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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2015 09:11pm
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The Band
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The Weight
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Don_P
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2015 11:52pm - Edited by: Don_P
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I enjoy these, and maybe have some trivia.
Stoneman's cavalry came through here more than once tearing up track. It was too difficult to maintain a supply line back into WV so up here it was hit and run. These tracks were built on good beds, they were up and running again within days. After the federals burned the "long bridge" over the New River, the rebels rebuilt it in green oak. Several more attempts were made to burn it but it wouldn't ignite. If the Yankee's had figured out a couple of things they would have tried harder.
The tracks they were tearing up occasionally but halfheartedly ran from Saltville "The Salt Capitol of the Confederacy", and Leadmines down to Danville and the junction into Richmond or down into NC. This era was prior to refrigeration, salt was a critical preservative. After the NC coast fell, the underground salt domes high up in the mountains of VA were mined for that preservative. That salt ran the confederate mess. By the end of the war the lead that left Leadmines, a little further down the track, was leaving a rifle in Richmond within a week. They didn't realize just how crucial that little rail line was. The creek that is alongside the railbed through this section is, Cripple Creek.
From another line in that song, a little family story from my Dad's side. During the breakout the rebels climbed out of their defensive entrenchments surrounding Petersburg, dashed across open ground to take 3 beseiging federal forts. My ancestor's company drove the defenders out of Fort Stedman. "They were hungry, just barely alive"... they foraged the fort rather than securing theirs and the other forts. The others had done the same. They must have been truly suffering. Several minutes later, the Federals regained the flanking forts and everyone had to make a 400 yard dash under grape and canister fire. It was really part of the diversion to let the main body get out. After he healed and was paroled he walked all the way home on one leg and tried to rebuild the life they had. They never met, that I know of, but he ended up in the same POW camp as my mother's great grandfather George.
From what became the rear of the main body of Lee's Army as divisions were destroyed in the van, there is one story of what went on in the days between that night in Richmond and the final surrender. scroll down to "The flag of the 44th"
https://archive.org/stream/reminiscenceof1800bing/reminiscenceof1800bing_djvu.txt
I think Levon Helm did a very good job relating the enduring aftermath of the conflict. That hurt that he captures was still there in the old folks of my youth.
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bowtie1
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 07:34am
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Big fan of The Band and Robbie Robertson as a solo artist.
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buckybuck
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 09:39am
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I loved the band, the song, and the history. We just watched "The Last Waltz" on Netflix for the umpteenth time. But one thing about that song always left me scratching my head. Did Southerners really sing "Na, na la, na, na, la" that night?
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 11:10am
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I think Robertson is the only one still alive.
Wife told me he was writing music now.
I've always said, "Anyone 50 years old or older has seen the best this world had to offer."
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rmak
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 11:23am
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I believe Garth Hudson is still alive too.
As far as the Civil War, when I was in the military in So. Carolina and Georgia I heard this for the first time:
"In the South we call the period between Lee's surrender and now half time."
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 11:28am
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Quoting: Don_P Stoneman's cavalry came through here more than once tearing up track. It was too difficult to maintain a supply line back into WV so up here it was hit and run. These tracks were built on good beds, they were up and running again within days. After the federals burned the "long bridge" over the New River, the rebels rebuilt it in green oak. Several more attempts were made to burn it but it wouldn't ignite.
Definitely a lot of good oak in WV. I used to drive a flatbed and picked up hardwood flooring in WV. Some of the nicest stuff I picked up.
Best people too! The only place I went where they loaded me, tarped my load, and shook my hand all at the same time.
On another note. I am astonished at what a man did and could do back in those days.
And they didnt even have an i-pad. 
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 01:33pm - Edited by: OutdoorFanatic
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Quoting: rmak "In the South we call the period between Lee's surrender and now half time."
LoL! there's definitely has been one heck of a halftime show.
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 01:37pm
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Quoting: rmak I believe Garth Hudson is still alive too.
You're right! I looked it up and he is still alive.
Made me smile. Thanks
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rmak
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2015 08:37pm
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Quoting: OutdoorFanatic You're right! I looked it up and he is still alive.Made me smile. Thanks
I don't know if it's legend or fact, but the story is that Garth, who was a classically trained musician, would tell his parents he was giving the other members of The Band music lessons so they would accept the fact he was hanging around with a rock band.
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beachman
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2015 06:21am
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Levon Helm ended up in Woodstock NY where he put on midnight rambles at his studio with many other great musicians. When he and Robbie split, it wasn't amicable. Levon passed away I think, in or around 2010, but his daughter, Amy carries on the midnight rambles at the studio. She is very talented. It is a great place to go and I highly recommend it. Rick Danko used to play there but died several years before Levon and they both are buried in the Woodstock graveyard.
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2015 06:16pm
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And the studio is in Woodstock? Does it have a name or is it just a studio?
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beachman
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2015 06:25pm
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It's just Levon Helm studios off Plochmann Lane in Woodstock, NY. It is a great experience. It's in a barn-type setting with a small stage, a main floor and a balcony. Probably seats a hundred or so.
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