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Posted on 6/25/12 at 4:51 pm to calitiger
quote:Speaking of Lexington there is still a cannon ball from back then still stuck in the front side of the city hall building.
Arch Clement was killed in Lexington (another great battlefield to visit) and is buried nearby. I had three ancestors who rode with Quantrill so this era has been an interest of mine for quite some time.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 5:18 pm to sfury
Yep. I've seen it. It's an interesting battlefield, nicknamed the Battle of the Cotton Bales, because CSA troops rolled cotton bales towards Yankee positions using them as mobile barricades. The visitor center there is large and informative for a smaller engagement. Of course, Little Arch died after the war while opposing Republican candidates in Lexington. He also had a nice death scene. The shootout in Lexington is legendary. Clement was severely wounded but was still able to mount his horse and ride down a group of Missouri militia. He fell from his mount and one of the soldiers asked, "Arch, you are dying. What do you want me to do with you?" Clement replied, "I've done what I always said I would do ... die before I'd surrender." Major Montgomery himself later stated of Clement's final moments, "I've never met better 'grit' on the face of the earth." He was quite the badass. 
Posted on 6/25/12 at 5:37 pm to AU86
quote:
quote:
a long time ago, ua had a school magazine called the yellowhammer. the yellowhammer is also alabama's state bird.
Confederate troops from Alabama were called Yellowhammers after the bird. During one of the big battles during the war Alabama troops were having to fall back. They had just gone through a pretty rough fight. As troops from other Confederate States were rushed forward they met the Alabamians retreating and they started to yell "Flicker! Flicker!"(sound that a yellowhammer makes) at the boys from Alabama. The Alabama troops were chided and embarrassed pretty badly for running and retreating by their fellow Southern troops.
The yellowhammer is a kind of flicker (a type of bird) and the state bird of Alabama. The "flicker" in the civil war chant was used to emphasize the running the Alabama guys were doing. So, from Shelby Foote's history of the Civil War, the chant was from the guys from the other southern states moving in to plug the gap in the line. It was said in the same rhythm as the present Alabama chant at the end of a victory.
"Flicker, flicker,
yellowhammer,
Alabama, Alabama!"
The battle was in the western theatre and in the third year of the war when morale started to sag. Apparently the chant resonated for decades in the ears of Alabamians and likely was repeated to them after the war. The present cheer changes "Flicker, flicker" to "Rammer Jammer," I presume to take the embarrassment out of it. The first "Alabama" was changed to "Give 'em hell." It was then used to taunt the opposition in the same way the Alabama soldiers had been taunted.
This post was edited on 6/25/12 at 5:53 pm
Posted on 6/25/12 at 6:05 pm to engl6914
quote:
engl6914
That is interesting, that they'd change something from a taunt into a cheer for their school. Probably in hopes the original meaning would be forgotten.
This post was edited on 6/25/12 at 6:06 pm
Posted on 6/25/12 at 6:07 pm to engl6914
When this thread finally dies out, it should be tacked to the top of the message board as a great example on how everyone can get along. Of course, unless trolls ruin it. Kills, you crack me up most of the time, but keep it in check in this thread. 
Great job ladies and gentleman. This thread is fascinating not only hearing more about Missouri history, but SC, Arky, LA, Bama, and anyone else that added to it.
Great job ladies and gentleman. This thread is fascinating not only hearing more about Missouri history, but SC, Arky, LA, Bama, and anyone else that added to it.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 6:21 pm to stapuffmarshy
quote:
Arkansas the “toothpick state.
since most residents only have one tooth that is fitting
would never be called the "teeth State" since no one in arkansas has more than one in their mouth
and there it is dickweed.
our per capita teeth ratio def. took a hit after Katrina and our mean average of beggars rose sharply.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 6:55 pm to sfury
"Speaking of Lexington there is still a cannon ball from back then still stuck in the front side of the city hall building."
The cannoball is actually lodged in one of the columns of the courthouse. Lexington is the county seat of Lafayette county. They also just had a large civil war reenactment this past summer of the Battle of Lexington.
The cannoball is actually lodged in one of the columns of the courthouse. Lexington is the county seat of Lafayette county. They also just had a large civil war reenactment this past summer of the Battle of Lexington.
This post was edited on 6/25/12 at 6:57 pm
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:02 pm to SB in KC
quote:
"Speaking of Lexington there is still a cannon ball from back then still stuck in the front side of the city hall building."
The hole in the top of the column
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:15 pm to Stripes314
quote:
The hole in the top of the column
Has the cannon ball not been removed? I was wondering if it's still armed.
I found an unexploded Civil War cannon ball when I was a kid that still had the fuse. They can still explode in some circumstances. Just wondering...
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:17 pm to SB in KC
quote:
The cannoball is actually lodged in one of the columns of the courthouse.
After I posted it I was thinking it was in the column but when I said front side I wasn't being specific I was just meaning some where on the front of the building.
I lived in Bates City in Lafayette county for close to 20 years and been to Lexington many times so I had seen it many times. It's been a while since I was there and forgot the exact location of it.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:24 pm to Porky
quote:Everything I've ever heard or read about it sounds as though the cannon ball is still lodged in there.
Has the cannon ball not been removed? I was wondering if it's still armed. I found an unexploded Civil War cannon ball when I was a kid that still had the fuse. They can still explode in some circumstances. Just wondering...
Here's a real good picture of it.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:30 pm to Mizzou4ever
quote:
Mizzou4ever
Yeah well its a rare topic that all Southerners can talk about in a civil manner and those are few and far between. Civil War nicknames for each state's soldiers? Sure. If the topic was why the war started, whose soldiers fought harder, who lost us the war, etc. we might have a different thread on our hands.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:42 pm to theGarnetWay
quote:
theGarnetWay
Well, great thread regardless. Well done!
Posted on 6/25/12 at 7:46 pm to sfury
quote:
Everything I've ever heard or read about it sounds as though the cannon ball is still lodged in there.
Here's a real good picture of it.
Surely (I would think) the cannon ball has been checked out and disarmed, unless it's a solid slug, which is unlikely.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 8:04 pm to sfury
That's a great pic. I'm gonna have to go check that out next time I'm in the area.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 8:09 pm to Porky
quote:I would think they've done some checking and determined it wasn't dangerous otherwise I doubt they would have left it there this long. If you notice in the picture I posted they have written the date it happened under it so they have been up there by it.
Surely (I would think) the cannon ball has been checked out and disarmed, unless it's a solid slug, which is unlikely.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 8:16 pm to CtotheVrzrbck
It is kind of interesting and it's in the courthouse actually.
Posted on 6/25/12 at 8:22 pm to calitiger
quote:
It's an interesting battlefield, nicknamed the Battle of the Cotton Bales
I believe it was Hemp Bales as Hemp was a major crop, cotton was more a SEMO & Bootheel Crop, Lexington is in Mid MO
Posted on 6/25/12 at 8:42 pm to Tackle74
Excellent thread. The Texans were returning the favor to our brothers out East from the ranks of The Alamo.
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