Category: Virginia

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Survey

3/8/2019

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Hello

Part XI of XIII

“… You weren’t.”
“Young George Gus.”
“It’s like he’s saying hello.”
“‘Hey Gus and Johnny.’”
“Hey George.”
“Like that Yank?”
“Just like that.”
“Seems so.”
“When did George own slaves?”
“Age eleven.”
“What?”
“His father, Augustine Washington, died and George inherited ten slaves.”
“Ten people.”
“At age eleven.”
“When did George get to Winchester?”
“Says here …”

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Surveyor

“… 1748.”
“Just a kid Reb.”
“Yup.”
“So before coming here, George had owned people for five years.”
“Correct.”
“Then the 16 year-old George went to Winchester, or Frederick Town, to survey.”
“Frederick was the eldest son of King George the second.”
“The future king?”
“Would’ve been, but Frederick died in 1751.”
“Colonial George was a loyal subject Johnny.”
“He was Gus.”
“Slaving, surveying and serving.”
“And then George was elected Burgess.”
“Is that good Reb?”
“Yes.”
“What’d he do?”
“Represented this area in assembly.”
“Early political career, eh?”
“Well …”

Next Up: 15 March and part XII of the winter series Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: To Prevent Hogs Running At Large.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Truckin’

3/1/2019

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Truckin'

Part X of XIII

“… Still playing Gus.”
“Folksy tune.”
“Grateful as well.”
“An intersection.”
“It is.”
“What do you call those things?”
“Horse-less carriages.”
“The crows call’em trucks.”
“Right.”
“Yup.”
“The crows are correct.”
“In the song Reb.”
“Yeah.”
“Why they getting their doors kicked-in?”
“Another war Gus.”
“Sounds like ‘Mericans, you know, in all them cities.”
“True.”
“Lightin’ issues, travelin’ tired, tryin’ souls …”
“… Sounds like kin.”
“Does.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Trippin'

“Look at George Gus.”
“What?”
“That’s older George.”
“Not Winchester George.”
“Right.”
“George had a strange trip.”
“Kept on truckin’ though.”
“Doubt he knew in the beginning what kind of trip it would be.”
“Just like us.”
“Just like We the People.”
“Agreed.”
“That song sings about gettin’ goin’.”
“‘Out the door and down the street.’”
“When did George get to Winchester?”
"Gus, there’s young George over there.”
“Don’t George joke Reb.”
“I ain’t.”
“Well …”

Next Up: 8 March 2019 and part XI of the winter series Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Survey.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Washington’s Office

2/22/2019

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Washington's

Part IX of XIII

“… More George Johnny.”
“Builder too.”
“George … working for The Man.”
“King George.”
“That might’ve rubbed.”
“Might’ve.”
“More Earl too.”
“The 4th Earl of Loudoun was George’s commander and governor.”
“Our George or King George?”
“Both.”
“Right.”
“The Earl wasn’t liked much in the colonies Gus.”
“Yet they named a fort for him.”
“Two in fact.”
“Two?”
“One here and one south of here.”
“Where Reb?”

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: Office

“West of the Appalachian Mountains Yank.”
“Future Tennessee.”
“Cherokee then.”
“Who built that Fort Loudoun?”
“Colonies of Virginia and South Carolina.”
“What happened?”
“Built in 1756, defeated in 1760.”
“Cherokee?”
“Correct.”
“And this Fort Loudoun, George’s?”
“Not much Gus.”
“Sounds familiar.”
“That is soldiering sometimes.”
“Monotonous.”
“Yupper.”
“George was young then.”
“Twenty-four in ’56.”
“You hear that?”
“Do.”
“Let’s step this way Reb.”
“Let’s …”

Next Up: 1 March 2019 and part X of the winter series Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Truckin’.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: 1756

2/15/2019

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: 17

Part VIII of XIII

“… Oops!”
“Sign’s making sense now.”
“Sort of Johnny.”
“Like the Somewhere cannon Gus.”
“For show.”
“Not action.”
“We in Winchester?”
“Think so.”
“The sign mentions George.”
“Defending Fort Loudoun.”
“Twenty-years before becoming a revolutionary.”
“Subject George.”
“What’s a Loudoun?”
“Earl.”
“Never heard of no ‘Earl Loudoun.’”
“An Earl like a Duke Gus.”
“Courtly?”
“Right.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Yank OOW: 56

“Why we here Johnny?”
“Learn.”
“What?”
“Don’t know yet.”
“The journey shows itself?”
“Yes.”
“Why we out of season Reb?”
“Might not be us out of season Gus.”
“Who then?”
“We the People maybe.”
“How?”
“Taboo.”
“Taboo?”
“A thing you can’t discuss.”
“Reb, We the People ain’t taboo.”
“That’s the out of season part.”
“Glad it’s just a while.”
“With ya on that.”
“Look, another sign Johnny …”

Next Up: 22 February 2019 and part IX of the winter series Johnny Reb and Gus Yank On Our Way: Washington’s Office.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Gus Yank and Johnny Reb Somewhere On Our Way: Strings

8/7/2018

Strings

11 of 13

“… And let’s talk about Kyd.”
“I hear music sometimes Reb.”
“Happens.”
“Normal?”
“Fairly.”
“Thanks for the Valkyrie explanation.”
“Did you see her wings?”
“Seeing her … you know …”
“That was probably planned.”
“… If the plan was to stun me, it worked.”
“Up to that point, you had the drop on me and the other Johnny.”
“Once you fired, she started from behind the bullet and overtook it.”
“It hit.”
“I just remember jawing with you about ‘Who got me killed?’”
“Kyd time.”
“Go J.”
“I want to use you Yank to talk about him.”
“Go for it.”
“Lincoln asked for volunteers in 1862 after a string of Confederate victories in Virginia.”
“Lee.”
“Augustus Kotka, citizen from Valparaiso Indiana –
“Valpo!”
“- Volunteered.”
“Did.”
“While you were volunteering that September, Kyd was on Jackson’s staff.”
“Stonewall.”
“There’s more to the string of victories than I can say now.”
“Okay.”
“Kyd would have known what I know is my point.”
“So Kyd had things on his mind, maybe knew things about Lee and Jackson and 1862, that others didn’t know.”
“Yes.”
“Being a young staff officer, that’s like being a private.”
“Carry weight.”
“Kyd? Did he carry weight?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“To the right of the sunrise, maybe ten miles, is South Mountain.”
“Interesting name.”
“Beyond that, less than 20 miles, is Frederick Maryland.”
“What happened there?”
“We rested there for three days after crossing the Potomac and leaving Virginia.”
“Everyone heard of that crossing.”
“Right.”
“What’s the problem Reb?”
“Orders were …”

Next Up: Part 12 on 9 August of the summer series Gus Yank and Johnny Reb Somewhere On Our Way: Kyd.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way Mysteries

12/17/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Flags

XII of XIII

“Whoa Reb!”
“What?”
“Virginia’s down.”
“I see that.”
“We should put the flag up.”
“Someone should.”
“Us.”
“No, not us.”
“Why?”
“Let’s give a human a chance.”
“Let a human do it you mean?”
“Right.”
“Who are these two?”
“Many things really.”
“There’s no battle flag, like the others: was he a Johnny?”
“He was a Johnny … and also a Confederate.”
“Why no flags?”
“Bit of a mystery.”
“There’s another flag too.”
“I see that Yank.”
“One flag down, two missing and another backgrounding.”
“Plays like a riddle.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Characterize

“They lived a long life: what did they do Reb?”
“I’ll tell a quick version and then we’ll move on.”
“Characterize Johnny.”
“See when they were born?”
“1815.”
“So in 1855 and ’65 …”
“… They were a pair of 40 and then 50 year olds.”
“Alexander represented Virginia in the US House of Representatives.”
“US Rep? – When?”
“One term, 1859 to ‘61.”
“John Brown happened around here and then.”
“And Lincoln was elected in 1860.”
“Alexander: what did he do next?”
“Enlisted, was commissioned, and assigned to General Jackson’s staff.”
“That was fast.”
“Didn’t last long.”
“Why?”
“Alexander switched back to politics; he represented Virginia in the Confederate Provisional Congress and then again in the Confederate States House of Representatives.”
“Wow.”
“After the war, he came back too.”
“How?”
“US Pardon Clerk.”
“Mysteries abounding Johnny.”
“This way to the next one.”
“With ya …”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Mysteries

“… To another young Reb.”
“Another member of Jackson’s staff too.”
“Who’s the Kyd?”
“Remember Ferry Hill Yank?”
“Fairy Hill, of course.”
“Kyd grew-up there, in Maryland.”
“What did he do there?”
“Road the ferries some I imagine.”
“Road the Fairies?”
“Back-and-forth, that and farming.”
“Fairies worked the farm?”
“Moved goods Gus – and you know about ferries.”
“Why so sure Johnny?”
“You were a Yank for three years.”
“So?”
“All Yanks know ferries.”
“Then all Rebs know Fairies.”
“Agreed.”
“What was the point?”
“Kyd grew-up across the Potomac, in Maryland –”
“– And he’s buried in West Virginia.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Henry Kyd Douglas, as far as I know, is the most complicated Johnny Reb there is.”
“Is not was?”
“Kyd’s still a mystery.”
“How so?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Try.”
“Not here Gus.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere?”
“Sure … ready when you are.”
“Thanks … Ready.”
“After you Reb.”
“This way …”

*Next Up: Sunday 24 December and the Thereat finale (part XIII), Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Somewhere.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way Around

11/19/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Border

VIII of XIII

“… Berryville was contested territory Gus.”
“The frontier of Mosby’s Confederacy?”
“Right.”
“So Mosby rode through Berryville, for example.”
“Well, in fact, there’s a Berryville story in his memoirs.”
“What happened?”
“It was August of 1864.”
“Before or after the eleventh?”
“A week after.”
“Go on.”
“Yanks were gaining ground in the Shenandoah in order to pressure Richmond.”
“From the west?”
“Right.”
“And Berryville?”
“Roads cross in Berryville; the Union was holding it to protect its supply lines.”
“Holding? – How?”
“General Sheridan had his command there.”
“That’s holding.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Clock

“If Berryville was the center of a clock – ”
“Okay.”
“– Twelve being north, that road connects to Charles Town and Harper’s Ferry.”
“John Brown area.”
“Correct.”
“The three o’clock road Reb?”
“That's Snicker’s Gap.”
“A must see.”
“It crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains.”
“Strategic.”
“Six o’clock has lots of villages and back roads; the main connecting town is Millwood.”
“And the Millwood road?”
“Another gap in the mountains: Ashby’s.”
“I see the significance.”
“And then nine o’clock is Winchester.”
“Morgan.”
“Right.”
“What did the Rebs do Johnny?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Hornets

“Attacked.”
“Sheridan in Berryville?”
“We bypassed Berryville and struck the rear, hitting wagons in a supply train.”
“Vital.”
“Right.”
“Did you just bust up the wagons or what?”
“Yes and no: we took 500 horses, 200 cattle, destroyed around 75 wagons and captured 200 Yanks.”
“How many partisans did that?”
“Couple hundred.”
“How?”
“Howitzer.”
“Cannon?”
“Yes.”
“Mosby had a howitzer?”
“One of his signatures.”
“Leaves a mark.”
“Funny thing is though, the attack almost didn’t happen.”
“Why?”
“We set the howitzer on a yellow-jacket’s nest.”
“Johnny Rebs a running?”
“Like the wind.”
“And then?”
“Then a Johnny rescued the howitzer from the hornets and fired a shot, which was the signal to attack.”
“I was rooting for the hornets Reb.”
“Of course.”
“And you say this Berryville story is in Mosby’s Memoirs?”
“It is Yank.”

*Next Up: Tuesday 21 November and Jesus of Nazareth, Miracles and Faith in Arendt Footnotes #9.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way Mosby

11/12/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat 1833

VII of XIII

“Reb?”
“Yeah.”
“Remember talking about Mosby?”
“Sure.”
“You said his book was published in 1917.”
“Mosby’s Memoirs.”
“And that he died in 1916.”
“Mosby was 82.”
“Was he born in 1833?”
“Yes.”
“So was I.”
“So was Jeb Stuart.”
“Didn’t think of them as my age.”
“Why?”
“Well, something like me and General Stuart, both passing in our early 30s, just hadn’t had that thought.”
“Stuart was a soldier, West Pointer.”
“I hear ya.”
“You were a Private.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Private

“Yes.”
“So was Mosby.”
“Mosby was a Private?”
“That’s where he started.”
“Reached?”
“Colonel; what happened to you Yank?”
“Not known.”
“There’s no evidence of you getting in trouble.”
“No evidence.”
“Maybe you just wanted to stay a Private?”
“Perhaps.”
“Volunteer right?”
“Yes – and you Reb?”
“Well, Mosby was a volunteer.”
“A lot of Johnny Rebs were conscripted.”
“That began in ‘62.”
“Forced to fight, so to speak.”
“It’s different than volunteering.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Higher

“Did Mosby know Lee?”
“He did.”
“And?”
“They got along; Mosby said Lee had only one complaint about him.”
“What was that?”
“That he kept getting shot.”
“Ouch.”
“Mosby thought highly of Lee Gus, and, even higher of Grant.”
“Higher?”
“Yes, higher.”
“Interesting. Didn’t they call Mosby’s partisan area of operations a special name?”
“Mosby’s Confederacy.”
“Did that include Berryville?”
“I would say so Yank.”
“Say more Reb.”
“Well, around Berryville …”

*Next Up: Sunday 19 November and Thereat part VIII, Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Around.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way A Gain

10/22/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Steppin'

V of XIII

“Steppin’ Johnny.”
“With ya Gus.”
“On our way again.”
“With a gain.”
“Which one?”
“Clarity.”
“Regarding the paths?”
“Yes.”
“Agreed.”
“The two paths to 2020 step differently.”
“Say more.”
“One is already law.”
“Article 1 and its thirty Thousand.”
“And the other path is in the hands of individual states.”
“You talking states’ rights Reb?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat States

“More like amendment rights by states.”
“So We the People have options.”
“We do.”
“To be constitutional, we can enforce the representation ratio in Article 1.”
“True.”
“And the other option, the one involving states: how would that work Johnny?”
“Complete the ratification of Article the first of the Bill of Rights.”
“How many states have ratified Article the first?”
“Eleven.”
“Indiana?”
“No.”
“Virginia?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the other states that have already ratified Article the first?”
“Sure.”
“Which ones Johnny?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Fulcrums

“New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina.”
“Okay.”
“Then New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.”
“That makes eight.”
“Then Vermont, Virginia and Kentucky.”
“Eleven.”
“Of the original 13, only Delaware voted no on Article the first: Massachusetts, Georgia and Connecticut never voted.”
“That’s interesting.”
“What are you thinking Gus?”
“About fulcrums.”
“Fulcrum states?”
“Yes: fulcrum states shift the weight.”
“Good point Gus: by ratifying Article the first, those eleven states reveal evidence of the representation usurpation.”
“Otherwise why did they vote for the amendment Johnny?”
“Exactly.”
“So We the People have eleven state allies against the usurpation.”
“We do.”
“That is a gain Reb.”
“Yes it is Yank.”

*Next Up: Sunday 29 October and Thereat part VI, Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Not Tumid.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way Representational Solutions

10/1/2017

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Thereat Cat

III of XIII

“Look, a Cat.”
“Reb?”
“What?”
“Why you cattin’ Johnny?”
“Maybe Cat’s a sign?”
“Maybe you don’t want to camp talk about Virginia.”
“Could be a sign like Snake and Turkey were.”
“Yet there’s no Morgan.”
“Maybe he’s Cat?”
“Stop with the cat Reb.”
“Cat is looking at something.”
“Yes.”
“Curious?”
“Now I am.”
“Shall we?”
“Sure.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Thereat Representational

“Paths Gus.”
“I see.”
“Appears to be three.”
“Indeed.”
“Constitutional paths.”
“The Ways of We the People.”
“Our paths to 2020 Yank and representing We the People according to our numbers, like the Constitution has been saying for 230 years.”
“How old is the representation usurpation Johnny?”
“That began on 9 April 1792, so that would be a 225 year-old usurpation.”
“So we’ve had five years of an un-usurped representation of We the People.”
“Infancy Gus.”
“Not so fancy Reb.”
“It’s Tory Crown fancy.”
“Sounds bad.”
“Tory Crown is the American anti-republic energy that didn’t want the US to be a republic.”
“Still don’t.”
“True.”
“The Confederacy wasn’t a republic, was it Johnny?”

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Thereat Solutions

“No, we had a Tory Crown influence.”
“The states, like Virginia, were independent states in confederation.”
“Right Gus, so the highest power was the state and not the states united.”
“Like our first government?”
“Like that.”
“What was it called again?”
“The first US government, the one before this one, was based on The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.”
“Right.”
“It had no We the People framework Gus.”
“And it failed.”
“States had one vote regardless of how many people they had.”
“Not good.”
“Connecticut and Virginia were voting equals.”
“Odd.”
“Yet they had great differences in population.”
“Clearly a problem.”
“So the Constitutional Convention solved this problem by guaranteeing a new right: the right to one Representative for every thirty Thousand people in a state, which created the House of Representatives.”
“We the People seen as a solution.”
“And not a problem.”
“So what’s the problem now Johnny?”
“Uh …”

*Next Up: Sunday 8 October and Thereat part IV, Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Problems.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner