim Limber, while not exactly well-known, has been passed down throughout the years, and has been the subject of several articles and at least one book. However, Jim Limber’s story has been muddled over time, until the details have become exaggerated or fabricated.
The fact that Jim Limber did indeed reside with the Davis family is documented. Several contemporaries of the Davis family – including author Mary Boykin Chesnut – wrote of Jim Limber’s presence in the Davis household. Letters exchanged by members of the Davis family refer to Jim Limber, and there is at least one photograph of Jim Limber in existence, evidently taken at the same time as pictures of the Davis children were taken. Read the rest of this entry »
New Orleans, 1874. In the throes of Reconstruction, elections have erupted in riots throughout the city. Major general of militia and state police James Longstreet enters the fray, only to be pulled from his horse, shot – albeit with a spent bullet, then taken prisoner. The former hero of the Confederacy, the now-Republican Longstreet is now called a traitor and a scalawag. Soon after the riot, he and his family flee to Gainesville, Georgia.
In less than ten years, Longstreet went from one of the most prominent generals in the Confederate Army to a virtual pariah in the South. By refusing to cling to the tenets of the glorious Lost Cause, Longstreet became that which the Southerner despised – the scalawag.
Longstreet’s upbringing was thoroughly Southern. The son of a South Carolina cotton planter, Longstreet was sent to Augusta, Georgia for schooling, living with his uncle, writer/editor Augustus Baldwin Longstreet. Although admitted to the prestigious West Point, Longstreet’s time there was marked by poor grades and disciplinary problems; he graduated 54th of 56 students in 1842. His closest friend while there was Ulysses S. Grant. Read the rest of this entry »
Despite the fact that he met his fate early in the war, the Union produced few officers as colorful as General Philip Kearny.
Born in 1815 of wealthy New York stock, Kearny was raised by his grandfather after his parents perished while he was still a child. His grandfather insisted that a reluctant Kearny study law; Kearny followed his grandfather’s wishes, graduating from Columbia College with a degree in law in 1833, but Kearny’s law career was short lived. Read the rest of this entry »
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War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over. William Tecumseh Sherman
The American Civil War was years in the making. It was inevitable for years before the election of Lincoln to the presidency in 1860, the election that resulted in the secession of Southern states and the formation of the Confederacy. However, despite the fact that war was impending for some time, the people of the United States and the Confederacy – particularly the Confederacy – were unprepared for the reality of life during wartime, and as a result, many civilians suffered the war as keenly as did the soldiers who fought in it.
The first sign for all Americans, North and South, that the war would be felt at home was the disappearance of coinage at the outset of the war. U.S. coins, made from precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper, became scarce as fear of a long, expensive war set in. Hoarding coins became common; and for an economy that relied almost exclusively on coinage, the absence of coins meant that commerce nearly ground to a halt. Read the rest of this entry »
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In 1861, a nine year old boy named John Clem runs away from his Ohio home to attempt to join the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is turned away, as much for his small size as for his age. Undeterred, John Clem tries to join the 22nd Michigan. They also turned him away, but young John was determined; tagging after the 22nd Michigan, the regiment finally relented, and adopted him officially as a drummer boy, unofficially as a mascot. He was allowed to enlist two years later, at the seasoned age of eleven.
John Clem came to national attention, known as the “Drummer Boy of Chickamauga” among his many other titles, pictures and drawings of the small boy in his army uniform, almost like a toy soldier, appearing in national publications until The Little Drummer Boy was almost a household name. Clem became a symbol of the strength and power of the Union – a glorious institution for which even boys were willing to give their lives. Read the rest of this entry »
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