Michigan Civil War Blog

In re secession

Yesterday's excursion into Law made reminded of another legal issue involving the American Civil War: did the 11 southern states have a constitutional right or power to withdraw from the Union?

This post is not meant to be an authoritative examination of the constitutional issues surrounding the question. The U.S. Supreme Court answered it in 1869 in Texas v White:

"The Union of the States never was a purely artificial and arbitrary relation. It began among the Colonies, and grew out of common origin, mutual sympathies, kindred principles, similar interests, and geographical relations. It was confirmed and strengthened by the necessities of war, and received definite form and character and sanction from the Articles of Confederation. By these, the Union was solemnly declared to 'be perpetual.' And when these Articles were found to be inadequate to the exigencies of the country, the Constitution was ordained 'to form a more perfect Union.' It is difficult to convey the idea of indissoluble unity more clearly than by these words. What can be indissoluble if a perpetual Union, made more perfect, is not?"

It also contains this ringing statement: "The Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States."

I do trust that those who espouse the errant view that secession is permissible under the U.S. Constitution nonetheless agree that it was a bad idea in 1860 and remains so.

In reading a book on the Vicksburg campaign not long ago, a flaw in the Confederate theory was presented. It mentioned how an area of Mississippi seceded from the State rather than secede from the Union. The Confederacy's response? Suppression of this "rebellion." The old "Do as I say, not as I do."

Since one classic argument of lawyers to prove the errancy of their opponents is to show inconsistency in either interpretation or application of a legal doctrine, that sure appears to be open for use here.

At any rate, the question has been settled, more than six hundred thousand lives later.

Rats!

(A favorite expression.) Amazing what you can learn just by having the car radio on during the ride to work. Heard Mr. Smith on WJR this morning do a commercial for a pest extermination company and this caught my ear: they started out by helping the Union Army during the Civil War. Huh?! Requires looking this up, and, sure enough: Rose

Can't recall any other similar pitch during an ad -- even Heinz didn't get started til '69... 

Holy cow!

Critics unfairly say we don't care about history here in the Great Lake State. Bah! Traverse

Incredible news!

Startling news on the Civil War front:

LANSING MI, April 1, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michigan Auditor General announced today the discovery of a long-lost bank account that contains hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to advancing Michigan history.

At a press conference in a packed Capitol rotunda, Auditor General Terence McDervish revealed the existence of the "John E. Munster Michigan History Fund", a bank account opened in 1865 by a never-married Civil War veteran who deposited his wartime pay and dedicated it to Michigan commemorative activities relating to the Union's victory upon his death.

Since Munster's demise was never recorded, the account sat unnoticed for nearly a century and a half in the National Bank of Detroit. With accumulated interest, the value of the fund is now $999M.

"We appreciate NBD coming forward to alert us," McDervish said. "They knew it'd be hard to explain not mentioning the account once it hit the billion-dollar mark. Since we now know about it, and it's pretty big, all is forgiven."

Munster was a sergeant in the 13th Regiment of Michigan Cavalry, most notable for its service during Sherman's March to the Sea in late 1864. Historians surmise a significant portion of the original bank deposits may have derived from "liberating" valuable objects from plantation houses during the campaign and selling them for cash.

"We already sent captured Confederate flags back South years ago," said Department of History Arts & Letters press spokesperson Patrick Clark. "Since we won the War, it's only appropriate that the Munster Fund help underwrite Michigan's commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial over the next decade."

Officials in the Georgia State Government are said to be studying the matter before commenting.

APRIL 23d UPDATE: Apologies to all who read this post and did not catch the attempt at irony, the date of its posting (April 1st), and that certain aspects tried to give it away (eg National Bank of Detroit ceased to exist several years ago), for the tongue was firmly planted in the cheek.

Sculptor's legacy

Anyone ever hear of Edward Clark Potter? Seems he was a sculptor who worked from around 1883 into the first two decades of the 20th century. As with so much history, his story appears to have faded with the passing of the years.

He studied under Daniel Chester French, the genius who designed the statue in the Lincoln Memorial in DC. He also gained the admiration of Saint-Gaudens, made famous by Civil War commemorative commissions including the Shaw memorial on Boston Commons. Pretty good company. New Yorkers know his work from the two lions guarding the steps to the Main Branch of the NYC Library. He also assisted French with several pieces for the Columbian Exposition. In the main reading room of the Library of Congress are 16 statues by the greatest sculptors of their day; Robert Fulton is by Potter.

Does Potter have a Michigan connection? Only two, it appears. But these two are among the most iconic of Civil War sculptures in the State:    

Potter deserves more, for he gave Michigan much.

The sinkable Montrose

Warning: this post has nothing to do with the Civil War. It just happens to be an outgrowth of the past posts relying on a Detroit News web feature of significant events and places in Detroit.

Turns out that the last time a major ship sinking occurred in the River was 1962: Detroit News.

I remember it well. My father took me (and probably my brother) down to the river to see the ship laying on its side down by the Ambassador Bridge. It was a stunning scene; I had never imagined to see anything other than a rowboat, and here was, to this little guy, a huge ship half underwater. I can remember it was even towards dusk when we were there, for I can visualize the way the sunlight was on the bridge above the wreck. It was amazing.

As anyone can see, I'm reminiscing in an attempt to duck for today the issues going on with Michigan down in the Nation's capital. As my parents instructed me, if you can't say something nice ...

Farnsworth redux

A week or so ago, I mentioned the connections between Elon J. Farnsworth, lamented boy general of Gettysburg, and Elon Farnsworth, prominent early Michigan leader.

One further note on the latter that I hadn't seen before. EF had two children, both daughters, one named Mary Louise, born December 15, 1832 in Detroit. She married, on October 21, 1852, a certain Detroiter with military connections. He would earn fame from four years' service in the Civil War, commencing with leadership of the 1st Michigan Infantry and rising to corps command, as well as time as a POW and ultimately a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

His name: Orlando Bolivar Willcox.

The Willcoxs had several children, the first a daughter, named Mary Louise, after her mother.

Their son was named after the mother's father. So far as I can tell...but it is curious that he and the boy general have a commonality. The boy's name: Elon Farnsworth Willcox.

Farnsworth

I was struck recently by the fame of two Michiganders named Farnsworth.

Elon Farnsworth, originally of Vermont, moved to Detroit in 1822 at the age of 23. Before long, he had earned the confidence of the leadership of the territory. He served in its council, was made Chancellor when the first Constitution was approved, ran for Governor unsuccessfully, was appointed Attorney General, was a regent of the University of Michigan and helped with its founding, helped organize the Michigan Central Railroad, and was named by statute to be one of the founders and president of the Detroit Savings Fund Institute, which later became the Detroit Savings Bank--today known as Comerica Bank.

Elon John Farnsworth was the Union general killed behind Confederate lines on the last day of Gettysburg.

Is there any relation, I wondered, given their names.

According to this website, rootsweb , the answer is yes. If I understand it right, EJF was a direct descendant of one David Farnsworth, of French & Indian War vintage. EJF's uncle, John Farnsworth, was also a direct descendant of DF. DF's brother was Samuel Farnsworth, not to be confused with his father (Sr.), who had the same name. SF, the brother, had a son, SF Jr., whose son was Elon Farnsworth, the individual named above. Thus, EF and EJF were cousins. I didn't stop to figure out what degree of consanguinity they are -- my head's hurting too much for that. But it would seem that DF's father was SF Sr., so EF and EJF had that same ancestor.

One further note: EJF enlisted at war's inception in the 8th Illinois regiment commanded by his uncle, JF. JF was promoted to general, paving the way for EJF's elevation to captain, where he was noticed and promoted to general on the eve of Gettysburg. According to the website above, and links to contemporary papers, JF was at Lincoln's bedside at the Peterson House.

It's a small world.

Park management

Catching up on some CW/blog reading, I find a story about the State of Illinois cutting back on hours at Lincoln sites [Trib], a suit to block a theater and visitor center expansion at Little Big Horn [CWI], and the movement of monuments at Vicksburg [Clarion].

I respect the NPS and its cadre of dedicated employees (seasonal, too, Mannie). Same is true for those who work in state park departments. Yes, there are privately-owned heritage sites (notably The Henry Ford, Colonial Williamsburg), but by and large we have looked to public management to care for and educate us on our heritage.

But why is Illinois, of all states, restricting access to Lincoln sites during the Bicentennial? Why is the NPS using limited resources that could be spent on desperately needed maintenance or battleground acquisitions to ruin the viewscape at LBH? And how is it appropriate to relocate monuments for traffic safety and refuse to erect a new one to honor a hero?

These Alice in Wonderland scenarios remind of the debate here not long ago: State transportation officials wanted to build a new interstate along the northeastern shore of the Lower Peninsula. People came out of the woodwork asking why the State would spend hundreds of millions on a road with very little benefit when existing roads were crumbling. (This was before Pixar's Cars reminded us of how 'progress' can be devastating.) The new highway was not built, and the 'sunrise side' retains its charm.

We clearly need a new public-private partnership on these park issues. The NPS needs to involve the public and rely on its input, and its contributed dollars. I wrote awhile ago on a fantasy of what I'd do if appointed its director. I now conclude that my first official act would be to form a citizens' advisory panel both nationally and for each property in the system. I'd involve all these folks in lobbying Congress and the media about the vital importance of our national parks to our collective heritage. And I wouldn't use them just for my agenda--I'd actually listen to theirs.

Naive, you say. A government official who would actually make what the people want his/her first priority. Let's hope.

The body politic

Interesting times around these parts. Sluggish economy, continuing Big 3 difficulties, high fuel prices, politicians in trouble, etc. Let's be clear: things haven't improved much lately. We continue with the highest unemployment rate in the country, per capita income below the national average, one of three states with declining gross state product in 2007, per capita real gross state product fallen to 36th, one of two states to lose population from July 2006-July 2007, consistently ranked as having highest outbound traffic in a major moving company survey. Facts.

On the other 'hand', Jeff Daniels radio ads for 'Michigan can give you the Upper Hand', weather couldn't get any better, a 36-page Freep insert today chock-full of area events, PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, study showing influx of young people during recent times, etc. Facts also.

Wherefore art thou people? Let's see.

Tuesday saw a metro tri-county vote approving a millage increase to fund operations at the Detroit Zoo--where the water tower has the name of the embattled (and now jailed) mayor of Detroit painted on it. Overwhelmingly, Detroit-area voters recognized the value of this cultural asset rather than use the economy or the mayor as a reason to vote 'no'.

Today, under the heading "Voters want action", the Detroit News reports on issuance of a survey of Michigan voters with this lead-in: "Dismayed with the state's economy and political leadership, Michigan voters are ready for drastic reforms--including keeping nonviolent offenders out of prison--to get the state back on track, according to a new survey released today." Voters are way ahead of Lansing on reform, it reports.

The poll sponsor's website says: "[O]ver 80% of Michigan voters, regardless of demographic differences, believe the state is on the wrong track. 87% of voters feel that Michigan’s political leaders are doing a fair or poor job on budgeting and spending." Digging deeper, one finds: less than 11% believe the State is on the right track; 54% believe state political leaders have done a poor job, 87% fair/poor, 0.1% excellent; 56.4% support making major reforms to resolve the state's structural deficit; on reform of government, 95% say it is personally important to them, 75.8% say it is very important to them; 81.4% says leaders are focused only on the short term; when they vote in November, 95.1% view it important that a candidate supports reforms that will change the way public dollars are spent, 75.8% saying very important.

Powerful stuff, especially since 1/3 ID'd as Dem, 1/3 as Independent, 1/4 as Republican, with gender split equally. No tilting.

Conclusion? It isn't that people are irrational or something; just look at the Zoo millage outcome. Rather, it's time to give them better than they've gotten so far.