http://bluewaterpublications.com Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:05:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en TERMS OF SURRENDER AMID BOTTLES OF LIQUOR   Dr. William L. McDonald        Company C of the 9th Tennessee Cavalry surrendered at Waterloo in April 1865.  They had been ordered to lay down their arms at a Yankee garrison in East Port, Mississippi.  Federal authorities reasoned, however, that it would be expedient to ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=175   THE CELEBRATIONS FOR GENERAL FORREST AT FLORENCE   By Dr. William L. McDonald            September 22, 1864, was a red letter day for the citizens of Florence. General Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most popular figures in the South, was given a hero's welcome by the war-weary town. This celebration occurred in spite ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=173   RANSOM MONEY   From Dr. William L. McDonald        Captain Samuel P. Emerson was often referred to as “The Colonel” by those who feared him. These were mostly poor folk among the hills and hollows of Lauderdale County who chose to remain loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Their numbers grew ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=170 CIVIL WAR WEDDING        This story is about a wedding in Florence on January 22, 1864, during the bleak days of the Civil War.  Its circumstances could well have been a part of the romantic fairy tales of the Old World. The bride, Ann America Burtwell, called Mic by her friends, ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=166 A CONFEDERATE HERO IN A TUSCUMBIA CHURCHYARD   From The Civil War Tales of the Tennessee Valley By Dr. William L. McDonald            A highly decorated hero of the Civil War is buried in the cemetery at Our Lady of the Shoals Catholic Church in Tuscumbia. Father Emmeran Bliemel, O.S.B., who as far as anyone ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=164 THE STORY OF SAM AT SWEETWATER      Sam was one of the 120 African-American slaves who resided on the 3,800-acre plantation east of Florence known as Sweetwater. More importantly, Sam was a Civil War hero whose name was enshrined by the gratitude of a family who never forgot his noble deed ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=161 Civil War Stories     THE ANECDOTE OF THE OFFICER'S PARTY AT SWEETWATER        The story of East Florence’s Sweetwater Plantation would not be complete without telling the colorful yarn of the Confederate General who stumbled into the water fountain at its front entrance. This embarrassing incident became a part of the lure and ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=158            William Basil Wood organized the 16th Alabama Infantry Regiment in Courtland, Alabama, August 8, 1861.  A member of a prominent Florence family, his father served as the city's first mayor.  A younger brother, Sterling Alexander Martin Wood, was later promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=153 Our beloved Maud Lindsay's Silverfoot will once again be available for children and adults to enjoy.    Every child would benefit from reading this classic southern story. Silverfoot, originally published in 1924, is the story of a child's life during the tumultuous Civil War time period.  This beautifully written story offers a glimpse into the ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=151 Chief Tuscumbia became a legend at the Muscle Shoals. He was one of the few inhabitants of the area when the first white settlers arrived. His name in the Chickasaw language was "Tashka Ambi", or "Tashkambi",meaning "the warrior who kills." It was the English, Scots and Irish who later changed the spelling ... http://bluewaterpublications.com/?p=112