Thinking of Philadelphia

Random thoughts from Philadelphia, you know, the City of Brotherly Love:

 

Thought 1: Stopped on the way here to visit the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville. If you read this blog you know it discusses many visits to historic places, mostly battlefields, many of which witnessed a great loss of life. You’ve read many times that we walk those fields with awe and respect. Well, none of the places written about here

have had the emotional impact of the Memorial. Not going to try to write about those feelings now, except to recommend you make the effort any time you are in the area. Give yourself lots of time because the position is about 35 minutes away from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and, once you get there, leaving is difficult. You just don’t feel like driving away.

 

Thought 2: Roughly 100 yards away from our hotel, directly in front of the

"Oh. It's McClellan."

Philadelphia City Hall, there is a statue of General George B. McClellan. The statue hasn’t moved much since it was erected and neither did George when he was in command of the Army of the Potomac. That’s why he got fired. Looked at the statue for the second time in the same day today and said out loud, “There’s McClelland. He still hasn’t moved.” First time we saw it, walked to the front to see who the statue honored and said, dully, “Oh. It’s McClellan.” Mrs. Leeway, a little exasperated, responded, “Well, you didn’t think it was Lee did you?”



 

Reynolds

Thought 3: Less than 100 yards from the statue of the statue-like McClellan, there is a statue honoring General John Reynolds. Reynolds actually led men forward into battle and has been partially credited/blamed for starting the Battle of Gettysburg. Reynolds deserves a statue in his honor.

 

Thought 4: The Eagles and Rams exchanged quarterbacks between seasons. Neither has been successful. That was some deal, bad for both teams. In the past, Rams quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin, Roman Gabriel, John Hadl and Ron Jaworski have been successful for the Eagles. Not so much this time. The Eagles have played more like turkeys this season.

 

Thought 5: Can’t easily find decent Mexican food in Ohio, but here in Philadelphia, there is a place named Dos Tacos. Had lunch there today, two tacos (Get it? Dos Tacos?). Pretty darn good, Kobe beef and no space wasted with cheese, lettuce or tomatoes. Just beef and a smear of sour crème. A little pricey, 7 bucks, plus tax.  They also sell boxed water there. Water in a milk carton?  Humm.

 

Thought 6: Cruised through something called the Fabric Workshop and Museum, which is really just an art school for the type of art stuff I don’t understand. One thing we did not see was anything having to do with the history of fabric. They do teach silk screening, which I understand, but not for shirts. Instead of shirts (which you might be able to sell and generate profits), they do lots of artsy stuff with it. Felt like we were watching a Woody Allen movie because the exhibits and videos we saw made no sense. The best stuff we saw? A bunch of silk screen murals done by high school kids. I guess the kids haven’t been confused enough yet.

 

Thought 7: Thinking about driving a car in this town? I have a better idea: Put your car up on a lift and pound the chassis and suspension with a big sledge hammer for a while. You’ll get the benefit of exercise with your severe underside damage and you’ll save gas money.

 

Thought 8: If you have healthy legs, this is great town for visitors. Historic spots, history museums and art museums (the real stuff) are all within walking distance of each other. Given the role Philadelphia played in the story of the founding of the country, that’s a great thing. Look out! You might learn something.

 

Thought 9: They know how to hold a parade in this town. We walked over two blocks and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade while standing on the sidewalk. A few nice floats, good high school marching bands, some balloons and, of course, Santa.

 

Thought 10: How many towns can say this? Philadelphia has hosted visits by both the Pope and ESPN’s College Game Day show this year.

 

Thought 11: Just checked and, nope, McClellan hasn’t moved yet.

 

Thanks for reading.

Daniel Lewis and the Civil War

          Most discussions about the Civil War conjure up debates over commanders and their decisions, the strategic ideas at the start of campaigns and how they worked out. Production capabilities of the two sides get a lot of attention as do the ocean-born battles.

          You’ve seen books about Grant versus Lee, the Civil War in the west, Sherman’s March and the like. An overloaded bookshelf sags under the weight of such books a few feet away from this desk.

          The Civil War was really a struggle between soldiers, the grunts who carried the rifles and made the artillery work. Those are the soldiers who made the courageous stands and charges. Officers made the decisions but the average private made the difference.

          Actually, only the privates who made it to the battlefield made a difference. In the American Civil War, most of the casualties did not come in battle. Three of every four soldiers who died during the war succumbed to disease.

          Daniel Lewis was a Private in Company F of the Second Battalion of Hilliard’s Legion. He stood 5-feet, eight inches tall, had black hair and grey eyes. The Legion was an Alabama outfit in the Confederate States Army. He enlisted March 29, 1862 when he was 24 years of age.

          Regular readers of this blog know the Legion’s history. The Legion played a key role in the Confederate victory at Chickamauga in September of 1863. The soldiers in the Legion were then split into two regiments and a battalion and those units surrendered at Appomattox in 1865.

          Lewis, however, did not fight at any of those places. He died of disease November 3, 1862, a little more than half a year after he’d enlisted. He died at Fair Ground Hospital in Atlanta and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in the same city.

          Lewis left behind a wife and two daughters. Martha Betsy Elizabeth Castleberry married Daniel Lewis January 3, 1857. Martha was five years older than her husband and their union produced two daughters, Mary Jane Lewis (born 1857) and Minerva Lewis (1859).

          A third child, a girl named Loveda, was also part of the family. She was born before Daniel and Martha were married and might not have been Martha’s child.

          The census of 1860 shows the Lewis family held $500 worth of real estate. Daniel was a farmer, so the land holdings were most likely used for that purpose. The family also had personal property valued at $200 and lived in the Mount Olive area of Coosa County, Alabama. Daniel’s death left the family financially vulnerable.

          Shortly after learning of his son’s death Daniel’s father, Abel Lewis, filed the paperwork for the family to receive Daniel’s final payment for his military service. The Confederate government’s payment was dated March 20, 1865. That was less than a month prior to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

          Paperwork moved slowly in the Confederacy.

          Of the remaining members of Daniel Lewis’ family, only Mary Jane Lewis and Loveda lived beyond the early 1870s. Both Martha and her younger daughter, Minerva, are believed to have died before 1872. Mary Jane Lewis died November 11, 1898 at age 41. History is a little unsure about Loveda’s life but she did live long enough to inherit money from Abel Lewis, her grandfather.

          One family’s story, viewed against the backdrop of the Civil War era, seems inconsequential. The bigger story is more important, right? The war came, we fought it and we rebuilt.

          But it says here that the bigger history is really the total of ALL the family stories. Every family had a story to tell that somehow linked to the continental calamity that was the Civil War. All families, be they northern or southern, loyal or rebel, white, black or native American, mattered. In fact, that’s what the war was about.

          Your loyal blogger is in no way descended from the Lewis family, but what’s the difference? All of us are descended from somebody, all of us have ancestors with a story.

          And all of those stories deserve to be heard.

          Thanks for reading.