Joan,
I hope you had a nice conversation with Chris Calkins today! Chris
is a good source for checking out stories. Let me know what he says.
I'm glad you found the story in print, but that book wasn't on my
bibliography so I didn't learn it from there. I interviewed three other
people besides Chris, at his suggestion, and they may have read and
repeated the story. Following is the bibliography and sources used for the
web site.
Anne
Bibliography and Sources for the Battle of Five Forks Web Site
Personal Interviews:
· Chris Calkins, Historian, Petersburg Battlefield National Park,
Petersburg, VA
· Jim Bell, Ranger, Five Forks Battlefield National Park, Dinwiddie, VA
· Greg Eanes, Reporter, The Crew-Burkeville Journal, Crewe, VA
· Jerry Wooten, Historian, Pamplin Park Civil War Site, Dinwiddie, VA
6/29/95
Pamphlets:
· Petersburg, Official Map and Guide, Petersburg National
Battlefield, VA, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
· Five Forks Unit, Petersburg Battlefield, Dinwiddie County, VA,
National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Magazine:
· Blue and Gray Magazine, V9 N4, April 1992
Calkins, Chris: The General's Tour, The Battle of Five Forks, Final Push
for the South Side. p8-26
Books:
· Bearss, Edwin C. and Chris Calkins: Battle of Five Forks, H. E.
Woards, Inc, Lynchburg 1985
· Davis, Burke: To Appomattox, Nine April Days, 1865. Holt Reinhart
and Winston, NY 1959
· Black Southerners in Gray: Essays on Afro-Americans in Confederate
Armies
· Greene, Robest Ewell: Black Defenders of America, 1775-1974, A
Reference and Pictorial History. Johnson Publishing Co, 1974
· Jordan, Ervin L., Jr: Black Confederates and AFro-Yankees in Civil
War Virginia, University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1995
· History of Negro Troops
· Black Soldiers, Black Sailors, Black Ink
At 04:44 PM 2/23/03 -0500, you wrote:
>In response to Ms. Pemberton's statement about Mrs. Lee's alleged refusal
>to accept a Negro guard at her house in Richmond after it fell, I offer
>here the following 3 references:
>
>1) The story can be found in a so-called history book, in Jay Winik's
>_April, 1865, The Month that Saved America_, Harper-Collins, 2001, page
>120, where it is told WITHOUT ANY ATTRIBUTION for the quote as:
>
>"When Mrs. Robert E. Lee, who was too stricken by arthritis to flee and
>thus remained in Richmond, suggested that the soldier posted on her
>doorstep, a
>black man, was 'perhaps an insult,' she was promptly given a new guard, a
>white from Vermont, and had her household offer him meals on a tray."
>
>Where did Mr. Winik find this story that includes a quote which he fails
>to footnote or reference?
>
>It is sufficient to say that a story or statement QUOTED WITHOUT
>ATTRIBUTION in a history book is highly suspect and less believable than
>a quote from a "first person" eyewitness.
>
>The incident of a guard is not mentioned in _The Confederate State of
>Richmond_ (Emory Thomas, 1971) nor _Red River to Appomattox_ (Shelby
>Foote, 1974) nor _Battle Cry of Freedom_ (James McPherson, 1988).
>
>Mr. Calkins' article and book are not available to me at the moment to
>check to see if he mentions this story of Mrs. Lee allegedly refusing to
>have a Negro guard at her door. I plan to contact him personally on Monday.
>
>If you are able to provide a reference from Mr. Calkins' book or article,
>I would appreciate it, Ms. Pemberton. Otherwise, given the above research
>and lack of verifiable proof, I must say I cannot accept this story as factual.
>
>Joan Logan Brooks
>
>________________________________________________
>QUOTE from Ms. Pemberton:
>Joan,
>
> I'm unsure of the exact source of that story, but my main sources
>in making the Five Forks site at
>http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Pav/Academy1/fiveforks/ were the Civil War Times
>issue that featured an article on The Battle of Five Forks by Chris Calkins
>and the book The Battle of Five Forks by the same Chris Calkins, plus the
>linked sites.
>
> Anne
> >QUOTE from Ms. Pemberton.
> >I believe the facts are that Lee inherited them from his wife. Seems I've
> > > read somewhere that she stopped the manumission so that she would not
> live
> > > alone while he was about his soldiering. If actions speak louder than
> > > words, then Mrs. Lee's refusal to accept a black US soldier as guard when
> > > Richmond fell, indicates her feelings on the subject of Negroes. She was
> > > most ungracious!
>
>
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Anne Pemberton
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http://www.erols.com/stevepem
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
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