We’ve amply pointed out the fact that Joseph McKinney refused to speak to take a stand against the construction of Lake Troilo here, thereby rendering the Brandy Station Foundation irrelevant as a battlefield preservation organization. That’s well documented.
Then, when he finally does open his yap, stupidity pours out…..
From today’s edition of the Culpeper Star Exponent, we have this prize:
Remembering Battle of Brandy Station heroes
By: Rhonda Simmons | Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: June 11, 2012
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About 50 people took part in Sunday’s fourth annual commemorative religious service at the historic site of St. James Church in a wooded area near the intersection of Beverly Ford and St. James Church roads to mark the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Brandy Station.Shielded by several towering trees, the congregation — a few dressed in period clothing — sat on folding chairs and wooden benches for the 45-minute outdoor service, featuring lots of prayer, spiritual hymns and tributes for those who died during this particular battle.
“We remember before God today those soldiers who perished in the fields and woods of our region 149 years ago at the Battle of Brandy Station,” stated the Rev. Peter Way, of Scottsville. “We pray that time will not erase the memory of the devastation of this day, and that we will not forget the lessons it may teach us. As we remember the sacrifice made by these soldiers so long ago, may we resolve to work for justice, freedom, and unity in our own way, and to pray for that day when war shall end forever.”
Warrenton-based musicians the Cabin Raiders — Jason Ashby, Steve Hickman and Kevin Roop — provided traditional Appalachian-style music during Sunday’s service.
Built in 1840, St. James Church suffered total destruction during the winter encampment of Union troops in 1863-64.
Joe McKinney, president of the Brandy Station Foundation, shared some insightful history about that fateful battle on June 9, 1863.
Dubbed the largest cavalry battle of the American Civil War (Battle Between the States) and the start of the engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign, the Battle of Brandy Station begin that morning when Union cavalry launched a surprise attack on Confederate soldiers stationed in the church.
“Under orders to move on Brandy Station, Union soldiers needed to drive the Confederates from their position here at the church and penetrate the confederate line and move forward,” McKinney explained. “The Reserve Brigade, probably the hardest fighting brigade in the Union cavalry, was ordered to attack St. James Church.”
Armed with lances, however, it was five companies within the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry that actually tried to attack the Confederates that day, according to McKinney.
“At about 400 yards out, they launched their charge and came under a terrible [round] of artillery fire,” he said. “The men here manning the guns were in awe at how the soldiers kept advancing through the artillery.”
Quoting a Union captain, McKinney repeated those words… “What had been a glorious charge became a race for life as the men from Pennsylvania outnumbered and suffering heavy casualties turned and attempted to escape.”
McKinney said the Sixth Pennsylvania suffered the highest rate of casualties of any regiment on June 9, 1863.
“Prior to this battle, because of their distinctive lances, the sixth Pennsylvania had not been considered much of a regiment. In fact, other infantrymen would make fun of them. But the Sixth Pennsylvania men showed on this day that they were hard fighters and considered one of the elite members of the Union Army from this time forward.”
Toward the end of Sunday’s ceremony, BSF member Bob Jones shared his condolences for the fallen soldiers.
“We join together today to honor those who gave their lives here at St. James Church and in the fields around us during that eventful spring day 149 years ago,” he said.
Jones also concluded the ceremony with the poem “Listen.”
“As the sun begins to go down, as the day comes to a close, please rise. Please rise and listen with me to one final sound. A sound in honor of those who fought and died for all of us on that beautiful spring day of June 9, 1863,” stated Jones, prompting the lone drummer to generate a loud bang, startling a parishioner.
Organized by members of Christ Episcopal Church and Brandy Station Foundation, both groups invited guests to the Graffiti House for a reception featuring refreshments.
For the record, there were no reports of snakebites or bee stings during Sunday’s outdoor service. However, there may have been a few bug bites.
The emphasis in the quote is mine.
Ummmm….no…..
The last two companies of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry (E & I) turned in their lances on May 5, 1863. As of that date, just over a month before the Battle of Brandy Station, not a single member of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry still had a single lance. In fact, a member of the regiment wrote home and lamented to his mother the fact that they did NOT have the lances at Brandy Station, as that might have made a difference in the outcome of the battle.
Let’s remember that this guy wrote and published a very expensive book on the battle that he presumably spent some time researching, and he can’t even get a major detail like the fact that the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry didn’t have lances at the Battle of Brandy Station correct. One would think that the president of a battlefield preservation organization might know a little something about the battle for which he is charged with protecting the field of honor where that battle was fought. And you would think that this would especially be true after writing an overpriced book about that battle. Apparently not. Wow. I’m stunned by the staggering level of incompetence.
Nice work, Mr. McKinney. You were better off to keep your mouth shut and have people think you are a fool than to have opened it and to have removed all doubt (with apologies to Abraham Lincoln). Don’t you think it’s time to resign?
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Mr. Wittenberg,
There were over 50 people at the ceremony at St. James church on Sunday who heard Joe plainly say that the 6th PA were issued their weapons to replace the lances they had carried before the battle. Apparently your litle birds (apologies to George RR Martin, Song of Ice and Fire series), werent’ present to report back to you accurately. Don’t believe everything you read in the paper. I am sure somebody famous said that also.
It’s so nice to see that you still feel the need to fight your husband’s battles for him, Mrs. McKinney. Too bad he’s not man enough to stand up for himself. I have given him every opportunity to do so, but he has failed to take me up on my invitation, instead preferring to let you fight his battles for him. What does that say about him? And his merry band of appeasers who think that allowing the destruction of the most important piece of the battlefield is more important that possibly annoying your bestest pal, Mr. Troilo?
By the way, am I supposed to be somehow impressed by your former Army rank?
Oh, and one other thing: you violated one of the three rules for leaving comments here: nobody, and especially people I don’t know, gets to insult me on my own website. Consequently, and in the interest of fairness, I edited out your insult instead of doing what I normally do, which is to delete the comment entirely. I felt it more important to let the world get a flavor of who you are, so I left the rest of the comment stand. However, the next time you feel the need to violate one of my rules, your comment will be deleted and your IP address will be permanently banned. I trust that I have made myself abundantly clear.
You are dismissed. (I’m sure you heard that VERY often during your military career…..)
It’s not my former Army rank. I will be an Army LTC til I die. What did you do in the military?
Can I say that it is laughable that you fling insults about with abandon, but don’t allow any to be applied to you?
Can I marvel at your thin skin, who calls himself a general? How would you know how a military officer is addressed during his or her career?
It’s very simple, Mrs. McKinney. I pay for this website, so I get to make the rules. It’s really that simple. Since you’re an LTC until you die, you should understand that, like the Army, this is not Burger King. You don’t get to have it your way. You have it my way, or you don’t have it at all.
Understand?
I honestly couldn’t care less what you think of my rules. They are what they are, and they most assuredly are not going to change because you don’t like them.
Once again, you are dismissed.
Wait, I am still hanging in there looking for your admission that you were wrong when you said that Joe mis-spoke about the 6th PA at St James Church. Are you going to do some further research on this and try to get to the truth of the matter, or are you going to let everyone who was there that day know that you published an entire blog post about a mistaken newspaper piece? You have kind of tried to deflect that fact by making this all about me but the fact remains, you were wrong. And by the way, how you do run on about my military experience.
So, what? I’m just supposed to take your word for it?
Yeah, that’s gonna happen….
Tell you what….
I will make you a deal. I will gladly apologize if your husband publicly apologizes for standing by with his hands in his pockets while the most important portion of the battlefield was destroyed by your bestest pal, Tony Troilo.
Deal?
I am most assuredly not holding my breath on that ever happening, but I thought I would once more offer your husband the opportunity to do the right thing.
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room”
Chris
Well, last I checked, doing research into a matter, as I mentioned you might do, does not consist of taking one person’s word for it. Whatever.
The fact remains that you have something to apologize for and Joe does not. So yeah, I would not hold my breath were I you.
By the way, check Joe’s book page 67 to see his description of the 6th PA turning in their lances for carbines prior to the battle at Brandy Station. Is your problem with Joe’s book that it is expensive, or that he got his out first (and many believe, best)? I thought so.
Now who’s avoiding the issue?
While I know that it was VERY important not to annoy your bestest pal Tony, I fail to see how standing by and allowing the most important piece of the battlefield to be destroyed–illegally, I might add–and doing absolutely nothing but issue a public statement announcing to the world that appeasement is more important than preserving the battlefield doesn’t warrant an apology, but since that’s always been your approach, I must at least give you credit for being consistent, even if you and Mr. McKinney and the board of appeasers are the only people on God’s green earth who see it that way. But you just go right ahead and allow that battlefield to be destroyed in the interest of appeasing your wealthy pal.
And I reviewed your husband’s book on Amazon in October 2006. It’s the only review it’s ever gotten there, so I assume that means few have purchased it. Such is life, I suppose, when one opens one’s mouth without a semblance of a clue of what one is talking about…..
But then again, since your husband needs you to fight his battles for him, I guess that’s how it plays out….
Mrs. McKinney,
First, thanks for your service and you are certainly entitled to cite your rank as you properly did with the “ret” disclaimer forever. To my knowledge I don’t know either you or your husband and since I wasn’t present for the ceremonies in question have no opinion on what was or wasn’t said. However, as a former 11yr veteran LBG at Gettysburg, I did have a great deal of contact with Bud Hall. I invested money, time and quite a bit of sweat equity into the early years of the BSF . For that reason I am quite curious in hearing your husband’s reasoning for (A) allowing the construction of the pond on a core area of the battlefield, and (B) the rationale for refusing Bud Hall membership in the organization he built from scratch. Thank you and I’ll look forward to an answer.
Keith Toney
I am trying to figure out how Tony Troilo figures into your refusal to admit that you made a mistake regarding the ceremony at St James Church on Sunday. Because of your mistake, your entire blog post regarding the ceremony is irrelevant. Why don’t you address it or take it down?
To you and to Mr. Toney, who seems like a reasonable man, I reiterate what I told you over a year ago, and you should certainly be able to tell by now, I don’t speak for Joe or the board of directors of the Brandy Station Foundation. I have my own opinions about your blogs and I am expressing them. When I was a young lieutenant in military intelligence school we learned the first rules of gathering information to be turned into intelligence. The first is, what is the source’s access to the information. The second is, what is the source’s prior reliability in providing usable information. You do not quality on either count as one who is a credible source of information on the happenings at Brandy Station, within or without the BSF. Any intel officer worth his salt would discount your information as unusable when making an intelligence assessment. That is why I continue to ask you questions that you don’t answer.
Mrs. McKinney,
Seems your beef should be with Rhonda Simmons, reporter for the Culpeper Star Exponent. It is her article that Mr. Wittenberg cites. And to compare this to the the illegal desecration of battlefield property is completely ludicrous. Everything about that episode smells worse than a polecat. And that you, as a vet, stood idly by why this happened is shameful. You should have screamed at the top of your lungs. This is acreage over which US soldiers spilled their blood. Doesn’t that matter? Isn’t that more important than a lake?
I’ll thank you for your service to this country. But you should be ashamed.
Mike Peters
I have no beef with Rhonda Simmons. She is a lovely young woman. She told me she had five stories due for Monday’s issue of the newspaper. I certainly don’t begrudge her a very small mistake in the preparation of a great and informative article. I am amazed at how much she got just right. Most everybody around here read her article to find out about the church service, which was beautiful and moving and a worthy tribute to the men who fought near St James Church on June 9, 1863. It was not Rhonda Simmons who hastily published a fctually inacturate and profoundly rude blog post about Joe.
As far as my screaming about the pond at the base of Fleetwood Hill, I invite you to come on out, stand on Fleetwood Heights Road and yell to your heart’s content. While you’re at it, note the much larger pond at the base of Fleetwood Hill on the opposite side of the road on Beauregard Farm. I look at that pond every time I go down that road and wonder why no outcry. And if you have some spare time, go to Google Earth and look up the historical views of Fleetwood Hill. There you will see that there have been several ponds at several different sites on that very historical hill in the years since the battle. Why no outcry about their presence? It’s all about historical perspective. The officers and some of the men who fought on the Confederate side at Fleetwood Hill were landed Southern aristocrats. I like to think that JEB Stuart is looking down on all of this rumpus and alternately being appalled and amused. As a landowner, he would not look kindly on someone tellling him where he could put his pond, I am pretty sure about that.
.
There is no outcry about that other pond because it has been there for a LONG time. It was not constructed in flagrant violation of Federal law. More importantly, that other pond was there before there was a BSF.
Your ongoing attempts at deflection are dismissed.
Your lame excuses to justify the horrendous policy decision that your husband and his board of appeasers implemented to stand by idly and permit the illegal and flagrant destruction of the battlefield fail just as miserably as the policy itself fails miserably.
And my guess is that JEB Stuart would not (a) illegally build a pond or (b) stand by idly while the land where his men fought and died was destroyed by the process of the illegal building of the pond.
You just go on trying to justify the unjustifiable. You just make yourself look more and more stupid as you do so, and you lose more and more credibility as you reach farther and farther. Please, by all means, keep doing so.
I totally agree with Eric.
I don’t believe Jeb Stuart would look proudly down on a pond he had built where his men had fought and died. I agree that he would be ‘appalled’ by that activity.
It’s not a little thing to go destroy key battlefield land knowingly in the 21st century. We should be more enlightened than previous landowners that destroyed parts of the battlefield. We should have advanced in battlefield preservation.
Chris Evans
Well, you fellas aren’t from around these parts, so I’m not surprised that your knowledge of alterations to the battlefield area aren’t very extensive. One of the ponds to which I referred, on the western slope of Fleetwood, was built in 2005. Google Earth imagery dated 6/7/05 showed the recently constructed pond. It required excavation, construction of an earthen dam, and was fed by what appears to be a 200 meter or so man-made French drain. I am not aware of a single complaint being raised by the preservation community, of which you are such a vocal member, regarding this pond, either when it was put in or afterward.
Several times you have “dismissed” me as if we were in the military together. You must have been watching too many war movies. Usually, a military formation is dismissed. It is very rare for an officer to be dismissed by a superior; certainly as a civilian you are not my superior. In my career I don’t recall ever being dismissed by one of my superiors. Just saying…
And now, you have dragged this conversation further off point. Are you going to admit that your blog post regarding the ceremony at St James church on Sunday was factually in error and apologize to Joe for your attack on his intellect and character?
Word Press–the blogging software–thought your last comment was spam. The software did that all on its own with no input from me. I rescued it because I’m a fair guy. I could have just left it go as spam. And, in fact, I gave it serious consideration. But, as I said, I’m a fair guy, so I rescued it from the spam filter.
Having done that, this discussion is concluded. I have said all that I intend to say to you or about this subject. As I said, I will happily apologize when your husband apologizes publicly for standing by idly with his hands in his pockets while he watched as the most important part of the battlefield was being destroyed and when his whole board of appeasers apologizes for that abortion of a policy they enacted.
Beyond that, I have absolutely nothing further to say to you now, or ever. This discussion is concluded.
Since I know you will want to have the last word, that’s fine. You can have the last word. I won’t be responding to you.
And if Word Press thinks your next comment is spam, I will not rescue it. Consider yourself warned.
I’m sorry if I’m jumping into this discussion uninvited. In years gone by I invested a great deal of time and energy into preserving this battlefield. I might have invested money if I’d had any. I remember another St. James service, held after the Smithsonian excavated portions of the church and graveyard and found a member of the artillery from Louisiana buried with the wood of the church’s pews as his coffin. There was controversy then as well. While the service was held we were observed (it felt like stalking) by a number of local folks who felt that the acknowledgement of the history of the area would prevent them from doing as they saw fit with their property. This current controversy sounds like an reenactment of that situation. I did not then, and do not now, understand folks who believe their legal rights to personal property are superior to the imperative to honor the events that made us the people we are today. For all the neoconfederate noise from those that claim the Civil War was caused by a myriad of socioeconomic factors, the truth is that it was a struggle between those that espoused their right to hold property and those that felt that some forms of ownership were morally reprehensible. If a landowner, by accident of fate, winds up holding property that contains the blood, bone, and sinew of the conflicts that shaped us, I feel they owe the country that nurtured them respect for the hallowed ground they’ve been entrusted with.
Very well said, Mrs. Stockton. I agree wholeheartedly. It’s a genuine shame that the current officers and board of the once-great but now irrelevant BSF felt the same way.
Still off point. Still waiting for you to address and acknowledge your error about Joe and the St. James church ceremony. Your provocative headline for this post shows that it is not and never has been about anything but bringing down the current president and board of he BSF. Inquiring minds want to know, what is the REAL reason you are so hell-bent on that goal. Because you and I both know that despite all of this obfuscation, there is some other motive to your madness.
Here’s the answer to your question, Mrs. McKinney, and it was right in my last comment: “As I said, I will happily apologize when your husband apologizes publicly for standing by idly with his hands in his pockets while he watched as the most important part of the battlefield was being destroyed and when his whole board of appeasers apologizes for that abortion of a policy they enacted.”
I’ve called for their resignation numerous times for this abrogation of their sworn duty. None of them have the courage or the moral fiber to do the right thing and resign. So, I will continue to call for their resignation. If you don’t understand that, I cannot help you.
And their little scam in refusing to let any of the prior board renew their memberships insures that they get to continue to play their silly little power games. At the end of the day, we know who’s right here.
I am now finished with you. There will be no further responses by me, so feel free to have the last word, since I know that your immense ego will not permit you to not respond to me. Have at it, as I will not respond. At the same, the rules still apply. If you violate one of them, whatever you write will be deleted and you will find your IP address permanently banned, so proceed accordingly.
Ms. McKinney, you are a disgrace to the uniform and to all who have served. Your statement that somehow JEB Stuart would somehow condone the desecration of hallowed ground where his brave men fought and died is shameful. You should be embarrassed.
Statements like this plainly show the world why you and your husband should not be involved in battlefield preservation, let alone leading an organization with that mission. The last time I checked your husband is charged with protecting the battlefield — not a knitting society that happens to meets at the Graffiti House.
Moreover, your continued sniping at Mr. Wittenburg’s patriotism is embarrassing to us who have worn the uniform and who continue to serve. I am currently deployed to a warzone. Your inflated ego and utter lack of understanding of battlefield preservation is disturbing. Mr. Wittenberg understands patriotism–and protecting the fields where Americans were killed–more than you or your pathetic husband ever will.
You and your husband disgust me.
Todd,
I can’t top that. Amen brother! Thank you for your service.
Respectfully,
Mike Peters
Mrs. McKinney….For all the blather you have written with such concern about Eric apologizing for a newspaper article, one wishes you and your husband had written even one letter protesting the desecration of the battlefield. I’m sure Jeb Stuart will not be looking down with any amusement until your husband and his uncaring board have left his battlefield.
May you stay safe until you return to your grateful homeland Mr. Berkoff.
The use of a former, retired military rank is subject to several rules and regulations. Joint Ethics Regulations (JER) paragraph 2-304 is very clear in this regard:
“Retired military members and members of Reserve Components, not on active duty, may use military titles in connection with commercial enterprises, provided they clearly indicate their retired or inactive Reserve status. However, any use of military titles is prohibited if it in any way casts discredit on DoD or gives the appearance of sponsorship, sanction, endorsement, or approval by DoD.”
I think “discredit” would be the operative word in this particular occasion.
Chuck — excellent point!! She has such concern that her husband must be seen in a positive light and yet no concern for preservation at all. In fact, if you notice from her earlier post, she continues to defend the rights of landowners even when they are violating state and federal laws. Amazing.
One only wishes she would fight for the fallen soldiers of Fleetwood Hill like she has fought for her husband and landowners.
Ms. McKinney, you are a disgrace and its time for you and your husband to depart from any involvment in the BSF.
OK, fellas it is time for me to retire from the nutty world of the blogosphere. I commented on one of your posts, Craig, and you immediately took it down. I didn’t even call you any names, just pointed out a few inconvenient truths. I have lasted much longer on this blog than I actually though I would. I have to say I won’t miss the experience. Though everyone in these threads seems to think I am involved in preservation, I am not a member of the board of directors of the BSF and I don’t even hint that I speak for the BSF. Quite the contrary, as I’ve said several times. I am the president of a local nonprofit service group and that keeps me quite busy (and more productively, I daresay).
Being involved in this blog has been like fallling down the rabbit hole except that instead of the Red Queen, it is Eric Wittenberg yelling “off with their heads.”
Before I summarize, a few comments. Mr. Berkoff, you are in a war zone. In what capacity and how close to the action I wonder. Joe was an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam in the war zone. My beloved nephew is an infantry sergeant in Afghanistan and his location is definitely a war zone. He and all of his fellow military members have my deepest respect. However I am aware that there are actually tens of thousands of private citizens working for contractors to the government in the “war zone” as well. They are being paid many times what my nephew and his fellow soldiers are and can leave if they want.
Mr Swain, I have nothing to say to you. Just nothing.
To all of you I can’t help but notice that not one has any firsthand knowledge of the situation in Brandy Station. Oh, wait, Craig came out and took some photos. Don ‘t recall any picketing or demonstrating on that occasion. You castigate me for not becoming involved by writing to the newspaper, et. al. Well, I am not the one who claims to be a dedicated preservationist, am I? How many letters did any of you write to the local paper? I thought so. It honestly would seem that none of you participated except by blogging about it. Wow.
Wish I had more time but Joe and I are leaving for France for a riding trip. Seven or eight hours in the saddle each day. Kind of like being in the cavalry. You all wouldn’t know.
It has occurred to me that JEB Stuart was a Virginian. I am a Virginian. He was a military officer. I am a military officer. He was from a landowning family. I am a landowner. He was a horseman. I am a horseman. He foxhunted before other duties took precedence. I foxhunt. I have more in common with JEB Stuart than any of you!
You have less in common with Jeb Stuart than you think.
Did you fight in the American Civil War like Stuart?
Were you mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern?
Did you ride around the Army of the Potomac?
I have sang ‘Rock of Ages’. I have that in common with Stuart.
It is the height of egotism to say what a historical character would have wanted or that a person you have so much in common with them.
If someone was an American, served in the military, etc they would have something in common with Stuart.
Please stop insulting people who love studying the American Civil War, Brandy Station, Jeb Stuart, and the cavalry as much as you seem to.
I guess all these posts have been sort of tongue in cheek. If, so they have been quite amusing and hilarious.
I wish that you would not speak for what Jeb Stuart would have wanted done to the battlefield at Brandy Station. I am really surprised that you are totally okay with the destruction of battlefield land as you know so much about Stuart, the Battle of Brandy Station, and the Civil War.
Since you have so much in common with Stuart could you please give us
Chris
to finish the above post:
Since you have so much in common with Stuart could you please give us Stuart’s thought process in the Gettysburg campaign?
Chris
Are you actually comparing yourself to Jeb Stuart now?? Your ego and delusions of grandeur know no bounds.
Lady, you require psychiatric help. Have fun on your fox hunts. What a nut.
Mrs. Jeb Stuart….opps….I mean Mrs. McKinney. Just a quick note…..many of us were on the BSF board and have been involved with preservation at Brandy Station long before your husband ever arrived on the scene. We know exactly what went on with the pond issue and is going on with his property rights BS so don’t take a holier than though attitude with us for we know what we speak. Might I suggest you and Joe find a nice farm over in France and stay there….we really won’t miss either of you at Brandy.
Well, I’ve remained silent, but I cannot anymore. Really, Mrs. McKinney, questioning the resolve, commitment and work of the people who actually fought for years to save the Brandy Station battlefield? No one on the current Brandy Station Board of Directors, except for a member or two, have put forth the blood, sweat and tears to save this sacred battlefield that Bud Hall, Eric, Todd and myself spent. I find it shockingly crazy to even hear those words. I don’t remember seeing either Joe or you during the 1990’s fighting Lee Sammis or James Lazor from developing the battlefield. If it wasn’t for Bud Hall and other former Board members rising up against the destruction of Fleetwood Hill by a local landowner last year, sacred ground would have been destroyed forever. If I remember right, the current BSF board and your husband said nothing. Silence. In fact, when I talked to your husband he told me the construction wouldn’t affect Fleetwood Hill greatly and he supported the landowners destructive activities. BTW, guess you missed my OpEd in last July’s Civil War News railing against the policies of the BSF Board in appeasing the landowners attempt to destroy Fleetwood Hill. Didn’t see any response from Joe….And he now heads a preservation group. Outlandish!!! Thanks god for the Clean Water Act and preservationists such as Bud Hall.
You and your husband have no idea the level of sacrifice necessary to save the Brandy Station battlefield from destruction, so don’t lecture us madame. Enjoy riding your horses in France, and as a fellow Virginian, historian, and true preservationist – I have serious reservations about how much you really have in common with the great JEB Stuart. I’m sure he’s laughing at that comment from heaven.
Mrs. McKinney,
I find myself completely flabbergasted by the epic scope of your egotism. Comparing yourself–a REMF if ever there was one–with the finest cavalry officer ever foaled on this continent? Surely, you jest.
Watch the 1988 movie “Working Girl” some time. Joan Cusack has a line that you should really heed, because it applies to you: “Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.” Just because you’re a wannabe doesn’t make you Jeb Stuart. Live it. Learn it.
And if you truly believe what you’ve written, then you need some very serious psychiatric help.
“I commented on one of your posts, Craig, and you immediately took it down.”
Actually, no I didn’t. It was never published. If I had published it, the “G-Rating” of my blog would have dropped down to a PG-13, or maybe even R. You should read my policy about comments.
Très pathétique, non? Dilettantes.
Mrs. McKinney,
If I may borrow from Senator Bentsen, “I know Jeb Stuart and you’re NO Jeb Stuart.” Hell, you’re not even Dan Quayle,
And I’m offended that you question Todd’s service like your husband’s service in Nam trumps anyone else’s service. A retired officer acting like that? WOW!
Bottom line is hallowed ground was desecrated on your huisband’s watch. And it was land he was supposed to protect. That you can not refute. You can pound the desk all you want. Doesn’t change the facts.
Mike Peters
Well, it’s a shame that Rose: wouldn’t give Joe a few minutes at the family computer. If we’re going to have a serious dialogue about this, let’s hear from him directly instead of through a surrogate who apparently thinks that she’s about to ride around McClellan’s army.
I know that Eric has spoken quite eloquently on the BSF debacle. Just minutes ago I read the group’s mission statement:
“The Brandy Station Foundation is a 501(c)-3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the natural and historic resources of the Brandy Station area of Culpeper County, Virginia.
“While our focus is toward the Civil War history of the Brandy Station vicinity, our efforts are not limited to that time period or by any geographic boundaries. We have been instrumental in the preservation of significant tracts of land related to the Battle of Brandy Station (June 9, 1863) and Kelly’s Ford (March 17, 1863). We operate the Graffiti House, which serves as our visitor center and museum.
“Our goal is to ensure the history and heritage of the area is not “paved over” in our rush to progress. ”
What part of this does the family McKinney not understand? Preservation is about saving the land for future generations. Walking the grounds allows scholars to write more accurately. A good friend of mine is always saying, “Terrain drives the battle.” You gotta walk the grounds to understand. Why haven’t the McKinneys figured out this basic preservation concept?
Preservation must be a burning passion. A Case in point. I corresponded many times with the late historian & pioneer preservationist Brian Pohanka. We both shared a love of Zouave units. And Brian was very giving. His responses, while extremely informative, were always short and to the point. He was a busy man. I knew that. One day I wrote to congratulate Brian on a preservation award. His resly was, considering Brian, War and Peace. He went on and on discussing preservation and why we need to stay focused. Bud Hall, Eric Wittenberg and many others are focused! Those not so inclined need to step aside and get out of the way. And please quit masquerading as preservationists. That galls me! I’d rather have you against us or totally apthetic.
Eric please forgive my rant. I do apologize. IF you need to remove it from your blog, I do understand.
Mike Peters
Color Bearer Civil War Trust, an organization that gets it.
LTC McKinney wrote “certainly as a civilian you are not my superior”, which seems to leave out that whole annoying Constitution thing.
I’m a Virginian. My wife and I own the part of my house that the bank does not. I’ve ridden horses and even worn a uniform while doing so. I even enjoy Civil Wat era music, just like JEB Stuart. None of that makes me a cavalryman. It seems all too fitting that you think riding horses around for several hours for a few days is the same as being in the cavalry during wartime.
I find it reprehensible that someone who’s spent a career in the rear would speculate on where someone was serving in a current warzone. My understanding (despite having never served myself) is that there really are no rear areas in this war. I read a great article in the Stars and Stripes 2012 Heroes issue about a 2LT in logistics leading her platoon while under attack delivering supplies. Why it would matter where someone served in regards to this issue, I have no idea.
I’ve always heard military intelligence was an oxymoron. I think you’re doing a good job of proving that!
I’ve been following this and similar discussions, and haven’t decided to jump in until now. Everyone here has sized up Mrs. McKinney very well (I think we all know types like her). But after reading her comments and her attitude, I’ve actually made an observation about a possible positive trait her husband must have. In spades.
Tolerance.
Because Mrs. McKinney, I have to tell you – to put up with the likes of you, woman, day in and day out, year in and year out, Joseph McKinney must be the most tolerant man on the planet. Either that or deep down he’s a wuss who has been dominated by your superior attitude.
As for me and most men I know, we’d have thrown you out of the house on your ass years ago. God bless Joe for being able to put up with your personality disorders.
Insulting current servicemembers, claiming to have first-hand knowledge of Civil War cavalry service from riding around on a domesticated horse for a few hours, and claiming spiritual kinship with none other than Jeb Stuart simply because of it.
There are good doctors and great medications out there, my lady. I’d advise you quickly make use of both.