Civil War? Wind Rivers? Strange Coincidence

Posted by: OregonMouse

Civil War? Wind Rivers? Strange Coincidence - 08/12/16 03:22 PM

I just viewed a video of talk given at Gettysburg last month which sort of mixes my two hobbies: Civil War history and backpacking, tying a "Lost Gettysburg Address" with a trip through the Wind Rivers that ended in Pindale, WY.

Rob Tolley, an anthropology professor at Indiana University, had just emerged in Pinedale from three weeks in the Wind Rivers and, like most of us after an extended period of eating freeze-dried food, was looking for a good steak. He was referred to a guest ranch owned by an elderly couple, Bartley and Rose Skinner. They became friends. On another visit, Bartley received a number of UPS boxes from the estate of Bartley's great grandfather, Charles Anderson (younger brother of the Robert Anderson who surrendered Fort Sumter at the beginning of the Civil War). Because his eyesight was failing, Bartley asked Rob to sort through the boxes preparatory to donating the many letters and manuscripts to historical societies. The boxes turned out to contain a treasure trove of documents. Among them was the long lost "third speech" at Gettysburg. Now we all know (many of us had to memorize) Lincoln's "Four score and seven years ago..." speech at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery November 19, 1863. Some may remember that Lincoln's speech followed a two-hour long speech by the famous orator Edward Everett. (Good thing we didn't have to memorize that one!) However, there was a third speech given that November day, late in the afternoon, at the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church. It was given by Charles Anderson, lieutenant governor of Ohio. This speech was never published, and nobody knew what it contained until the original manuscript turned up in Pinedale, Wyoming!

Sometimes we think there's nothing new under the sun about 150-year-old history, but this incident is one of many about long-hidden historical documents turning up!

If you're interested in more details, here's the video:
The Lost Gettysburg Address.
Posted by: Glenn Roberts

Re: Civil War? Wind Rivers? Strange Coincidence - 08/15/16 07:20 AM

That's an interesting video - I want to listen to it again; I got lost a couple of places (mostly because I was listening to it in bed, around 11pm, and nodded off.)

The political positions Anderson held show that the thoughts about war, slavery, union, and such were really quite nuanced and not as simple as we tend to think. The fact that people did actually spend time listening to, and reading, some very long speeches and could follow trains of complicated thought make me wish for the "good old days" as I listen to the pure crap that passes for political discussion today.

Thanks for sharing this; I really enjoyed it.