Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
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zuluhour, thank you for the kind words, which are much appreciated. Now, about Sharpsburg/Antietam, let me tell you a true story.... The gentleman to the left (my avatar photo) is Lt. Col. Emory F. Best, 23rd Georgia Infantry Regiment. At the start of the Battle of Sharpsburg, he was second in command of his regiment, which was in General Alfred H. Colquitt's Georgia Brigade, D.H. Hill's Division. While sharply engaged in the Sunken Road and in the Cornfield at Antietam, the 23rd's commanding officer, William Barclay, was killed. Lt. Col. Best assumed command of the regiment, only to take a serious injury. He was taken captive and later permitted to go into Baltimore, where this photo was taken just before he was paroled. He returned to command the 23rd Georgia at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where most of the regiment was captured; all but Best and some 25 troops. Best was court-martialled and dismissed from the Confederate Army for his "shameful conduct" at Chancellorsville. One of these days, when I go to meet my maker, I hope to have a chance to meet a few folks to ask them some questions. One is the Apostle Paul (so, what was that "thorn" in his side?). Another is Col. Best. I'd really like to know if he acted cowardly, as some of his men claimed, or if he was instead a brave officer whose actions were misrepresented by other men who wanted to take his position. After the war, Best was appointed a city judge in Macon, Georgia, by Governor Alfred H. Colquitt, the same man who had approved the charges so that the court martial could proceed. But for most of the last 20 years of his life, Best worked in the Interior Department in Washington, D.C. He died without any children.
< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 8/19/2011 4:49:49 AM >
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