Transcripts For CSPAN3 Lectures 20240703

All right. Well, welcome to another edition, a North Carolina history. So this lecture today actually well, with what were studying right now in the class, the turn of the 20th century in North Carolina, the tumultuous 1890, but im sure youve heard me call every time period in North Carolina history tumultuous. But this is no exception. So todays lecture is called worth bagley, the Southern Confederate christ masculine messiah. And were actually going to dive more of the topic memory making. And so there are two types of memory and ill you may not be familiar with these terms yet. Go ahead, brian. The pause. So official memory and vernacular memory. Vernacular, i think, is that right . Okay. So what do you think official memory is. I dont expect you notes and it gets to be great. Yeah. So its accepted by the government. Very good. So you use the word the state. Its, its a state narrative, its the official narrow div of the story. Like theres an official story of america and you know 1776 the constitution and oftentimes these are used for consensus building and in order to do that you have to erase whats called a vernacular memory. And so the word vernacular is chosen reason. What do you think this is . We think vernacular memory, trauma, im sorry, cultural and cultural memory cards like everyday people remember something or a common kind of whether its true or not, its a common thought. Absolutely. Absolutely and its informed by personal experiences. So the way that we all see the world is theres not a consensus we can it we can look at an event and all have different of that event. Right. Same thing is true for people who lived through the civil war, North Carolina. They had different views. I mean, weve talked about class, how divided carolina was. There wasnt a consensus on what they even fought for. Thats continue through the modern day. So but so were going to talk about is the crafting of an official memory of worth bagley that embraces vernacular of the civil war reconstruction. Its fun all, right . Well, lets go ahead and begin. So you may be wondering when worth bagley was killed on may 11th, 1898, he was recognized as the first southerner to die for the stars and stripes in the United States in a war against a foreign power. The time the United States had officially been at war with another country was in 1846 1848, when they fought a mexicanamerican war. Okay, you have to think about this is decades decades have passed and bagley becomes a symbol for reconciliation between the north and the south and redemption. Thats why i call him the southern savior, the confederate christ, the redemption for, the south bagleys blood washed away, which washed away the sin of secession. Restoring the honor of the south within the union and. So moving along just the kind of, you know, this is the thats the end of the story right there. Okay. This he becomes this this great hero that restores southern within the union. Now, he was born on april six, 1874, in raleigh, raleigh, North Carolina. To william. Bagley in adelaide and worth bagleys the north were two very prominent North Carolina families. Now William Bagley had served as a major in the Confederate Army and was appointed by andrew after the war as to be the superintendent of the u. S. Mint in charlotte. However, bagley refused the post because the required loyalty oath a lot of southern men refused to give this loyalty oath. And thats why they were excluded from government positions. War, however, he did later serve as the clerk of the north supreme court. Now bagleys mother was the daughter of jonathan werth, who was the state treasurer. He had been in the General Assembly for a long time before the civil war and he was the first elected governor of North Carolina after the war, of course, defeated William Holden in that election. Now, bagleys brother, William Bagley jr became the coowner and the editor of the raleigh morning post on may 10th, 1898. Turns out thats the day before bagley was killed. So his brother is a newspaper man. You think thats going to play a role in how he is remembered . Absolutely furthermore, bagleys brother in law was josephus joseph. So Josephus Daniels, the the owner and editor of the news, and observer, which was the most widely newspaper in North Carolina. It was also the the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party that daniels whole just down the road was named after him. So it was just changed. Daniels, of course, played very big role in starting the racial violence of november 98. Wilmington massacre. And he played a big role in the that racist campaign that saw the fusion fist swept out of power in 1898, which, of course, when the the democrats came back to power, they changed the laws and erased a lot of the the progress of the fusion movement, which is the of course, the unprecedented lines between black and white and see after 1900 why people cant really vote in North Carolina. So Josephus Daniels plays a big role in that. So bagley, you simply stated bagley is comes from a very prominent North Carolina family and hes a man with a future. All right. Hes got it all laid out in front of him. Hes a man who has opportunity based on who he is, who his is. Okay. Now he was appointed to the u. S. Naval academy in 1889 at the age of 15 years old. At the accounting academy, he was a standout on the football team. He was a man amongst boys. Theres a theres a really good story about him. We played football for navy. Thats picture right there during a game against ymca. They didnt have Intercollegiate Athletics like we do today, so they played the ymca. He stopped a ball carrier from crossing the end zone, stood him up, took the ball from him and ran 100 yards to score two touchdown in one play. I mean, that make it that would make espns top ten no problem. And the mans senior quote in his Naval Academy yearbook was quote, i am not in the role of common men, unquote, very sure of himself. Of course, you might recognize that quote from your english class in high school, but thats Shakespeares Henry the fourth. Now, he graduated from the academy in 1885 at the age of 21. And after his two year cruise, he was promoted to the rank of ensign and assigned as a captains clerk on the uss maine you all recognize name that ship the one that blew up. But he was no longer on the named he was he became the executive officer of the torpedo boat winslow picture there in december of 1897, about two months before the main exploded. All right. If this works. All right. So the battle of cardenas now this is a map from a book by a. B. Feuer about the spanishamerican war. Great book there. A lot of really good books on this topic. Thats a thats a really one. If you like, narratives, battle narratives. This is a good one. Okay. So it kind of gives you a picture that ill talk about briefly. And this is the telegram that announces bagleys death to his family because they didnt have phones and, you know, texting this was texting through morse code anyway. So the battle took place on may 11th, 1898, in cardenas bay, cuba. The mission was eliminate spanish vessels. They they had encountered three days before in the harbor. So the following information about to tell you is from the official naval reports because remember this lesson about crafting a public memory. This is what the official navy record is. There are three channels the cardenas bay and intelligence revealed that one of the three entrances was mined. Not sure which one. Now the winslow, a small torpedo boat was sent in to make sure that it was safe for the larger uss wilmington to follow through. Okay. They were joined by the uss hudson and a three pronged attack on the harbor. The winslow took the flank of the Eastern Shore and the hudson on the west to prevent any type of escape from the spanish vessels that they had to encounter the day before, the days. All right. As winslow closed in, the sailors noticed several red buoys in the water. They thought they were for navigation purposes they were wrong. Turns out that they were guide buoys for artillery, heavy artillery. And so its kind of like theyre going in. Its a trap. And so that with the aim, with the winslow coming in here, theyre the ones they got lit up first. And you can see they tried to backtrack to that little island. The winslow was, severely damaged in an initial assault. And they lost one of their engines and their rudder. And its a literally a rudderless ship. They cannot move there. Theyre just kind of adrift. And they can they have one engine. So they could kind of hobble. But this is almost dead in the water they were able to hover, hobble pull backwards, but the problem, they were drifting. They kept on drifting right into the wilmington the line of fire. So theyre getting fired on by the spanish and theyre coming across fire from their own friends. So not a great situation. Bagleys during this fight was to go back and forth to communicate between the the deck in the engine room, to coordinate the ships movements, try to keep it out of the way of the wilmington. Now, while he was on one of his return trips in the torpedo boat is a big boat so this takes just a few minutes to go from the deck, see where you are, and then go back down and give orders on how you know, how how hard to fire the engine and on one of the return trips, he stopped to look at this hell hellish fury thats being unleashed by the wilmington like theyre theyre bombarding the harbor and hes like, wow. And he also starts to talk to his Commanding Officer, jb bernard did. And he says to him, captain, im sorry that you were wounded. Im lucky in these things to which his Commanding Officer replied, well, old man, weve been in a fight for sure. This time the two shook hands and they turned directions back. We went back to walk to the fort area of the ship within a few seconds. Bell, a spanish shell strikes the deck of the winslow, hits a seam in the rivets, goes up in the air and explodes, killing bagley instantly. All right, i see here some images from that were in the media afterwards. Now, the immediate aftermath of bagleys deaths, the newspapers, the circumstances of his death to make it appear more of a manly hero. This was also during, again 1898. Its the height of the newspaper wars, yellow journalism hearst versus pulitzer. In fact, you could argue that this war got started over yellow journalism with, um. With the sensationalized story of the us army. So its not unusual for the media to embellish it. Still, today. But so there are inconsistencies in the story. Okay. How bagley died and what he was as he died. Now keep in mind, during this era, the 19th century, especially during the civil war, theres this obsession with whats called ars, ending the good and or the art of death. And then you have in having a good death, being able prepare yourself to die with dignity, to face god. And the problem isnt war. Sometimes you get killed without, the ability to prepare and so this was this played a really big role in the civil war and the culture of the militaries like you know, give my right a letter to my folks back home. Be sure if i fall tell my family where you buried me and whatnot. And so the problem is bagley, have this and this is not a tradition that can continue through the spanishamerican war so badly, doesnt have the time to prove his manhood before his death. Right. And so the the news gave him that opportunity. Right. So some of the myths surrounding bagleys death. Okay, one of the myths was, as after the shell exploded, he staggered by being struck by the blast. He grabbed on to the flag. The stars and stripes and his blood got on the flag and clutched it as. He died, and as he was dying, he whispered, mother and my country. Okay. And he was. His grip was so hard on the flag that his comrades had to literally pry it out of his cold, dead hands. Its a great story, right why . Why come up with a story like that . Lets think about that. Were going to were going to come back to. Okay, of course, though, that contradicts barnardos official report and the letter that he wrote to bagleys brother that said that bagley was killed instantly by the blast. He said that he was the first to reach bagley and that he opened up his shirt and realized very quickly that he had ceased to live right. There was no staggering. There was. No, my country. He was just dead. Okay. Another interesting story. A man came forward and the press sent a letter. Josephus daniels, 18 years after the battle and said that he had caught worth bagley and kept him falling over the side of the ship and that as bagley was dying. He put his hand on his shoulder and said, thank you. The gentleman that he was right and he could. And he died with no cry of pain or complaint. Okay, so there was some discrepancy about the injuries that bagley received. I mean, injuries to the other casualties were very gruesome. A man, elijah tunnell, who was africanamerican, cook on the ship, reportedly had his legs blown off, according to some sources. However this is disputed because the newspapers of the day claimed that he had no wounds. Edward austin johnsons book about black americans participation spanishamerican war claims that his legs completely blown off. And john had his windpipe severed. John dempsey had his shoulder torn open by shrapnel. Now, the newspaper claimed that bagleys face had been completely blown off. Imagine being his mother and hearing that before before seeing him, when they brought him, that was not the case. And they actually brought his body home to his house. He had a scratch on his his face and that was it. Okay. And because he didnt have any other like visible wounds, we can assume that he was killed by the concussive force. The blast is not its not if youre not killed by the shrapnel of a blast, youre killed by the concussive force. The air pressure going and just messing up your organs. All right. So that that cannot be true. All right. The lets were going to believe bernardos report. All right. Another another controversy is what was he doing . Okay, well, what was he ordered do . He was ordered to go back and forth between the deck, the engine room, to coordinate the movements of the hobbled movement of the winslow, to keep it out of the line of fire. Thats a very important job. Well, we agree about that. Were going to make sure that we dont drift into the water and get lit up by our own allies right. Very important job. Okay. Is the most manly job is it the most heroic job . Well, lets look at some of the myths. Okay. So some of the myths that were printed in National Media said that bagley fell at his gun, while bravely resisting attack of the enemy and expired the fold of the flag, he had sworn to defend. All right. So this account was printed, you know how like they have ap articles that are in all kinds of newspaper articles. Somebody wrote it. Staff writer and they just send it out. Same. They just had to you know the telegraph, the wire reports. So let me im going to read this one to you. Take it says up to this time with the exception of one shot which had disabled the boiler of the winslow, the firing of the spanish gunboats had been wild. But as the winslow lay rolling in the water, the range glue closer and the shells began to all around her. It was difficult for the hudson to get near enough to throw a line to the winslows. So terrible. The fire her finally after 20 minutes, the hudson approached near enough to throw a line and sandbag and six men were standing in in a group on the deck of the winslow heave her heave her heave shout at bagley as he looked toward the hudson and called for a line dont miss it, shouted the officer from the hudson, and with a smile, bagley called back, let her come. Its getting too hot for comfort. The line thrown and the same at the same instant shell burst in the very minutes of the group of men aboard winslow bagley was instantly and a few others dropped also about him, half a dozen more fell, groaning on the bloodstained deck one of the dead men pitched overhead along the side of the boat. His feet caught the arm rail and he was hauled back. Bagley lay stretched on the deck, his face completely torn away and the upper part of his body shattered. All right. Well, lets unpack this. Okay. So hes been ordered to go communicate between the deck and the engine room so that where was and this is this the photo of the alleged gun that he was at the battle taking place on this side of the boat. So if hes at this gun, what does he have to do . He has to shoot a cross the deck on that little gun. Its not really effective use of his time if he fired his gun, it was in vain, right. But again, that would mean that wouldve been a dereliction of duty, according to bernard, to his Commanding Officers or through his official account. All right. So we have that. We also have this story where he is killed trying to catch the tow line right. But that contradicts what the official report says. Why do they have this story about and when chuck todd, you think about this, why we have the story being printed that shows him at his gun killed it. His gun are killed trying to catch a tow what do you think about that. Any thoughts. He gives them more heroics, right . More heroics dory. You better do in a better death. Very good more harrowing story. Better. Okay. Very good. Very good. So well, regardless of whether these accounts are deliberately romanticized or not, its what the public concern. In 1898. Theres no google no way to easily fact check right. So this is what the public consumed is how they knew that bagley died. All right. So lets talk about what were crafting and you can see here. Yeah, the torpedo boat is small, but its not that small. Its not as well. Okay. Again, you see the you the killed by the blast and hes gripping the flag right . That image, the imagery was created by design. Okay. All right. So talk about if youre wondering what this is. This is the boat that you see this daniels printed. He you know, hes a hes a very good journalist. Hes good writer. And he basically wrote the biography of his brother in law shortly after his death. They sold it. And its these copies of this book were sold all over the country. But immediately after his and youre going to find them. The majority of what makes bagley story interesting happens after hes put his grave right now, immediately after his death. Reconciliation is sentiments flooded both the northern and the southern press. This is a quote from the tribune the north mourns the south as the unions loss and extends sympathy to North Carolina, whose hero was the first to fall in defense of. The stars and stripes, ensign bagleys bravery and of life for our has shown the world sectionalism no longer exists. The Philadelphia Press printed a Southern State gave the first victim under the flag reunited country. The new york tribune an intensely republican newspaper. All right, says with his blood he has sealed the union of arms of the north and south. A people who once fought against the stars and stripes send one of their sons as the first sacrifice for the honor glory of that flag. There is no north and south after that we are all worth bagley countrymen, unquote. We also see tributes reads from the grand army of the republic, organized. We all know who that grand army of the republic. Those are Union Civil War groups. So theyre there because remember, bagley is a son of the confederacy. His father was a major in the confederate. His grandfather was part of the government. Right. So we see tributes and reads come from them as well as confederate veterans groups. So this new memory that was purposefully says the blood paid for the south secession, the civil war. It was his restored southern honor and but perhaps more importantly, it gave southerners another opportunity to embrace and honor their confederate past. As bagley was the son of the veteran, the south had a new hero that they can openly commemorate, which took away of the sting of losing the civil war. They were finally on the winning side after decades of on the losing one. Now, after after the civil war you see a lot of southerners, north carolinians of particular start to get really obsessed with commemorating the revolutionary war. Why do you think that was. And any thoughts why they want to commemorate the revolutionary war and not the civil war that they had just font let let me i got to they did want to commemorate that werent allowed. They ever hurt. What what about the mecklenburg. You heard of the mecklenburg results. No. Yes yes. The mecklenburg result. Mecklenburg county is the first group of americans declare independence from from england. So north and then also the battle of alamance the regulator movement. The first shots fired for liberty. North carolinians very proud of their their revolutionary heritage and said, look, were loyal to the union. Look what we did for the union. All right. But theyre having to look generations back to find that that that that heritage of american is that they could celebrate. Right. Bagley has given them one. They can celebrate in the contemporary day. A southern man in north has died for the stars and stripes. That proves our loyalty right. And, you know, northerners are actually okay with this bagley sacrifice had demonstrated patriotism and loyalty to the United States and the majority of northern whites were envious of. The romanticized antebellum salt southern culture during the 18 you. Well, why is that the case . Well, the north in particular is experiencing a lot of social and changes during the 1890s that came with the influx of immigrants, the turn of the 20th century, also the womens rights movement, the great migration of africanamericans from the south to the north. So theres a lot of change going on and so a lot of white northerners longed for the good old days where everyone knew their place. I am saying that very tongue in cheek quotation marks right. So thats why the story gone with the wind was so poppy allure in the 20th century. Right. Its a romanticized time. They just didnt mention slavery. So. Yeah. So northerners are okay with bagley being celebrated. However, while southerners had like bagley to the as the henry lawson why it of the spanishamerican war and for those who dont know him. Hes traditionally seen as the first man to die for the confederacy. Hes also from North Carolina. Northerners preferred to view him as the Elmer Ellsworth of the spanishamerican war. Ellsworth was remembered as the first Union Officer killed in the civil war, shot while removing the Confederate Flag from a building and alexandria, virginia on may 24th, 1861, which is the day that virginia voted on their secession ordinance, likening bagley to a union hero was a clear attempt. The to delineate bagley from his confederate heritage. There was some like hes like, yeah, hes the henry lawson wise i would prefer to see as the Elmer Ellsworth of of this war right. But regardless, regardless, both sides agree he is an american hero. And shortly after bagleys death congress removed the disqualification clause from the 14th amendment, they all know what that is the disqualification clause. So this was a clause that was put into the 14th amendment, one of the reconstruction amendments that barred any ex confederates Holding Office in the federal government. Those are those who would participate in rebellion. Can now could no longer hold office. So. Southern newspaper editors before way bagleys bagleys death had been arguing for years that the disqualification clause had created atmosphere where southern men prevented from advancing in the armed services, that there was discrimination of southern men because of this this law. In fact, the Atlanta Journal ran an opinion piece in the weeks before death that highlighted bagley an up and coming southern officer in the navy. And one of the reasons why the discourse clause should be removed. Okay, now why this an issue . This is an issue because in 19th century manhood. Martial duty is a big part of that. And if they cant serve and cant rise to the ranks, then how does a southern man prove his manhood right now . Its also revealed that the south is looking for heroes to celebrate. Okay, now, after bagley dies, this this, theres a bill thats brought up for congress that would remove the disqualification clause a during discussion the bill North Carolina congressman romulus and romulus lennie called bagley quote, one of the grand is patriots and noblest soldiers of the united. Okay. And that received thunderous applause in the house chambers. He added quote the example of worth bagley is the standard my state has set for courage and devotion to principle. We simply invite other states to come up to that standard. I have no doubt all the soldiers of all states of the union from mississippi, the state of washington, will do all they can to come up to the High Standard of worth bagley, unquote. And so, yes, the clause was removed and worth bagley name was used as justification to do that. I absolutely guys who died was born in 1874 and he died in 1898. So thats 24 four. Yes. Young man. Yeah. Young man. But he was the he saved america, right . They just showed it shows. When you sit back and look at the reality versus the myth its created and why is the myth being created is to is to further political agendas long see it political agendas right. They were just waiting for an opportunity and worth bagley bagleys death provided that okay so lets talk about something little different idea worth bagley body as a monument whats a monument . Usually like a statue dedicated to someone right its you can take the form of a statue dedicated. Someone. Its a physical site of memory right. It stands for a principle. It for a person that i argue that body became a monument the question is a monument to what after his death his body was from cuba to key west, florida, where it was involved, and it received a small funeral attended by mainly his comrades in the navy. Bagleys body was the only one who was killed during this battle to be embalmed as the other fallen comrades were buried in key west next to the victims of the uss maine. After his funeral, bagleys body was taken and put on a train to return home to raleigh. His coffin was covered with an american flag. The picture there, an american flag, an ornately decorated with flowers and pieces of his uniform, including his sword. And nearly every train stopped along the route. Southerners, mostly upper white women, met the train, left flowers, wreaths and gifts, hoping to catch a glimpse of the era. In these moments, we see bagleys body transformed form into a monument to american patriotism and white southern manhood as people came to worship at this altar. Keep in mind they had been on the losing side of this a war for the last 30 years. So this is a chance that they get to celebrate being on the winning side of being on the american side. All right. The tributes became so immense that they actually had to stop physically stop people from leaving flowers. Im sure it smelled wonderful. But anyway, so bagleys body was brought to the family home south street in, raleigh still exist today, and he in the middle of the night and honor guard, stood in the family and guard his body all night long. Then in the morning he was removed to the State Capitol, where he lay in state at the capitol rotunda, honor reserved for very few and. Again, according to the newspaper reports, thousands and thousands of people came to view the body or it is coffin not his body not a casket and his body became a physical site of memory to remember old ideals that were not necessarily in the postwar south. Remember south. Its been years resisting federal reconstruction and for a lot of white southerners, they felt that they didnt have much reason to feel patriotic as they held on to this, that they had been occupied by a foreign power. And the media anthem. After the civil war, north carolinians wanted to reconcile with their American Heritage to reach back. Like i said before, into the distant past. Now they get reach out and basically touch their present and on again. Theyre on the winning. They can celebrate their own southern raleighs american hero. Okay, now these are pictures bagleys funeral, largest in state history. Still true. He was given the honors of a brigadier general. An estimated 3000 people were in the funeral procession, not to mention the thousands that gathered to around the Capitol Square who lined streets of the parade route and who also attended his burial at oakwood cemetery. And there lots of hills then around the cemetery, not the today. All right. As you can see in this picture, bagleys body is placed. Right underneath the statue. George washington, you think thats symbolic in any way . Absolutely. Okay. George washington didnt consider the father of the country, the american country. So again this is him. Everything was very meticulously designed. A lot. A lot of the important things about this funeral, the visual, not necessarily rhetoric. Okay. You see a lot reconciliation, this imagery throughout, this ceremony, there arent significant speeches that were made during bagleys funeral. There was not even a substantial eulogy about his life. Politicians were present, but there was no chest thumping. Say, oh, what a great, brave man bagley was. That would come later, but not in this moment. Everything was about the visual, the visual elements of reconciliation sight sound. Not. Not rhetoric. Okay, so to give you some examples of what you would have seen had you been there, you would have seen Raleigh Police officers leading. The parade, followed by the first North Carolina regiment band playing a funeral dirge, is followed by the governors guard and then followed by clergy, the family and close friends. Very normal for a military funeral. Okay, of this era, thats thats not unusual here. The unusual elements of for an officer of bagleys rank hes an edson a high ranking naval officials came including the civilian ones are appointed by the executive branch. 2000 soldiers from the first and second North Carolina volunteer regiments cadets from North Carolina and then a m college, north of 18, is is youre sitting in as you say as you say. Now, again, those are that special because thats thats atypical for somebody of bagleys. Thats something you would expect or a brigadier general. All right. The highly unusual of you have members, the Lawrence Obrien branch camp of the confederate veterans, marching side by side uniform, their gray uniforms with members of the general george h. Thomas pose of the grand army of the republic. So what you have is you have confederate soldiers in uniform marching next to Union Soldiers in uniform. You dont see that often. Okay. So the people of raleigh witness, its a visual representation of reconciliation. What this does, it erodes that the old vernacular memories and lived experiences of the civil war reconstruction era, of the civil war is over. You can see there theyre marching side by side under a single flag. The american flag. Okay. What that does is kind of kind of make you forget about the the divided nature of North Carolina during the civil war fact. What did that call my my lecture in North Carolina the civil war. The civil war in North Carolina. The civil war. The civil war in North Carolina. Right. Because North Carolina were very, very divided on that issue. And so you start see that kind of pushed away out of the official memory right. Okay we also see 1200 students from raleighs graded schools in procession. And so why would you see children marching in this funeral parade . What do you think theyll be ones bringing your passing along the memories. Its important to distill those memories. Yeah, memories. And also value. Right. This is what man looks like. Worth bagley is someone you should emulate. Yes. How . How do they go from this where . North carolina is celebrating this kind of reconciliation rah United States. We didnt do it with the civil war to within. We know within a few theyre going to start putting civil war monuments up everywhere. Right. That is already starting to happen at this. How do they reconcile or how do they explain the two . How can you explain that in a few minutes of to hold on to that question. Yeah, that youre right. It becomes very it is weird. It is it is often its a weird phenomenon. Its its very american southern americans now. But then we also but we all see Confederate Monuments and union states as well. So its theres a book called creating confederate kentucky. Of course, kentucky did not join the confederacy, but after the war, a lot of their memory was rooted in confederate law. So we all touch on that a little bit later. Any other questions just a quick. Yes. Is he still buried there . Absolutely. Okay. Yeah, yeah. You can go visit. Hes right. If you go up the hill from, the confederate cemetery, youll see him. And thats his grandfather there. Jonathan, were. Yes, for the turnout for this. Do you think that it would have been the same had he not been related, someone that was in the press multiple . Absolutely. I think thats true. That definitely played a role in this and yet and so what it did because he an he is a man of that social caste he was afforded opportunities that probably was definitely not afforded to the other men who died in the and then people stateside were kind of just looking for the first person to die and to create a no. In fact, were not even sure if he was first person to die. Thats what. Oh, thats. But hes different now. We didnt know hes the first line officer to die in this war and you know theres other evidence too like because i mean there was four so there was, there was another one in the army. Yeah okay. So and he was actually from north going were talking about him too. But hes young. Hes very young. Then they create this very young like marketing, right . Its like theyre creating this atmosphere like you said, with all these visual. I mean, thats just and its, its, its a commercial. Its meant to be politicized as its meant to accomplish a goal. Yeah. And thats just, you know, to, you know, research souths place in that. So north. And our northerners understood that this time here needed the south because this is the time of empire building in order for to become an empire comparative to england or france, they needed the south and its south material, the souths labor. And so we see we see that desire to it. Yeah. So but yeah, theres, you know, another guy george meeks also died in this battle. He was given a statue by the state ohio. And they and they unveil the statue and it looks nothing like him. And so the george makes confronts the governor ohio. So this looks nothing like my brothers its not meant to be just its meant to represent a american sailor during the spanishamerican war. So that just shows that, you know, the privilege of his class status, right . Thats a great question. I dont know. I do not believe that had he not who he was related to, that he have got this. But anyway, yeah, thanks to the person. How do we get that . Do . All right. Speaking of and so talk about the worth bagley monument thats still on the Capitol Grounds today. So almost immediately after the news hit of worth bagley his death, the recall so erect a monument. This is during period of memorial mania where there was a deep obsession in the south with preserving of people, events, ideals and public spaces now calls erect monuments. Memorials were not limited to North Carolina. We see calls elect erected in washington, d. C. , but the other big monuments put him right next to the washington monument. Thats theyre trying to create. This kid was a saint like he would have been on Mount Rushmore and thats what you know individuals like tennessee, massachusetts and pennsylvania all started moves to build statues to worth bagley very they materialized but the discussion happened. Now we do see appear at the us Naval Academy that that is appropriate right where hes he graduated from and. Its interesting that bostons spanishamerican war veterans they named their after worth bagley again pretty appropriate i mean he was a line officer killed in the war you know that is significant now raleigh businessman w west he was also very involved in confederate groups suggested that morning post remember the morning post was owned by bagleys brother not very long, but it just it just changed hands. He said, we to start a worth bagley Monument Fund. And he originally wanted to the fund with 100. Thats a good sum of money. In 1898. But he was that it should be a popular subscription fund, a monument built by the people and people should give a dollar or less and then theyll have their names attached not literally, but figuratively attached to the money. And theyll print the names in the newspaper. And how much gave. All right. So its really like a Community Crowdsource source type fundraising event. They they and they wanted to have a monument built by the people because they wanted to make it a reconciliation as to they wanted again a more vernacular memory and create a do a consensus official memory about not just worth bagley, but southern manhood and and and loyalty the union. So in, like i said, exchange in exchange donations, you got your name printed in the newspaper and you just got the notoriety of doing that. So what i did is i went back, looked at all this data because they did a good job of bringing this stuff in the newspaper every for a long time. And what we see here is people very, very quickly, 800 in the first week, 5000 by the end of june. 2,000 by the end of the first week of july. Its interested to see who is giving to this Monument Fund. Of course, you have the wealthy white political elite, the titans of industry, you know, the washington dukes, the julian. But its also start to see the rank and file of raleigh, North Carolina communities. But you also see black communities donating to this monument, booker t washington, whos the principal of the Tuskegee Institute and one of the most prominent black intellectuals of the 19th century gave a dollar to this fund and said, quote, i it to be the duty of citizens, well, as white citizens to contribute to this patriotic fund, unquote. Of course, that fits in with washingtons constructionist approach to politics, befriending white leaders in order to gain access to resource is that would uplift black communities in washington. Also donated and supported building Confederate Monuments and monuments for four confederate generals that he had befriended. So this is not out of, you know, this is not off brand for washington. But we also see people who subscribe to washingtons politics like durhams black elite, the men who built black, wall street. They also donated to the fund we see the children of raleighs color grading also collect. They pull their pennies to get together and donated a dollar. So contributions from black residents in institutions are very significant because it reveals the memory narrative that they believe they were contributing towards a reunified country, that they would have a place building moving forward. Okay, now it turns out the fund ended up falling short. Okay. And so let me show you another slide. Okay. This is the total. This is the dollar amount over a given period of time so that this kind of indicates maybe the rank and file necessarily buy into the memory of worth bagley, right its you know, they accept oh, it sounds great. Do i want to give my money to it . So were a total of 2384 contributions made to the fund between may and the end of september, 1898 . For comparison, the 1900 census lists population raleigh at. Three 13,643. So the number of contributions represents 17 of just the city of raleigh. Now again, this was marketed as in North Carolina fundraiser, even a national fundraiser. And so thats i mean, thats very small. Thats very small. Okay. During the that period we see let me go back to this slide, illustrate during that period, the average daily number of contributions was 22. 9. So its almost 23 a day of average daily dollar amount was 2279. So first its like, oh yes, this was clearly popular subscription monument. Nobodys giving more than a dollar. Right. But you can see thats not the case. Okay. Number contributions is in blue. The days total isnt red. So initially, yes, people were sticking to that. But then what do you see happened here . Big gifts, right . Big gifts gifts. Now was also significant events. Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. And did the spanishamerican war last long time . No, just a few. And so there are other events that might have influenced the funds growth or lack thereof. In 1898, first, july 1st lieutenant william e ship of North Carolina became the first army officer, killed during the spanishamerican war. He died leading a charge at the battle of santiago. So that kind of conflict dates the narrative. Bell worth bagley because what was bagley doing when he died he was walking from his officer but the public consumed a different story, right . But he died leading troops up the hill. Thats a myth, right so were told. Yeah, they maybe was going to bathroom. I doubt it. That wouldnt have been an appropriate time so but again it complicates bagley as the southern savior right and it complicates it its bagleys exceptional because this guy did the same thing is bagley really exceptional. All right now the bagley Monument Fund actually publicly lobbied for people to donate to the ship monument. Well, again, that actually built and it was up at the us mint in charlotte. Now on july 18th, which is. Here, look what happens. You start to see flatline right july 18th was the end of the siege of santiago which resulted in american victory and the outcome of the war no longer doubt. So the of the war is now over and and it was a war that north carolinians generally werent very excited about. Anyway, volunteer rates are very low. We argue that bagleys you know, memory was created to foster recruitment numbers. But anyway, july 18th was over and we see the fund flatlined, okay, now there are too many data anomalies to this, a real popular subscription fund, but but we need to also take a look the number of accounted funds versus the final cost of the monument. Now, the morning post printed its last regular update, which was daily on september 24th, 1898, and noted that they had completed oh, im sorry collected 2,316. 70. They did not print update until march 30th, 1901. So its a long time. So why that long on that day . Bagley Commanding Officer John Bernardi made a 100 donation to the fund, bringing the fund to two 2,830, which was an increase. 413. 30. So thats where that money come from. If it was if it was donated by popular subscription. What theyve been printing their names now its probably people were there soliciting donations from private citizens probably wealthy citizens and kind of ashamed that more people werent supporting this right now. The last update came on july 18th, 1905, which put the fund at 3,300. Now, its not out of the realm possibility that this was popular subscription that raised about an average of 0. 35 a day. But if thats the case, like i said, why are know why are there no updates . Why are the names not in the in the paper which they did with fidelity for so long. Okay probably from wealthy donors. The monument costs 11,000. Theres also a deficit in what the morning post reported was the size of the fund and the cost, the lack of the coverage indicates that the fund didnt do well. Certainly not as well as the founders had hoped. Further evidence supported this conclusion from an article from the greensboro patriot printed about two weeks before the monuments unveiling, which said that, quote, the purse, which constituted the bulk of several thousand dollars, has since been added several thousand dollars. The other sources, unquote. Now, we do know that public money did not pay for this monument. So it had to come from private donors. And again, if its popular subscription. You would print the names of those to give them recognition. All right. Other claims about the nature of the of the fund were just simply not true. In the days before the monuments dedication, Josephus Daniels wrote that the monument had been, quote funded by hundreds of people from half republic. Wow. Thats a lot of folks. Well, if you look at this chart, they did donations from 20 states. There are 45 states in the union at the time of the dedication ceremony. The most of the states and territories, including this claim, had fewer than five donations, eight of them had a single donation. So lets look at this claim. Half the states i, i mean, im sorry to say, hundreds of people from half republic very misleading. And ill tell you right now, the folks, these 43 folks right here, they were all military officers and politicians in washington d. C. Okay. So and most of these folks like virginia has a very big naval presence. And most of these were his buddies and enable families to. Theyre using bagley to kind of promote this idea of southern manhood, southern bravery, isnt it . Yeah, its weird. It is weird. Yeah, it is very weird. And but again, you know, memory doesnt have to make sense. Okay. So based and im sorry theres no way we can could seriously that this is a National Monument monument. Now during the dedication ceremony on may 20th, 1907, North Carolinas governor Robert Broadnax glenn claimed that the bagley mining was a gift, quote, on behalf of more than 11,000 people. Well, it 11,000, 11,000 people did not donate to this monument. Okay. But at this time, in 19 1907, there is no way to fact check any of this. So this is whats consumed by the public. Its whats its what people home after man and a thousand people gave to this monument in. It its not its really not but then the newspaper this and they call it a national but theres no way to go back and fact check it like we could today. Okay so its part it becomes part of this official memory that is handed to the people of worth bagley. Lets talk about this dedication. Thats an actual photo from you can actually still stand on this balcony at the State Capitol and oversee where this happened. All right. Lets look at the guest list of, the ceremony. Okay, the monument associate nation invited president theodore, who politely declined. John boehner, do, who is now a captain in the us navy before he was a lieutenant. And yes, i did them captain, but that was the person in charge of the boat its called the captain regarding of the regardless of the right. But he was on a deployment elsewhere in rome. So it not able to attend now victor blue, a native north carolinian who won fame was a National Hero for going behind enemy lines to get reconnaissance on the location of the spanish fleet fleet. He was invited as a guest speaker. So he is one of the heroes of the spanishamerican war. Well, again, marketed by the media. And hes from North Carolina. You have william ships widow and family attending, richard pierson. Hobson was invited to be the main order. He was a native alabaman born of North Carolina parents and he became a National Hero because of his mission on the uss merrimack, which called for him to purposefully sink the ship to trap enemy vessels in a harbor. Okay. Now, this mission was an failure, but it was deemed a suicide mission. But he was captured spanish forces. But nonetheless, he was still elevated to celebrity status after the war. In fact, for a period of time. Richard pierson. Hobson was known as the most kissed man in america, right . He was also right. He had been to the us house of representatives and was a rising star in the Democratic Party. Okay, now again, no public funding went into monument or its dedicated to it all. It was raised privately and, so they formed a canvasing committee to, go door to door to ask for donations to hold the ceremony. They didnt they specifically did not solicit in southwest southeast raleigh. Its interesting to note that they didnt even at the south street area were back was for because these were predominantly black neighborhoods women black people had supported the worth bagley monument 1898. Right. Well, a lot has happened in that one in 1898. By november the fusion has happened. You voted out of office and we have the wilmington massacre, 1898. And then in 1900, the the General Assembly basically makes it impossible for black people to register, essentially removing them from body politic. Okay. This is another example of active exclusion. Okay. But its interesting because bagley, he grew up right on south street, which is adjacent Shaw University states oldest hbcu. He grew up playing with black kids whose. Parents were at the university, so he grew up in a mixed race environment. In fact, if we go back and look at the funeral. You see africanamerican people attended. John noticed that. So its possible they would have been willing to contribute to this. But again, it just shows what type of memory theyre crafting in this process. Okay. Its possible that the people that are canvasing felt that the people in these areas would not be interested in participating, but more probable that they were actively excluded. It is a fact that White Supremacists had coopted bagleys memory as an example of white manhood during one of the most widely racist political campaigns in North Carolina history in 1888, in fact worth bagley his name was put in the democratic platform of 1898 as an example of white manhood. His name was printed in newspaper articles that were that were condemning the fusions, saying that a man of worth bagley character or caliber would not associate with them right. So its surprising that this turned out be that way. More evidence even supports this case. Raleigh superintendent of schools came up with the idea to have the city School Children participate in the dedication ceremony by laying a flower at the base of the monument during the during procession. And he visited each the citys white schools and had drilled them them. This is your job. This is what going to do. I did not visit any of the black schools, even the school that had donated. They pulled their pennies together and donated a dollar to the fund. They contributed to the fund, but they were not invited to participate. A huge slap in the face. Huge slap in the face. Okay, especially said so many prominent north africanamericans had supported this monument. Now, the ceremony itself was they wanted to do on may 11th, but the monument would not be ready in time. So they they chose may 20th. The because its a very significant in North Carolina history its the anniversary of the mecklenburg resolve its also anniversary of the North Carolinas secession from the union in 1861. But the importance of the ceremony goes beyond. Recognizing bagley as a hero it was establishing the place of the old south in the official memory of worth bagley and the spanishamerican war as, well as building a foundation for a new south josephus. Daniel spent weeks in the News Observer stirring public sentiments. He argued that four of the most of four of the most renowned heroes of the spanishamerican war worth bagley, lee william shipp, victor ballou and richard hobson, were all born out of the same fighting spirit. A southern, especially north carolinians who fought in the American Revolution and the civil war. Thats where we to see the civil war drawn into the memory of came bagley and those other heroes of the present generation gave north carolinians, quote, a new idea of what dixie meant and what Yankee Doodle was. And the and the monument dedication ceremony was the opportunity to recognize North Carolinas historical breadth and truth that the new south was fashioned from. The old now the parade of the capital was so similar, albeit smaller than the funeral that had taken place nine years earlier. But it had the same visual imagery of the blue, the gray, reconciling. You had confederate veterans and Union Veterans walking, marching. Now, even though this war taking place decades before, you still see elements that civil war take Holding Holding on firm in this new memory creation. Okay, now, blue was more of a eulogy of worth bagley of what type of person he was, how brave he was, his sacrifice for the country. This is probably the eulogy they should have got at funeral and a hobsons speech delved right. The political realm, nothing do with worth bagley. Well a little bit worth bagley hobson the crowd that the spanishamerican war had been americas graduation turning it into a world power but more specifically one ruled by white supremacy. He argued that worth bagley was prime example of quote the services the anglosaxon race, and that the purest of anglosaxon blood is to be found in the Southern States, unquote. He iterated an ideal version of the south in the same vein as henry grady new south create with the industrialization of the south, while still clinging to antebellum social structures. And again, worth bagley was seen was used in this ceremony as the example of what anglosaxon manhood in the the example, the example to emulate. But now in this where were going to start getting to your question, any. Now the bagleys place has been firmly submitted in the official memory. Some north carolinians seized the opportunity to use bagley to lobby from confederate commemoration within two months of the dedication ceremony, calls came in from across the state to erect statues. A prominent jaws two county farmer named John Michener penned an editorial where he noted that on the bethel battlefield in virginia, civil war, there was a marker to commemorate where Henry Lawson Wyatt died as the first confederate casualty, michener was offended by the fact that there was no monument or marker to recognize wyatts heroism in his own state. He believed that worth bagley was worthy of a monument, but, quote, we ought to not forget the first fallen and the more terrible conflict. Only nine years passed before worth bagley mine was erected. It has been nearly 50 years since wyatt fell, unquote. Thomas, the editor of the wilmington messenger, actually bagleys heroism. He quote, if the people of the state willing to raise sufficient funds to erect a monument worth bagley who lives, who lost his life in the war of foreign invasion. Surely they would be willing to do the same for one who gave up his life in defense of his state, in the homes of his people. If worth bagley deserved a monument in the hands of the people of the state, surely why it is ten times more worthy of the same honor to his memory, unquote. The united daughters of the confederacy argue that since bagley had a statue on the Capitol Grounds, why a sacrifice . This quote in our greatest war should be recognized in the state of north cani should be glad to bear part the expense of fitting memorial, unquote. Such sentiments reveal that for some north carolinians, the heroes the spanishamerican war paled in comparison to the heroes of the confederacy. The the ships, the blues. The hobsons. The sexless gap for. White southerners, in a sense that the south could now worship their suddenness without causing a perceived slight or a threat to the union, and that white southerners preferred their confederate heroes because those heroes were better better stood for the values of the antebellum social order. Bagleys memory had served its purpose. It helped with the reunification of white on southern terms. With reconciliation accomplished white. North koreans can now worship their confederate heroes and heritage more freely without fear of being labeled traitors. Bagleys blood had washed away the south senate secession, and southerners could point to bagleys deed any time their confederate drew criticism from northerners, from northerners. Essentially, he was the souths bloody shirt. Does that answer your question . Yeah, it started. Your question has a very long answer. All right. So in conclusion, official and public memory of worth bagley as a southern slave savior was and utilized to undermine and unravel all the dissenting vernacular memories of the civil war reconstruction eras, contributing to a consensus memory and a united collective identity. White north carolinians. Newspapermen and the political appropriated worth bagley. Body. His name. His funeral and statue. To try to develop a consensus. Whites in North Carolina. North carolina, in the north, in the United States. And in south, essentially wiping the slate and fostering reconciliation in its sentiments. There any questions . Yes city. So we brought up his age of being 20 for a couple of times and i was wondering do you think him being so young was a reason he was a great martyr to coopt. Absolutely because the whole thing i mean, especially back during this victorian era, you know, the most even it go into any sim cemetery from the 1870s, eighties and nineties the most elaborate monuments you will see are those to young folks who lives whose lives were cut short. Its just a part of mourning. And he is just its easy to cling to because its easy to feel sympathy for because he was so young. He had his whole life in its whole ahead of him. And gave up his life for. His country. Yeah. Do you also think him being so, like, imagine maybe what if instead he was 34. Right. He had, you know, lived a little bit longer or maybe is more politically prominent. Maybe hes spread his own ideas more. Do you think it may be also that young age is also an example of he was sort of a blank slate in which people could project their own beliefs onto . Sure. Absolutely. I mean, hed have a record. He didnt have a career. I mean, his career, i think at his funeral, victor blue talk shared a story about bagley playing a role in saving some fishermen who were caught in the storm. But than that, he really didnt have a resume. He could draw. Yeah, you could. You could pretty much say anything about. Right. So had he had a political career, they would have been kind of boxed in about what he what he said, especially if he didnt support the Democratic Party. Him being related. Did you see this . Daniels probably would have, in fact, you know, his grandfather was a member of a prominent member of it. Now, it doesnt mean that they agreed all the time in they do see this daniels actually anti spanishamerican war anti war in cuba while worth bagley took more of the idea with this shield or upon it. Im going and very spartan attitude. Great question. But we dont know. I cant say for sure because it didnt it didnt turn out that. Any other questions . Yes. Based on the speeches given at the dedication of the monument and kind of the original reason for putting this monument up, what it represented. Has there been any talk about the monument down then . No. I mean, its interesting. The wyatt the wyatt monument has been taken down. The daughters of the confederacy was actually they actually used the bagley as justification, erecting their monument to the women of the confederacy. Thats been taken down. I mean, its all about what most people dont know the history of it. I actually walked to a Dunkin Donuts the other day they had a they had a mural of the the capitol. Yeah Dunkin Donuts and its the statue was right there and i somebody is like, do you know who that is . No. It looked at me like i was crazy and walked away. And so its but you go and look it. I mean, lets look at the statue. Seal, the us navy. Its a its a monument to an american sailor, yet it attaches those to that monument. But then those words fade unless you were there. Lets do the research. You dont know. So thats why. Thats why monument building was such a big thing because it transmits message across time and space. Right. So those words that were spoken there basically did not stick. Yeah, they werent. They werent inscribed in stone. But yes, when you look it. But again, thats also a product of the politics of the era. Right. It had doesnt have a lot to do with worth bagley again. He was dead. We dont know what his politics would have been. And. So thats a great question. Have people have asked, you know, do you think this should be taken down . Thats not for me to decide. I mean, if you just take it at face value, hes an american sailor. But then when you go through and look it deeper, you do see there are connections to white supremacy, confection, connection to the confederacy, but not one that the general public is aware of. Right. It was very clear what the Confederate Monument that they tore down in the summer 2020, because it had the seal of the confederacy on it. Right. Yeah. I mean, is is is it worth conversation . Ill leave that to you all to think about and reflect on and to write about. Okay. Any other. Yes. I did have a question when you were quoting from daniels. He called it the civil. At what point did it become the other day in the war of northern aggression . When did that kind. That started immediately. Yeah. I mean, that was in. Oh, no, his name escapes him right now. But you know, the book, the lost, that was published in 1866 called it that. Right. So in that and that was that was a contemporary term. Thats what they called it at the time. And it depends on a certain point of view. Right for for some people, the reasons people thought the civil war. Very i mean we know we we accept at least in academia that it was about slavery. You know, the argument that theyre defending states rights like. Okay well whats the right that theyre defending you know, the right to own another person. Yeah. That thats what long been a term thats not a modern. Oh. Oh yeah. Any other quotes. Great questions. All well, i will let you all go. And again, i think when youre when youre reflecting on worth bagley, think about him in the story, in the context of what was going on in North Carolina at the time with the end of the fusion movement, the disinformation heisman that africanamerican voters and the beginning of the progressive movement. Okay. This, we hope you are curry enjoying your lunch and are getting your fill, but we will now move on to our featured address. Introducing our speaker today is richard hough. Mr. Huff is