Remembering early Missouri battle

Re-enactors, enthusiasts and other residents gathered Saturday in Carthage’s Central Park to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Carthage. Fought on July 5, 1861, the clash was one of the first set-piece battles of the war. • Article

Sign recalls Cleburne's call to free, arm slaves

The Georgia Historical Society will unveil a marker recognizing Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne's futile proposal to emancipate and arm slaves.

The July 14 dedication will be held outside of the Dalton headquarters of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, where Cleburne's proposal occurred in January 1864 as the South faced a military manpower shortage.

Michael Thurmond, former Georgia labor commissioner and author of "Freedom: Georgia's Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865," will provide the keynote address at the dedication.

A portion of the sign's text:

"Almost all the other generals present opposed the idea of black Confederate soldiers because it violated the principles upon which the Confederacy was founded. Gen. Patton Anderson said the proposal "would shake our governments, both state and Confederate, to their very foundations," and Gen. A.P. Stewart said it was "at war with my social, moral and political principles." Considering the proposal treasonous, Gen. W.H.T. Walker informed President Jefferson Davis, who ordered any mention of it to be suppressed. In March 1865, with defeat looming, the Confederate Congress approved enlisting slaves, but few did and none saw combat. Conversely, nearly 200,000 free African Americans served in the U.S. armed forces."

The Georgia Battlefields Association helped fund the marker, part of the observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Dedication: 10 a.m., July 14, 314 N. Selvidge St., Dalton, Ga. 30720

These women re-enact as men

Hoop skirts and washboards don't appeal much to Joyce Henry, so she found another way to relive the Civil War — as a man. With her breasts tightly bound, shoulder-length red hair tucked under a shaggy auburn wig and upper lip hidden by a drooping mustache, Henry impersonates Confederate Lt. Harry T. Buford. • Article

Lightning strike on tent injures 5

A lightning strike at a camp of Civil War reenactors in Gettysburg, Pa., has sent five people to hospitals. The Gettysburg Anniversary Committee says in a statement that during a severe thunderstorm at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday, lightning struck a tent pole in the Confederate artillery camp. • Article

Country singer supports preservation

Country music star Trace Adkins has joined a national Civil War Trust effort to help preserve 20,000 acres of land over the next five years in Gettysburg and at other historic sites. • Article