National Wildlife Refuge honors a Black Confederate Soldier

Of the 552 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States, only one is named for an African American.  He was Holt Collier, a Confederate soldier during the War for Southern Independence.  The Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge spreads over 2,033 acres on  Collier’s historic hunting grounds near Darlove, Mississippi, about 29 miles southeast of Greenville. 

Below is the remarkable story of Holt Collier which is reprinted from an official publication of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

Holt Collier

Born in 1846 to the Mississippi slave family of Harrison and Daphne Collier, Holt was one of probably 11 children. The Colliers were house servants to the prominent and influential Howell Hinds family at the Home Hill Plantation in Jefferson County. Holt spent his young years at Home Hill caring for the large pack of hounds that Hinds would take on hunts and Holt would sometimes go along. 

Holt Collier

When Holt was 10, Howell Hinds took him to another family property, Plum Ridge Plantation, to help attend Hinds’ young son, Thomas. Plum Ridge, located in Washington County, was in a rugged wilderness area with huge stands of giant trees and thick cane, stinging insects, venomous snakes, alligators, wolves, panthers and bears. One of Holt’s primary duties was to provide meat for the Plum Ridge plantation workers. He hunted with a 12-gauge shotgun, became an excellent marksman and could shoot equally well from either shoulder. While still just 10, Holt shot his first bear.

When the Civil War started Holt joined the Confederacy to be with his masters Howell and Thomas Hinds.  He was only 14. He then joined Company I of the Ninth Texas Cavalry, was involved in frequent action and served successfully as a military spy.

After the war, Holt became a Texas cowboy for about one year, but returned to Mississippi and lived most of the rest of his life around Washington County and part of the original Hinds County, named for his master’s family. As the years passed, Holt became well known for his bear-hunting ability and is credited with killing over 3,000 bears – more than the number taken by Daniel Boone and Davy Crocket put together.

It was the pursuit of black bear that brought President Theodore Roosevelt to Mississippi in 1902 and teamed him together with the then 56-year-old Holt Collier. Holt’s unsurpassed expertise made the hunt a success even  though the president would not shoot the large male bear that Holt single-handedly captured and tied to a tree. Instead, the incident was nationally publicized in editorial cartoons on the front page of the Washington Post. An enterprising New York store owner, Morris Michtom, saw the cartoon and created a stuffed toy he called “Teddy’s bear.” The popularity of the stuffed bear lead to the formation of the Ideal Toy Company. And, when the Teddy bear turned 100 years old in 2002, Mississippi named it the official state toy.

Holt Collier died on August 1, 1936, at 90 years of age. Holt was buried at Live Oak Cemetery in Greenville, Mississippi near the area where he killed his first bear.

This is a later version the famous Clifford Berryman cartoon which appeared in the Washington Star

A Tribute to Donald V. Adderton

Donald V. Adderton

Donald V. Adderton, a longtime journalist and editor in New Jersey and Mississippi, died Saturday, July 24, 2010 at the age of 61.   Since 2000 Adderton had served as Executive Editor of the Delta Democrat Times in Greenville, Mississippi, becoming the first black person to hold the top editor post at a Mississippi daily newspaper.

Adderton was well known for his insightful, conservative columns which were truthful and honest, albeit sometimes politically incorrect.    Adderton was criticized by some black leaders  when he publicly opposed removing the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi state flag during a statewide referendum.

Below is a reprint of one of Adderton's columns which appeared in the Mississippi Sun Herald, June 19, 1998.   

Purveyors of hate circulate uncivil stories about war
By Donald V. Adderton

It always amuses me when I confront nonsensical accounts - revisionist hysteria lacking the faintest hint of fact - of the War Between the States.

Revisionists recently have been running around the Coast ranting and raving about myriad events that brought the South and North into the theater of combat in 19th century America.

They even advanced the absurd notion that the South should not be construed as losing the Civil War.

In fact, a baseless notion was tossed out that the Confederacy lost the war and not the South. At last report, the Confederacy was located in the South -- below the Mason-Dixon line, if you will -- and represented that region.

Every time there is a discussion of the American Civil War on these pages, rational thought apparently goes screaming out the window, because passions run high on both sides of the issue.


But passion does not excuse bad manners or uncivil language in an intelligent discourse of the Civil War.

Then there are some critics who go around waving so-called secession papers that are supposed to validate that the Confederate states withdrew from the Union solely because of slavery.

These revisionists would have you believe slavery was the flashpoint that ignited the hostilities -- the warfare that temporarily ripped this nation apart.


The primary causes of the war were economics and states' rights. The issue was not solely that the federal government wanted to abolish slavery.


Judge them by their actions

In fact, when you take a close look at the major players, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commander in chief of the Union Army, remained a slave owner until after the war. His Confederate counterpart, Gen. Robert E. Lee, abhorred slavery.

The war was waged as much on economic grounds as it was military. It is for this reason that the war's impact is still being felt today, 133 years later.

Then there are these same people who would have you believe that President Lincoln freed the slaves when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but constitutional freedom did not come until the 13th Amendment was affirmed. And not until the ratification of the 14th Amendment were black Americans recognized as citizens.

Mississippi State Flag

During the Civil War, at least 200,000 blacks -- some 85,000 Confederate soldiers -- fought with regiments of the South and North -- many showing their valor on the field of battle.

Again, some accounts would have you believe that the legendary Louisiana Native Guard Volunteers unit of the Union Army -- who were garrisoned at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island -- was the only heroic black unit that saw combat during the Civil War.

What you probably don't know is that, during the war, Confederate troops were more of a melting pot than the Union ranks. Along with blacks and whites, there were Scots and Indians.

"Not only did you have people of color, but people of different ancestry fought for the Confederacy," said Capt. Mike Kelley of Pascagoula, a former Marine (ed. Navy flyer!), Civil War historian and keeper of the Terrell's 34th Texas Cavalry Web site.

In fact, Gen. Stand Waite, a Cherokee, was the last Confederate officer to surrender to Union forces on June 23, 1865 -- two months after Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.


There were Rebels of many colors

"As far as the mixture of the cultures and races, the Confederate Army was far more integrated than the Union," Kelley said.

If it is truth you seek about the role blacks played in the Civil War, I strongly suggest you browse the 34th Texas Cavalry Web site at: http://www.37thtexas.org/html/BlkHist.html

It is galling that those who shamelessly recite revisionist rhetoric completely discount the key roles people of color played in Confederate armies.

"We are not allowed to know this," Kelley said. "If this is known, then the racial polarization goes away."

Clearly, there are people who take great glee in keeping the racial pot stirred to a boil.

Nonetheless, the truth is out there, if you have the time and determination to seek it. Because truth not only will it set you free, it will make you a better informed human being.

There are some people in this world of ours who will use misinformation to wield power over an unsuspecting populace. Don't let it happen to you.

Holmes County Confederate Monument, Lexington, Mississippi

The Holmes County Confederate Monument was unveiled on the west lawn of the county courthouse in Lexington, Mississippi on December 2, 1908.  Thousands of local citizens gathered for an elaborate ceremony which included a parade, music, and speeches by various dignitaries, including an address by Judge Sydney McCain Smith, a Lexingtonian, who later was appointed Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

The sentiments of the people of Holmes County are eloquently expressed in the inscriptions on this monument which stands as a silent witness to the Confederate States of America.

C.S.A.

THEIR DEEDS, PROUD DEEDS.

SHALL REMAIN FOR US

THEIR NAMES, DEAR NAMES,

WITHOUT STAIN FOR US,

THE GLORIES THEY WON,

SHALL NOT WANE FOR US

IN LEGEND AND LAY,

OUR HEROES IN GRAY,

SHALL FOREVER LIVE,

OVER AGAIN FOR US.

C.S.A.

TO THE HOLMES COUNTY

SOLDIERS OF 1861 - 1865

AND MEMBERS OF HOLMES

COUNTY CAMP No. 396 U.C.V.

IN MEMORY OF THEIR

PARTIOTISM AND HEROISM

AND TO COMMEND THEIR

EXAMPLE TO FUTURE

GENERATIONS.

1908

C.S.A.

THE MEN WERE RIGHT
WHO WORE THE GRAY
AND RIGHT CAN
NEVER DIE

C.S.A.

HONOR TO HEROES,
IS GLORY TO GOD.

Killing and Plundering in Port Gibson, Mississippi

Directly across from the Claiborne County Courthouse, Port Gibson, Mississippi, is this very imposing Confederate Monument. It honors the soldiers from Claiborne County who fought to defend their homeland against Northern invaders during the War Between the States. The monument was dedicated Oct. 26, 1907 in a fitting ceremony led by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.


Claiborne County was the scene of two important battles of the War. The Battle of Grand Gulf, April 29, 1863, on the banks of the Mississippi River, was counted as a Confederate victory although it allowed Union General U.S. Grant to move his troops past the fortifications and land them at Bruinsburg. This helped set the stage for the infamous Siege of Vicksburg and the opening of the Mississippi for the invading Yankees. The former town of Grand Gulf is now Grand Gulf Military Park with a museum, historic buildings, hiking trails and an observation tower with an outstanding view of the Mississippi River.

The Battle of Port Gibson was started by Northern aggressors near the A. K. Shaifer house, May 1, 1863. A Union victory, the battle resulted in 1,648 casualties, all of them American - 861 Union, 787 Confederate.   Three of my great uncles, two from Alabama and one from Georgia, were among the Confederate soldiers who survived the battle.  All three were later captured in Vicksburg.  They were the lucky ones.  Others of my kin had already been killed in Mr. Lincoln's War.

A portion of the Port Gibson battlefield is now preserved within the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Below is an eye-witness account of the aftermath of the Battle of Port Gibson, written by two Union Soldiers:

“Early next morning, May 2d, we advanced with a strong skirmish-line in front, and entered Port Gibson at 9 A. M., where we found the public and private buildings crowded with rebel wounded. The Regiment stacked arms on the side-walk, under the shade-trees. The enemy had retreated over the south fork of Piere River, destroying the bridge after them. The following morning we crossed the river on a pontoon bridge, marched all day, and crossed the north fork at Grindstone Ford in the evening, and camped near the stream.

"The provisions that we started with had lasted up to this time, but we had cut loose from our base, which prevented us from getting another supply. Orders were therefore issued to subsist on the products of the country through which we marched; and from that time forward until the siege of Vicksburg, foraging parties, or perhaps better known as "bummers," were sent out daily, to procure all the provisions and forage that was required for the army. They left camp every morning, in advance of the infantry, and a curious sight they were to behold, as they galloped by at full speed, mounted on such "critters" as they could gather up on their expeditions. They were dressed in such clothes as suited their fancy - the Union blue, the rebel gray and butternut, with a considerable number in citizens' attire.

“They were a jolly, mischievous set, eager and ready for any adventure. No sooner were they beyond the lines than they began their work. They slaughtered the pigs in the pens; the cattle and horses were driven from the fields; smokehouses and cellars were ransacked for flour, meal and bacon; the chickens and turkeys were captured in the yard; the mules were hitched to the family carriage, and the provisions stowed away in it, when it was driven to the next plantation, where the same ceremony was repeated. Toward evening the foragers returned to camp, driving the cattle before them, followed by a long line of vehicles of every description, loaded with all kinds of provisions, which was equally distributed among the different regiments.”

--Maj. John A. Bering & Capt. Thomas Montgomery, 1880, in History of the Forty-eighth Ohio Vet. Vol. Inf.

The invaders saw themselves as "... a jolly, mischievous set, eager and ready for any adventure.” In truth, they were a brutal force of murderers, marauders and plunderers. When the Yankees arrived at Port Gibson they found a beautiful, prosperous and peaceful town. Two days later they went on their "jolly" way, the Yanks left behind hundreds of dead and wounded. The innocent, civilian surviviors – including old men, women and children, both black and white – were left destitute and hungry.

Port Gibson, the third oldest town in Mississippi, is still a lovely place. However, in many ways it has never fully recovered from the devastation of the War to Prevent Southern Independence.

1845 Claiborne County Courthouse, Port Gibson, Mississippi

Photos and Story by J. Stephen Conn

Neshoba County Confederate Monument, Philadelphia, Mississippi

The Confederate Monument which stands in front of the Neshoba County Court House, Philadelphia, Mississippi, was constructed by funds raised by public subscription.  It was dedicated in July, 1912, to the memory of the citizens of Neshoba County who fought to defend their homeland from invading Northern forces during the War Between the States, 1861 - 1865.

The statue of a Confederate soldier atop the monument was damaged by a windstorm in 1990, and was restored by the people of Neshoba County in 2006. 

The front inscription of the monument reads:

1861-1865

Love's tribute to the

Noble men who marched

'Neath the flag of the

Stars and Bars, and were

Faithful to the end.
C.S.A.

Our Heroes.
Erected by the

Daughters of the

Confederacy

A plaque in front of the monument, pictured below, lists the units under which the men of Neshoba County fought.

Rosalie Mansion: Where Yankee War Crimes were Plotted and Approved

The stately, antebellum Rosalie Mansion in Natchez, Mississippi, witnessed the conception of some of the worst atrocities and war crimes in American history. It was here, in 1863, that General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the invading Union forces, set up temporary headquarters after his Union troops occupied Natchez during the War Between the States. According to a docent at Rosilie Mansion, a table in one of the upstairs rooms is where Grant signed and sent his consent to General William Tecumseh "War is Hell" Sherman to wage "total war" against Southern civilians, ultimately leading to Sherman's diabolical March to the Sea.

Grant and Sherman, along with Abraham Lincoln, who eagerly gave them his blessings, are responsible for the burning, destruction and plunder of countless undefended homes, fields, farms and towns, as well as the rape and murder of countless undefended women, children and old men, both black and white, slave and free. Their despicable deeds, which have never been redressed by the United States government, are a blight on the good name and honor of our nation. Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and others of their ilk are highly praised by sanitized history books and revisionist television documentaries. Their evil is either overlooked or excused by those who say that the South lost the war and Southerners like myself should "just get over it."

Am I still fighting the War Between the States? No, but I am upholding the good name of my ancestors, many of whom died while defending their homes against an invading foreign army from the North. A conflict is never really over until the truth is told.

***

Today, Rosalie Mansion, standing high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River is a National Historic Landmark near the center of Natchez, Mississippi. The Mansion was a private residence for more than 100 years. Since 1938 the house and gardens have been owned by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and are open for tours year round. Visitors may see the actual furniture, clothing, household possessions, garden plantings and family traditions of the family that long called Rosalie home.

Rosalie was built from 1820-1823 by Peter Little who came to Natchez as a young man from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Peter developed the Steam Circular saw which was the beginning of the lumber industry in the area. He established the first sawmill in the Natchez Territory and made his fortune from the vast tracts of woodlands in the Mississippi River Valley.

Before the War Between the States, Natchez is said to have been the wealthiest town in America. Both Natchez and Mississippi have never fully recovered from the destruction of Mr. Lincoln's War to prevent Southern Independence.

Photo and story by J. Stephen Conn

New York Times Reports Rebel Negro Soliders

Here is a very interesting article from the archives of The New York Times, dated May, 12, 1863, Page 3, column 4. It concerns the Battle of Grand Gulf which was fought in Mississippi on April 29, 1863. Below, I quote the article verbatim and in full:

REBEL NEGRO SOLDIERS - The naval attack on the Rebel batteries at Grand Gulf, on the 28th ult. of which our correspondent yesterday furnished an account, seems to have been a very hard-fought affair. Our killed and wounded amount to seventy-six, and the damage to the gunboats was considerable. The Tuscumbia, a turreted iron-clad, was completely riddled in every portion not protected by plating. Her chimneys were perforated until they resembled huge graders, and her woodwork torn to splinters in every conceivable shape. Her turrets alone, in their thickest parts, were able to resist the projectiles hurled against her. She was finally disabled by a shot that cut one of her log chains, by which, in river phrase, she was "broken in two". The Lafayette proved herself the most formidable as well as invulnerable vessel of the fleet, for though struck a number of times, she was shot in the slightest degree injured.

The entire number of rebel batteries in the works was ten, each of which mounted from three to five guns. The point we wish specially to signalize, however, in connection with this affair, is one mentioned by our correspondent, that the guns in this formidable series of rebel works, which caused such casualties to our sailors, and such damage to our iron-clads, "were in the main worked by negro troops." Is it not horrible that the rebels should thus arm their slaves to slaughter white men and destroy the Union?

Here is a link to the story in the New York Times archives: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D01EEDE163EEE34BC4A52DFB3668388679FDE

Dunleith Plantation, Natchez, Mississippi

Encircled by 26 stately white columns, Dunleith is one of the most beautiful mansions in Natchez, Mississippi, yet it has a history of tragedy.

The site was originally occupied by another mansion called "Routhland," built during the late 1700s by Job Routh and his wife. They both died and left the house to their daughter, Mary, who was 15 years of age and already a widow. Mary took Charles Dahlgren as her second husband and inherited the house. Dalhgren was a successful banker since before his marriage to Mary and became a Confederate Brigadier General during the War Between the States.

In 1855 Routhland was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Dahlgren built a new mansion (the present one) in its place in 1856. Mary, still a very young woman, only enjoyed the new house for three years when she tragically died. The property was sold for $30,000 in order to settle the estate. The new owner, Alfred Vidal Davis, gave the house the Scottish name of Dunleith.

For the most part, Natchez was spared during the United States invasion of the Confederate States of America. This was only because, after seeing the devastation wrought by the Yankee army just 70 miles up the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Natchez promptly surrendered.

Even though Dunleith and numerous other antebellum mansions survived, neither Natchez nor Mississippi has yet fully recovered from the ravage and destruction of the War. Before Abraham Lincoln illegally ordered the invasion and subjugation of the South, Natchez was the wealthiest city per capita in all of North America. During and following the War, the local economy took a sharp decline. Some Natchez families were forced to turn their beloved homes into boarding houses to provide housing for the legions of northern carpetbaggers who flooded into the area to continue their plunder of the defeated South during what became the travesty of Reconstruction.

Today Dunleith is a tourist attraction and is open daily for guided tours.

Remembering Abraham Lincoln's Reign of Terror

Today in History: August 25, 1861...

Commencement of the Reign of Terror throughout the Northern States. Men and women arrested and imprisoned for sympathizing with the Southern cause. Newspapers friendly to the South suppressed by order of the Federal Government. Citizens compelled to take the oath of allegiance to the Federal Government.

The above entry is taken from the Confederate States Almanac, and Repository of Useful Knowledge, 1862. It is listed under the chapter heading: "Chronicle of Events and Diary of the Present Revolution." The Almanac was compiled and published in December, 1862 by H. C. Clark, Vicksburg, Mississippi and was "for sale by all booksellers in the Confederacy."

Integrated Pre Civil War Church in Mississippi

On the south side of Rt. 370, across the highway from Brice's Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, is the Bethany Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. During the battle of Brice's Cross Roads, Bethany Church was across the street from its present location. The church served as a field hospital following the June 10, 1864, battle.

The Bethany A.R.P. Church Cemetery, in use for more than 150 years, is also the burial site for 96 Confederates that fought and died as a result of the battle. Union dead from the battle have been re-interred to the National Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

A historic marker at the church states that it was organized in 1852 with 25 charter members, including 4 African-Americans. The fact is, integrated churches were not unusual in the antebellum South. Even with the deplorable institution of slavery, the pre-Civil War South was more racially integrated than much of the North, which had very restrictive anti-black laws.

After his visit to America in the 1850s, Alex De Tocqueville, the French historian observed that "Race prejudice seems stronger in those states that have abolished slavery than in those where it still exists, and nowhere is it more intolerant than in those states where slavery was never known."

Had there been on War, slavery would have soon ended peacefully in the South, just as it did in the North, and many more Southern churches and other institutions would have remained integrated.

Northern atrocities of the War Between the States, followed by 12 years of Federal occupation and abuse during the disgraceful period called "Reconstruction," exacerbated a racial divide that would not be overcome in America for 100 years..

Black Confederate Soldier's Monument - Honoring Willis Howcott

Most Confederate monuments - and Union monuments too - refer to groups of soldiers, such as those from a certain regiment or from a particular town or county. The monument pictured above, in Canton, Mississippi, is different in that it was built to honor local African Americans who fought for the Confederate States of America with the Harvey Scouts (cavalry), in defense of their Southern homeland. Specifically mentioned is Willis Howcott, a local black man who gave his life while fighting the invading Union army.

The 21-foot high granite obelisk, stands in a residential area on Academy Street, in front of a cemetery. It was built in the 1890s with funds provided by William Hill Howcott. The inscription includes these words: “A tribute to my faithful servant and friend, Willis Howcott, a colored boy of rare loyalty and faithfulness, whose memory I cherish with deep gratitude.”

William was 15 years old when he joined Harvey's Scouts in 1864. Willis, his childhood playmate was only 13 but would not be dissuaded from going off to war with his friend. Willis was, tragically, killed in combat sometime in 1865 at the age of 14.

This photo of the Howcott Monument was taken while I was on a road trip through Mississippi in early 2008, as a part of my ongoing quest to visit each of the 3,141 counties (or county equivalents) in the United States. I posted the photo, along with thousands of other travel pictures I have on Flicker.com. To my surprise and delight a member of the Howcott family, now living in Great Britain, found the photo and emailed me with a request to copy it for use in the Howcott family history. Although they are no longer Americans, the Howcott descendants are very aware and proud of their famous Confederate ancestors.

An estimated 65,000 or more African American men, both free and slave, were Confederate soldiers - a fact which is often overlooked by history books because it contradicts the politically correct northern view of the War for Southern Independence.

Here's an interesting link for those who want to know more about black Confederates: http://www.37thtexas.org/html/BlkHist.html

-

Photo and Article by J. Stephen Conn

William Johnson, Black Slaveholder of Natchez

There are more than 50 antebellum homes which can be toured in Natchez, Mississippi. The first one of the seven that my wife, Karen, and I personally visited on a Christmas vacation trip to Natchez was the William Johnson House.

William Johnson was a prosperous businessman and the owner of 16 slaves. He was also a free black man. Those with only a superficial knowledge of the American South often think that all blacks were slaves and all (or at least most) whites were slave owners. In fact, only 4.08 percent of free southern whites owned slaves, while there were literally thousands of free blacks, and among them 28 percent were slave owners. Far more free blacks lived in the south than in the north, and they owned slaves in disproportionate numbers to the white population.

A National Park Service employee in Natchez told us that when the William Johnson house was being restored, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was very enthusiastic about being involved in the process. Then, when the NAACP discovered that Johnson had been a slave owner, they immediately withdrew from the project. It seems that the NAACP is only interested in perpetuating their own "politically correct", albeit incomplete, story of the black man in the antebellum South.

William Johnson was born a slave but freed by his master as a young man. He became a barber, and eventually owned four barber shops in Natchez. He hired others to work for him, and he also bought slaves who worked in his home and businesses. The slave quarters are in a separate building behind his home, which is now owned by the National Park Service.


Inside the house are exhibits which tell Johnson's story. William Johnson kept a detailed diary for many years and quotes from those journals provide an amazing source of information about the often misunderstood realities of what it was like to be black and free in antebellum America.

-

Photos and Article by J. Stephen Conn

Step Back in Time at Beauvoir

Beauvoir, Home of President Jefferson Davis, Before Hurricane Katrina

Story by Kat Bergeron, SunHerald.com

BILOXI -- Beauvoir House, an 1852 National Historic Landmark that has garnered national publicity since its post-Katrina revival, celebrates its reopening with a first-ever "Victorian Christmas at Beauvoir," a six-night tour that begins Monday.

A miniature Victorian village, complete with train and Ferris wheel, decorates the Library Cottage, the newly completed replica of the pavilion where Jefferson Davis wrote "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government." The U.S. statesman and Confederate president retired to the beachfront Beauvoir estate in the 1870s.

Before Katrina claimed all but the large Greek Revival raised cottage, Beauvoir celebrated Christmas with a Festival of Trees, impossible to orchestrate this year.

"We decided a Victorian Christmas is the best way to celebrate Beauvoir's recovery," said Rick Forte Sr., acting director and chairman of Beauvoir's combined boards. "Victorian Christmases are a step back in time for all of us involved in Southern history. Compared to the commercialism of today, it was a special and romantic time.

"We are very proud to show Beauvoir from where it was after the storm to where we are now. Beauvoir is the front cover of the 2009 AT&T phone book and AAA's Southern Traveler magazine has designated us as an 'official travel treasure.'

A recent chapter in the recovery story is completion of the Library Cottage and its twin, both flanking the front lawn near Beach Boulevard. The price tag for each was $300,000, paid by federal and state historic-preservation grants and Beauvoir funds.

Any new construction or repairs will return Beauvoir to its 19th-century appearance during the Davis era.

The antebellum house, now decorated with holiday greenery, candles and a live Santa for the special night tours, reopened in June after a $3.9 million restoration that stripped away out-of-character modern changes. Both the house and cottages are reinforced with invisible storm-strengthening techniques.

The modern presidential library, which will include a museum and gift shop, is in the blueprint stage and should open in 2010, as will the replica kitchen. A director's house that will look like the former carriage house and a carpenter's shop are also planned.

.

See the original story at:

http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/999272.html