My Talk at the Manship House, 9/24/16

My talks are always an adventure.  Whether it's challenges that arise in getting to the site or dealing with haunted equipment, you can pretty much bank on something crazy happening. 


But it keeps me on my toes and sharp.  It also keeps the gray hair growing.  For once, I wish I could post that nothing out of the ordinary happened, and that my presentation was uneventful.  This one was close to that.  But nuh uh.  We missed the exit and ended up traveling through old town Jackson, Mississippi with its streets that may have been paved once in their existence.  I thought we may fall in several of the cracks and just hoped my equipment wouldn't be jarred to pieces..  I say we.  This time, I was blessed to have my mama along.  She is a big reason I am where I am in my life today.  Not only is she an awesome mama, she's also a genius when it comes to working with technology.  So maybe that's why my equipment behaved.  Mark, unfortunately, was unable to accompany us. 

The venue for this talk was the Manship House.  It was the home of Charles Manship, the mayor of Jackson during the Civil War.  He surrendered the city to Sherman on July 16th, 1863.  There were several women soldiers who were with Sherman's XV corps during this time, but that's another post.  The house is currently being restored, and I am looking forward to seeing what the Mississippi Department of Archives and History does with it.  You can read more about the Manship House (HERE) and (HERE).

Photo courtesy Chris Merck

My talk went smoothly with nothing weird happening for once.  The attendees were attentive and asked interesting questions.  It was good to see my friend, Chris, present.  He is one of my biggest supporters, which I greatly appreciate.  And he brought some friends with him, some ladies from the local Order of the Confederate Rose, Nathan Bedford Forrest chapter.   They asked to have a picture taken, which we did with my gear.

Photo courtesy Chris Merck

 I was extremely honored that Marilynn Jones of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History asked me to participate in the event at the house, which was called Civil War Scenes.  It was co-sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council and included reenactors on the grounds.  Also, my presentation was followed by an interesting talk on ice cream during the Civil War.  Did you know that Walt Whitman brought ice cream to wounded soldiers in the hospital?  I learned all kinds of neat information.  And afterwards, we were treated to a tasting.  I got the lemon flavor, which was made with no sugar or eggs.  It was very good!  Mama got strawberry, which she liked.  They also had a spice cake made from a period recipe.  It was quite tasty!

Following my talk, Mama and I departed for Huntsville, Alabama where my baby brother just moved after getting a job working as a rocket scientist.  Literally.   We brought him some furniture.  Mama's SUV was loaded to the top, front, and back.  It's a wonder we even made it to Jackson in the first place for lack of visibility out of the vehicle! 

All in all, it was a good trip.  I am truly blessed in so many ways, and I give God all the glory.

Until next formation....rest.