" Make Us Truly Thankful", Around The ACW Table

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Arlington House, GWP Custis's ungainly monument to our Founding Fathers depicted in Harper's, 1853. His daughter's marriage later made it home to RE Lee, probably the most recognizable symbol of how we once were so divided 620,000 men died. That it now is home to, and reminder of the sacrifices made by those who defended this country over 150 years makes Arlington a place for which we're sincerely grateful.

Disclaimer, please excuse my lifting a line from a fairly familiar prayer? Thankful is thankful no matter who says so and why.

Unsure how many Americans adhere to the custom of observing what it is we're grateful for during Thanksgiving. Some families do the dinner table go-around, others leave theirs in church, some observe it silently or forget altogether except to be thankful the turkey and sweet potatoes were done at the same time this year. This entire country has a lot for which to be grateful, frequently with knowing who to thank or why.

Always seems as if not matter how awful a year someone's endured there's always something for which to say thanks. That gets bigger. This country endured a war that left holes in over 600,000 families, maimed even more and inflicted wounds that survive to this day. In a national tragedy the size of our ACW it seems almost blasphemous to dig around looking for anything at all to be grateful about.

There was and is. Add yours and please? Maybe not torque the thread sideways? You know what I mean. Remember " If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all? " I'll tell your mother.

One. Most obviously, head and shoulders, hand's down greatest impact and biggest ' gain ' ( if anything must be gained by shooting each other ) would be living up to our word. Freedom. For all of us. We finished the conversation The Founders began. There'd been a lot of talk about tyranny, freedom from oppression and the rights of equal men then someone dropped the biggest ball of all. All those sentences finally deserved a period. No one owns a human being.

Two. Clara Barton's Sanitary Commission. That means we're awfully grateful for her too. Clara loaded supplies, got in a wagon and headed for the nearest battlefield. Clara's energy, compassion and fearlessness sparked a massive humanitarian national movement dedicated to relieving suffering inflicted by war. From wounded to camps to refugees to missing soldiers , the Sanitary Commission's contributions cannot be calculated. By 1869 Clara had discovered the Swiss Red Cross organization, bringing it here by ( I think ) 1881.

Three. Medical advances by which we benefit in 2019, too numerous to list here.Faced with injuries never encountered in their lifetimes doctors, scientists and nurses came up with new solutions and better understandings. Hygiene, surgical procedures, artificial limbs, medicine, treatments. Guessing there's a list somewhere on CWT. I have a feeling @lelliott19 knows one or two......

Four. Our sacred space, Arlington National Cemetery. Meig's outrage at what he saw as RE Lee's wrong decision resulted in the use of the Custis/Lee property as burials for Union war dead. What it became is one of this country's most sacred spaces, reminding us daily of the genuine sacrifices made by those who raised their hands. For all of us.

Stopping there not because there are not more, love to see what the ACW Thanksgiving table looks like around here.
 
Five. Hands across the wall. Soldiers north against soldiers south, we punched and gouged each other for four arduous years. At Appomattox and thereafter, we shook hands, hugged, wished each other "Godspeed". Laughed together at reunions, met at the stone wall in Gettysburg, put up monuments on all the town greens. We became one nation again.
 
"Whereas it has pleased Almighty God during the year which is now coming to an end, to reclaim our beloved country from the fearful scourge of civil war, and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity and harmony..."

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Southern Recorder. (Milledgeville, Ga.), November 14, 1865, page 2.
 
There is a song, "God Bless America" that actually sounds better in my head than rendered aloud.
So I decided to share the artistry found here with 'History Boy' and his 'Bonnie Blue Flag'.
Happy Thanksgiving now for all 50 stars.
Lubliner.
 
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