Here are some things on the tour which have a tie-in to the Civil War:
portrait of Benjamin Gratz: his stepson fought for the South, his youngest son for the North; they were both at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, where his son died. Ben took care of his stepson's family during the war. This stepson was Jo Shelby, who is known as one of the South's greatest cavalry officers. (There's more -- but this story is the most representative one.) Benjamin was, by the way, a Unionist slaveholder.
portrait of Rebecca Gratz: Eighty at the beginning of the War, she wished for the days of her strength when she could still have nursed the wounded. She lost her nephew, Cary Gratz (see above) at the beginning of the war and three weeks before it ended, her great-nephew Gratz Cohen who fought for the South.
Fanny Kemble portrait -- which you probably already talk about.
Marianne Moore's grandparents (pictures on either side of the mantel in her livingroom): her grandfather was a Presbyterian minister in Gettysburg in 1863. His young wife died a couple of months after the Battle of typhoid fever. The epidemic was due to the 50,000 bodies from the Battle which could not be buried quickly enough to avoid the contamination of the water supply.
Does anyone else know of a Civil War tie-in?
Thanks for this Susan. It will be very useful for my tours this fall & winter.
ReplyDeleteWhen we discuss the many documents we store, I nearly always mention R.L. Lee's telegram resigning from the Union Army and Lincoln's Baltimore Address
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me that Benjamin's second wife, Mariah's niece, was a widow (Mrs. Shelby) who had children of her own before she married Benjamin. I had forgotten that she was nearly Mariah's age and not a child bride when she married Benjamin.
ReplyDelete