Category: Yankee Doodle Dandy

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin’: Sarah

10/1/2021

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin': 1775

Part XI of XIII

“… Sarah … I can’t find Sarah Gus.”
“What?”
“Well, word says she’s buried here, as Sarah Stribling.”
“Yet no headstone.”
“Correct.”
“Any history on Sarah Reb?”
“Lots.”
“Like?”
“Sarah Berry married John Humphreys.”
“Who’s that?”
“John Humphreys was KIA 31 DEC 1775.”
“KIA.”
“1775.”
“Where?”
“Quebec, Canada.”
“Reb … Daniel Morgan was there and surrendered on that date.”
“Humphreys was with Morgan’s company: First Lieutenant of Riflemen.”
“Sarah lost her husband under Morgan’s command during the Revolution?”
“Before independence was even declared.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin': 1798

“So Sarah Humphreys is a widow in Berryville in 1776.”
“Well, there is no Berryville yet: that happens in 1798.”
“So what happens with Sarah?”
“In 1789, Sarah marries William Stribling.”
“Fourteen years after Humphreys.”
“Yes.”
“Who is Stribling?”
“William has money, is young and owns land next to Benjamin Berry’s (her father’s) plantation.”
“Children?”
“They have two.”
“Names?”
“Elizabeth and Dulcibella.”
“What else?”
“William dies in 1793.”
“Ach!”
“Something like that.”
“So Sarah Stribling inherits William’s land next to her father’s that then becomes Berryville in 1798.”
“Then there’s Kentucky.”
“Sarah goes to Kentucky?”
“After Benjamin … ”

Next Up: 15 October and part XII of the series Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin’: Benjamin.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

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Union 2016: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Increase Good Name

2/6/2016

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Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Increase

Winter series part 6 of 13

Shiva

“… Quite a story Reb.”
“Thanks Gus.”
“I didn’t know that’s how you got your name.”
“Most don’t.”
“Jonathan Rebel,” mused Gus; “funny how I thought your name came from Johnny Locke.”
“Our Dandy Rebels were Lockeans.”
“I thought somebody was.”
“In writing Common Sense,” continued Reb, “Tom Paine could sum Locke in just a sentence.”
“Why?”
“Too obvious.”
“I hear ya Reb: like explaining the Holy Spirit.”
“Paine just said of Locke’s theories what everyone knew: usurpation is indefensible.”
“Tom was English?”
“He was; what kind of name is Kotka?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Good

“The good kind.”
“Of course Gus: where do you hail from is what I meant.”
“Like your story Reb,” Gus reflected, “where’s anyone really from.”
“True.”
“The Kotka’s came from over there.”
“Europe.”
“Over there.”
“Well, you were born in Indiana,” offered Johnny, “in 1833.”
“Yes.”
“So why Augustus?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Name

“Just lucky I guess.”
“Emperor Gus one could say.”
“I was a private Reb.”
“It’s a name of honor.”
“It’s complicated.”
“How so?”
“Expectations.”
“The name is loaded.”
“Right.”
“Auspicious.”
"Correct."
“Illustrious even.”
“Fancy words for an Indiana hayseed, eh Reb?”
“An Indiana hayseed that gave a life for the Republic.”
“Augustus the Roman -”
“- Memento mori.”
““What’s that Johnny? …”

*Next Up: The Union 2016 winter series continues Saturday 13 February with part 7, Augustus and the Roman Republic.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

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Christmas Eve Laments 1944: No Silent Night in Bastogne

12/23/2014

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Silent Night Memorial Chapel Oberndorf (Austria)

Part I: Lamentations

Silent night, Holy night

A replica Austrian chapel depicts the place of the initial 1818 performance of Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Two pious dudes had an idea for a Christmas Eve show; one had words, the other beats. The wordsmith was Josef Mohr, the man with the beats, Franz Xaver Gruber, played church organ. Stille Nacht was put together like most great things (out of necessity); Mohr had a midnight Christmas Eve performance and needed something new. Including guitar and choir accompaniment, the two crafted the performance that evening – and the show went on at midnight. In 2011, UNESCO declared Stille Nacht part of our intangible cultural heritage.

 All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child 

No Silent Night: The Christmas Battle for Bastogne, written by Leo Barron and Don Cygan (2012), is the story of a fulcrum battle in the German siege of Bastogne, Belgium, 20-27 December 1944. This German siege within the American Ardennes Counteroffensive hinged on a Christmas Day battle between US infantry, with the 101st Airborne on point, against German tanks, specifically, the feared Panzer and its three inches of steel plating. Tomorrow we’ll view the Christmas Day battle from one officer’s perseverance and patience, Lt. Colonel John T. Cooper. The colonel has a soldier’s day like Lt. James Monroe did in 1776 at the New Jersey Battle of Trenton. In 1776 it was German Hessians hired as mercenaries for the King of England to fight the Yankee Doodle Dandy rebels; in 1944 it was the last of Germany’s Jerries against more of those US rebel Yanks.

Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial (Belgium)

In Belgium (and not far from Bastogne) the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place for 5,329 WWII US vets: 792 are buried as Unknowns. The memorial itself is grand; the rows of headstones providing background for an emboldened American eagle accompanied by three goddesses: Justice, Liberty and Truth. There are also thirteen stars for America’s founding, when thirteen independent states united to become one nation.

Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
 Sleep in heavenly peace.

Lamentations are passionate expressions of grief or sorrow; they are illuminated wails. Barron and Cygan show their spirit, and the spirit of their book, by prefacing No Silent Night with a German officer’s Christmas night lamentation; the sorrow was chalked in a school after tomorrow’s 1944 Christmas Day battle. Seventy years on and the German’s sorrow rings eternal in its human, all too humanness: besieged by ruins, blood and death, the human nonetheless cries for – laments for – a vision of universal fraternity:

“Let the world never see such a Christmas night again!
To die, far from one’s children, one’s wife and mother, under the fire of guns, there is no greater cruelty.
To take away a son from his mother, a husband from his wife, a father from his children, is it worthy of a human being?
Life can only be for love and respect.
At the sight of ruins, of blood and death, universal fraternity will rise.”

This evening, pause in Peace for that holy infant, so tender and mild … in all of us.
~
Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Part II Tomorrow: 70 years from Christmas Day 1944 ~ Perseverance, Patience and Victory in Bastogne.

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Constitution Day: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and Antietam 1862

9/16/2014

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Antietam Somewhere

War Cry Heal Union
The summer series finale (10 of 10)

Honoring Constitution Day 2014 and 1862

“Hey Gus.”
“Hey Reb.”
“Our Once Upon A Time chat got interrupted yesterday …”
“Darn Squeak.”
“… Right,” continued Reb, “and welcome to Somewhere.”
“I’d say it’s nice like Nowhere,” Gus observed, “– and thistles too.”
“It wasn’t always this nice.”
“So where is Somewhere Reb?”
“Antietam.”
“No shi-kiddding?”
“No kidding.”
“So, the Dandies of Harlem Heights.”
“Yeah.”
“I figure,” Gus began, “you wanted me to see the problem.”
“What problem is that?”
“The problem of who got me shot,” Gus stated, “so you brought me the story of the battle through the eyes of the Yankee Doodle Dandies.”
“American Rebels.”
“And to show me the similarities between Leitch and the other soldier, the one killed on the field.”
“Thomas Knowlton.
“Yeah him: I remember Leitch died thirteen days later ~ sort of one day for each Stripe.”
“Nice reckoning.”
“So where we at on Antietam?”
“An orientation perhaps?”
“Great ... and is it Constitution Day in Somewhere, I mean Antietam, too?”
“Eternally Gus …”

Sharpsburg Somewhere

“You were here Johnny.”
“Yeah,” Reb panned, “the question is where were you in September 1862?”
“South Bend Indiana.”
“Indiana ‘eh.”
“Right, the 99th Volunteers were mustered into the US Army …” Gus paused: “I volunteered after …”
“After what?” Reb asked.
“… Antietam is the culmination of Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign.”
“You volunteered in August 1862, right?”
“Did: the 99th was mustered into service 21 August 1862,” affirmed Gus and added, “- I see your suggestion Johnny.”
“Still need that orientation Yank?”
“Not really.”
“Whatcha’ thinking?”
“All these citizens Reb … their lives for what?”
“The bloodiest day in our heritage.”
“There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“Generally …”
“The Potomac’s near.”
“Yes.”
“Can we go there?” asked Gus.
“For a moment …”

Potomac Somewhere

“… Here it is.”
“Big.”
“Not so big …”
“No, the thing across it?”
“Bridge Yank.”
“Monster of a Bridge.”
“Yeah.”
“Is that Virginia?” wondered Gus.
"It is."
“So much talk about it ~ seems like a place to go.”
“Say more ..."
“Crossing a river is symbolic.”
“It’s been said so.”
“Can we …”
“Visit Virginia,” Reb pondered, “like maybe next year?”
“I’m available ~ you?”
“Think so.”
“Summer again Reb?”
“Feels like Spring.”
“Great.”
“It's Time to go Gus.”
“You hear something?”
“No ... just Time.”
“Thanks Reb.”
“Thanks Gus.”

Gus and Reb Somewhere Sunset

*In October, look for Ew Publishing’s mini-series, Whiskey 220: The Rebellion. Hosted on the BWB Blog, Whiskey 220 honors the successful conclusion to a domestic insurrection 220 years ago; it does so by highlighting President George Washington’s personal notes while traveling to inspect the State militias: the series includes a meeting with Virginia’s Governor Henry Lee III. Whiskey 220 begins Saturday, 11 October.

Thanks All!
~
Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Video:
Johnny Cash sings Civil War songs

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1776: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and the Dandies of Harlem Heights

9/15/2014

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War Cry Heal Union: The series (9 of 10)

Once upon a time …

“Hey Gus.”
“Hey Reb ~ Where we at?”
“Once Upon A Time.”
“Once Upon A Time?” Gus quizzed, “you said we’d meet Somewhere next time.”
“I did,” Reb confirmed, “and tomorrow's Somewhere …”

Once Upon A Time Green Bean

“Great … then what’s with the green bean?”
“It’s a kitchen Gus.”
“Okay …”
“There’s a Dandy story here,” assured Reb, “and it’ll make our Somewhere time better.”
“A dandy one ‘eh?”
“The Dandies of Harlem Heights.”
“No kidding?” crafted Gus, “… then what goes with Once Upon A Time?”
“Burners …” offered Reb.”
“Burners?”
“… They like art.”
“Who’s Art?”
“… C’mon Gus ~ this way.”
“Sure thing Reb ~ though who’s Art? …”

Once Upon A Time Do Not Stop

“… Hey Reb ~ wait-a-Sec.”
“What now Yank?”
“Are we in Art's dream?”
“You can say that.”
“Then how come you and I are different?”
“Whatcha’ mean Yank?”
“Once Upon A Time? …” thought Gus, “How’d you do this?”
“I’m a composite Spirit,” answered Johnny Reb, “and you’re an individual Spirit Gus.”
“Okay …”
“You get to do your Spirit thing, be that US Army Private, 99th Indiana Infantry Regiment - ”
“Volunteer.”
“Yes, Volunteer Augustus Kotka, killed skirmishing the siege of Atlanta, 11 August 1864.”
“And you Reb? … How’d you die?”
“All the Johnnies Gus.”
“All? … You mean all the deaths?”
“Yes ~ and all the lives too.”
“Which is why you can do more …”
“Right.”
“It’s like …” Gus reasoned, “you’re a Macro and I’m a Micro Spirit.”
“Right again.”
“One more thing … Is that a piñata?”
“… Gus ~ C’mon …”

Once Upon A Time 48 Stars

“… Gus ~ Here we are.”
“What kind of flag is that?”
“’Merican.”
“The stars Reb …”
“Forty-eight.”
“Lots ~ so where are the Dandies?”
“Here, in the map.” [Richard Hanser, The Glorious Hour of Lt. Monroe, 1976:87.]
“Map’s too small Reb.”
“I know … I just wanted to say something.”
“Good ~ I like listening.”
“Sure you do …”
“I do ~ speak your peace Johnny.”
“The Stripes,” started Reb, “they represent the 13 Colonies in Rebellion.”
“Yes ~ and the Spirit of ’76.”
“And that Spirit had bodies … you know, humans.”
“Of course.”
“In the map are four American Rebels: a General, Colonel, Major and Lieutenant.”
“Officers.”
“Yes: Washington, Knowlton, Leitch and Monroe.”
“George and James for Washington and Monroe: who’s Knowlton?”
“Thomas Knowlton, Connecticut.”
“Say more …”
“Bunker Hill, 1775.”
“With ya’ now.”
“In the map it’s more than a year later,” Reb continued, “16 September 1776 and the New York Battle of Harlem Heights.”
“Who’s Leitch?”
“Andrew Leitch, Virginia … he’d been in New York four days.”
“Had been … what happened?”
“Washington has Knowlton’s Rangers skirmishing –”
“I know Skirmish.”
“– Against some Brits. Knowlton then leads the Rangers and the Third Virginia Regiment on a flanking movement. Knowlton is shot scouting the Brits; Major Leitch, as second in command, steps into the spot Knowlton was just in to assess the situation …”
“That’s the right move.”
“… Right Yank ~ ‘cept the Brits had the range and put three shots into Leitch.”
“Did they die? ~ Then I mean?”
“Knowlton on the field and Leitch thirteen days later.”
“Yankee Doodle Dandy Rebels ~ Knowlton and Leitch.”
“Yes, a Stripe for Connecticut …”
“… And a Stripe for Virginia.”
“Soldiers like Washington and Monroe,” Reb continued, “who give witness to such moments, often feel they were fighting …”
“For something.”
“… And not Against something Gus: Yankee Doodle Dandies fought For Free Speech and Enumerated Representation, you know, like our Nowhere chat,” Reb flickered, “~ Oh’oh …”
“What?”
“Time to go.”
“Already?”
“Heard a Noise.”
“Whatcha’ hear?”
“Squeak.”
“Who’s Squeak?”
“… Gus ~ Tomorrow's Somewhere.”
“I’m with ya’ Reb …”

Video: Yankee Doodle: Music of the American Revolution
~
*Tomorrow ~ US Constitution Day, 17 September 2014, the War Cry Heal Union summer series finale: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and Antietam 17 September 1862.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

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Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin’: Sarah

Union 2016: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Increase Good Name

Christmas Eve Laments 1944: No Silent Night in Bastogne

Constitution Day: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and Antietam 1862

1776: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and the Dandies of Harlem Heights

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Johnny Reb and Gus Yank Berryvillin’: Sarah

Union 2016: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Increase Good Name﻿

Christmas Eve Laments 1944: No Silent Night in Bastogne

Constitution Day: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and Antietam 1862

1776: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and the Dandies of Harlem Heights

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Union 2016: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Increase Good Name