Reflections of An Uncommon Common Man

Stones River National Cemetery 1866   For many years it was believed that at least 620,000 men died in the Civil War. Over half of these were from disease. In the last few years that number has been revised upward by experts to over 750,000 men that died in the Civil War. This was almost 2% of the total population at that time. More men died in the Civil War than all the American wars put together from the American Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan. There were 22 million people living in the Northern states of who the majority were white. There were 9 million people living in the south or the 11 Confederate states. Five million whites, and 4 million slaves and free blacks. One in five Southern men died in the Civil War. An estimated fifty thousand civilians died in the war. The population of Murfreesboro was 1,671 whites and 1, 190 blacks,who were mostly slaves. The total was 3,861 The population of Rutherford County was 14,743 white people and 13, 174 slaves and free bl...

Increase Mather   It is funny how names change through the years. For example my grandfathers name was Marcellus. I don't think that I have ever met a white Marcellus since my grandfather died. Men of his generation and later were also named after presidents. I used to know a few Woodrow Wilson's and I had an uncle James Garfield Frogge. My grandmother was Ella Belle, and my mother was Donie Belle. We also have a granddaughter named Lydea Belle. My great grandmother was Caldonie Sherrill Brown. My paternal great-grandmother was Clemenza, aka Menzie Jolly. Many men were named after old testament patriarchs in the 1800's. Clemenza's father was named Aaron and it was passed on to my father Willard and son Robbie as their middle names. I had a great-great grandfather and an uncle named Isaac. A great uncle named Jacob. Names like Moses, Abraham, and Joseph were common. My paternal great grandfathers name was Joseph Segroves, In colonial times it was also popular to nam...

  Here we go again. Another crazy person goes on a shooting rampage and the left targets guns as the culprit. I know a little something about mental illness. My father could have won an award for the best father in the world for the first nine years of my life. He took us fishing, swimming, and hunting. Daddy taught me how to play baseball and never missed one game or practice. We did everything together. Then he began to act weird and his drinking increased to the point that he stayed drunk a lot. I didn't want to be around him anymore. Because I wanted my old dad back I asked him to get help one night when he was drinking but still lucid enough to understand me. He agreed and checked himself into a local sanitarium and it seemed to help him for a while but soon he would relapse and check himself back into a sanitarium in order to dry out. This cycle lasted for several years until one day my mother and I returned home to find my father incoherent and close to death after takin...

   A few years ago I traced my family history on both my father and mothers side of the family and  I discovered a few military men here and there. Several even gave their lives in the service of their country. On this Memorial Day I would like to pay tribute to them. Since there were more military veterans on my mothers side I will start with them. My grandmother's name was Ella Belle Frogge Brown. Her ancestor was Colonel John Frogge who was a veteran of the French and Indian War fought from 1754 until 1763 between England and France and each of their Indian allies. John was also the sheriff of Prince William County Virginia. His wife Elizabeth Strother was the sister to Alice Strother who was the grandmother of President John Tyler and Sarah Strother who was the mother of President Zachary Taylor who I will get to later. Colonel John Frogge had a son whose name was also John and he was a Captain in the Virginia Militia. He was born on May 26, 1745 and was killed i...

  Jimmy Stewart was one of my favorite actors. I grew up watching his movies and I can't imagine a modern, day big name actor, of the caliber of a James Stewart, volunteering to serve their country today. War or no war. During World War II it was routine for actors and actresses to serve their country. Stewart on the other hand was the first major movie star to enlist. One thing that was special about him was that he served before America entered the war. On September 16, 1940 America enacted a peace time draft. The bill called for 900,000 men to be drafted between the ages of 20 and 36, each year. Stewart's draft number was 310 and his number came up in February. He was rejected because he was five pounds under weight and only weighed 138 pounds. At 31 Stewart was older than most recruits for the Army, but as a skilled pilot in private life, he wanted to enroll in Army-Air Corps flight training. He would turn 32 in May, which would make him too old for flight school. Stewar...

  I wanted to say a few words about my mother-in-law, Margaret Phillips. When I met Debbie in February 1966 I didn't have a car. As a result my dating options were pretty limited. So Debbie invited me to come to her house on a Sunday. I was scared to death and very shy. When I walked in the door her mother was washing dishes. Smiling she handed me a drying rag saying, "your just in time to dry dishes". Of course she was kidding but I was immediately put at ease. I felt like I had walked into the home I had lost three years earlier. She was the center of gravity in the Phillips home to coin a military term. The universe revolved around her. She always cooked for an Army it seemed and was, besides her mother, Grace Brown, the best cook I have ever known. My love for Debbie was enhanced by my love for her family.   It was like a three ring circus. I worked during the week and Debbie was not allowed to date until the weekend. Occasionally if I was lucky I would come ...