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Crowd Gathers to Honor Lee on his Birthday
Montgomery Advertiser
Jan 20, 2012
pictures

Story by Alvin Benn
Special to the Advertiser

Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was remembered Thursday as a man who lived by a code of conduct and honor given to him by his father, and he never veered from its principles in war or peace.

"He was a man of great personal integrity and honesty," said Philip Davis, who rarely misses an opportunity to attend the annual birthday celebration for Lee, who was born Jan. 19, 1807, in Westmoreland County, Va.

Davis joined a large crowd of Lee devotees at the First White House of the Confederacy. When the ceremony was over, they picked up a piece of cake or a cupcake in honor of the general.

Unlike previous speakers who delved into great details about Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whose birthday is also celebrated, Robert Bradley opted for a more basic presentation.

Anne Tidmore, regent of the First White House of the Confederacy, chats with Robert Bradley, chief curator of the state Department of Archives and History prior to a program Thursday in honor of Robert E. Lee's birthday.

Bradley, chief curator at the state Department of Archives and History, walked up several steps leading to the second floor and began to rattle off a series of facts about Lee.

"He sure did summarize things pretty well," Davis said. "I thought he did a good job."

Agreeing with Davis was Anne Tidmore, First White House regent, who used "succinct" to describe Bradley's report on Lee.

"He may not have said that much, but he covered a lot of ground," Tidmore said. "What we try to do during these birthday celebrations is to focus on the man being honored. We want people to remember their history."

Lee's military credentials were extensive, and over time helped to elevate him to commander of the Army of Northerm Virginia, which in effect made him the leader of the Confederate Army.

Throughout his career, Lee proved to be a fearless leader. During the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, he was wounded as he helped lead an assault at the city of Chapultepec.

Although probably not known by many Americans outside Lee scholars, the war against Mexico also brought him into his first contact with Ulysses S. Grant.

It might have happened during the march from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Grant served as a quartermaster while Lee was an engineer. Both men did their share of fighting.

"They knew each other, no doubt about that," said Davis. "Their paths crossed all the time during their careers.

A decade after Lee's heroism in Mexico, he found himself assigned to command a detachment of Marines at Harper's Ferry, Va., after abolitionist John Brown and his supporters captured the federal arsenal there.

Lee's leadership once again proved invaluable and, in the end, Brown and his men were overwhelmed. Brown eventually was executed for his crimes.

When the Civil War ended and Lee surrendered to Grant, he returned to civilian life and became president of a college that would join his name with America's first president -- Washington and Lee.

Event Celebrates Jefferson Davis' Birthday
Montgomery Advertiser
June 4, 2011

Alvin Benn

The Union had more of everything when the Confederacy was created, but the South’s political leader saw secession from the Union as a matter of “right over might” and worth the sacrifice, state Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, said Friday.

Four years later, the Confederacy was destroyed with President Jefferson Davis captured and put in chains. The North had proved that small armies rarely defeat overwhelming enemy strength.

“The South was agrarian and underpopulated with one of four (residents) slaves who would not contribute militarily,” Brewbaker said, as he stood on the steps leading to the second floor of the First White House of the Confederacy.

Brewbaker said that those who defended secession felt they were “in the right and freedom, as they perceived it, was more important than expediency, their businesses, their families and their own lives.”

Those who opposed secession, including a member of Davis’ own Cabinet, let him know that fighting the North was akin to “kicking over a nest of hornets that will sting us to death.”

State Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, and First White House of the Confederacy Regent Anne Tidmore help celebrate the 203rd birthday of Jefferson Davis on Friday

Despite the criticism, Brewbaker said Davis “never lost faith, he never quit and he stayed the course — not something you see among political people today.”

“In Davis’ view, participation in a Democracy was not a right, it was a duty and to fail to do so would be a betrayal of your community,” said Brewbaker, who bemoaned small voter turnouts in elections today for local and national offices.

Friday’s program actually was two events in one. Regent Anne Tidmore told the crowd that the First White House officially was dedicated 90 years ago on June 4, 1921.

The birthdays of Davis and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee are celebrated each year, and residents of other states who happen to drop by to tour the big building across the street from the state Capitol are always treated to pieces of a birthday cake.

Montgomery attorney Philip Davis, who regularly attends the two birthday celebrations, said Davis was opposed to secession and the presidency, but when the call went out for him to lead, he stepped forward.

When the South defeated Union forces in early battles of the Civil War, the president’s position at the time was: “Let’s not get too excited.”

“He warned early on that the South was not ready,” Davis said. “But, when he was asked to take on the job, he took it on.”

The actual inauguration of Davis took place a year later in Richmond, several months after the Confederacy’s capital was moved from Montgomery.

Photos below are courtesy of Fred Marshall of the Montgomery Independent and Diane Henig

Here's a video from last year's birthday celebration

William C. Davis speaks at the Sesquicentennial Fundraiser Reception on May 5th, 2011

Mr. Davis spoke at Archi-Treats at 12:00 noon on May 5th at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. That evening, May 5, he was a special guest speaker as the White House Association of Alabama hosted a Sesquicentennial Fundraiser Reception at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension to benefit the Relics in the First White House of the Confederacy.

Mr. Davis is the author or editor of more than fifty books in the fields of Civil War and Southern history. He was the on-camera senior consultant for 52 episodes of the Arts & Entertainment Network/History Channel series "Civil War Journal" as well as a number of other productions on commercial and Public Television as well as for the BBC. Since 2000 he has been Professor of History and Director of Programs of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.

More about William C. Davis: wiki | bio

White House Association Hosts Spring Luncheon

Montgomery Advertiser, March 14, 2011

Story by Deborah Hayes Moore

Though they sustain varied responsibilities throughout the year, members of the White House Association typically only meet twice annually as a group, with a business meeting in the fall and a luncheon in the spring.

Regent Anne Tidmore welcomed them to this season's luncheon last Tuesday, which was hosted as a special event to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the "War Between the States."

On this day, 150 years ago

The association's members were encouraged to invite guests for the midday gathering in the Montgomery Country Club's Beauvoir Room. A member of numerous organizations connected to the war, Judge Mark Anderson helped commemorate the occasion by presenting a monetary contribution to the association from the Montgomery Confederate Roundtable, for which he serves as president.

He also served as the luncheon's guest speaker, as he gave an interesting account of the status and lives of prominent Confederate soldiers on March 8, 1861. Referencing diaries, letters and memoirs, he included moving accounts of Robert E. Lee, Albert S. Johnson, Stonewall Jackson, John Pelham, Joseph Johnston, James Longstreet, Leonidas Polk, William Hardee, Legrand James Wilson and Samuel Cooper.

A special donation

Joining him at the luncheon were his wife, Jean Anderson; Judy Kyser, Wallace Tidmore, Eddie Pattillo and Paul and Mary Miles, who were recognized for their recent donation of a beautiful secretary desk and bookcase to the First White House. The item, which has been placed in the president's study, was once owned by Mary Custis Lee, one of the four daughters of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

New members introduced

Anne Tidmore also welcomed Honorary Regent for Life Cameron Napier and recognized the association's new members: Catherine Woodson, Emily Sparrow of Auburn, Gibbs Davis and Caroline Slawson.

Other special guests were Wayne Hoyt, director of capitol operations; Searcy Rushing, director of the service division for the state of Alabama; deputy director Sandra Porter; Nancy Blach of Birmingham; Howard Alexander; Bubba Trotman; Dick Hodges; and Henry Howard, a FWH volunteer docent, who was thanked during the occasion for keeping the museum open on Saturdays for tourists.

Covered with champagne cloths, Diane Henig decorated each of the guests' tables with several tall, slender, elegant gold and silver vases filled with yellow lilies and alstromeria and mixed with ferns.

Guests enjoyed grilled chicken salad on a bed of mixed greens topped with almonds, dried cranberries and Mandarin oranges, and individual round cakes served for dessert, garnished with lemon curd and fresh strawberries.

Getting ready

As chairwoman for the association's upcoming Sesquicentennial Wine and Cheese Fundraiser, Kathi Atkins pumped up excitement for the event to be held at the Church of the Ascension on May 5. Sponsorship committee chairwoman Susan Haigler echoed her enthusiasm for the evening that will feature William Davis. A professor of history at Virginia Tech, Davis has written a definitive work on Montgomery during early 1861.

Many remember one

There was one solemn moment during the festive meeting, when the late Priscilla Scott Crommelin was remembered during a memorial candle-lighting ceremony conducted by the association chaplain, Tutter Rogers. Rogers spoke of the dancer, accomplished painter and great-granddaughter of Priscilla Cooper Tyler, the first lady of the United States during the presidency of John Tyler, when recalling the association's longtime member.

Formed in 1900 to save the First White House of the Confederacy, the White House Association of Alabama was charged by a 1904 act of the Legislature with "taking care of the relics in the First White House of the Confederacy."

Among the current members enjoying the luncheon were Saralee Green, parliamentarian; Emmie Stroh, treasurer; Gale Main, librarian; Carol Brewbaker, first vice regent; Fay Poole, recording secretary; Alice Blake, second vice regent; Carol Goodwyn, historian; Dora Haas, Ellen Auerbach, Martha Alexander, Betty Brislin, Kittie Hill, Susan Patton, Anne Feathers of Greenville, Nootsie McCall, Valerie Lee, Alice Reynolds and Seibels Marshall.

The ladies are among those who help maintain the First White House, located on the corner of Union and Washington streets downtown, across from the south side of the Alabama Capitol. A lovely museum, the house was originally located where the skateboard park is today, when Jefferson Davis and his family lived in it during the spring of 1861, while the Confederate government was in Montgomery.

"Becoming Alabama" Activities to Commence in Fall 2010

Becoming Alabama is a statewide partnership for the planning and promotion of commemorative activities to observe the anniversaries of three major periods in Alabama history: the bicentennial of the Creek War and War of 1812, which was pivotal in the formation of the state; the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, which began with decisions made in Montgomery by the fledgling Confederate government; and the ongoing fiftieth anniversaries of major events in the civil rights movement, which had its greatest struggles and achievements in the churches, streets, and parks of Alabama. For more information, follow these links:

February 16, 2011 Marks an Event

Dr. Draughon to speak on the February, 1861
Meeting Between William C. Yancy and Jefferson Davis

On Wednesday, February 16, 2011 the White House Association will partner with the Archives and History Department to celebrate a very special evening at the Archives. Dr. Ralph Draughon of Auburn, Alabama, a noted historian, will speak at 6:00 pm in the auditorium about the meeting of William C. Yancey and Jefferson Davis in Montgomery on February 16, 1861. The crowd will gather in the Rotunda for refreshments at 5:30.

Here is what William C. Davis, In "A Government of Our Own: The Making of the Confederacy", tells us about that fateful evening. He tells us that Davis arrived in Montgomery exhausted. He had made speeches all along the way. It was 10:00 pm when the train rolled into the station. Even before Davis stepped down, the crowd awaiting him shouted, cannon boomed and the church bells pealed again and again. He spoke briefly to the crowd and then Davis and Yancey stepped into a four-horse coach and rode toward Court Square.

In a few minutes, he arrived at the Exchange Hotel with Yancey and the rest of the delegation. At a quarter to eleven, Davis stepped out onto the second floor portico between the massive columns overlooking Commerce Street. "Now we are brethren" he told them, "men of one flesh, of one bone, of one interest, of one purpose". He hoped they would live in peace but if war should come to test their resolve, they would show themselves worthy inheritors of the heritage of 1776.

Davis went inside to unpack and prepare for bed. The crowd called for Yancey, the hometown favorite. Yancey came out and congratulated them on finding the right man, a patriot, statesman and soldier. This was their defining moment as Confederates, he told them. "The man and the hour have met". The crowd was electrified.

Won't you make plans to join us for the sesquicentennial commemoration of this fateful night in Montgomery history? We will gather for punch and cheese straws at 5:30 and Dr. Draughon will speak at 6:00. Mark your calendars for a not-to-miss time of remembrance.

Robert E. Lee Birthday Celebration to Kick Off Sesquicentennial on January 19, 2011

Our annual observance of Robert E. Lee's birthday and early kick-off of the Sesquicentennial will be held on January 19, 2011 at 11:00, with a brief ceremony and comments about Robert E. Lee, and then cake-cutting and tours of the rooms. It will be free and the public is invited as always.

Channel 32 story here. Pictures here.

FWH Regent Anne Tidmore and Commander Bill Rambo

First White House's Regent Shares History of State, Nation

Montgomery Advertiser, January 23, 2011

Story by Alvin Benn

Alabama has gotten a late start, but it's rapidly catching up with other states involved in commemorating the most traumatic period in American history.

Yankees called it the Civil War. Rebels with a cause called it the War Between the States, "The War of Northern Aggression" or names with a lot of other negative connotations.

Bloodbath would have been a more appropriate name. By the time the four-year war ended, more than 625,000 troops wearing blue and gray uniforms were dead and the South lay in ruins.

Joyful events are celebrated. What happened between 1861 and 1865 can only be commemorated. Too much pain, too much suffering occurred to even think about victory or defeat.

Montgomery once again will play an important role in that commemoration, and a woman who has a direct connection to the war is doing all she can to welcome visitors to the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and her "house."

Her name is Anne Tidmore, and she is the regent of the First White House of the Confederacy.

All four of her great-grandfathers served in the Confederate Army and each survived. That, in itself, is remarkable, given the fact that most families in the South lost one or more family members during the war.

Tidmore became regent last year, succeeding Cameron Napier, who had served in that capacity for nearly 30 years. She was a tough act to follow, but those who have watched her successor's efforts the past 12 months give her high marks.

"Anne deserves a double A-plus," Bess Blackmon said as she walked toward the house Wednesday for the annual celebration of Robert E. Lee's birthday. "She's capable, organized and dedicated. It's been a smooth transition."

Many Civil War buffs think of Richmond, Va., when the Confederate capital topic is discussed. Not everyone is familiar with Montgomery's brief role as the first capital.

That's one reason why Tidmore and her staff are kept busy throughout the year to acquaint visitors from around the world with details about the house, its history and those who take care of it.

A history and English major at Emory University in Atlanta, Tidmore returned home to pick up a bachelor's degree from Huntingdon College.

Most of her working years were spent in the flag business that bears her family's name, but she did what she could when she had time to help out at the First White House of the Confederacy.

In addition to being regent and a member of the association that supports the facility, Tidmore, 71, also is a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

You can't be more red, white and blue than Anne Tidmore, not with roots dating back to the nation's founding. Flags bearing the Stars and Stripes were and continue to be, quite naturally, the company's biggest seller.

"This is a very special time for us because of the sesquicentennial that started this month," the very busy grandmother said. "A lot of events are being planned, and we're happy to do our part."

In addition to being the birthplace of the Confederacy, Montgomery also is the city where orders were telegraphed to Rebel units in South Carolina to pound Fort Sumter. They were the opening shots of the Civil War.

A century later, Montgomery played a key role in another domestic conflict. It was the civil rights movement, one that began in Montgomery with Rosa Parks and the bus boycott and ended a decade later when the march that began in Selma reached the state Capitol.

In a bid to catch up with states that began preparing for the sesquicentennial several years ago, Alabama has come up with an umbrella organization to make sure all historic bases are covered.

It's called "Becoming Alabama" and will encompass the entire state, dating back even before statehood was approved.

Frank White, a Tennessee native who is director of the state Historical Commission, has learned a lot since arriving in Alabama three years ago and is constantly amazed each time he turns history pages of a unique state.

"Alabama has recorded history that changed the world," he said, after the Lee birthday celebration. "It seems I learn something new every day."

In a few months, a commemoration will be held in Montgomery to mark the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides that led to bloody protests and, eventually, federal legislation that broke down the walls of discrimination not only in the South, but across the country.

Add that to four years of the Civil War sesquicentennial and it's easy to see that Alabama is going to be a very busy place the next four years.

Count on Anne Tidmore to be in the middle of it as she proudly welcomes people to one of America's most historic houses.

Anne Tidmore serves as regent of the First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery.
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