Talk:John Brown Gordon

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The following users are actively contributing on this topic and may be able to help with questions about verification and sources: Hlj (Hal Jespersen) (talk • watchlist • email)

[edit] Barlow - Gordon incident

Note that while many historians indeed dismiss the Barlow - Gordon incident as an embellishment on the part of Gordon, recent research by Georgia author Gregory C. White has revealed that the earliest records on this subject are from Northern sources, predating Gordon's speaking tours and his memoirs.

Scott Mingus

I was wondering about that. If the story is true, then it isn't apocryphal. Bubba73 00:17, July 24, 2005 (UTC)

PS, since it is in Gordon's book as a fact, instead of being a friend-of-a-friend tale, I think it should be called "possibly apocryphal". I tend to believe that it is not apocryphal. Bubba73 22:56, July 24, 2005 (UTC)

If you don't buy 'apocryphal', how about 'ridiculous'? Barlow and Gordon were division commanders in opposing armies through 1864-65. The chance that Gordon didn't know Barlow was alive after 1863 is absurd. Hal Jespersen 23:11, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

Hal, you should read Greg White's research. He traces the origin of the story to Barlow, years before Gordon's speaking tour, where he popularized the story and certainly embellished it quite a bit. White' premise is that Gordon and Barlow did indeed meet on the field after the battle. I still have a tough time buying the part about not knowing each other was alive, but there are some who totally dismiss the fact that the two generals did indeed meet. I have found in carefully studying Gordon for my upcoming book that he tended to exaggerate often, but there is a kernel of truth in virtually all his other stories. Scott Mingus 00:16, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

Well, provide a citation and I'll think about it. I think that the meet-on-the-battlefield part of the story is arguable, but uninteresting. (There's also the matter of whether Barlow's wife actually met with Gordon in Gettysburg and I tend to doubt that, too.) The meet-in-Washington story is fascinating, but bogus, IMHO. Hal Jespersen 02:06, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

I emailed Greg White and he gave me a lot of details - contemporary newspaper accounts, other sources, etc. He said that his research was published "a few years ago" in Blue & Gray magazine as a response to an article written by Gettyburg historian Gary Kross, and that his research wasn't contradicted by the author of the original article. I can't give a citation, but someone with B&G could look it up. I think he also mentioned that it might be in a future book. I'm out of here. Bubba73 16:03, August 4, 2005 (UTC)

The article by Kross and White's response are now in the references. The story was told first by Garlow and later by Gordon. It was reported in several newspapers in March 1879, from a reporter for the Boston Transcript. It was in the National Tribune, the Dublin Post, and others. It was in the New York Times on July 4, 1888. White emailed me that he has found several other sources and references since his response was published, and it is to be in his book "Georgia at Gettysburg" in a few years.Bubba73 (talk), 19:03, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Past lives

Just in case nobody's seen this, it might make an interesting addition to the article.

http://www.confederateyankee.net/

http://usa-civil-war.com/Books/books_general.html

Mithridates 14:36, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Wife in congress?

The article said "Gordon married Fanny Haralson, daughter of Hugh Anderson Haralson, in 1854. She represented Georgia in Congress for many years after the Civil War." (emphasis added)

I found nothing about her being in congress. This website doesn't mention it: Fanny, so I'm changing "she" to "he" unless someone knows that she was in congress. Bubba73 [[User_talk:Bubba73|(talk)]] 03:08, 17 November 2005 (UTC)