Society
City
Personals
By Mary Clay Brooks
Cupp
family celebrates January birthdays
Nancy Smith
of Oxford was the Saturday afternoon guest of Claiborne
Thompson.
Christopher
and Jenny Cupp and daughter, Emma Grace, of Olive Branch
and Beverly Fitch and children, Trey and Shelby, of
Collierville, Tenn., joined Billy and Tammy Cupp and
Becky Cupp Thursday night to celebrate the “Cupp
January Birthdays.” In honor of the occasion, they
went out to eat fish.
(To put your
news in City Personals, please e-mail maryclayb@yahoo.com;
mail to City Personals, The South Reporter, P.O.
Box 278, Holly Springs, MS 38635 or call 662-252-4261.
You may also
e-mail your City Personal news to south@dixie-net.com)
Miss Ejeera
Selmer and Tracy Joiner will exchange vows Feb. 12 at
Asbury UMC
Saundra
Hearn Ben-Isreal of Chicago, Ill., announces the
engagement and forthcoming marriage of her daughter,
Ejeera Y. Selmer to Tracy A. Joiner, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Harvey Joiner of Oxford.
The
bride-elect is the granddaughter of Landry Hearn and the
late Wilkerson Hearn Jr. and Mary Selmer of Ripley and
the late Drake Selmer.
She is a
1993 graduate of Holly Springs High School and received a
bachelor of social work degree in 1997 and a
master’s degree in health promotion in 2001, both
from the University of Mississippi. This summer she will
receive the master of education degree in counselor
education, also from Ole Miss. She is employed at Family
Crisis Services of Northwest MS, Inc. as a therapist and
forensic interviewer.
The
prospective groom is a 1992 graduate of Lafayette High
School in Oxford and received his associate’s degree
in business administration from Northwest Community
College in Senatobia in 1994. He is currently employed as
a foreman for Joiner Concrete Finishing Co. in Oxford.
The couple
will exchange vows at 4 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2005 at Asbury
United Methodist Church.
Museuming
By Lois Swanee
Museum Curator
Horses in
the War Between the States
Horses were
an integral part in the Civil War. Without horses, the
War could not have been fought, as the horse is what made
the movement possible. Horses pulled the artillery, they
carried the men and they carried or pulled the supplies.
At the beginning of the War, the Northern Army probably
had three million plus horses and the South had nearly
two million.
The people
in the South had always had horses of which riding and
horsemanship were major sports and part of the Southern
way of life. Most people had traveled on horse back since
early childhood. Large draft horses were used in the
North on the farm and weren’t good saddle horses.
Most larger cities in the South had horse races and they
developed a pure breed of horse for speed, as speed was
the passion for many people.
Tennessee
Walkers and the American Saddle breed of horses were the
most important breed as they were bred for their smaller
size and smooth gait. When setting in the saddle it was
like sitting in a rocking chair as it was so easy and
smooth. Both sides used Morgan horses. In the Battle of
Gettysburg over 1500 horses and mules were killed.
Training the
horse was critical, as they had to be taught to obey
commands. In time of war that was imperative. Soldiers on
both sides realized how important the horse was. If the
horses were disabled, so was the unit. On both sides,
generals and officers rode the horse. This made it easier
to see what was going on and commands could be heard more
clearly from the high position. Also the sight of the
command so close inspired the men to fight more
gallantly.
My
great-grandfather, William Tecumseh Williams, was a
teamster in the War. His job was to see to it there was
enough food for the horses every night. Imagine having to
scrounge feed for an army of horses every night. Horses
had to eat! My ancestor was born in Erie, Penn., a decade
after William Tecumseh Sherman was born in the same
place. I have often wondered why their mothers would name
them after a wild Indian chief, but I will probably never
know. This was an urgent job and very important. Soldiers
always tried to camp close to water so the horses and
they could have a drink.
All of the
horses had names. Belle Boyd had a horse named
“Fleeter!” You remember that Belle was a famous
Confederate lady spy! General Cleburne’s horse,
“Dixie,” was killed in battle right out from
under him. General J.E.B. Stuart named his horse
“Virginia” and she saved him from being
captured by jumping a very wide ditch.
“Fire-Eater” was then ridden by his owner,
General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was killed at Shiloh.
General
Nathan Bedford Forrest had eight horses shot out from
under him. General Forrest was in the Battle of Okolona
and was shot in the foot. He recuperated in the home of
Mr. Billups in Columbus. His bed was near a window and he
looked out of the window and saw a beautiful horse
hitched at the gate; he asked, “What’s his
name?” “King Philip” was the answer. While
Forrest was recuperating he carved a crutch for himself,
which I wanted for the Museum, but I don’t have it
so far. When Forrest was well enough to leave he walked
out of the house and Mr. Billups presented him with a
gift of “King Philip,” who became
Forrest’s favorite horse of all time.
After the
War, “King Philip” was in a pasture and two
Yankee soldiers in uniform were walking down the road.
“King Philip” had all that war training and he
ran down to the fence at the road and tried to paw the
soldiers. He recognized their uniforms.
One of the
most famous horses of the War belonged to General
Stonewall Jackson. His name was “Little
Sorrell” and he was 11 years old. Jackson had bought
him for his wife because he was small. Jackson
wasn’t the horseman the other generals were so the
horse suited him well. The horse had unlimited energy and
wasn’t easily spooked. Jackson was riding
“Little Sorrell” when the general was mortally
wounded. At the funeral the veterans paid tribute to the
fallen general and his mount by saluting the animal and
funeral train as it passed by. When the War was over,
“Little Sorrell” was returned to Mrs. Jackson.
She gave him to the Virginia Military Institute and he
became mascot of the school and died at the old age of
36.
General
Robert E. Lee had many horses: “Brown-Roan,”
“Richmond,” “Ajax,” “Lucy
Long” and “Traveler.” “Traveler”
was only four when the War began. He was strong, quick
and had endurance and he was 17 hands high. Everybody
wanted a hair from his tail. It was a wonder he had a
tail left at the end of the War. “Traveler”
marched in front of the funeral procession when Lee died
in 1870 with reversed boots in his stirrups.
Many statues
of horses have been erected in the noble animals’
memories. All through Vicksburg Military Park are statues
of horses.
The
information for this article came from the Museum files
and an article written by Sarah Council for the United
Daughters of the Confederacy.
Set your
name in history
For many
years, the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum has shared African
and African-American art, history and culture with
Marshall County and surrounding areas.
Renovations
to the museum began Dec. 6, 2004, to bring the
Bolling-Gatewood House back to its original splendor and
adding modern engineering to make it last another
century.
Now, the
community can be part of the new Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Museum by purchasing one of 300 limited edition bricks
designed for the “Building On The Past, Focusing On
The Future” walk into history.
Each brick
can be inscribed with your name, the name of a loved one,
a special date or commemoration of a special occasion.
Your brick will come with a beautiful certificate and a
ticket for admission to the birthday celebration banquet
July 16, 2005 and a one-year membership to the museum.
The brick
will be an unforgettable gift, whether for you, a friend,
a loved one or family member. You’ll be a part of
the renovated Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum and you’ll
see a concrete reminder of your best memories every time
you visit the museum.
Please
contact Mary Milan or Leona Harris at 252-3232 from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Bricks for
individuals are $120 each; churches and organizations,
$150. The bricks are limited to 300 and the deadline is
March 3.
Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Questions, comments, corrections: south@dixie-net.com
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