Stephen Spencer West Co. I “the Granville Stars” 23rd NC Infantry CSA. He was born in Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina in 1837. He was killed in action during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863

CSA: Remembering the [1863] Bravery of the 23rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment [and Other Carolina Men] – at Gettysburg! (27.3.2025)

Jefferson had to draw from a limited pool of men (compared to the North – which possessed an endless supply of recruits – as every newly arrived migrant was enrolled into the US Army) – Jefferson managed to assemble around 80,000 (aged 12-60) – gave every man a uniform, hat and pair of boots, and ensured all were armed and fed. The idea was to Punish the Lincoln Administration that had tried on numerous occasions to militarily invade and subjugate the South. It was General Lee who suggested to Jefferson Davis that an invasion into the North – and a decisive military victory near Washington – might force Lincoln to sue for peace. Lincoln, however, had other ideas, and refused any such compromise, stating that he strove for the utter destruction of the South.

George Foreman V Ron Lyle - January 24th - 1976

RIP George Foreman [1949-2025] – Fighter & Humanitarian! (22.3.2025)

On the other hand, George Foreman is such a genuinely good person that I simply cannot begrudge him his own successes – or condemn him for them. Good luck to him – and anyone else who can make money. I cannot do this – but I can recognise a truly spiritual human-being when I encounter such a person – and Mr George Foreman is just such a man. I am reluctant to speak of him in the past-tense – because I still feel his warm character that emerged from his emails around 20-years ago! He once said to me that he hates violence – but certain realities dictated that violence was needed in various stages of his life. I believe his come-back was motivated by the need to raise funds for his Church. He took the punches so that ordinary people could enter his Church, find peace, and live in love with one another. What a great man he was!

Possibly a a Photograph of the "Philadelphia Greys"

CSA: General Robert E Lee Sues for “Peace” [1863] – Pennsylvanian “Minutemen” Non-Existent! (17.3.2025)

This reflected a remarkable situation. A Confederate Army was riding rampant through the Pennsylvanian countryside – the State within which Washington DC is situated – and yet “no one” amongst the young, elderly, disabled or wounded men (considered medically “unfit” to join the Regular Army due to ill-health or age) were prepared to defend the Union. Within the city of Philadelphia, 8,000 men of the already existing “Philadelphia Greys” bravely volunteered to march to the front in defence of the Union. Due to the general lack of volunteers from the ordinary population – the city of New York sent 12,000 of its own existing Militiamen to supplement the regular Union Army. How brave these men were! Militiamen are often called “Sunday Soldiers” – as they are working men, fathers and patriarchs who live in society, work and look after their families. They come together once a week, once a month, or just a few times a year to compare notes, fire their weapons, and discuss homestead self-defence. They are not frontline soldiers. Of course, Confederate citizens showed the same extent of bravery when the time came. 

Battle of Chancellorsville

CSA: Would a Confederate Victory Have Led to a Socialist Revolution? (28.2.2025)

However, the Southern ideas of honour and their so-called aristocratic thinking were overblown and these ideas actually sometimes played to the South’s benefit, as the men in the South followed natural leaders and often times appointed them on their own (via popular vote). All too often, in the North, Officers were often political appointees – desk-bound Officers who hadn’t seen a battlefield in years – or ever. Or men who simply bought their way into a General’s uniform. One of the more stereotypical views of the South was the aforementioned backward, backwoodsman. Think about that for a moment. Yes – a significant portion of the Confederate Army was poor, uneducated, and illiterate. Some left-leaning historians have said  – with some accuracy – that the poor Whites of the South had more in common with the slaves – than they did with the leading families who owned most of the land and the fabulous estates like the fictional “Tara” in Gone With the Wind.

Southern Men Arise!

How Great Britain Assisted the Formation of the Confederate Post Office [1861-1863]! (8.1.2025)

The internationally-known London, England printing firm of “Thomas De La Rue & Co.”, prepared plates and stamps for the CSA until a Southern firm was found to take over the work. That firm, Archer & Daly, began producing stamps in 1863. The US blockade of as many Confederate ports as possible often meant that British ships carrying supplies from London, the UK, or the British Empire to the Confederacy – were often intercepted via acts of piracy on the high seas by the US Navy – with the goods confiscated and/or destroyed. The US government was continuously irritated by the continuous (undeclared) British support for the Confederacy – which for at least two-years extended into the realms of Post Office support! Of course, many of the best weapons the Confederate Army possessed were supplied by the UK. The Postmaster General of the Confederate Post Office Department (POD) – John Reagan (whilst traveling with President Jefferson Davis) – was arrested on the 8th May 1865, and imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. Reagan was pardoned and released from prison almost two years later. Jefferson Davis “refused” a Pardon (on the grounds that he had done nothing wrong) – and was subsequently released anyway.

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