Footsteps of History & Trail of Tears

Today's History Lesson...America's Footsteps

From one year to the next, historical events fill the calendar...from the past to the present into the future. Some are remembered on a annual basis, even to having their own day of celebration being designated as a special calendar event. Others are remembered only when reminded of their significance in America's poignant history. 

On this day, June 25, first reflect on historical footprints, tears follow...

It took war for America to win its independence in 1776; then, civil war almost tore a nation apart!

On this day in history. . . 

June 25, 1864: Pennsylvania troops begin digging a tunnel toward the Rebels at Petersburg, Virginia, in order to blow a hole in the Confederate lines and break the stalemate. . .

American Civil War

Footsteps of History

It is a sad day when events provoke attacks

that set brother against brother and father against son.

How heart rendering that must be;

yet, it is a decisive turning point in America’s history.

Take a myriad of steps back in time

When brother fought against brother

An era that terrified the country

Every father, every mother

Unimaginable circumstances

Sent sons of one nation into battle

Internal war raging unmercifully

Bore conflicts that to this day still rattle

Family, friends, loved ones

Separated or parted forever

Thousands suffered and died

All on behalf of freedom’s endeavor

Soldiers hungry, ragged and dirty

Fell exhausted from heavy artillery

Freezing, drizzling, miserable rains

Contributed to life’s daily misery

Away from the battlefields

A sense of calm lulled

Within panoramic views

Thoughts lingered and mulled

In the wake of faint dawn

Soldiers shared last desires

Snuggling close to stay warm

Beside the bivouac fires

Walk in the footsteps of history

Relive vivid stories that do declare

Tales of morbid pain and suffering

As well as humor in times of despair

 ©2013 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults

Connecting the past to the present…

"I am passionately interested in understanding how my country works.
And if you want to know about this thing called the United States of America
you have to know about the Civil War."
—Ken Burns (1953-Present)

Also on this day in history. . .

June 25, 1876: Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana's Little Bighorn River. . .

 The Battle of Little Bighorn

George Armstrong Custer

Sitting Bull



Custer and his troops in 1864

Custer's Last Stand

 Prelude to Indian Uprising

Painting by Robert Lindneux in 1942 commemorating
the suffering of the Cherokee people under forced removal.
(Image Credit: The Granger Collection, New York)

There are many events leading up to the defeat of Custer but none any more devastating to the native American Indian than the Trail of Tears. What did they do that was so wrong to provoke brutally closing the curtain on their native American culture?

Stripped of their dignity, the Cherokee people became victims in one of the saddest episodes of our brief history. Whether man, woman, infant, or young child, all were taken from their land, herded like cattle into makeshift living quarters with minimal facilities and food, then forced to march overland to a destination neither of their choice nor free will.

Amazing Grace in Cherokee -Native American

Trail of Tears
(The Trail Where They Cried)

The forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation stemmed from
tensions between Georgia (not yet a state) and the United States.
One of the saddest moves in American history
forced the Cherokee to march one thousand miles
under horrible conditions to the Western United States.

the Cherokee Nation

gave up its epic lands

not solely of free will

but government demands

coerced to march overland

sadness loomed, many died

Indians hailed the journey

"the trail where they cried"

hungry, cold and exhausted
they lumbered onward

saying nothing, feeling lost

heads tilted downward

images of the old nation

give way to somber wails

bodies of family and friends

lay buried near the trail

men, women, and children all cry

as many, many days pass

from the Mississippi River

to Oklahoma, alas

for one to picture

such a dismal plight

it would have to be

the darkest of night

visions of desolation

were endlessly seen

only memories remained

of their native scene

©2013 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults

On Trail of Tears:

But their land, located in parts of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, was valuable, and it grew to be more coveted as white settlers flooded the region.

 

“I fought through the Civil War and have seen

men shot to pieces and slaughtered by thousands
but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew.”

—Georgia militiaman who participated in the “roundup” of the Cherokee Indians