[emailed June 9, 1997]

NO WATER FOR YOU, YANK

An announcement to all recipients of the Tim Perkins' Southern Partisan Moment (or, if you prefer, Historical Monday):

I, Tim Perkins, faithful Southern partisan, apologist, and generally unreconstructed Confederate, am finally graduating (again) from Auburn. Within one week I will have returned to my home in Huntsville and resumed my diligent search for employment. While this has obvous implications for every area of life, it concerns you, dear reader, in only one--email. After I leave Auburn University I will no longer have access to its extensive state of the art computing facilities, as well as the local access number for campusMCI, my Internet provider. Although my zeal for things Confederate will by no means abate or even slacken, it will become exceedingly difficult to continue to utilize the wonders of telecommunications technology to pass this zeal on to you, in the form of electronic mail messages detailing the Late Unpleasantness.

But never fear.

I long ago made a decision that I will have email for the rest of my life. And since I also love the history of the Old South and the Cause for which her noble sons bled and died, this means that I will be emailing you all stories, every Sunday evening.....for the rest of my life. Or until I run out of money for books and Internet access.

So don't worry. Even though I'll be checking my email long distance for awhile until I switch to a local provider in Huntsville, these stories will continue to appear on your server every Monday as you come into work, to brighten your day and start your week off properly. Count on it.

When my address changes, I'll be sure to let you know. Also, one other thing; I'm starting occasionally get email from people wanting to be added to this list and wanting copies of past mailings. I'm always more than happy to oblige, but I'm a little forgetful when it comes to re-mailing old messages to new recipients. So I've made it easy--I've put all the old stories on my Web page, so you can read them at your leisure. I'll still mail out new ones every week, and now I'll archive the old ones so you can read them again. The URL is http://www.auburn.edu/~perkitw/south.html

But enough of this talk. Let's go to Murphreesboro, Tennessee, on December 31, 1862..... --------------------------

One question people constantly ask is, "Why did the South fight?" The answers vary; some say to protect their holdings, some say to defend their rights, some say out of natural belligerence. But in truth, the answer is very simple.

The South fought because we were *invaded.*

Reasons for secession are stickier, of course. But the reasons for fighting are very, very simple--defense of home and family. And to back up this point, I offer the words of a private in the Confederate army of Tennesse on the first day of the Battle of Murphreesboro, as related by Dr. James McDonough in the book _Stones River_. The Confederates have attacked the Union right flank and pushed it back, and are pressing the advantage when this particular soldier comes across an Yank lying on the ground, wounded and thirsty:

"There were...Yank-Reb meetings involving the wounded...that seemed about as bitter as the worst fighting. Dave Sublee of the 1st Tennesee stumbled across a wounded Union soldier who asked for a drink of water. Looking down at the man, Sublee asked him the name of his regiment. After answering the question the Federal added, 'A damned good regiment too; and if we had many such you wouldn't have been here.'

'Well,' replied Sublee, his temper flaring, 'but you are here, and you want a drink of water. Well, I won't give you a drop, for I have no doubt that when you are home you live near a running creek or a big spring and, damn you! that's where you ought to be right now!'"