American Civil War

The Home Fires Burn

By

Varo Borja

Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty. – Jefferson Davis

The American Civil War was probably the defining epoch of the United States of America. The war claimed the lives of more Americans than any war before or since, and it not only abolished a system that was both repugnant and destructive to the souls of the citizens of the United States, the war solidified under one government the erstwhile sectionally divided and regionally proud denizens of our Great Republic. However, sectional loyalties and regional differences still persist in the United States to this day, and almost no time in the history of America were these loyalties and prejudices more apparent than during the Civil War. Western North Carolinians were especially proud of and loyal to their homeland, as they are today. The common confederate soldier from Western N.C. in the American Civil War, although beleaguered by defeats in battle, sickness in camp, and worries of the home front, never lost sight of what truly mattered to him: his home, his family, and his region.

In 1861, the common Confederate soldier from Western North Carolina was anxious to defend his homeland against the "Northern Aggressor". Seth McBride, a soldier from Western North Carolina wrote to his brother and sister that, on August 25th of 1861 he was, “fat and still fattening” (1861). Food, for the North Carolina resident of the 19th century, was a prized commodity, and to claim that he was growing fatter, although probably an overstatement, reflected that he was content and optimistic. His spirits were high, the esprit de corps of his regiment was in full flower, and he was even grateful that his officers were, “very strict, and I like them better for that” (S. McBride, 1861). This letter was written a little over a month after the Confederate victory at Bull Run, and the general feelings about the war were optimistic and lively. Another letter from a teenage girl in Rutherfordton on January 8, 1861 said,

We are all anticipating war here; we girls are reading all the stories we can find about the women of the Revolution, so that we’ll know how to act bravely and magnanimously in time of war” (Inscoe and McKinney, 59).

With such devotion on the home front, and success in the field, the average Confederate soldier in 1861 had many reasons to believe a bright future lay ahead for the Confederate States of America.

In February of 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant attacked on captured Fort Henry in Tennessee, but was defeated at the battle of Shiloh two months later. Two letters are extant from 1862 that show cooled attitudes towards the war and more sober outlook by the common soldier. The first, from a Western North Carolina Confederate soldier named Alfred G__ states,

I can say to you that I am not well…I have been for two weeks and part of the time very sick…I write this letter as an inquiry also to know if you can tell me anything about my wife. I have wrote her thirteen letters and have never got an answer from her yet since I got to Virginia (1862).

This letter reveals two things: a communication breakdown in the Confederate mail system and the dreaded camp disease so prevalent in both armies during the war. By 1862, reality had set in and most of the populace counted on the war lasting an interminable amount of time. Another letter from a soldier named BL Green who was stationed at Camp Richmond, Virginia in August of 1862 reads,

I this morning take the present time in writing you a few lines which will inform you that I am in common health ever hoping that when these few lines which will inform you that I am in common health…I have nothing much to write that will interest you more than Uncle B and Brother Silas has got back from the North…Uncle is as fat as a Grisley Bear but Silas look sort of slim…Townsel died after they got to New York…As in regard to war news they keep fighting a little almost every day, but know regular engagement…(Green 1862)


This letter is also revealing of the camp sickness endemic in 19th century warfare when it speaks of Silas “looking sort of slim” and Townsel dying mysteriously in New York. There were fears expressed as well about conditions on the home front in Western North Carolina. According to a letter from Confederate lieutenant W.F. Parker, a native of Asheville who was stationed in East Tennessee, Parker expressed fear over a coming invasion from Federal forces towards Asheville, and pleaded with local militia to “erect impenetrable fortifications” to avoid such an attack (Inscoe and McKinney, 108). With infrequent letters from home, lingering camp sickness and possible attack of their native region, Confederate soldiers from Western North Carolina in 1862 had many reasons to look with dread upon the years of war that lay ahead.
After a stunning victory at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, war fever ran high through the Confederate ranks. However, camp sickness and worries of the home front still plagued many soldiers. Most soldiers were reluctant to inform their families of their true states of health or conditions in the field due to extreme loyalty and a desire not to worry their kinfolk, but in some instances poor health could mean a furlough, as is described in a letter from T. B. Edmisten to his parents in July, 1863. The letter reads,

It is improving some but I am not able for duty I hav got so that I can talk nearly as good as eaver My throat is very soare even now now and has been for the last two weeaks I hav not Mother I cant tell whier I wil git of or not the Dr gave me a surtificate for a disch-- charge and it is gone to the general it will be some thing like a month befour I hear from it and if I git the chance I will come home as soon as I can Reduced mutch but I am very weak.

Edmisten goes on in the letter to remind his parents that their letters are a great pleasure to him, and he exhorts his father to “take more rest” because of “advancing age” (Edmisten, 1863). 1863 was the zenith of Confederate success during the Civil War, culminating in Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville in May of that year. On the eve of Gettysburg, a Western North Carolina soldier named JG Huntley wrote to his sister saying,

Dear sister a fiew Lines to you I am in the Best of health at this time hoping this Will find you all in the same Condition I Will only say to you that We have Crossed the potomach and has passed through Meriland and is Now in P A Within 60 miles of harrisburg the Capital of this state We hant herd of any Yankees Nearer than harrisburg the Capital But I Expect that hooker is Nearer than that We are stoped today in a Beautiful Oke grove I Cant tell whare old Lee Will Carry us tow this is One of the finest Countrys that I Ever saw But I hant time to tell you of any of Our ups and downs Now at this time tell pap Not to Come to this War I hant time to tell you Nothing at this time worth any thing may heaven Bless you all (Huntley, 1863)

This letter is very indicative of the feigned optimistic tone found in many Civil War letters from soldiers to family, and foreshadows the calm before the storm at the great Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Not much longer would the tide ride high for the soldiers of the Confederacy, and camp disease and trouble on the home front were two shadows that loomed constantly in the backs of the their minds.

After crippling Confederate defeats at Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Chattanooga, many in the South began to believe that the war was lost. Desertion plagued the Confederate army, and Union forays into the mountains of Western North Carolina left the people on the home front discouraged and disgusted. A letter from G.W. Logan, a Unionist who was elected to the Confederate Congress, relates some of the damage done by the recent campaigning in Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. The letter states,

Dear Sir:A few days ago I visited Camp Winder a Hospital near this place & saw some of your countrymen & gained the following information of casualties in the late battle G.S. Ferguson was wounded in the head, not serious M. Main [?] in the elbow L.W. Murray, in the side H.P. Holland in the hand T.M. Green in the arm The above are the only ones I have heard from. I am sorry I cannot write you something of interest Congress has done but very little, nor do I think it will do much. We are trying to modify the Tax T_____ and impressment laws but I cannot as yet tell the result.Genl Lee has fallen back near this place & it is believed his army will soon be within the entrenchments surrounding the City.It is said Gen Grant is now coming up on the old ground of McClelland & will unite with _____. Both armys are reinforcing largely [?] & the next fight is expected to be the great battle of the War. In the late engage-- ments the loss on both sides was immense, our loss must have been in Killed wounded & prisoners at least 20 or --25.0000 & the Yankees more than double that number.There is but little ap-- pearance of Peace, though the present Congress is much stronger for negotiations than the preceding one.The Dis_______ are determined not to havepeace only in their own way & at their own time. Very Respectfully G.W. Logan

With defeats in the field of this magnitude, an ever-increasing sense of doom was held by many in the Confederate army, and desertion rates mounted steadily. In Western North Carolina, guerrilla warfare was ravaging the countryside with both Union and Confederate troops inflicting damage on the populace, prompting North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance to say in a letter to Confederate General John C. Vaughan after two of Vaughan’s men had been lynched in Watauga county,

No one can more deplore the quasi warfare between the troops and citizens than myself. But sir, the conduct of many of your men…in parts of our mountain country has been sufficient to drive our people to desperation. The stories of robbery and outrage by them would fill a volume and would fully justify the immediate and indiscriminate slaughter of all men caught with the proofs of their villany. From looking upon them as their gallant protectors, thousands in their bitterness of heart have come to regard them as their deadliest enemies (Inscoe and McKinney, 138).

More defeats mounted for the Confederates in 1864, with a substantial loss at Nashville in December and Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea”, in which Sherman inflicted heavy material and moral losses to the Confederate cause and crippled their ability and their will, to fight.

In conclusion, the year of 1865 tolled the bell for the end of the Confederacy after Lee’s army of Northern Virginia gave a last gasp attempt to fight at Petersburg, with battle ending in defeat and ushering in the sack of Richmond. Lee surrendered less than a month later, with General Johnston surrendering nine days later to Sherman and officially ending the war. The common soldiers of Western North Carolina returned home to find guerrilla warfare still reeking havoc among their kinfolk. More than a month after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the vestiges of conflict began to die down in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Western North Carolina soldiers had fought a long and brutal conflict, and returned home to chaos and the fear of banditry. What is remarkable about them though, is the ability of these soldiers to retain a positive attitude, at least about their health and their stations in life, even in the midst of a war that for many was hell on earth, and purgatory on the home front. The simple faith in family and Creator held by the men from Western North Carolina sustained them in their tribulations, and although many of them lost faith in their government and even in the war itself, they never gave up on what truly mattered: their immediate families and their homes. More than anything else a sectional and regional conflict, the American Civil War proved the resilience and devotion of a generation of fighting men, and imbued them with the toughness to weather the storm of Reconstruction ahead.

Works Cited

McBride Letter: 1861. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
G, Alfred Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
BL Green Letter: 1862. Found in LRC at Caldwell Community College. Diane Barefoot
Collection.
T.B. Edmisten Letter: 1863. Found at: http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/edmon/edintro.htm
JG Huntley Letter: 1863. Found at:

http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/huntley/hunttext.htm

GW Logan Letter: 1864. Found at:

http://library.wcu.edu/DigitalColl/CIVILWAR/cathey/INDEX.HTM

Inscoe, John C. and Gordon B. McKinney. The Heart of Confederate Appalachia:

Western North Carolina in the Civil War. Chapel Hill: The University of

North Carolina Press, 2000.

Medieval Vs. Modern

Touchstones and Tin Stamps

By

Varo Borja

There’s never a new fashion but it’s old. – Geoffrey Chaucer

Imagine two craftsmen, one laboring away grinding pigment for paint, the other painstakingly carving a chunk of granite. The first craftsman grinds yellow, red and blue chalk into grains finer than sand and then carefully mixes each of his precious piles of pigment with egg yolks in order to produce brilliant tempera paints, letting his concoctions dry as he laboriously prepares the wall of a monastery for the application of fresco, sanding and scraping until his hands are bleeding and dry as dust. The second craftsman hews and hammers his chunk of granite for days with chisel and hammer until the stone meets the exact specifications of the master mason, and then with his hands bandaged from missed strokes of the hammer, puts the finishing touch upon his block of granite with the insignia of his particular guild, taking utmost care in the carving of his own personal, but still anonymous stamp upon the building block he has fashioned for the new Cathedral at Salisbury. So it was with the artists and artisans of the Middle Ages, who labored day after day to create some of the most beautiful and inspirational works of all time. Some of their art has been lost; however, much of the art and architecture of the Middle Ages survives in the churches, monasteries, and galleries of Europe. The artists and architects of the past five decades have created significant works as well, with varying success and degrees of difficulty. However, the visual arts of the European Medieval period far surpass the painting and architecture of the last fifty years; the artists and architects of the medieval period also left a legacy that both inspires and creates an atmosphere of enjoyment for many people in the 21st century.

In the field of painting, artists from the Middle Ages shined brilliantly. Medieval masters with the paintbrush created religious art primarily, focusing on exquisite depictions of the Crucified Christ, the Enthronement of the Virgin Mary, and elaborate scenes of the Apocalypse. An example of the superb skill and deep feeling of Byzantine artists during the Middle Ages is to be found in the immaculate rendition, by an anonymous artist, of the Crucified Christ at the monastery church in Daphne, Greece (Janson 262). This superb painting reflects the utter nobility of Christ and his sacrificial death. Christ is surrounded by St. John and the Virgin Mary, who witness his earth-shattering and immortal gift to the human race (Janson 263). According to History of Art, the Daphne Christ, “has a balance and clarity that are truly monumental” (Janson 260). The background of the painting is done in gold leaf, as are the halos surrounding the pious heads of Christ, Mary, and John. The Daphne artist depicts Christ with two thin streams of blood and water pouring from his left side; a reminder of the water of life that flows from Christ’s heavenly throne and the blood he shed so unselfishly at Calvary for the atonement of mankind’s sins. Visitors to the Daphne monastery today may still feel the sheer power conveyed by the artist who painted this scene over 800 years ago and be uplifted by the passionate, yet reserved display of the crucifixion of Christ. Truly, there is nothing hanging in the galleries or halls of Europe and America that has been produced within the last five decades, that can surpass the spiritual power of the Daphne Crucifixion.

Another illustration of the mastery displayed by Medieval painters is the Madonna Enthroned by Cimabue, found in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy (Adams 452). This elaborate enthronement depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child, surrounded by a throng of angels and bolstered by four prophets of the Old Testament. In addition to the gold leaf used in the background of the painting, Cimabue adorned the regal heads of the young Jesus and Mary with exquisitely thin, gilt strips. The painting is done in tempera (pigment mixed with egg yolk), and reflects the nimble craftsmanship of Cimabue in the lush draperies that flow outward from the Virgin’s lap. The colors of the piece are both brilliant and meaningful; red is included to symbolize the future sacrifice of the Christ child, and the Virgin is adorned in blue: her traditional iconographic color (Adams 452). According to Laurie Schneider Adams, in her book Art Across Time, “the four prophets at the foot of the throne embody the Old Dispensation as the foundation of the New” (452). This piece is redolent of a time when the old masters invested their works with holy symbolism and the stuff of their own souls; also, because of the pains taken in the production of this painting, this piece may still be enjoyed and meditated upon by visitor’s to the Uffizi Gallery today. The four Old Testament prophets in the Madonna Enthroned might look with skepticism at many of the “new dispensation” of artists producing works today with neither the significance, nor the reverence, found in the masterpiece of Cimabue.

A final representation of the surpassing qualities of Medieval painting may be found in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, in the form of Giotto’s Last Judgment (Adams 460). This apocalyptic piece was placed on the west wall of the Arena chapel, after a series of other events portrayed by Giotto in chronological order found on the other walls of the church (Adams 461). The magnitude and breathtaking scope of this piece are undeniable: the Last Judgment is 33 feet high by 27 feet wide (Adams 460). The viewer of the Last Judgment is at once drawn to the person of Christ in the center, surrounded by a circle of holy fire and His attending cherubim and seraphim. The righteous of God are displayed on the right hand of Christ, in expectation of their just reward. The damned are arrayed on the left hand of Christ in torturous poses, surrounded by unquenchable fire and lorded over by a beastly Satan, who is devouring one helpless victim after another. In the background and left and right foreground are the choir of elders and the prophets of old, witnessing the scene of triumph and destruction with pious, yet indignant faces. Truly this piece is a monument to a time when divine inspiration played as much a part in the production of art as the desire to hand down to posterity scenes that would both uplift the viewer, and exhort him or her to lead a life in the full assurance of there one day occurring a final reckoning with God. In that capacity, this piece is surely just as effective as it was 800 years ago. Divers works by the hands of modern artists in New York and Paris have been manufactured over the past fifty years with varying degrees of success, but none of these productions may compare, in eminence of scope and ethereal grace, to Giotto’s Last Judgment.

In the past fifty years, many styles of painting have degenerated into formlessness, obscure expressionism, or cold, unfeeling realism. Although vastly popular in his day, Jackson Pollack created paintings that lacked form, substance, and any significant symbolic meaning. One example of this lack of structure may be found in Pollack’s Autumn Rhythm housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York (Preble 444). Duane Preble, in his book Artfoms describes Pollack’s method of painting as, “dripping thin paint onto the canvas rather than brushing it on” (444). Upon first viewing Autumn Rhythm, the viewer is entranced by the haphazard, yet alluring effect conveyed by Pollack’s method; however, after further investigation the viewer is left with a feeling of having been cheated, or drawn into a magnificent ruse facilitated by the brushwork of Mr. Pollack. In many ways groundbreaking, Autumn Rhythm may be compared to a Fourth of July fireworks display on the twentieth of April; the initial effect of the piece is fantastic, but the lasting significance of this piece, in some respects, is lost in its fiery expressionism. Another sample of the degeneration of art in the past fifty years is to be found in the polar opposite of Pollack’s brand of painting: Trompe L’oeil, or “fool the eye” composition. According to Duane Preble’s book, Artforms, “Paintings in this illusionistic style impress us because they look so ‘real’” (27). Once again, the viewer is entranced and allured by the precise details and high color realism found in such paintings as William Harnett’s A Smoke Backstage (Preble 27) Although created much more than fifty years ago, Harnett’s brand of photo realism lives on in the twenty-first century, but still conveys technical ability without feeling, and superimposes precise details for spiritual abstractions of lasting consequence. Photo-realism and chaotic expressionism are not to be found in the works of Giotto, Cimabue and other Medieval painters; their work was infused with the natural beauty of the human figure and the otherworldly aspect of sacred subjects, and unequivocally, the immaterial and natural characteristics of Medieval painting surpass the plastic productions of many artists in the modern era.

In the construction of landmark buildings, the architects and artisans of the Medieval period have no rival. At the behest of Abbot Suger and other benefactors of the Middle Ages, great cathedrals were built to facilitate the worship of the Triune God (Kemp 100). In France, Chartres Cathedral is perhaps the paradigm for elegance, spiritual depth, and magnitude without ostentation in regard to architecture. According to The Oxford History of Western Art,

At the west front of Chartres Cathedral (c. 1145-50), an influential early Gothic monument, sculpture on the three doorways refers to Christ from the beginning to the end of time, culminating in the central tympanum of him at the Second Coming. The lintel, capitals, arches and columns at Chartres are neither plain nor ornamental but are carved with figural groups which amplify the theological content of the whole scene (Kemp 101).

Such devices as an apocalyptic tympanum (a frieze over the entrance) and decorative capitals (the heads of columns) with scenes from the scriptures in stone relief certainly may exhort the visitor to tread a narrow path, but the uplifting power of Chartres’s 180 exquisite stained glass windows, which reflect the light of God’s grace upon the worshippers in Chartres’s spacious nave (central hallway) and lofty choir, both inspire and delight happy pilgrims of the twenty-first century (Kemp 101). An accurate estimation may be made when the immaterial benefits of Chartres Cathedral are chosen over the flash and utility of modern edifices, and the lasting impact of this Gothic treasure appreciated more fully when viewed in the shadow cast by twentieth and twenty-first century constructions of steel and concrete.

A less imposing, but still grand example of Medieval architecture may be found at Salisbury Cathedral, in England (Janson 338). Salisbury Cathedral sprawls over many acres of English countryside, invoking the spirits of nature as well as those of art in the cultivation of prayer. Much like Chartres Cathedral, Salisbury is home to a host of ornate capitals, devotion-warming friezes, and brilliant stained glass (Kemp 102). The plan of Salisbury Cathedral called for walls much lower than most other churches of the period, lending an air of humility to this otherwise uplifting edifice; however, a very tall crossing (central) tower was added at a later date, guiding the eyes of the worshippers at Salisbury towards the heavens and the throne of the Most High God. The worshippers at Salisbury also enjoy a spacious nave with a vaulted ceiling and a brightly lit choir. The architect of Salisbury cathedral is lost to posterity, but his work remains a testament to the immortal spirit of the Middle Ages and a place for the prayerful repose and inspiration of visitors there today. Certainly, architecture of the Medieval period represented in the form of Salisbury Cathedral surpasses that of the past five decades, and makes many men of the twenty-first century cast glances backwards in time to savor the artistry and charm of this English marvel.

A look at the world of modern architecture leaves much to be desired, both in form and content. Perhaps the fastest growing and most lavish spot on earth for the display of the twenty-first century builder’s skills is the small country of Dubai, on the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. According to Spud Hilton’s article for the San Francisco Chronicle on June 17, 2007,

It (Dubai) is a freak show on an international scale, with attractions and oddities you can't believe exist, but that you can't seem to look away from, and where outlandish projects that others deem too bizarre, too expensive or too impossible fill the skylines, the coastlines and the headlines.

Apparently hosting a plastic surgeon’s office inside a submerged hotel, Dubai is also home to the world’s tallest skyscraper, a theme park bigger than Disney World, and the largest shopping mall on earth (Fox 1). This tiny emirate empire is certainly ambitious and holds much to be desired by the bodies and minds of visitors to Dubai, but where is the soul of this pseudo-Sodom? According to Catherine Fox’s article for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Dubai’s unprecedented development…portends a future of environmental and sustainability problems” (Fox 1). Fox’s article also speaks of rioting due to poor wages by the Asian workforce employed in Dubai, and the potential backlash of all this worldliness and levity in the form of terrorist attacks by Islamic extremist groups. When compared with the brilliant, yet tasteful stained glass of Chartres cathedral or the humble and natural, yet elegant outlay of Salisbury, the building craze in Dubai seems like so many pillars of salt: flavorful, yet unable to provide proper nourishment for body or soul. Truly, the current fascination held by some with the building of bigger and better abodes for entertainment and avarice, cannot compare with the abiding devotion held by many for the delicate symmetry of the holy houses built during the Medieval period.

In conclusion, some concessions must be made to the artists and architects of the past fifty years. Many groundbreaking and innovative concepts have come into play in the realms of construction and art with the advent of the technological revolution; computers play a part in not only the design of buildings, but in the production of pieces of fine art as well. To base the assumption that Medieval buildings and pieces of art surpass those of the past fifty years solely on the tools provided to each set of craftsmen would be unfair to those who today hammer out their designs with lasers and keyboards instead of hammers and horse hair paintbrushes. It is not only in this lack of technological crutch-wielding that Medieval art surpasses that of today; it is, in part, the ability of the Medieval artist for long-delayed gratification and patient improvement that sets the productions of their hands ahead of those of craftsmen of the present. Furthermore, much has been said of the spiritual significance of the buildings and art of the Middle Ages, and little or nothing about the ideology behind most present works of art and architecture. Diversity reigns supreme when the fine art and architecture of the past fifty years is considered; buildings for most every purpose and playful notion dot the landscape of Europe and the United States. For at least fifty years, most of the people of the Western World have found entertainment, utility and use in the various structures of North America and Europe. The art of painting also has become highly diverse and has attracted far more dilettantes than masters to pick up brush and palette in the past fifty years, thereby making a cursory knowledge of painting more widespread but diluting the pool of talent possessed by those who attempt to paint. Perhaps it is the singleness of focus, more than any other reason, that drove the artists, artisans and architects of the Middle Ages to create works that surpass those of contemporary craftsmen, and perhaps in that singularity of vision lies the widespread appeal and sense of enjoyment to be found in the art of the Middle Ages by people of the twenty-first century.

Works Cited

Adams, Laurie Schneider. Art Across Time: Volume II. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Fox, Catherine. “Dubai: Big Dreams in the Desert.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

25 June 2006: A1. Newspaper Source. Access World News. Broyhill

Learning and Resource Center, Hudson, NC. 11 December 2007.

http://wf2dnvr8.webfeat.org

Hilton, Spud. “Dubai.” San Francisco Chronicle. 17 June 2007: G1. Newspaper

Source. Access World News. Broyhill Learning and Resource Center,

Hudson, NC. 11 December 2007.

http://wf2dnvr8.webfeat.org

Janson, H.W., Anthony Janson. History of Art: Volume I. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,

2004.

Kemp, Martin, ed. The Oxford History of Western Art. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 2000.

Preble, Duane and Sarah Preble. Artforms. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2004.