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We visited the First White House of the Confederacy in September whilst on a road trip through the southern states. We had a fantastic time with Bob and a school party who were there at the same time. Our photograph with the kids is below - taken after a cultural exchange of songs on the porch!
We’d like to wish Bob and the team well at this difficult time. Hope you’re staying safe and keeping your spirits up at this difficult time.
With all our best from London!
Hi there. We visited the First White House of the Confederacy on our road trip around the Deep South in September 2019. We enjoyed our time spent with Bob and the team and are just writing to wish you all the best at this very difficult and stressful time. We hope you’re taking care in Alabama and Bob is keeping everybody’s spirits up with his great stories and sense of humour.
Here’s our photo with the school party who are in at the same time (and with whom, we enjoyed a cultural exchange of songs!)
All the best from London!
The house is amazingly preserved, and the job done to collect the artifacts and possessions of Jefferson Davis and his family is outstanding. The rooms are beautiful and the experience of seeing the decor and furniture from that time is fun. The Confederate artifacts are in great condition. The guide/curator "Yankee Bob" is very energetic, warm, and an awesome historian !
The house is amazingly preserved, and the job done to collect the artifacts and possessions of Jefferson Davis and his family is outstanding. The rooms are beautiful and the experience of seeing the decor and furniture from that time is fun. The Confederate artifacts are in great condition. The guide/curator "Yankee Bob" is very energetic, warm, and an awesome historian !
thank you these farm super fact of FRANCE these CLOSED
Thanks for the invite Scott Owens
Hey great site, but needs some current events
To be posted, like, who is running the place, etc
Management info, buying items on line as well???
I had a wonderful visit! The guide, which as Bob will say, it not pretty but it's full of great information! Especially for those introverts such as myself that like to self guide! When I went to the gift shop, I wanted an item for a friend but it was just a bit too pricey and Bob was so kind! He not only gave me a little discount but he gave me two free pencils as well! Such a wonderful place!
What real study and research can do for you if you turn-off the television and stop going to the movies....This man attends many Confederate Memorial events and speaks openly about his new-found knowledge of the real reasons for the War Between the States. His name is H.K. Edgarton and oh yes, he's a past president of the NAACP in North Carolina. With Jefferson Davis' birthday coming up, he might make a good quest speaker.
Are you still flying the Confederate Flag? I hope so!
Lee: The Noblest American
I have heard it said that if you throw a dart at someone’s life, what you likely hit shows that person’s character. But, I think it strangely the case that the character of certain historical figures gets a skewed scrutiny while that of others gets a complete pass. The former is the case with Robert E. Lee. His 211th birthday is January 19, 2018.
Lee was nicknamed “The Marble Man” not because he inherited slaves or fought for his state of Virginia. No, Lee had a sterling character and nobility, the only cadet to ever go through West Point with absolutely no demerits. He modeled his life and habits after his hero, George Washington. So, how did his reputation remain spotless for over a century until this generation seemed to figure out the ruse?
It is not evil or racist (or pick an ugly ad hominem) to live in a certain time in history or to even have significant blights on one’s resume. Consider Moses who killed an Egyptian only to later lead the people of Israel. David stole another man’s wife, killed her husband, but was described as a man after God’s own heart. Lot led his family to S***m but is called righteous in the New Testament. MLK had his moral failings but we rightly celebrate his contribution to civil rights.
Lee has none of those egregious marks against him. Yet, looking at his life with respect for his character and admiration of his fidelity has somehow become the unforgiveable sin.
Wheat Avenue Baptist Church black pastor and theologian gave the invocation at the 1970 Stone Mountain dedication attended by Vice President Spiro Agnew. A portrait of Lee hung in President Eisenhower’s office. FDR attended the Lee statue dedication in Dallas while President Teddy Roosevelt called Lee “one of our greatest American Christians and…. American gentlemen.”
Union Commander C. F. Adams and grandson of President John Quincy Adams gave a glowing address on Lee’s 100th Birthday. Black American University professor Dr. E. C. Smith described Lee as “worthy of emulation.” Booker T. Washington applauded Lee for his commitment to bringing the gospel and biblical training to blacks. Ardent Lee admirer President Woodrow Wilson addressed the 50th Anniversary of Gettysburg in 1913. General Grant hosted Lee at the White House in 1869. Winston Churchill called Lee “the noblest American.”
Were all these great men, black and white alike, duped by history? How about more modern Lee admirers such as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Walter Williams? Is there some hidden revelation about Lee that only the wisest of today can see?
Lee’s reputation was well known in the mid-1800s. Lincoln and his general-and-chief Winfield Scott offered Lee command of all Union forces in mid-April 1861. Remember the timeline. Lee’s own Virginia was in convention. On April 4, 1861, her delegates voted 2 to 1 to remain in the Union. Fort Sumter took place on April 12, 1861. Lee was offered command shortly thereafter. Around the same time, Lincoln called up 75,000 “volunteer” troops from all remaining states. The Virginia convention voted again on April 17, 1861, this time 88 to 55 to leave the Union. Lee resigned his commission on April 20th and was given command of Army of Northern Virginia on April 23rd. The people of Virginia voted to approve their convention’s decision on May 23, 1861.
Lee had just become a Colonel a few weeks before Fort Sumter. He had initially turned down a Confederate command and chose to remain in the United States army. Virginia Governor Letcher had made it clear that Virginia intended to remain neutral in the fray. However, rejecting the request for Virginia troops, Letcher claimed that Lincoln had “chosen to inaugurate Civil War.” With that backdrop and Virginia’s re-vote on secession, Lee declined Lincoln’s offer and resigned believing he could not command troops to invade and conquer the people of his own state. Speaking of Union and secession Lee said he was “willing to sacrifice everything but honor” for the preservation of the Union. The “honor” he would not sacrifice was the unconstitutional invasion of his own people.
So, is Lee worthy of memory? Is he worthy of emulation? Is he, as Churchill said, “the noblest American?” Gerald Ford pardoned Lee in 1975. Even Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase warned against indicting and trying any high-ranking Southerner for treason because no legitimate legal case could be made to support the proposition.
One can argue the constitutional prerogative of a peaceable assembly and a vote to leave the Union. One can debate the importance of slavery in the minds of Northerners and Southerners in the mid-1800s. However, at least on this day in history, let us remember the man Robert E. Lee for who he was. For his true character.
Commander, SCV Robert E. Lee Camp 16, Auburn
Is this true???
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