 I think it's absolutely incredible that we have Ralph Diemahn as a, as our presenter today, especially after this rousing discussion by Elliott. Ralph, it probably has had what I would consider the ideal career, because he's combined history with landscape or state parks or national parks. His last gig, his last gig was at the National Historic Park, which is fabulous. I'm sure you've all been there, which is the Mars Billings Rockefeller Historic Park, which is outside Woodstock. It's an incredible place, which combines everything you want to know about the forested landscape with agriculture. I mean, it is just in, it is Vermont in a place, everything together. He's also been able to, and I have to say this as a personal aside. When I go to a historic site, often the park rangers are more informed and better spoken about the site than almost anyone else I've met. The first time I went to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the park ranger blew me away. Just period. His knowledge of what happened in that spot was spectacular. And so you've had the great jobs and they're now focusing more on history and he's going to tell us about the Vermonters and the blockade board backdoor war during the Civil War. And this is something we don't really hear much about. I first came across Ralph when he gave a presentation, which his book is on. He gave his presentation last year at the Shelburne Farms. He's written a book with Ethan Carr called Olmsted in Yosemite, Civil War abolition and the National Park idea. And it really put some great sensibility into the concept of how actually the National Parks were developed. And not something that Teddy Roosevelt bullied through with a whip. So, Ralph, please. Well, thank you, Carolyn. First of all, thank you for the invitation and I'm happy to, I wish I could have joined you today, but I'm happy to see everyone. And I'm happy to learn here about Elliott's work on the monitor barn as an adjunct associate professor in the historic preservation program at UVM. I'm terribly proud of people like Elliott who go through the program and are able to not only apply various skills, but do it here in Vermont and improve the built landscape for all of us to enjoy. That program is so vital and to see people like Elliott coming out of it just is heartening. Thank you, Carolyn. You're you've been a real trooper. And I also want to thank Angie, Angie Grove back there, who is a can do person. By definition, she can seems to be able to apply her energy and solve any problem that comes her way. It's really remarkable. We could have used a few more angies in the National Park Service, I can tell you that. And I also want to just do a quick shout out to my friend Sarah Dop only because Sarah has done so much for just about everyone you know in Vermont. She's a compassionate and hard worker, and the state owes her huge debt of gratitude for all the boards and groups she's worked on. So what am I going to talk about this afternoon well. I'm going to tell you a little background I started on the subject. When I was researching my book on homestead in Yosemite and you may scratch your head and wonder what Vermont has to do with that and certainly what the Civil War might have to do with that. But in fact, you know, my research took me to the coast of South Carolina actually Port Royal. And the social revolution that was sparked there by the arrival of federal troops very early on in the Civil War, that really accelerated emancipation. The whole process in fact a process of self emancipation that made the, in some respects made the formal emancipation proclamation inevitable. And this was the movement of formerly enslaved people to freedom on their own on their own volition into the sanctuary of federal lines. But this got me looking at well where did where did these US soldiers arrive from and and what were they doing on the edge of the continent in South Carolina and in fact they were not only there they were in Georgia and lo and behold they were in Louisiana. And where did who were they, where do they come from and in fact, this story is about the fact that some number of them actually came from here. We're recruited in Vermont and sent. And it's really going to be hard for you and I'll show some slides but it's going to be hard for you to get your head around what they had to think about which was going from the snows of Brattleboro. All the way around by ship, down the coast of the United States around hooked around the Florida keys and found themselves in the Gulf of New Mexico. And if, if they underwent a journey to the far to the to the moon, and that's what it was really like for many of them, I would say really that they went to the far side of them. Because this was unlike anything that ever experienced before. So I got interested in this story because there's a social component to this it's not just military history. This backdoor war which was fought along the coastline of the deep south. But it was far from those main battlefields of the Civil War that we are so familiar with. This is 1000 miles from Gettysburg from Cedar Creek. And yet Vermonter is paid a consequential but really little understood role in the social revolution that was sparked by this backdoor war first by arming and training freedmen freed freed formerly enslaved. Then by actually accepting commissions to command and to lead the first black soldiers. And finally in the service of the freedman's bureau during the era of reconstruction. So Vermonters had a part of the part of the story of each of these events which really is tied to the story of probably the greatest transformation in the history of this country which was the ending of slavery. The attempt to provide civil rights to a population that had been brought over in bondage. So bear with me, and I'm going to switch to my slides here. Take me a moment. I just got to show you two, two, two images that you should be familiar with one is a mid century 19th century map of Vermont. With a recruitment poster sandwiched it between a map of Louisiana and this is really how this story played out. Now just a little bit of background. I want to talk about a US government agency far older than the National Park Service and that is the US Coastal Survey, and you may ask, what the heck does Vermont have to do with the US Coastal Survey and it's a legitimate question. This was an organization that was created in 19 and 1807 by Thomas Jefferson. Their job was surveying the coastline of the United States. This was very important to the country to be able to know its coast. It was a lot of its revenue came from import duties and they wanted to know where ships were coming through. And so this was the organization and also they wanted safe navigation so they needed to put markers down and lighthouses and needed nautical charts. This organization became known as the nation's chart maker. And the gentleman on the right is the first director and he was a director from 1844 right through the Civil War and we'll get to him in a minute. But if you're wondering what happened to the US Coastal Survey, if you're familiar with NOAA, that's the successor agency today. And so this is what they produce. This is a map of the coastline, southern coastline, from the Panhandle of Florida to the head of the passes, which is the entrance to the Great Mississippi River. The mouth of the Mississippi on the lower left, the Panhandle of Florida on the far right, and the coastline of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These charts became invaluable when the Civil War broke out. But there was one other thing that the US Coastal Survey produced and this is a remarkable map. This map is still, I have to say, I've done as much reading as I can on it and it's still a bit of a mystery. In terms of its timing, its creation, it was a product of the Coastal Survey who had lots of map makers, very talented map makers. And then they had access to the 1860 census. And this is a very early statistical map that's shaded to show the density of enslaved people, county by county, throughout the south. And this map was to become absolutely essential in the conduct of the Civil War and I'll explain that later. But this map was created, released in early in 1861 Lincoln administration, hadn't been a month or two in office. And I have no idea how long they've been working on this. It's a there's backstory here would be fascinating but this became an absolutely essential document for the prosecution of the Civil War. Now, as soon as the war broke out that there was a real challenge because let me jump a slide forward. The only way to really win this war that they need two things needed to happen one they had to shut down the export of cotton from the Confederacy, because that was its cash crop, and it was the largest cash crop in the whole United States. And to do that they had to blockade 3500 miles of coastline. It's a phenomenal undertaking the United States maybe was small. That was almost 200 different inlets harbors and rivers, where commerce were trade pass through. And ports and ports like Pensacola, Florida, Norfolk, Virginia, Mobile, Alabama, Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, North Carolina, Charleston, course in South Carolina and Galveston and Texas and the two big ones, Savannah, and the biggest of all New Orleans. And to do this, they essentially resorted to kind of a skunkworks effort very early in the war they assigned four guys to sit in an office in the Smithsonian Castle. The only Smithsonian Institute was a quiet corner space. Bach was on the board and was it was maybe I think he may have been running it at that point, one of his many assignments so that was not a problem to get space there and for four months, they poured over these charts, figuring out how the heck are they going to be able to affect a blockade of 3500 miles of coastline. In four months, they came up with a plan, and they drew on the inspiration of an earlier idea that was of old Winfield Scott was it was a general the army up until about time the Civil War broke out but he had a concept which he called the anaconda plant. And if you can, you can see this from this cartoon, the anaconda of course the great snake, and his idea was to strangle the Confederacy. And essentially, this blockade would be like a giant snake, and they would squeeze the economic life out of the south and it would the war would be over with hardly a shot being fired. Well, it didn't quite work out that way, but the plan had some merit. And so the blockade board came up with this idea that they would establish these blockading squadrons along the southeastern coastline and also in the Gulf, that would prevent blockade runners and merchant ships from supplying the south, one with cotton and two bringing in munitions that were absolutely essential for the continuation of the war. But to do that, they had to land troops and establish bases along certain points on the coast. They couldn't send their blockading ships back up to Brooklyn Navy Yard or Washington Navy Yard to get resupplied recalled refueled and send them all the way back there they had to stay on station. So they needed bases that were in the south. And so the plan was to seize a little bits of land along the coast, and these blue arrows are the points in which the blockade board recommended incursions. One is on the coast of North Carolina one was around Point Royal which I referred to. One was at the mouth of the Savannah River, Fort Pulaski, which shut off the great harbor of Savannah. But one was also in the mouth of the Mississippi River to essentially plug it up by seizing New Orleans and New Orleans was the great prize. New Orleans was the largest commercial port in the Confederacy gateway to the Mississippi Valley. It was, it was the most strategic prize objective of the war at that point. Now, so where does Vermont come into this story well. They needed troops along with ships. And so they went to Vermont and asked for about 2000 Vermont soldiers to regiments, 7th and 8th Vermont to be part of an expeditionary army that would be sent to capture New Orleans very early on in the war in the spring of 1862. Now, it took a while to get there they first had to leave their camp in Brattleboro they had to board a train they had to go down New Haven Connecticut, get on a ferry steam up Long Island sound march to the Brooklyn Navy yard and board ships in New York Harbor and put the sea. And they did this, and it was hellacious. It took 26 days. And there's a small map in the lower right hand corner just to show you this, a small piece of the coastline there, but they had to go all the way down the southeast coastline hook around the keys. And then they landed in a speck of land they landed in this tiny island off the coast of Mississippi called ship island a deserted uninhabited place inhabited only by mosquitoes and sand flies. And it was miserable. And of course you're talking about these guys who who left Vermont, while there was still snow on the ground in April, and we're just bombarded by heat in May in this Gulf environment this was a staggering shift in their environment and of course, you know these were primarily farm boys who had never been off the farm they hadn't been out of the county, let alone out of state and certainly hadn't been on a ship. And certainly never never been in the tropics. They had also very little resistance to disease as a consequence there were far more casualties inflicted by yellow fever and malaria and dysentery than there were by Confederate bullets. And it was, it was truly unworld an unworldly experience. Now, I'm going to just just say that the battle was fought to open up the Mississippi River and New Orleans was captured. And Vermonters found themselves part of a federal army that was a United States Army that was stationed in Louisiana. This was, you know, a difficult assignment and in fact, this is a some photographs I took years ago and shall met Louisiana along the Mississippi River. And a lot of those boys, you know, their bodies are still they're still interred in Louisiana, including this, this soldier who's buried right along the Mississippi River on the seventh Vermont Joseph Bordeaux. The commander of the seventh eighth Vermont. A guy named John, John Wolcott Phillips, who he was a regular soldier or West pointer, but he was also an abolitionist and when he landed on ship island he had a copy of his own emancipation proclamation in his pocket. The Republican administration hadn't issued any of anything and from Washington and Congress hadn't done anything. So the war department was very unhappy with Phelps and Lincoln in particular didn't want to be usurped by a field officer. But, you know, as soon as those troops got got into the Delta region. Took their own course. And within a year or so 150,000 enslaved people and liberated themselves and self emancipated themselves without waiting for Washington to to codify any any proclamation or any law. And this massive movement, this social revolution that occurred, which the Vermonters found themselves right in the middle of was a remarkable event that in fact put great pressure on the Lincoln administration to move its agenda to accelerate its own plans for emancipation. This is just a graphic from actually that's for Pulaski on the Savannah coastline but this is what went on all along the coast where these incursions occurred. They were, you know, I showed you that map of the density of slaves it just so happened and this is the world of maybe intended maybe unintended consequences. The incursions were in places with some of the densest populations of enslaved labor and labor farms in in the United States. And the gentleman in the middle is this fellow Phelps. And when enslaved people got to seek sanctuary in his in his camps. He was given orders to put them to work that's what they were good for they were laborers. He had his own plants, he started drilling them as soldiers and he formally requested rifles and arms and ammunition for the new formations of black soldiers that he was in the process of raising. You know, timing is everything he was really about two months too soon. He was two months ahead of Abraham Lincoln. He waited for another two months, he would have been, you know, a hero. But he was impatient. And he insisted that the time was now. And the War Department didn't agree. And he got it he was really angry that when the arms he requested were withheld, and he resigned his commission and went back to Vermont. And a flash forward a few months later the Emancipation Proclamation is law is now going to be announced. The militia act passes Congress which authorizes African Americans to fight as soldiers in the United States Army. And Lincoln actually approaches Phelps and offers him it offers him command of all black regiments that are now to be raised. And Phelps says fine, but I want to apology first. And Lincoln doesn't didn't do apologies. And Phelps stayed in Vermont. And things moved on. So, there was a rapid mobilization of black soldiers now that that story is complicated. At first they were paid only half or a third of what white soldiers would be paid they were not armed as well. And just a quick note. You can tell how important this map became that I've been talking about. When you look more carefully at Francis Bicknell carpenters painting of Abraham Lincoln presenting the draft pro emancipation proclamation to his cabinet in September of 1862. And Bicknell actually includes a reproduction of the map in the lower corner and you look at the green arrow. That's the coastal survey map. No question. You could see that I've blown up a piece of quadrant of it right next to it. And this was used now it at first it was the block a board was had its own objectives but clearly once the decision was made that the it was absolutely essential to raise black soldiers to help the United States win the war. And then it became a very useful document for figuring out where to go to recruit soldiers. And by the war is closed by about 181865. There were about 180,000 black soldiers in the United States Army. It was a substantial part 20% of frontline troops and essential to the war. Two sidebar real quickly to two quick observations, one by a Confederate general, who was very worried about the recruitment of formerly enslaved soldiers and he recommended that the labor farms or plantations move their enslaved people away from advancing federal troops. And he, because he argued of our plantations are made his recruiting grab stations, every sound black male left for the enemy becomes a soldier, who we will have to fight afterwards. He, Kirby, Kirby Smith understood that this was a game changer that enslaved people were going to return. But this time they were going to be wearing the uniform of the United States Army, and they're going to have a rifle in their hands. And no one understood the political implications of this better than Frederick Douglass, who wrote once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters us. Let him get an eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket and there's no power on earth, but to that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States. Now there were 150. I need to mention they were 150 black room honors, who fought in the United States color troops, which is the US ST UC ST, which is the abbreviation for all the black regiments that were raised, but they include 12 veterans who are very just down the street from me at the River Street Cemetery. At first the very first black regiments had colored officers had black officers. But you know the sad story is that in fact you know you're aware that the army was segregated from the very beginning. And they would not accept these black officers and after a while they were purged essentially replaced. And they needed new officers they need white officers. And they saw these officers in the ranks of federal troops by offering them promotions and they saw the vast majority of them were going to be either non commission officers, or enlisted men, and they were going to get a commission as an officer of the United States Army and it was this a big step up but for a lot of Ramoners it meant a boost in pay. And so there were some who are radio officers like Hiram Perkins, who was in the eighth Vermont who later joined this 73rd was commander of the 73rd US color troops, and someone like Rufus Kingsley who was a corporal. And he accepted a commission in the 74th USCT as a first lieutenant. Now this was not an easy choice to make for any of these Vermonters. And this Vermont, which was in Louisiana had between four to 500 active officers and men present for duty at any given time. And in 1862 day 63, no fewer than 42 actually offered their services and receive commissions in colored regiments. And that were enlisted men or NCOs. That was about 10% of the regiment that's, that's extraordinary that's about four times the average of any other regiment in the federal army and why was this true of the eighth Vermont I don't know exactly. They faced some daunting issues, and the commander of these troops the guy who essentially took over where Phelps declined Daniel Oman General Oman, wrote after the war they were selected by me as men who will be competent against the vehement and bitter opposition of friends and foes of our government to accept an appointment in a colored regiment was in fact facing a whirlwind of prejudice to invite the desertion of friends and the implacable hatred of enemies. The former they met with sorrow, the latter with derision. Now, given the amount of race prejudice across not only in the south but across the north service as a officer in a black regiment was, you know, it was a whirlwind of prejudice that had to be overcome. And in addition, when they the implacable hatred of enemies was not just rhetorical. If they had been captured and that some were captured on the battlefield they knew that they would not be treated as prisoners of war according to the rules of law. President Davis had and the Confederate Congress had enacted a law that said any white person, commanding Negroes or mulattoes in arms should be deemed as inciting servile insurrection and should if captured be put to death. So this was, you know, this, this was a substantial risk as well. It was a great risk. And some Vermonters in fact were captured at the Battle of Fort Hudson in Louisiana. Abraham Lincoln had to do something. If he had done nothing and because the threat was to fall one they were going to kill white officers, execute them on the spot, and they were any black soldiers who were recaptured captured, whether they had been formerly slaved or free free men. Free free citizens. If they had been captured, they would have been re enslaved. So they were desperate desperately seeking black recruits, so they had to do something. And what the Lincoln administration did. And this, this is the words of Abraham Lincoln it is the duty of every government to give protection to its citizens of whatever class, color, or condition. And the duty to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service. So these were not just hollow words Lincoln backed it up and said that for every soldier who was killed in retaliation Confederate soldier prisoner of war would be executed. Every person enslaved by the enemy and so or sold in the slavery, a rebel soldier should be placed at hard labor on the public works. This was general order 233. And this was critical this, you know, the, the he had to act. And this was to some degree, a break on the threats that were being made against these these both black and white soldiers. Now I'm going to wrap up by making a few observations about reconstruction following the conclusion of the war. And this continued involvement of Vermonters, even in this period of reconstruction, when all the troops essentially had been sent home from the battlefield. And we're finally if they had survived the terrible war, they were finally at home, except those who chose to join something called the Freemans Bureau and stay in the cell and fight for civil rights. The Freemans Bureau, which was founded in 1865 and lasted about seven years was probably arguably the first social welfare agency in the in the history of the United States. It was there to facilitate the transition of people from slavery to freedom. And they were, they did everything they assisted formerly enslaved people by issuing marriage licenses, helping them find loved ones who had been sold it down the river and in bondage. So they could find family members who had been split up by slave masters. They supply necessities such as food and clothing. They set up schools, the first public schools attended by black children in the southern states. They insisted and they codified labor contracts so no one would work in bondage they, everybody who had a job who worked would at least have a contract, which guarantees some wage. And they tried at least for a time to settle Friedman on abandoned or confiscated lands. Now all of these activities were hamstrung, a large part by President Andrew Johnson and but there were this Freemans Bureau was certainly a concerted effort by the United States government to try to do the right thing. And there are five Vermonters I'm going to just quickly call out who were involved in this. There's a guy named William Stickney, who was in the eighth Vermont regiment went to Louisiana later was an officer in the 99th USCT. He was the first superintendent of public colored schools in the city of New Orleans. And he became a general superintendent of the Freemans Bureau for all of Northwestern Louisiana. There was Frederick M. Kimball another Vermont are you from the sixth Vermont regiment, who was seconded as an officer. You know they they needed staff people for for the Freemans Bureau so they, they actually borrow active duty officers who were willing to continue their duty in the United States Army and work for the Freemans Bureau and he was superintendent of the Bureau's offices and in a number of counties in Virginia he supervised voter registration and elections and the establishment of colored schools. Now, multiple times he was threatened and shot out by the Klu Klux Klan. But he stuck with it. And when the Freemans Bureau was finally disbanded by Congress. He received an honorable discharge after seven uninterrupted years of military service. It's a remarkable record. The probably the best known person in this group is a guy named Marshall Twitchell. He was discovered by PBS in their documentary on some of you might have seen on reconstruction. He had an ill fated political career in Louisiana. But he worked for time for the Freemans Bureau, and later when involved in Republican politics in Louisiana he was very nearly killed. Lost both his arms and assassination attempt by the Klan. And there was a black man free black man from Vermont. Loudon Langley who served with the 33rd USCT. And he was very active. He became a lawyer during reconstruction. He moved to South Carolina. He was a participant in the 1868 effort to rewrite the South Carolina Constitution State Constitution. At that time endorsing black citizenship and the amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing black male suffrage and equal access under the law. And lastly, there's a guy named John Dick Dickinson. He fought with the seventh Vermont he ran the Freemans Bureau's offices in Jackson County, Florida. He never came back. He was assassinated by the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. Before he was killed he wrote, I have no ambition to fill a more honorable grave than that of a man who falls for the sake of opinion or conduct that he knows is right, even though everyone else thinks is wrong. And why should we pay more attention to this story today and so this is my punchline and my conclusion. Well, we need to broaden the existing focus that we've had so long and justifiably on heroic Vermont stories associated with the Civil War and its seminal engagements, such as the slide on the left is the great canvas of the battle of Cedar Creek and at the Vermont State House. And, you know, the stories of standards counterattack of Gettysburg or the Cedar Creek, the Vermonters heroic work at Cedar Creek to also to look at the wider context of Vermont's involvement with self emancipation emancipation and reconstruction, because there's a story, there's a story there that needs to also be acknowledged not just the heroism, but also the commitment to social progress. And I included a slide on the right that it was a congressional delegation from the south. In the construction era, where, where there were seven senators and congressman from black senators and congressman from reconstructed states at the high point of reconstruction. That's the story we need to tell as well. I bring this up in the context that there are, you should be aware that there are group of teachers right now I mean right this at this very moment, who are actively working to improve the teaching of reconstruction, and in these hidden stories in Vermont, and they held a teaching reconstruction workshop in Brattleboro back in last March, March 23. And they're trying to get the state of Vermont to pay more attention to this story. One of the organizations who sponsored this the Zen educational project points out that too often the story of this grand experiment and interracial democracy is skipped over or rushed through or in fact in many places across the United States just taught accurately. And one teacher was quoted in the Brattleboro reformer and they wrote a long article on this meeting of teachers workshop that without state expectations to include reconstruction era information as a requirement of the curriculum. Teachers are more likely to choose the context for which they're most comfortable and knowledgeable. So put up to the teachers if they don't have access to current scholarship, they, if they're not encouraged, they will default to what's, they've been doing up to now. And it's not take anything away from our wonderful teachers in the state of Vermont, but they need tools, and they need support and you need encouraging. So that's my presentation for this this afternoon you've been a very patient it's, it there's a complex legacy to this backdoor war. It's not just a military story it's very much the story of the beginning of a major change in this country a transition from slavery to freedom, which is perhaps the most important and inspiring story of this country. I can't couldn't say it any better than at least go, go yet, who wrote in Vermont history back in 2014 that the southern narrative of the war and reconstruction still has a currency in Vermont unfortunately, and we are still struggling to dig ourselves out. We need to continue this struggle by telling real stories of real people from the Civil War to the present. And this history matters to us today. So everyone has been very patient. And if you still have a little energy. I'm going to stop sharing my slides. And if there's time I'll answer a question or two. But thank you for your, your, your polite patients. Anyone have any questions. Caroline and might logistically it might work best if you stand near the laptop. And then when someone has a question if you've been kind of repeated into there in case we can't hear from where the speaker is Kathleen. I would like to know who the last person mentioned was the man who I didn't write was the last person mentioned of the Vermonters on that slide. The one who was killed by the clue flex plan. Yeah. He was up to look at the slide. I think of it in a second. It wasn't stick me wasn't. Dickinson. He was in Florida. He was killed while on duty working for the Freedman's Bureau. Sarah. Yeah, just have to hear something about general. Sarah would like to hear something about general. You know, I ran across is a photograph of his burial. He's buried here in Vermont and I didn't know that until I started preparing for this talk. Howard was the, you know, the Freedman's Bureau was a quasi political military organization. As I explained it, not only did have a lot of staff who were seconded directly from the army, but it's, it's director was appointed from the army. And that's general Howard, who was a very distinguished commander during the Civil War and he was against. It was a really an uphill battle for him, particularly with Andrew Johnson as president. And Sarah, maybe you can fill me in because I don't know a lot about him other than he was director of the Freedman's Bureau and he, he must have live been living in his in retirement in Vermont. Right up on, right across on summit street across from friends about, and it was his son I believe who was responsible for the construction of 48th and Allen. His granddaughter was my mother's sorority sister so. Howard would never have a conversation without reminding you that her grandfather. The university is named Howard University for most black school. Yeah, I almost included the slide because there was a picture of actually of his, the parade that accompanied his burial. Yes. And in, in, I think it was right here and it was not only Chittin County but I think it might have been Burlington. Is he not buried in Lake. Which green one. No, that's where it is. Lakeview cemetery I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I think you're correct. I'm a, I'm a volunteer friend of Lakeview cemetery, and we do it for used to do it annually but coven kind of interrupted that. And we stopped at all of our bonus howards burial site and spend a lot of time telling what he did and how much he contributed. And it was just chance that he ended up in Burlington because his son was the architect of 40 than Alan. I was wondering how he ended up here because he wasn't born. And, you know, and he certainly didn't do any real duty here. Sometimes military officers will retire close to where they, where they serve their last posting. But no, it was his son. Alright, now that certainly explains it. Yeah, no, I could give somebody should be invited to give you a talk just on Howard because it was a remarkable life. And what about Charles Google, the famous general. Well, I was about him. I really don't know very much about him. He's related to Marge sharp. Marge was cool. And he's probably related to me. He's depicted. He went down with his troops, black troops and he's depicted on the bar relief in Boston. Yeah, you know, I'll just reiterate that somebody I'm not going to do it because I have other projects that are. I'm focused on right now but boy, somebody ought to take a look at the large number of reminders who accepted commissions. In those US CT regiments. That, you know, 42 out of 400 is just, you know, there we somebody should look into what was going on there and you know, did it was the service in Louisiana did that happen and must have had an impact. When they were upfront, sort of up up close to the impact of enslavement. And they saw what had been done and the impact and the people who came to their lines. They saw stories of fugitives who made it to the camp of the eighth Vermont and the one of the lower ranking officers wanted to return them to their owner and soldiers would have none of it. You know, there was plenty of prejudice but there was also I think a great unhappiness with the institution of slavery. I was not universal but it took something to step forward and accept a commission and one of these regiments because you're putting your life. Not only you were risking your life on the battlefield but you're risking your life. Should you ever be taken prisoner. Somebody should do tell that story, or at least dig into that a little bit more. Any more questions. Sarah, just to comment on one of the best events we ever had for my historical society in my time involved there was when the twitch old family had a family reunion at VHS and trotted out all the memorabilia much which is now held at VHS. And you know we heard the story in depth. It was fascinating. You know for, I think you know the twitchal story is well known. It's the story of these other people. That I think we ought to pay some attention to because it clearly twitchal was not a one off. And there were other people who somehow found it within themselves to and in some cases really were educators, soldiers and educators. It was an interesting mix who were very keen on helping to set up schools. And as well as you know enforce all the other trying to do all the other things that the Freemans Bureau attempted to do at least. It's just such a rich story and you know when these teachers want to do more with reconstruction in Vermont schools. I hope if you ever have the opportunity to lend a voice of support. It's to tell these stories that are really been forgotten. And they shouldn't. So thank you very very much I'll let you get back to your meeting. Somebody else one more question. If there are a number of Massachusetts 54th, a man buried in Lakeview cemetery right here in Burlington, and we stopped there on a school tour, just this spring, when a teacher just to your point of teaching more broadly about all that era, offered an end of the season experiential kind of thing called creamies and cemeteries. So I have to go on one of those. I thought it might have been cremation. Maybe met both. And we stopped at a couple of those barrier, they're together four or five of them. But it, I thought that was a great way to bring students in and also to not only speak about the generals and World War one and World War two people, but also some people that we don't recognize as remanters from that era, who are right here in our midst. Yeah, just so just so people are if they are if anyone is scratching your head why why are we talking about Massachusetts soldiers here in Vermont is that there wasn't quite enough free black Vermonters to constitute a full regiment. So the nearest essentially they enlisted in the nearest regiment which was the 54th Massachusetts. And they were from towns and cities in Vermont. And they're, you know, all over about 150 or so now not enlisted in one one unit or another. And that's a great story to find their, their, their buried in River Street cemetery I showed a slide of is another place where they're 12 buried side by side, not side by side but within, you know, a small area. They were marked with the star of the Grand Army the Republic to jr. They were members of the veterans organization was integrated. So thank you again. It was wish you well and pleasure, and I'll turn this over to Carolyn. So thank you very much and we're all praying that your house is okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Take care.