"The Caile Cemetery Angel..."

Annie Laura

Wife of W.W. Johnson

October 10, 1865 

December 20, 1919

Not too far from where I live, there is an old cemetery that has been there as long as I can remember... and this beautiful angel stands guard over a grave.

Regardless of the weather, she was always standing there... she became a landmark that I would look for...

The other day, I stopped to see her... and take these images of her...

  

The statuary looks older than the headstone on which she is mounted.  I wonder what the story is?  Did the original headstone break or have some flaw in it??  The headstone says she is the wife of W. W. Johnson... yet he isn't buried there...

What great loves did Annie Laura experience in her life time? What great heartbreaks?? What happiness... what sadness???

It doesn't matter now, I guess...

She has a wonderful guardian.

~shoes~

"Lonesome Dove..."

Are any of you familiar with this mini-series? ... and the book??

It's a story about a relationship between two men... Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call... who had worked together... lived together... served as Texas Rangers together...  they shared a lifetime of experiences... and for one last adventure, they set out for Montana with a herd of cattle.

Before reaching Montana, Gus is wounded while fighting Indians... and eventually dies from his wounds.  The entire story is a somewhat fictionalized account of a cattle drive that was headed by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving.  In particular, Loving (Gus) was attacked by Indians, and died several weeks later of blood poisoning with Goodnight (Call) at his side.  Goodnight honored Loving's dying request to be taken back to Texas for burial. 

Read HERE about Charles Goodnight

and HERE about Oliver Loving.

In 'Lonesome Dove,' after the death of Gus, Call continues the drive to Montana with the cattle and to establish the ranch.  Afterwards, Call returns for Gus' body... and begins the journey back to San Antonio to fulfill Gus' burial wishes.  

Scooter would come to visit me in my office... and we would spend time screwing around discussing the hot topics of the day.  He had noticed my photos of Monument Valley that I have framed and hanging on my walls.  He always wanted to go... and I told him that if he ever got well enough to travel, that I would take him.

In the meantime, Scooter had heart surgery... things didn't go well... and he was sent home, under hospice care, to die.  In planning for Larry's death, decisions were made... and one was for him to be cremated.

I wound up getting a text message from one of Larry's sisters... stating that he had a request... he wanted to know if I would take some of his ashes to Monument Valley and scatter them among the buttes... I feel so honored by this request.

So... sometime this May... after classes are over... Scooter and I will make that trip westward together...

Much like that trip of Woodrow Call and  Gus McCrae...

He's my friend...

It's the least I can do...

~Jim~

"Windsor Ruins..."

(my photo)

South of Vicksburg, MS, are two cities that are rich in antebellum (before the war) architecture,  Port Gibson and Natchez.  One can find  magnificent homes here... from back once upon a time when cotton was king. The topic of this post is "Windsor"... or more specifically, "Windsor Ruins"... the remains of a magnificent home that was built between these two cities.

"Windsor" was built by Smith Coffee Daniell II, a wealthy landowner. Construction began in 1859 and was completed in 1861.  Windsor was the largest antebellum home in Mississippi and sat on a 2,600-acre plantation in Claiborne County. The house cost about $175,000 ($3.5 Million in today's dollars) to build.  It was grand... it was opulent.  Mark Twain is said to have visited here many times... 

And as so many stories like this go, Smith Daniell only lived in the house for several weeks before he died at the age of 34.  So it goes, huh?

The image above is a drawing completed by  Henry Otis Dwight, a Union officer with the 20th Ohio Infantry, as to what the house looked like. This is the only depiction of the house created by someone who actually saw the home.  During the Civil War, the house was occupied by Confederate military, and then later, by General U.S. Grant and members of his military detachment.  The house was also used by Union forces as a hospital... and is cited as being one of the reasons that Grant didn't burn the house to the ground.

This is another artist's rendition of 'Windsor'...  there is a slight variation from the above drawing, in that this one shows steps on the two sides that the viewer can see... the prior drawing shows steps only at the front of the house.  It may be that the above drawing was a suggestion for what the house could look like, as opposed to what was actually built.  

Front Steps At Windsor

These front steps have since been removed from the ruin, and donated to Alcorn State University, in Lorman, MS...

Current Installation

of  steps at

Alcorn State University

The wealth of the family was devastated during the war... it is estimated that Grant's forces burned over 31,000 bales of cotton that belonged to the family.  Since the American South supplied England with over 75% of the cotton they needed, the destruction of the cotton grown and processed by the South put a great crimp in the Confederate economy as well as that of England.

Stories have it that a Union soldier was killed on the steps shown above... other stories say that wounded Union soldiers died while being cared for at this site... and are buried on the grounds.

These stories are possibly why the apparition of a Union soldier is often sighted around the ruins.  I wish I had read more about the history of the site... I would have been interested in looking to see if I could have found the 'soldier'... there are also stories of music wafting from the ruins... I do have to admit to having heard music while at the site, but I didn't think it to be from years past... from happier times...

(my photo) 

I also learned after the fact that the family cemetery is close by... covered by brush and such... I  would have looked for it and found it...

Anyway... on the night of February 17, 1890, the house caught fire and burned to the ground.  There are several explanations out there about the cause of the fire... but all include a discarded cigar that found its way either into a trash heap... or next to a curtain that caught fire... and even a pile of sawdust...

All that remains are these 23 columns...

(my photo)

Get out and learn the history of your area... there is so much to learn... so much to see...

Jim

"Scooter..."

Dr. Lawrence Lee Magee

September 4, 1948 – March 4, 2014

I love you, Scooter...

... and will miss you.

~Jim~