My Old Confederate Home
Page 31
17. The Gray Book, 32-33.
18. C-J, November 23, 1901, and “Kentucky Confederate Home,” Lost Cause 6, no. 4 (May 1902).
19. Both quotes come from newspaper coverage of the Kentucky Division UCV reunion, C-J, October 23, 1901.
20. Young's comment comes from his report to the Board of Trustees, Minutes, May 6, 1903. Some of the inmates come to the Home from county poorhouses, he observed, and are “in many instances grotesquely clad.”
21. Compare rules discussed in Minutes, September 4, 1902, and December 1, 1902, with text of “Rules and Regulations of Residents and Employees at Fitch's Home for Soldiers” and “Rules and Regulations for Inmates of Kentucky Confederate Home,” both KyHS.
22. Home management continually warned camps about recommending inebriates for admission. See Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907).
23. Register of Inmates Received, KyHS.
24. C-J, December 1, 1902; “ample justice” quote from Bourbon (Ky.) News, December 2, 1902.
25. Board members authorized the purchase of uniforms on January 7, 1903, according to the minutes of that meeting. Levy Bros. of Louisville would supply uniforms to inmates of the Home for more than thirty years.
26. Milliken's report is attached to Minutes, January 27, 1903.
27. Minutes, February 10, 1903. The Paducah Sun reported on February 4, 1903, that Ford left the job “because the duties are too hard for him.”
28. C-J, February 8, 1928; and George D. Ewing, “William Oscar Coleman,” ConVet 36, no. 3 (March 1928): 107. See also Mosgrove, Kentucky Cavaliers, 66, 232; and Willis, Kentucky Democracy, 456-457.
7. The General's Sister and the Stockman's Wife
1. Cox's Dixie's Daughters describes a UDC more elite, perhaps, than that found in Kentucky. True, members were more likely to be town women than farm women, but leadership of Kentucky's statewide organization was shared by big-city women and the (presumably) more middle-class small-town women during the years the Home was in operation.
2. Board minutes state clearly that Ford was hired as “Superintendent” and Coleman was hired as “Commandant.” Nevertheless, board members, UCV officers, and newswriters referred to Salem Ford by both titles. In later years, Coleman would describe himself as “the first Commandant of the Confederate Home.” Salem Ford's legitimate claim to being the first manager of the Home would be largely overlooked. See C-J, February 8, 1928.
3. Letter from Bennett H. Young to Board of Trustees, attached to Minutes, May 6, 1903.
4. The offenses and punishments described in this chapter (except where noted) are from the Home's Discipline Reports, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort (hereafter KDLA).
5. Minutes, May 6, 1903.
6. For Paducah and Lexington pledges, see Bourbon (Ky.) News, January 30, 1903, and Lexington Leader, October 4, 1903. W. J. Stone's letter to Fayette Hewitt, October 25, 1902, KyHS.
7. The commission agreements are among the Home's miscellaneous correspondence at KyHS. See New York Times, April 23, 1903, for notice of Cantrell's fundraising visit to that city.
8. Minutes, May 6, 1903.
9. From a speech by Judge R. H. Cunningham to the first statewide meeting of the Kentucky Division, UCV, October 22, 1901. The entire speech is in C-J, October 23, 1901.
10. The most complete listing of named rooms and the donors who named and decorated them is found in Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907).
11. C-J, January 23, 1903.
12. Gen. Joseph H. Lewis, C-J, October 24, 1902.
13. C-J, October 24, 1902.
14. For some reports of poorhouse horrors, see Adair County News, July 22, 1903; Owingsville (Ky.) Outlook, October 1, 1903; Breathitt County News, March 25, 1904; and Springfield (Ky.) Sun, August 8, 1905.
15. Florence Barlow's quote is from “Kentucky Confederate Home,” Lost Cause 10, no. 9 (April 1904); Bennett Young's is from Minutes, May 6, 1903.
16. Quote from the Report to the President, Seventh Annual Convention, Kentucky UDC, Winter 1903, KyHS.
17. Circular Letter to Kentucky United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter, October 19, 1902, KyHS.
18. Letter from Mary Bascom to “Cousin Anna,” October 27, 1902, Filson.
19. Letter from Bennett H. Young to Board of Trustees, attached to Minutes, September 2, 1903.
20. Mrs. J. M. Arnold to Executive Committee, Confederate Home Board, January 14, 1904, KyHS.
21. Minutes of the Seventh Annual Convention, Kentucky UDC, Winter 1903, KyHS.
8. The Knight and the Icemaker
1. The Courier-Journal‘s Sunday rotogravure section for October 26, 1902, included a spread of photos of the Home's guest rooms and common areas.
2. The room numbering system changed from time to time as the Home was remodeled and rebuilt. Based on the Home's “Report of Occupation and Use of Rooms in Home” and its “Report of Inmates in the Home” (both KyHS) for the applicable periods, I believe these men were in Room 52.
3. Minutes, September 3, 1903.
4. “Reunion of Kentucky Division, U.C.V.,” ConVet 12, no. 1 (January 1904): 9-10.
5. Richmond Climax, January 27, 1904, and Bourbon (Ky.) News, January 29, 1904.
6. Mrs. J. M. Arnold to Executive Committee, Confederate Home Board, January 14, 1904, KyHS.
7. Bourbon (Ky.) News, November 21, 1902.
8. Bourbon (Ky.) News, October 3, 1905.
9. Bourbon (Ky.) News, June 29, 1909.
10. An engineering school chum wrote of how he and Norvell enlisted together in “From Baltimore to First Bull Run,” ConVet 7, no. 2 (February 1899): 62-63. Norvell wrote about his experiences in Camp Douglas in “Organized Prisoners in Camp Douglas,” ConVet 11, no. 4 (April 1903): 168-170.
11. Richardson, Field of Disease, 477. The description of Norvell is from the editor's introduction to O. B. Norvell, “Organized Prisoners in Camp Douglas,” ConVet 11, no. 4 (April 1903): 168.
12. Norvell's application for admission to the Virginia home (and correspondence about his illness with Basil Duke) are available at Library of Virginia, Richmond.
13. J. R. Deering, “Lieut. O. B. Norvell,” ConVet 8, no. 9 (September 1905): 425-426.
14. Report of Inmates in Home, December 1902 (for Norvell) and January 1903 (for Lovely).
15. “Kentucky's Munificence to the Confederate Home,” Lost Cause 10, no. 7 (February 1904): 51.
16. The confusion at this time over whether women would be accommodated at the Home seems purposeful. They certainly could not be housed in the dormitory-style main building. See “Kentucky's Munificence to the Confederate Home” and “Kentucky Confederate Home,” Lost Cause 10, no. 9 (April 1904); also Bourbon (Ky.) News, January 29, 1904, and February 26, 1904; and Richmond (Ky.) Climax, January 27, 1904.
17. Minutes, May 4, 1904.
18. Adair County News, February 15, 1905.
19. Rosenburg, Living Monuments, attributes the high mortality rates in Confederate Homes to the high percentage of “war-wounded” housed there (as many as a third of the veterans at some homes). He also points to a lifetime of poverty and stress-related disabilities as factors in the mortality rates. Most studies citing higher-than-average mortality rates among Civil War veterans (notably the Silver, Pizarro, and Strauss study reported by Aaron Levin in his article in Psychiatric News, April 21, 2006) have focused on Union veterans, due to better postwar medical record-keeping. Their conclusions, however, would doubtless apply to Confederate veterans as well.
20. Minutes, January 7, 1903.
21. Bowles's letter is dated January 7, 1903, and included in Minutes, January 7, 1903.
22. Minutes, January 7, 1903.
23. Bourbon (Ky.) News, June 30, 1903.
24. “Kentucky Confederate Home.”
25. Minutes, May 4, 1904.
26. Letter from Andrew M. Sea to Confederate Home Board of Trustees, January 6, 1903, KyHS.
27. “Kentucky Confederate Home.” Though their minutes indicate
no discussion of the matter, the board was probably aware of the cost inefficiencies inherent in cottage-style housing. Trustees of the Confederate Soldiers’ Home of Georgia estimated that fifteen family cottages would cost about $1,000 each, while the same $15,000 would pay for a single large building that could house up to a hundred inmates. See Rosenburg, Living Monuments, 53.
28. For a description of the cemetery, monument, and dedication ceremony, see Emerson, Historic Southern Monuments, 146-150, and “Monument to Kentucky Confederates,” ConVet 12, no. 8 (August 1904): 383. For more about Hindman's gift, see Semi-Weekly Interior Journal, September 1, 1903, and Minutes, September 2, 1903.
29. As long as he lived, L. D. Holloway carried the flag at the head of every funeral procession. See Messenger 1, no. 6 (March 1908).
30. The fire equipment is described in Minutes, May 4, 1904.
31. Description of the dedication of the infirmary, including Thorne's behavior, is from C-J and Lexington Leader, November 12, 1904. Bennett Young later issued a statement denying there was anything untoward about Thorne's appearance. See Earlington (Ky.) Bee, November 17, 1904.
32. Annual Report of the Kentucky Confederate Home, for year ending December 21, 1905, KDLA. Infirmary crowding is described in Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907).
33. Bourbon (Ky.) News, June 29, 1909.
9. The Railroad Man and the Barber
1. Unless otherwise noted, all reports of inmate misbehavior, charges preferred, and punishment handed out are from Discipline Reports, KDLA.
2. Laurel (Ky.) Mountain Echo, June 2, 1904.
3. Letter from Fayette Hewitt to Bennett Young, March 9, 1903, KyHS.
4. Minutes, January 4, 1905.
5. Mrs. Leer describes her visit to the Home in “A Visit to the Confederate Home at Pewee Valley, Ky.,” Lost Cause 10, no. 8 (March 1904).
6. The history, explanation, symptoms, and treatment of war-related stress disorders come from Slone and Friedman, After the War Zone, and Rosen, Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Written for the families of troops returning from deployment for America's Global War on Terror, After the War Zone is informative, sympathetic, practical, and highly recommended. Dean, Shook over Hell, presents some quantifiable data showing that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder was greater among Civil War veterans than veterans of any other American war since.
7. The “mistaken kindness” quote is from Annual Report of the Kentucky Confederate Home for year ending December 21, 1905. The Discipline Reports enumerate more categories of inebriation than most professionals would ever encounter. Both, KDLA.
8. Minutes, July 1, 1904.
9. Messenger 1, no. 10 (July 1908). O'Brien recovered from his injuries and lived in the Home until he died in 1922. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery at Pewee Valley.
10. Thompson, History of the Orphan Brigade, 236-238.
11. Young's description of the disciplinary process comes from Annual Report of the Kentucky Confederate Home for year ending December 21, 1905.
12. Minutes, August 9, 1904.
13. Messenger 2, no. 8 (June 1909). He returned to the Home just before his death and is buried in the Confederate Cemetery.
14. See the information on H. C. Melbourne in Minutes, July 1, 1904.
15. Annual Report of the Kentucky Confederate Home for year ending December 21, 1905.
16. Minutes, August 9, 1904.
17. Minutes, July 9, 1904.
18. Minutes, August 9, 1904.
19. Letter from John H. Leathers to Andrew M. Sea, October 27, 1904, KyHS.
20. Undated clipping included in Minutes, January 4, 1905.
21. The inspection committee, chaired by Charles L. Daughtry, presented its initial report at the board meeting of January 4, 1905. The Oldham County complaint is in Springfield (Ky.) Sun, March 22, 1905.
22. Hartford (Ky.) Republican and Stanford (Ky.) Interior Journal, July 21, 1905.
23. Undated clippings attached to Minutes, January 3, 1906.
24. See Minutes, January 3, 1906, and Bourbon (Ky.) News, February 2, 1906.
25. George wrote his note on a copy of a Senate appropriations bill for the Home that apparently was never brought to a vote. “I am certain that this bill will not be funded,” George wrote, before adding the good news about the inspection report. The handwritten note, signed by George, follows Minutes, January 6, 1906.
26. Annual Report of the Kentucky Confederate Home for year ending December 21, 1905.
10. The Socialite and the Editor
1. Messenger 1, no. 1 (October 1907).
2. The inmates consumed up to five gallons of fruit jam at a meal. Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907).
3. C-J, November 12, 1904, and Messenger 3, no. 3 (January 1910).
4. C-J, November 12, 1904.
5. Messenger 1, no. 12 (September 1908); 2, no. 1 (October 1908); and 2, no. 6 (April 1909).
6. Messenger 1, no. 1 (October 1907).
7. Minutes, June 3, 1904.
8. Minutes, March 2, 1906.
9. Mount Vernon (Ky.) Signal, October 13, 1905.
10. C-J, March 3, 1906.
11. Minutes, March 14, 1906.
12. This endorsement of Henry George is from Hopkinsville Kentuckian, March 31, 1906.
13. The Florence Barlow biographical information and quotes that follow, unless otherwise noted, are from Eagle, Congress of Women, 797-803; Lexington City Directory; and Seekamp and Burlingame, Who's Who in Louisville. The stories of Barlow's father and grandfather come from Perrin, Battle, and Kniffin, Kentucky; and Sofia Fox Sea, “Capt. Milton Balow,” Lost Cause 4, no. 10 (May 1901): 71.
14. Letter from Florence Barlow to Henry L. Martin, May 8, 1917, KyHS.
15. Ibid.
16. Lizzie Duke's biography is recounted in Messenger 1, no. 1 (October 1907).
17. Minutes, September 5, 1906.
18. Writer Jim Wheat of Dallas, Texas, first wrote of the Lizzie Howe–Handley-Duke connection on the Dallas County history Web site (http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jwheat/). This article, one of several on well-known Dallas madams, is carefully documented. I have checked Wheat's sources, and found some records of my own, confirming that Lizzie Howe left Kentucky and earned her fortune in Dallas as Lizzie Handley, then returned to the Bluegrass (via New York) as wealthy benefactress Mrs. L. Z. Duke.
19. New York Times, June 16, 1903; April 28, 1905; and February 10, 1910.
20. Whatever her origins, Mrs. L. Z. Duke gave liberally to ex-Confederates and Confederate causes. She was one of three major donors for the monument to General Felix K. Zollicoffer in Pulaski County (“Dedication of Zollicoffer Monument,” ConVet 18, no. 12 [December 1910]: 567-571) and contributed $3,000 toward an addition to the Oklahoma Confederate veterans’ home (Messenger 4, no. 2, December 1910).
21. Description of the opening of Duke Hall (including quotes) comes from “Kentucky's Confederate Soldiers’ Home,” ConVet 16, no. 9 (September 1908): 466-467; and Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907).
22. Young himself was in similar hot water twenty years before, when his Louisville Southern Railroad was alleged to have given gifts of stock to the Louisville mayor and city council members. See New York Times, October 14, 1885.
23. Lizzie Duke's past remained shrouded in Kentucky, even after her death on April 9, 1912. Her remains were shipped to Louisville for burial in the Confederate Section at Cave Hill Cemetery by an honor guard of ex-Confederates. Florence Barlow spoke on behalf of the Confederate Home chapter, but no other Daughters of the Confederacy participated in the funeral service. See C-J, April 10-12, 1912.
11. The Fiddlers and the Indian Agent
1. Messenger 4, no. 5 (March 1911). The Old Soldier Fiddlers was a popular act nationwide. Six months before they appeared in Pewee Valley, they were booked for a week at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco on a bill headlined by Lionel Barrymore. At the end of the week the Fiddlers were held over by audience demand; Barrymore w
asn't. San Francisco Call, October 30, 1910. The description of their act comes from several sources, notably the review of their Orpheum performance, San Francisco Call, October 31, 1910.
2. Hazel Green (Ky.) Herald, April 30, 1908.
3. For biographical information on George, see Memorial Record of Western Kentucky, 117-118; and “Col. Henry George,” ConVet 27, no. 9 (September 1919): 346. For more about his military service, read George, History of the 3d, 7th, 8th, and 12th Kentucky C.S.A., written while he was commandant at the Home.
4. New York Times, May 4, 1888, and Messenger 1, no. 8 (June 1908).
5. Evans, Confederate Military History, 360-361.
6. The best comparative history of Confederate homes is Rosenburg, Living Monuments, the source of most information in this section.
7. For Oklahoma, see “From Annual Report of the Trustees of the Oklahoma Soldiers’ Home,” ConVet 21, no. 6 (June 1913): 310-312; for Texas, Dallas News, January 15, 1899.
8. Only the Mississippi veterans’ home came close to the comfortable elegance and setting of the Kentucky Home. Varina Davis, former First Lady of the Confederacy, turned over the family home, Beauvoir, for use as a soldiers’ home. Facing the Gulf shore in the little resort town of Biloxi, Beauvoir was not nearly as spacious as Kentucky's old Villa Ridge Inn.
9. Tennessee visitor: Mrs. T. H. Baker, “The Confederate Home of Kentucky,” ConVet 23, no. 11 (October 1915): 462-463; Florida visitor, Pensacola Journal, June 20, 1905.
10. Messenger 1, no. 8 (June 1908).
11. All reported in the “Religion” column of the Confederate Home Messenger from 1907 through 1911.
12. Messenger 2, no. 2 (December 1908).
13. Messenger 1, no. 2 (November 1907), and 1, no. 4 (January 1908).
14. Messenger 2, no. 7 (May 1909).
15. Messenger 1, no. 4 (January 1908).
16. Messenger 4, no. 2 (December 1910).
17. Messenger 4, no. 3 (January 1911).
18. Messenger 4, no. 5 (March 1911).
19. From untitled ledger of bills paid, 1911 and 1912, KyHS.
20. Issues of the Confederate Home Messenger from 1907 through 1911 include announcements and reports of dozens of Pewee Valley community events held at L. Z. Duke Hall.