News Updates SUMMER(Aug.)News

KNOXVILLE – The United States Department of Defense presented its highest civilian award last Wednesday to Star Journal News Editor Ed Hooper for his work as a broadcast journalist and writer documenting the lives of Tennessee’s veterans and his coverage of veterans’ affairs.
The ceremony was conducted by U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. and was attended by state Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), Tennessee National Guard Major General Jack Wood, Col. Donald Gagliano, Sen. Fred Thompson representative Cindy Lemons and South Foundation chairman Lloyd Daugherty.
"Ed Hooper’s life is a clear and daily reminder, " Congressman Duncan said at the ceremony, "that not every hero wears a uniform. His efforts remind us that we share a common duty to preserve the memory of our nation’s servicemen and women and herald the legacy they leave with every selfless act of service and heroic stand of courage. What Ed discovered about Tennessee’s Medal of Honor recipients’ graves sites while working at Channel 8 was inexcusable – graves of this state’s Medal of Honor recipients in disrepair or unmarked. Since then, he has worked diligently to see that these men who hold this nation’s highest honor received proper recognition and their graves are tended properly. It is with great pride that I announce today that he is receiving the United States military’s highest civilian award."
Both Senators Frist and Thompson also commented on Hooper receiving the national honor.
"Ed Hooper exemplifies what being a true patriot is all about," said Sen. Frist, "and it is only fitting that the Department of Defense honor him with this medal for outstanding public service. Mr. Hooper’s commitment to our nation’s veterans serves as a reminder to all of us of the great contributions America’s servicemen and women have made to the cause of freedom and liberty."
Senator Thompson stated: "Ed Hooper has performed a great service to the veterans of Tennessee and to Tennesseans of the future. He has documented the lives and words of Tennessee contributions to America’s greatest generation. Tennessee’s nickname ‘Volunteer’ was earned on the battlefields of the world by brave men and women from Tennessee, who served this nation, and I commend Ed’s work in preserving their memories."
Following the opening comments of the ceremony, Major General Wood and Co. Gagliano read to the crowd assembled a list of accomplishments Hooper has made as a journalist in his career regarding veterans and historic preservation projects that included his work documenting the lives of the state’s veterans as a broadcaster and his service to the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History in helping coordinate educational programs for public and private secondary schools.
MG Wood then called Hooper to the podium and, while Col.Gagliano, who was representing the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell Commanding Officer Major General Cody, properly presented the medals to Hooper, the official citation by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield was read into the record, by MG Wood.
"While serving as a broadcast journalist and writer, " stated Secretary Rumsfield, "Mr. Hooper brought to the National consciousness the remarkable service and sacrifices of the young men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces and brought to life the personal sacrifice, character, courage, and dedication of America’s servicemen and women, her veterans and all those who support them...For these and his many other contributions, I take great pleasure in presenting William E. Hooper the Department of Defense Medal of Distinguished Public Service."
Following the presentation, both Sen. Thompson and Sen. Frist presented U.S. Senate Certificates to Hooper commemorating the event and his service to veterans.
Hooper, who appeared stunned by the event, spoke to the crowd thanking all those who had attended and recognized those who had helped him over the years.
"There is no way I can truly thank all those who have aided me over the years, " said Hooper to the crowd, "but I owe a debt of gratitude to the news directors of the radio stations and to the team at Channel 8 who gave both the air-time and the extra effort to bring these stories to life as well as the editors who gave the space to document Tennessee’s volunteer tradition. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a bigger U.T. Football fan than I, but it always important that we remember just where the nickname ‘Volunteer’ truly evolved and, while today’s historians spend so much time studying the politics of the big picture, they often overlook the individual stories of the men.....who left their plows, shops, and offices to defend this nation, performed magnificently on the field of combat, and returned home quietly to resume their lives and pass on the ‘Volunteer’ tradition to the next generation. To those men, I owe a debt of gratitude I can never repay. They opened their hearts and minds to me and relived their most brutal memories to ensure I had the information to tell the stories of the brothers, friends and comrades who didn’t return from the battlefields and I couldn’t leave this podium without thanking Mrs. Ann Moyers, George Bales, and James Buddy White of the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History who, without their help, much of what I attempted could have never been accomplished."
Hooper says he was honored by the award and surprised by the turnout.
"I have done this type of work for fifteen years in radio, television, and print and I guess this proves you never know who is out there watching or reading what you’re doing," said Hooper. "Unfortunately veterans are probably the most overlooked segment of our society. They quietly live among us carrying debilitating wounds from old battles and horrid memories of what it actually takes to protect this nation from those who would destroy it. The least they deserve from us is our respect, attention and always our remembrance for what they did for this state and nation."
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Gibb’s high school teachers Knox County Commissioner Mike McMillan and Rell Smith, whom Hooper credited for pushing him into journalism, long-time friend WIVK-FM personality "Gunner," U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Famer Col. John Daniel, Brian Hall Jackson, Col. Woodcock of the University of Tennessee Ranger program, other broadcast colleagues of Hooper’s and representatives of the East Tennessee Historical Society. The honor guard for the ceremony was provided by South Doyle High School in Knoxville.

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Battlefield Land Purchased for Preservation
at Franklin, Tennessee

Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc. (STFB) announces the purchase of 3.22 acres of core battlefield at Franklin, Tennessee. The property, known today as Collins‚ Farm, is on the extreme Confederate right/Federal left and was the ground General W. W. Loring's Division passed over as they climbed the railroad embankment and got entangled in the osage orange abatis in front of the Federal trenches.
During the war years, Collins‚ Farm was the home of the overseer of Historic Carnton Plantation, William Collins. The main part of the house was built about 1830, and added onto several times over the years. The property was recently rezoned for commercial development. The all-volunteer STFB group began an eight month process of raising funds and constructing a purchase deal. The purchase was finalized June 15, 2001.
Donations and pledges totaling $21,000 were raised from within the Save The Franklin Battlefield membership, private donors, and from several Civil War roundtables including sizable gifts from the Capital District CWRT of Albany, New York, the Salt Creek CWRT of Wheaton, Illinois, and the San Diego (CA) CWRT. The Old Baldy CWRT of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the CWRT of North Worchester, Massachusetts also made donations.
These funds were then matched with $21,850 from Rob Hodge‚s Preservation 2000 project of dedicated reenactors from across the country, and the Central Virginia Preservation Trust. „This matching donation was the deal-closer,‰ said STFB Treasurer Sam Huffman. „Without the generous assistance of Rob and his group, we would still be trying to make the puzzle pieces fit together.‰ Danny Anderson of Shirley Zeitlin & Company negotiated the purchase, and Rick Moody of First Tennessee Bank secured the financing.
In the waning daylight of November 30, 1864, the assaulting forces of General Loring on the extreme Confeder ate right moved across the Collins‚ Farm property. During the approach, Loring's Division was fully exposed to two batteries of Federal artillery located near the railroad tracks on the Federal extreme left. Also, field guns positioned just east of Fort Granger had a clear field of fire into the Confederates east of the tracks. This terrible enfilade fire took a heavy toll on Loring's men as they approached the entrenched Federals.
Loring's three brigades crossed over Collins‚ Farm and charged in turn up over a 20-foot embankment to get across the railroad tracks. There they discovered that thick osage orange hedges along the tracks and lining Lewisburg Pike had been cut off at chest height and fashioned into a continuous abatis in front of the trenches, a heartbreaking and all but impenetrable barrier.
As Scott's, Featherston's, and finally Adam's brigades climbed up over the railroad tracks, they were scoured by musket fire from under the head-logs of the deeply entrenched Federals and by the main line batteries now firing double canister straight down the railroad tracks. The assault probably lasted less that an hour. There was little the assaulting forces could do but to shelter at the bottom of the railroad embankment until darkness allowed them to crawl farther south behind Collins‚ Farm.
It was here that Lt. General A. P. Stewart‚s Corps of the Army of Tennessee was dashed upon the Federal earthworks, causing Lieutenant William H. Berryhill of the 43rd Mississippi to lament, “„I cannot see how any human being could live two moments in such a place”.
This is the same ground where J. P. Cannon of the 27th Alabama reported, “The infantry opened up on us with terrible volleys, and it seemed as if not one of us could possibly escape from the storm of grape, canister, and minnie balls that poured into us. ...They enfiladed us at every shot, but we pressed on until...our single line had become so thinned and nearly every officer, from General Scott down, killed or disabled, that it seemed like madness to attempt to go further”.
Brig. General Jacob Cox of the 23rd Federal Corps remembered, “.the sharp, continuous, grinding rattle of the musketry combined with the cannon roar.... The fight here was bitter and stubborn.”
After the battle, the house and the grounds around it were used as a hospital for hundreds of casualties. Although trees have grown up on the property, the topography of the 3.22 acres is essentially unchanged. Save The Franklin Battlefield plans to interpret the Collins‚ Farm site with signage and to open the grounds to the public. The house has been rented to help pay down the debt amount. The property will be secured with an historiceasement to finalize its preservation for future generations.
Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc. has two years to pay off the $200,000 interest only loan. An escrow account was established to guarantee the first few payments as fund raising gets ramped up. Fund raising plans include grant requests to national and governmental preservation groups, various local and regional events, and a 20 minute slide presentation that is available as a meeting program to Middle Tennessee service groups such as lodges, Rotary, American Legion, etc. “If you ever need a speaker for your service group, call us at (615)500-6612.” says Smyth. “Have slide tray, will travel‚ is our motto”.
“We simply could not sit back and expect to have some other national preservation group buy this property for us”. said Smyth. “Our cost per acre here in Franklin is far above what rural battlefields cost, and we do recognize that those groups have to stretch their dollars. We do, however, hope and expect several preservation groups to help us to some extent. We want to add their names to the list of organizations and private citizens who have helped to rescue part of the Franklin Battlefield. When we all work together we can demonstrate that lost‚ battlefields do not have to remain forever lost.”
Save The Franklin Battlefield asks you to include STFB in your giving plans for 2001-2003. Your employer may have a matching grant program that will multiply the effect of your gift - check with your HR department. Donations and pledges can be sent to Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc., PO Box 851, Franklin, Tennessee, 37065. STFB also welcomes and can electronically accept gifts of appreciated securities -contact Sam Huffman at (615) 370-3842 or sam@jsp.net for an instruction
sheet for your broker. For more information, call the STFB office at(615) 500-6612 or visit the STFB web site at www.franklin-stfb.org.
Save The Franklin Battlefield, Inc. is a non-profit, 501 (c)(3)organization of volunteers dedicated to saving a portion of the Franklin Battlefield as a battlefield park. STFB works in close co-operation with local governments and local, county, state, and national historical organizations towards the preservation and development of the rich Civil War legacy in Williamson County, TN. The organization leads tours of local Civil War sites, provides speakers for various events, donates to land acquisition projects, erects historic battlefield markers, publishes a monthly newsletter, and maintains a web site. For more information, call the STFB office at (615) 500-6612 or visit their web site at www.franklin-stfb.org.

British resident heads up campaign to decorate
Civil War veterans’ gravesites

LONDON – A ceremony will take place soon to decorate the grave site a fallen Tennessee Confederate soldier. The only difference in this case is it won’t take place in Tennessee or any other location in the Southeast or America. The ceremony officially honoring Memphis resident Pvt. James Wheadly, Company E, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, who was killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh, will take place in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England.
Wheadly is only one of an estimated 400-plus Confederate and 40 Union servicemen buried in England. Marking the grave sites of the fallen soldier has become a project of North York resident John Collier, who is a member of the Maj-Gen. W.D. McCain Camp Sons of Confederate Veterans in England and is considered by many historical scholars in the states one of the most knowledgeable men in the United Kingdom on Civil War veterans buried in England.
“What many people do not realize,” said Collier, “is the fact that, at the outbreak of the American Civil War, more than 200,000 soldiers in the war were British born and 140,000 plus of the Southern population were born in Britain. A lot of those buried here served on Confederate States Commerce raiding ships and were not covered by the amnesty given to Confederate servicemen. Others died here while on business or came to live here after the war.
Like many people, I had ancestors who fought on both sides of the war. My great-great-great Uncle George Youle served in the 7th New York Infantry, but while researching my grandmother’s side of the family who were called Quantrains, I discovered they had changed their name from Quantrill and were relatives on Capt. William Quantrill.”
Collier has seen that each grave of both Confederate and Union servicemen are properly marked and says he has not ran into any of the political correctness controversies that have stymied many Americans of Confederate ancestry. Collier says that the local councils have in fact been enthusiastic about giving permission for CS grave markers to be cemented onto the grave sites. His only stumbling block had been from His Majesty’s customs, but a cabinet minister intervened on his behalf to obtain a waiver of sorts that exempts the grave marker flags he receives from America from a customs’ fee.
“The historical community in Britain have been supportive in the extreme,” said Collier, “giving me information and sometimes contributing financially to CS grave markers. I have received some financial help from the states, but can’t recall in any came from Tennessee. There are others, such as Herbert S. Davies of the 7th Tennessee Infantry and a man called Pendergast who served in the 10th Tennessee Infantry. At the moment, I am trying to place a CS grave marker on every CS grave sites in Britain. Confederate flags now fly besides the grave sites of CS soldiers literally buried the length and breadth of Britain. From Liverpool on the west coast, to Scarborough on the east and from Cornwall in the southwest to Scotland in the North. ”
This past January, British members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans reenactment groups in Britain and Collier helped orchestrate the largest Confederate Memorial ceremony outside the United States to commemorate the grave site of Commander J.D. Bulloch of the Confederate States Navy. Collier says he owes thanks to many people for their efforts in helping locate the grave sites.
“Plenty of assistance has come from the states,” said Collier, “but special thanks must go to Chris Old of the Southern Skirmish Society for his original list of those buried here and Terry Foenander of Australia, who supplied 90 percent of the possible names.”
Many stateside historians are more than impressed at Collier’s efforts and say he deserves recognition for his work that has attracted thousands of interested people across America.
“What Mr. Collier is doing in Britain is to be commended,” said one historian. “The British have always been more adult in their attitudes about the past and preserving heritage sites and don’t become caught up in the political correctness propaganda pumped out by activist groups. Whether or not one agrees with this side of the war or the other one, the fact remains that these brave men served a cause they believed was greater than themselves and that, by itself, should be honored.
Collier is still working to mark the sites and repair those headstones and monuments that have been partially destroyed over the years by weathering and age.
Any one who wants to help are welcome to donate to the Southern Heritage Preservation organization in Britain. His address is John Collier, 15 Lisvane Avenue, Scarborough, N. York, England, YO 12 5 LU.

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SEVIERVILLE – Representatives from the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the War of 1812, Native American Indian Movement, and other historical groups in Sevier County and East Tennessee gathered Saturday in the First Baptist Cemetery in Sevierville to protest a proposed road that will run through the historic site endangering graves of the region’s earliest settlers.
Archaeological surveys in preparation for the road have also uncovered evidence of a Native American presence that could also be damaged by excavation of the site.
According to reports, the road project was originally conceived during the Gov. Ned McWherter Administration, but shelved because of various historic concerns. It was later revived under Gov. Don Sundquist as part of his road and highway construction projects in East Tennessee, but has run into massive protests from numerous local historical preservation groups and descendants of those buried there.
The Sevier County Native American Indian Movement first brought attention to the road controversy this past Memorial Day and has worked closely building ties with local historical groups to protest the road project and stop the construction.
"I was pleased with the turnout," said N.A.I.M. spokesman Carl Whittaker, "every time we have held one, we have seen the numbers get larger and larger as people become aware of what is at stake here. This is a sacred ground to all our people in Sevier County regardless of their race or creed and those who took time to turn out and voice their opinion is very encouraging."
The groups gathered again at the cemetery on Wednesday July 4 to see that the graves of the citizens who served in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 are properly decorated with American flags and will again protest the actions of the Tennessee Department of Transportation as well as Sevier County for allowing the project to move forward.
Representatives from all groups represented said they will continue to do whatever it takes to stop construction on the project and preserve the historic site for future generations.

 

Historic preservation finds common ground

SEVIERVILLE – While ceremonies were held throughout Sevier County on Memorial Day honoring the servicemen and women who served this nation, a small cemetery off of Emert Street with the remains of veterans who helped found this nation lay empty, no American flags on their headstones, no ceremonious recognition of their service, just the threat of a bulldozer’s plow that could see a roadway built through it.
It is a road construction controversy that could bring representatives from Native American organizations and local historical societies together in an effort to stop the proposed construction.
The City of Sevierville and the Tennessee Department of Transportation is in the planning process of building a bridge over the Little Pigeon River and putting a road known as the Love Addition that would reportedly cut into the edge of the cemetery to connect the road with Dolly Parton Parkway. Some officials say, however, the right of way and possibly part of the road itself will run through one of the oldest cemeteries in East Tennessee. Other sources say archaeological surveys on an adjacent part of the grounds has also produced Native American artifacts.
The old First Baptist Cemetery in downtown Sevierville has been long recognized as a historic site and currently a small park sits on the site with benches. The church to which it used to belong was the first denomination to establish itself in Sevier County. Its first clerk, who is buried there, was a member of the Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.
Most of the headstones have become unreadable over the years and the rest have just disappeared from weathering and age. A stone marker dedicated on July 4, 1976 during America’s Bicentennial celebration stands in the center of the park.
Representatives from the Native American Indian Movement and other organizations held a memorial service on the site last Sunday and say they will do what they what they can to protect the site from construction.
"We wanted to hold a ceremony here to honor our ancestors’ memories," said N.A.I.M. spokesman Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker. "This and the McMahan Indian Mound are two sites we know of where there was a Native American presence in Sevierville and this one is as endangered as the other sites in Townsend and Gatlinburg. We have to protect these if we are going to preserve our heritage and culture. The proximity of this site near a historic cemetery is a unique opportunity for us and citizens of Sevierville to work together to prevent the destruction of both of these historic sites."
Local historians are also upset at the idea of a road running through the historic cemetery and say they will make every effort to stop any construction plans that will affect it.
"We are still studying it and seeing what can be done, " said one historian. If nothing can be accomplished then we look forward to working with the Native Americans on a common goal of saving this historic site. Unfortunately, there is no Repatriation Act for early settlers’ graves and, if this road goes through like it seems to be laid out, it will destroy the cemetery. I just hope that our only saving grace isn’t the discovery of a few Indian artifacts – that would be a sad fact. At some point, we have to say enough. Find a way around it, don’t build it, or move the road somewhere else, but don’t disrupt a cemetery that contains the remains of some of our founding citizens. It seems sometimes our drive to attract tourism dollars here over-rules our desire to retain the very things that made this region so interesting in the first place."
Other citizens were upset that the state or Sevierville would even consider putting a road through the cemetery.
"This is one of the most disrespectful things I have ever heard of," said one Sevier County resident. "It is a recognized historical site and a place of interest for many Sevier County natives who have relatives or descendents buried there. Surely the state is going to find a way around it or something."
For Native Americans and local historical groups, this is one of those rare occasions when they will find themselves working to preserve land that both sides feels deserves historic preservation.
Only one other such incident has occurred in Tennessee in recent years that brought both Native Americans and historic preservationists together and that issue was the preservation of Shiloh National Park, where both an ancient Mississippian Village and a battlefield causeway of the Military Park were threatened by erosion from the Tennessee River.
Representatives from the Five Civilized Tribes and historical preservation groups throughout West Tennessee joined forces to get the National Park to repair the problems.
Unlike Shiloh, however, there is no federal rule, other than the Indian Repatriation Act, that can be enforced to stop the construction and only if archaeologists doing required surveys can unearth artifacts that would point to a prominent Native American presence.

National Park visitation down

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