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Problems with Peter: The Peter Dekle Letters

Here at the History Center, we like to supply our collections department interns and volunteers with interesting projects that illustrate what life in Thomas County’s past was like for her citizens. We have many letters, records, diaries, and documents that give sneak peeks into the daily lives of people who were more like us than we may realize.

One of our interns, Kayla Reeves (who recently attained her bachelor’s degree in history from Florida State University), was tasked with transcribing a collection of letters from Private Peter Dekle (1836-1863) to his wife Susan Dunbar Dekle (1839-?) of Thomasville. Peter’s letters span from April of 1862 to August of 1863 when he served in the Confederate Army in Company F of the 29th Infantry. For most of his military service, Peter was stationed around Savannah but was later sent to North Carolina and Mississippi before he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. After several months, he succumbed to his injuries; however, the whereabouts of Susan following her husband’s death are currently unknown.

Here’s what Kayla had to say about Peter and his letters to Susan:

“As a drafted soldier, Peter did not generally discuss ideological reasons behind the war in his letters, rarely mentioning secession or even regional animosity. However, Peter’s letters provide valuable insight into the experiences and mentality of an average soldier, demonstrating themes of homesickness, despair, adventure, and adjusting to the general monotony of camp life.”

In this blog series, Kayla explores some of these themes with excerpts from Peter’s letters. Please keep in mind that Peter was writing in the language and attitudes of his time which we now consider to be racist and prejudice.

Conscription (the Draft)
As a drafted soldier, Peter discussed his feelings about conscription in several of his letters. While Peter generally expressed displeasure with being drafted, in his early letters he often emphasized a sense of duty and responsibility. However, as his service continued, he began expressing more negative sentiments about having been drafted.

In his letter from May 16, 1862, Peter expresses the frequency of men trying to dodge the draft and be disqualified from service, stating:

“I expect I never saw as many men have as much excuses in all my life to get out of the Conscript law. They get a certificate but they are mistaken. I am not afraid to bet all I am worth that they are Conscripted in less than a month. I am not render any excus[e]. If I do, it will not do me any good. I will be asshoim [ashamed] to go home and then cared [for] like a negro is to get out of service. It will not pay to do so. I am a going to stay till I cant stand it then get a discharge honerably and when I get that I will be safe” [1980.04.02].

In this passage, Peter asserted his commitment to serving out his time in the Confederate military. However, throughout his letters, he never states any intention to volunteer for military service if not drafted and does not express significant sentiments for or against Southern secession. Notably, this is also one of the few times in his letters that Peter mentions Black people as a group. While obviously expressing negative sentiments toward enslaved populations, Peter does not elaborate on the topic.

One of Peter’s main complaints about the draft is that it has taken him away from his wife and infant child and has prevented him from managing his affairs at home. In one letter from July 16, 1862, Peter was very upset that people had apparently stolen a significant amount of produce from his family farm while he was away. After angrily stating that he cannot believe those at home would allow this injustice, Peter notes,

“I wish Conscript will take the last man in the whole state and they will no [know] how we pore fellows feel when we here [hear] that our property are going to nothing and cant help our selfs. I am one of the most miserable men now living and no way to remedy it” [1980.04.04].

Being so far from home, Peter felt helpless while hearing about the issues his family faced at home. Many of his letters contain directions to his wife about running the farm and dealing with business matters followed by his frustration that he cannot be there to assist with these matters. Like many in an unfair situation, Peter wished to even the playing field with his fellow Southern men who were more fortunate not to be drafted.

Peter’s feelings about the Confederate Government’s policies remain ambiguous throughout his letters home; however, he lamented his conscription throughout the war. Peter’s misery over being forced away from home and his jealousy of those who dodged the draft conflicted with his sense of honor and duty toward a job well done. Despite his frustrations with his situation, Peter remained determined to complete his service in a way he could feel proud of at the end of the day.

But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t gripe about it along the way.

Rev. LaRoche

The Search for Reverend LaRoche

Today’s blog post comes from the Rev. C. Wallace Marsh IV, Priest in Charge of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Thomasville and speaker at our recent lecture collaboration with the congregation at St. Thomas.  In this blog post, he describes the events that led to his interest in Rev. LaRoche, the priest of both St. Thomas and Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Thomasville during the late 1800s.

Rev. Marsh grew up in Tennessee and attended college at Sewanee: The University of the South. He graduated with a BA in English Literature in 2001 but remained at Sewanee for three more years to serve as Lay Chaplain at All Saints’ Chapel. He then attended Yale Divinity School and was ordained in 2007. He has served as Associate Rector for the following churches: St. Paul’s, Albany, GA, St. James’, Marietta, GA, and St. John’s, Tallahassee, FL. Wallace spent the longest season of his ministry serving as Canon for Congregational Life and Canon for Liturgy and Pastoral Care at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA.

Wallace and his family moved to Thomasville, GA in 2018, when Margaret Ann, his wife, became the VP for Sustainability and Environmental at Flower’s Foods, Inc. When they moved to Thomasville, Wallace taught English Literature, World History and Old Testament at Brookwood School. He also coached Football, Golf, and Tennis and currently serves as the school’s Chaplain.

___________________________________________________

I accompanied my wife to a work conference on Amelia Island a few years ago.  It was my Spring Break (as I was teaching U.S. History), and I was ready for the beach and free food.  

The speaker at the conference was Karl Rove. I saw Rove step out into the cocktail party and told Margaret Ann (my wife) I was going to get a photo with him.  I pushed my way through the line and informed Rove that I was a high school history teacher and would use the photo in my class.  He obliged.  

After the photo, Rove asked where I was from.  I said Thomasville, and he asked if I knew about the election of 1896.  I told him I covered McKinley, Hanna, William Jennings Bryan, and the gold standard in my class lectures, but had to move fast because I was more interested in getting to Theodore Roosevelt.  Rove looked disappointed in my response.

Rove said McKinley was doing some amazing things in Thomasville.  He was reaching out to black voters, trying to heal the country and expand the Republican Party.  I told him my textbook didn’t present that information, where could I find it?  He informed me he had written a book about McKinley and the election of 1896.  I was embarrassed I didn’t know and tried to save face by letting him know I was an Episcopal priest in my second year of teaching U.S. History.  I still had a lot to learn.  

I ended the conversation by letting him know St. Thomas was built in 1889 and we even had an altar from the Hanna family.  I told Rove I would read his book and look into the history of St. Thomas during that era.  And that is how it started.  

The Rev. C.I. LaRoche came to St. Thomas in 1884 and stayed until 1897, many years after the 1889 construction.  Many clergy become exhausted after a building project and leave a few years later.  Balfour’s “History of St. Thomas,” mentions LaRoche was also instrumental in the construction of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (1894) and was their priest for a few years.  LaRoche oversaw the construction of two Episcopal Churches in Thomasville!

Wait.  What if Rove was correct?  LaRoche knew the Chapin / Hanna family because they were leaders at St. Thomas.  We also know LaRoche was instrumental in forming Good Shepherd (for the black community) and also serving as their priest.  Would there be any way he was talking with Sen. Hanna and Gov. McKinley while they were here in the 1890s?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any letters (and am still searching).  I called Charles Chapin and asked if he had any letters since his family was involved in both congregations.  He did not have any letters, but he emailed a few days later letting me know LaRoche appeared in the Diocese of Washington in 1901, serving on a committee working with Black Churches.  I started looking at the dates and noticed LaRoche left in 1897 (a month after McKinley took the oath of office) and he ended up in Washington DC!

At this point, I was convinced LaRoche had conversations with Hanna and McKinley.  Yet, it seemed absurd.  What are the chances the Rector of St. Thomas (me) could walk down Dawson Street and have conversations with some of the most powerful people in the nation?  Not likely.  For it to happen, it felt like LaRoche needed a relationship with those in power.    

I spent some time looking into LaRoche’s past.  He was born in 1851 on a plantation in South Carolina.  The Civil War shaped his childhood.  I called St. John’s, Johns Island (where LaRoche grew up) and asked the Rector if she knew anything about the family.  I shared the information, and she began to laugh.  She told me she was related to LaRoche’s wife, and her parents were currently in the mountains with LaRoche’s family.  It’s a small world!  

The family told me LaRoche was educated at Dr. Porter’s School after the Civil War (1867), and that opened up a new chapter.  Dr. Porter has a fascinating story (“Led On” is his autobiography).  What he did in South Carolina after the Civil War is pretty amazing.  It happened because of a friendship he made with a Union Soldier in 1865.  The friendship put Dr. Porter in good graces with Generals Sherman, Howard, and Grant.  Do you see where this is going? 

Dr. Porter had some powerful friends in Washington D.C.  President Andrew Johnson helped him acquire land for black schools, and President Hayes (1879) helped him usher a bill through Congress to expand Porter School.  LaRoche was a student when Porter was talking to President Johnson, and LaRoche was a priest (working with Porter) when conversations were happening with President Hayes.  

LaRoche was shaped by the ministry and work of Dr. Porter, who did some amazing things for blacks and whites in Charleston after the Civil War.  I believe LaRoche took Dr. Porter’s playbook and replicated it everywhere he went, especially in Thomasville. 

I believe Dr. Porter’s protege would have been known by the Republican leaders (former Union Soldiers) who gathered in Thomasville in 1896.  Did LaRoche have a political agenda?  Yes.  It was helping communities and people flourish.  It was political, spiritual, and theological.  When LaRoche left St. Thomas, the Thomasville newspaper described him as having “endeared himself to all classes of people by his genial ways and blameless walk.”

Image Credits:

  1. The Rev. C.I. LaRoche 
  2. Karl Rove and Fr. Wallace
  3. Reverend Dr. Anthony Toomer Porter
Montrose Dan Image 8.21.24

The Family Tree of Montrose Dan (1918-19?)

Genealogy – it’s become a trendy topic in light of the many companies that now offer DNA testing to help us find our relatives. But have you considered looking into your dog’s genealogy? Many services offer DNA testing for pets, but a hundred years ago, these tests weren’t an option. This will come as no surprise to anyone involved in animal husbandry, but for us lay animal lovers, the only option then was keeping records, much in the way we keep vital records for humans. Here at the History Center, we have a few of those records from 19th and 20th century Thomas County.

Here’s an example pulled from the Hopkins Collection – the Stud Book of Montrose Dan (1978.010.1202). Montrose Dan (1918-19?) was a Llewellen Setter that belonged to Henry William Hopkins Sr. (1850-1945). With white and black patches and little black ticks all over, Llewellen must have been a very handsome pupper… er, dog. As a registered dog under the FDSB (that’s Field Dog Stud Book – the oldest purebred dog registry in the United States), his genealogy is recorded in some of Hopkins’s notebooks, including lists of his many, many progeny. There are several of these little notebooks in our collections covering various species from prize cows to Beagle pups to chickens – but with a name like Montrose Dan, I had to have a closer look at this one.

The inside of the front cover on this book lays out an impressive family history for little Monty (FDSB No. 50469). His mother (the dam for those of us out of the dog business) was named Kennesaw Baby (FDSB No. 38933). While she seems to have been a fine mother, a note in her files listed her as “badly gun shy,” a terrible fate for a hunting dog. Kennesaw Baby was descended from Lady Mohawk Bell (FDSB No. 30563) and Momoney (FDSB No. 24508). I can only speculate on whether Momoney really brought his owner more money or not. Lady Mohawk was the daughter of Lady Chipewa (FDSB No. 10773), herself a daughter of Prince Rodney, and Sims Glenwood Boy (FDSB No. 17727), son of Mohawk II. Momoney was the son of the less pretentious Una (FDSB No. 24507) and her royal but unregistered beau, Prince Algonquin.

Montrose Dan’s paternal lineage is not quite so royal sounding as his maternal side. His father (or sire) was also named Montrose (FDSB No. 25954), the son of Countess Patsy Whitestone (FDSB No. 16036) and… Mohawk (FDSB No. 24504). If this is the Mohawk who would be the father of Mohawk II (and I’m pretty certain it is) that would make Montrose I the great great uncle of Kennesaw Baby! This is turn makes Montrose Dan his own uncle and nephew. While this might seem scandalous to our modern eyes, we must remember that attitudes were different then – especially for royalty. Going back further on this paternal line, Countess Patsy Whitestone was the daughter of Bessie Perry Gath (FDSB No. 4636) and Count Whitestone (FDSB No. 603) while Mohawk I was the son of Countess Metior (FDSB No. 556) and Tony Boy (FDSB No. 541).  

If this seems like a rather confusing family tree (or maybe family wreath), just wait until you hear about his descendants! As a purebred, registered setter, Montrose Dan was in hot demand. Hopkins mentions in his book that prior to 1923, Montrose had been bred to several ladies already. Over 1923, some of these lucky ladies included Gene Elkwood (FDSB No. 51102) and Marie Louise Gladstone (number unknown). Then there was Lasuppera (FDSB No. 63896) whose owner was a James Sturgeon of Oklahoma, an unnamed lady who was stolen before the puppies were born, a lady who littered twice in one year, Blanch C (FDSB No. 60483) and her daughter Lady Stella Bragg (FDSB No. 65500) from Bainbridge, and Ruth Walston (FDSB No. 50762) of Moultrie. There were at least 54 reported puppies born in that year.

After 1923, it seems nature decided there was enough of Montrose Dan in this world. He was bred several more times over the next four years, but few of these chance encounters led to puppies. The last mention of him is in 1927 when he was about nine years old. Let’s hope Montrose Dan spent his golden years in a comfortable retirement on the Hopkins farm.

In looking over these records, I have to wonder – are there any descendants of Montrose Dan still out there? Numbers-wise there more than likely has to be someone out there with a dog who can trace their lineage back to Montrose Dan. It might just be your own furry companion!

delicious-goulash-ready-dinner (1)

Recipes from the Vault – Brunswick Stew

Every so often, the museum receives a donation that includes a cookbook or recipe card. Sometimes the recipes are familiar comfort foods still served on many Thomas County tables. Others… well, let’s just say some recipes are best left in the past. This series highlights some of those recipes: from the classics to the experimental. If you try any of these recipes, successfully or not, let us know what you think in the comments!

Brunswick Stew by Mrs. Horace Alligood, January 1970

This recipe, like all the greats, was written on a piece of scratch paper by Myla Lee Miller Alligood (1914-2008). Myla Lee was one of six children born to John “Joe” Harris and Ona Mae Davis Miller of Meigs in Thomas County. After Myla Lee finished high school, she worked as a bookkeeper at an auto agency until she met and married Horace Columbus Alligood of Mitchell County, Georgia around 1942. The couple had three children whom they raised in Meigs. In her later years, Myla Lee moved to Atlanta where she lived until her death at the age of 93.

Myla Lee was 55 years old when she wrote down this recipe in the winter of 1970. If you’re considering using this recipe as part of a supper menu, she included pairing suggestions at the end of her instructions. Even after 54 years have passed, Brunswick Stew continues to be a classic recipe in our area.

Brunswick Stew:
1 3 to 4 lb hen (or 2 fryers)
1 qt. corn (whole grain)
1 pt. okra (1 pack)
2 medium onions
3 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 qt. tomatoes (2 cans)
1 pt. butterbeans
½ tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ c. tomato catsup
Boil chicken until tender enough to leave bone. Pull meat off and cut into large cakes and return to water in which it was cooked. Add other ingredients and cook very slowly until mixture is thick; serve with rice, green salad and hot rolls.


Mrs. Horace Alligood Jan ‘70

 

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Problems with Peter: The Peter Dekle Letters

Here at the History Center, we like to supply our collections department interns and volunteers with interesting projects that illustrate what life in Thomas County’s past was like for her citizens. We have many letters, records, diaries, and documents that give sneak peeks into the daily lives of people who were more like us than we may realize.

One of our interns, Kayla Reeves (who recently attained her bachelor’s degree in history from Florida State University), was tasked with transcribing a collection of letters from Private Peter Dekle (1836-1863) to his wife Susan Dunbar Dekle (1839-?) of Thomasville. Peter’s letters span from April of 1862 to August of 1863 when he served in the Confederate Army in Company F of the 29th Infantry. For most of his military service, Peter was stationed around Savannah but was later sent to North Carolina and Mississippi before he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. After several months, he succumbed to his injuries; however, the whereabouts of Susan following her husband’s death are currently unknown.

Here’s what Kayla had to say about Peter and his letters to Susan:

“As a drafted soldier, Peter did not generally discuss ideological reasons behind the war in his letters, rarely mentioning secession or even regional animosity. However, Peter’s letters provide valuable insight into the experiences and mentality of an average soldier, demonstrating themes of homesickness, despair, adventure, and adjusting to the general monotony of camp life.”

In this blog series, Kayla explores some of these themes with excerpts from Peter’s letters. Please keep in mind that Peter was writing in the language and attitudes of his time which we now consider to be racist and prejudice.

Hardships of Camp Life
A large portion of Peter’s letters discuss his frustrations with the war and the hardships and monotony of camp life. From dealing with the daily grind to fighting the environment, there were many reasons for a soldier to feel despondent. For example, in one letter from July 25, 1862, Peter states,

“hate to see morning cum time. I rise in the morning the very same old thing over untill we go to bed, if I could only get ten or twelve days ever[y] three or four months it would not go so hard with me,” [1980.04.06].

Camp life was a 24/7 job with few opportunities to leave for home. Despite a seemingly grueling schedule, much of the day was spent waiting: waiting for drills, waiting for food, waiting for the next orders, waiting for the end of the day. The monotony was enough to make Peter desperate for time at home as evidenced further in the letter when he wrote,

I think they will send us off sum where before long up in the northern sates [states]. if they do I no [know] I will not go home as long as I stay in service unless[s] I were to get sum [some] of my limbs shot of [off]. then probily I may get of [off] to go home,” [1980.04.06].

While this statement may seem a bit dramatic, the probability of being seriously wounded or worse in battle was always high and a constant threat in the minds of soldiers. Fear of losing a limb or life in battle coupled with the long and boring days of camp life would make anyone yearn for the safety of home.

Adding insult to injury, Peter also had to deal with his new environment. While his encampment in Savannah was not too foreign of a location for this South Georgia man, he still suffered from being outside during the summer. On August 21, 1862, Peter wrote,

“when I am of [off] on duty four or five miles picketing, seting [sitting] on my post [?] the late hours of knight [night] and the sand flies and the mosquitoes are as thick as you ever saw bus [buzz] around the gum and raining as hard as you ever saw it and daring not to leave your post and half starved out at times,” [1980.04.06].

We can all relate to the misery of being swarmed by mosquitoes. On top of that, Peter did not have enough food as rations for Confederate soldiers were meager throughout the War.

All these factors made camp life miserable for Peter. He frequently wrote about his homesickness and his desire to see his wife and child, stating,

“I am in hop [hope] this reched [wretched] war cant last much longer but I am affraid it will last longer than I will. I have given out the idia of ever gettin of [off] as long as the war lastes but that do not hender us for not wanting to go home. you cannot experance [experience] my feelings when I think of you and home. no one could not have such feelings unless they were bound down like we are, nothing we see or here [hear] are no satisfaction to us. no injoyment [enjoyment] in camps. one thing over ever[y] day til I am perfectly disgusted,” [1980.04.06].

Peter describes the mentality of the soldiers in the camps, similarly to his own, stating,

“you cant imagine how a pore soldier wants to see home. home are the cry among them all the are [there are] nun [none] of us ever new [knew] what a good home wher [were] until we had to leave it. I thought we lived heard [hard] but we lived like fatning [fattening] hogs. I would rather be at home without any thing at all than to be here with thousands. I can think about the pleasure we have had together and I am far of [off] from you and cant help my self. it goes very heard [hard] with me, hearder [harder] than you can imagine, thought I will have to stand it the best I can whether I like it or not” [1980.04.12]

Peter seems remorseful for realizing too late how good his life at home had been. Like other volunteer soldiers, the thrill and adventure of war seem to have worn off and uncovered a grim and monotonous reality for Peter. In the end, he could only try to bare his situation out until the end.

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