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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1963)
10 A MONDAY MARCH IS, 1963 MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON ZS 7- i '. mm CIVIL WAR Saga of The Gallant Pelham' SIGNIFICANT CASUALTY There were 15 (ights at Kelly's Ford, Va during the Civil War and Hie most siRnifleanl casualty occurred on March 17, 1863. That day marked the death of Maj. John Pclham. Pelham joined the Confederate forces and become almost a legend in his own lifetime. He was called "The Gallant" by Gen. Robert E. Lee, who Joined the whole Confederacy in mourning Polham's death. Pelham is shown above in a photo made during the war. (UPI) By MERTON T. AKERS UPI Correspondent The history books call the fight at Kelly's Ford Va., on March 17, 1863 an engage gent. In the language of military men that means the cavalry clash - a minor Federal vic tory - was something less than a battle and something more than a skirmish. All told during the Civil War there were 15 fiRlils of one sort or another at Kelly's Ford which made the history books. Eleven of these were called skirmishes, two were called operations (scouting or two achieved the status of en forage expeditions) and only engagements. This crossing of the Rap pahannock River above Fred crickburg was a sort of "Grand Central Terminal" during the war. Sooner or later, it seemed, everybody In the eastern theater splashed through it. But whether historians call a fight a skirmish nr engage ment or battle, those few who get killed in . one of these small affairs arc no lers dead than if they had fallen storming a parapet under the eyes of thousands. They sim ply die obscurely, likely as not wilh never a line in an official dispatch. Or per haps they arc burled where they fell and their names be come only another In a long column of casualties. Of the 211 casualties re corded on both sides in the March 17 affair at Kelly's Ford, the only death which the history books talk about in detail was that of Maj. John Pelham, called "The Ga- lam Pelham." In War From Start Pclham had been in the war almost from the start. He was studying at West Point and soon after his native slate of Alabama seceded he resigned. In May 1861 he made his way through the Federal lines and enlisted in the Confederate artillery. He fought as a captain with distinction at both battles of Bull Run and on the Penin sula. At Anticttim he was made a major for gallantry. He handled the horse artil lery for Gen. J. E. B. Stuart with a spirit never before pliown In that arm. He even Invented new tactics. It was at the battle of Fred erlckiburg where he earned the name of "The Gallant." It was bestowed by none other than Gen. Robert E. Lee when Pelham with two guns held up the advance of a Federal division. "It is glorious to see such courage in one so young," Lee raid of him that day. Col. W. W. Blackford, Stuart's engineering officer, described Pclham as "tall, slender, beautifully propor tioned and very graceful, a superb rider and as brave as Julius Ceasar." Blackford, who often read aloud to Pelham from mar tial books, added that he was "as grand a flirt' as ever lived." The blonde, bluc-cyed Pcl ham took part In the Kelly's THIS VEER ...in Fl9 Honor Flies of... i - Veteran n '" H 3 ' 2 ROBERT g ingjl($aif(knp "Just off Jacksonville Highway" MEMORIAL PARK FUNERAL HOME WEDDING CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM COLUMBARIUM CREMATIONS 1395 Arnold lane Phone 773-7338 j'Ford engagement partly by acccident, partly by order and partly because he loved a good fight. Asked For Leave A few days before Kelly's Ford Pelham asked Stuart for a leave to go and see a girl In Orange, Va., so he might thank her in person for some candy she had sent. Stuart granted the leave to the young artilleryman - he was Just 24 at the time - and the major set out early the next morning before Stuart could change his mind. (Stuart was likely to gr-nt a leave at night and then recall the man the next morning.) Pelham was nearly to Orange when a courier caught up with him. Stuart had chan ged his mind as usual. But Pelham remained the night in Orange. History is silent on whether he saw the girl, Miss Nannie Price, one of Stuart's Richmond cousins, but Pelham never was one to avoid women and it seems reasonable to believe he kept his date. From Orange Pclham went to Culpepper, Va., where Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, threatened by a Union calvary force, was commanding. There Pelham met Stuart. The Federal calvary under Brig. Gen. W. W. Averell - about 2,100 men with six guns - forced Kelly's Ford early in the morning of March 17 against a few of Lee's calv-alrymen. Lee promptly moved his 800 men to the ford to cut off Avereell's force before it could hit the Orange & Alex andria railroad about four miles away. Pclham and Stuart borrow ed horses and rode out to see the fight. Lee's riders sighted the Federals about a half mile from the ford. They seemed deployed as if expecting an attack. Lee talked to Stuart who gave him the word to go in. Fire Too Hot One squadron of the Third Virginia Calvalry pushed to ward a stone fence behind which the Federal sharpshoot ers were operating. The Fed eral fire was too hot for the Confederates and the squad ron foil back. Stuart rode in to rally it. Then the Third charged at fours, yelling and swinging the stone fence in columns of sabers. But the fence was too high to jump and the regi ment veered left toward some farm buildings looking for a gate. Here Pclham rode into the charge. The classic account of Pel- ham's death was written by Dr. Douglas Southall Free man In "Lee's Lieutenants." The Joy of battle was in the boy's shining eyes," he wrote. "As he waved his sword. he smiled and shouted 'for ward' , , . and cut across the angle of the column to reach lis head. By the time he approached the farm build ings, the men were steaming through a gap in the fence and were filing off to the extreme left . . . Pclham drew rein at the gate and yelled encouragement to the men as thry passed. In the high ecstasy of con flict, he stood in his stirrups. sword uplifted, battle shout on his lips. Overhead a roar. I flash, the loud explosion of a shell. The horse leaped. Pel ham fell. He lay on his back. The smile did not fail. His eyes remained open; his face was not marred. He looked as If at the moment he would rise and shake off the dust and shout again, 'forward'; but In the back of his head, just at the hairline, there was a small bleeding wound where a fragment of shell had entered." Draped Across Horse rclham's body was draped across a cavalry horse and started for Culpepper. Half way there the body whs placed on the grass and IVI ham was found to be breath ing. An ambulance carried him to a house In Culpepper There he died soon after noon. Three Confederate girls put on mourning for him. Of the many tributes to Pelham as his hody lay in state in Richmon ' and jour neyed to Alabama, perhaps the best was from General Lee, who originally called I him "The Gallant " I In a letter to Mrs lee on I March IP from Kredric' - I burg, the four star general j wrote of the major: "I grieve over the loss of ; major Pelham. He hud been ' stricken down In the midst j of his career of usefulness land honour, which In it ! progress I had hoped would 'have expanded in brightness." The Medical Roundup M. .V I Emeritus Consultant In Medietas .Mayo Clinic Emeritus Professor of Medicine Mayo Clinic (Register and Tribune Syndicate, 19631 BREASTS TOO LARGE OR TOO SMALL I used to try to talk sur geons into helping unhappy women by removing the ex cess tissue from pendulous breasts but for years 1 failed. The surgeons fear ed that any operation on the breast which would interfere with the function of the tiny Alvarei ducts might. in some unknown way, lead to the production of cancer. Today, a number of sur geons have lost this fear, and have gone ahead to help the big-breasted of fallen-breasted woman who often is dis tressed and embarrassed. But some surgeons are still argu ing as to how the nipple should be transplanted. Ac cording to Dr. Philip Thorek of Chicago, the best technic Is to remove the nipple to gether with the areola (the Dink or dark circle around the nipple) and then to graft it onto the skin above, where it used to be before the breast became large or much elonga ted, and hung down. Dr. Thorek tells me that for a long time now he has been transplanting the nipples, without any failure. Obvious ly, no milk can ever come away through such a nipple. Dr Thorek says that the wo man with the "cut-down" and "remodeled" breasts are very grateful. There are also many unhn- py women who write to sy they are almost as flat-chested as a man. It is not surpris ing that some develop an in feriority complex. Many are afraid to go out with an ad mirer, and they are afraid to marry a man without first telling him the truth. Today, with the movie people making so much of the full - bosomed woman, many a flat-chested girl starting out in the busi ness world, feels that if she is to hold her job, she had bet ter wear "falsies." Few Sympathetic few of Us physicians are as I am ashamed to say that sympathetic as we should be wilh these unhappy girls and women, I personally feel that plastic surgeons should make every effort to perfect a tech nic for inserting behind the thin breasts of these women a sort of plastic material which will push the breast forward. Naturally, the material must remain soft. A while ago I had a long talk with a plastic surgeon who has spent years search ing for a plastic that will work as he and his palL-ts want it to do. Eventually, he found one, and now has learn ed to sterilize it ; i well that when it is put in place, it does not get infected, and does not get infecter, and does ! does not have to be taken out again. A couple of years ago, the doctor wrote me that he felt he had the problems solved, because all of the operations of this type thai he had per sthesis" had become infected had been successful. No "pro formed in the previous year so that it had to be removed. One problem is that when a girl writes me from a mall town in Canada or the Uni ted States, I have difficulty finding a surgeon for her. Some plastic surgeons tell me that they try to make what looks and feels like a breast out of muscle around onto the front of the chest wall, but I can't feel enthusi astic about this technic. I feel that r one f ould ever try to discourage these girls and women from trying to have somethir done. They should not be condemned to remain miserable and unhap py. I do hope many capable surgeons come to their res cue. One great trouble today is that with the modern craze for suing the surgeon for things do not quite to the $500,000 - and getting il - if things do not go quite to the woman s satisfaction - no sen sible man cares to take the terrible risk. Cancer Of The Voice Box Anyone whose voice sud denly changes and doesn't clear up in a few days should go immediately to - good throat man and have him look into the voice box with his little mirror. He may see what looks like a little wart on one of the cords; and if this is promptly clipped off, even if mocroscopic examina tion shows it to be an active cancer, the man's life and his voice are likely to be saved. If nothing is done, and a cancer spreads into the lymph nodes on each side of the voice box, the man is likely to lose his larynx (voice box) and he can even lose his life. Fortunately, today modern radiation treatment, if quick ly used, can cure one of these cancers. So much depends on whether the whole laryr : has to be taken out. I hear that Henry Viscardi of Abilities, Incorporated, has developed an electrical apparatus that will enable a whisperer to talk loudly. Usually we begin to have problems with vision when we get to be 45 or so. Dr. Alavarcz has prepared booklet, "How to f" .feguard Your Vision," which may prove valuable to you. You may obtain it by sending 25 cents and a -Jit-addressed, stamped envelope with your request for it to Dr. Waller C. Alvarez, Dept. MM", Box 957, Des Moines 4, Iowa. Problem-Solving Approach in School Learning Praised Bv DAVID NYDICK UPI Education Specialist fine method of teaching children social studies is the problem-solving ai pro- It is one of the interesting ways for children to learn. A look at a partciular prob lem studied bv a urotin of students will give you an idea of the broad growth which might occur. The question was raised in a classroom as lo whv the United Stales had developed so much faster than the other countries in the Americas. A discussion fol lowed which brouglil out many possible answers such as our form of government, natural resources, climate, etc. Class Divided The class became highly in terested and decided to go more deeply into the reasons for the rapid growth. They talked about ways to ap proach this study. It was de cided lo divide the class into small interest groups Each crouo studied a different as pect of our nation's progress in relation to other coun tries The committee whirl, stu- ied ihe effects of government enthusiasm grew as their un derstanding developed. The students developed many important academic skills. The research included the use of reference books, analysis and comparison of ideas, note taking, reading, writing, grammar, spelling, and public speaking. The learning which tikes place in the problem-solving approach is endless. It covers almoM every area of the school pro gram. This method of leaching in volves the child in a vast number of experiences. He learns through his own ini tiative and efforts. A student with enthusiasm is on the right track. He will need to master skills in order to satisfy his curiosity. He will begin to think. Meaningful Knowledge The value of this approach lies in its contribution of meaningful knowledge. The accumulation of factual in-: formation is advantageous when it adds to understand ing. The particular problem studied donated much to Ihe students' understanding id knowledge of the American started with an analysis of heritage .They became aware the Constitution. As the members examined this basic law, they were searching con stantly for its effects upon our way of life and continu ous growth. It often was nec essary to uncover why its writers had designed it as they it id. As the group com pared our government with those of other nation, they began to appreciate the real meaning of our democratic form of government. Vhcir of their own participation and responsibilities as citizens. Perhaps the problem-solving approach is one which helps meet the needs of our society. We want people to develop initiative, civic re sponsibility, the ability to think, curiosity, and apprecia tion of our society. This method seems to achieve these aims while allowing for in dividual differences in inter est and ability. ' mwmwmwmmmmmuuummmwmwmwnmwmnmmmnwmwnmmmmwmmwmwmmmmtamBBmmwwumwmwmmwmmwmmmmwmwmwm flcKs 'TIS A FOINE DAY FOR FOOD jpk? 1 vspfigi Ltzsy i I I Frnm Vmir trlenAl I STAMPS AND REDEEM J B I and Grape THEM FOR (w Limit Rights Reserved ---- n-n!,HA I CASH NO SALES TO DEALERS FREE PARKING Large 1)C J !tr Heads .1" r:-S' U.S. No. 1 North Dakota Red dPf& Potatoes 1 Eg 49' SURF MAID SUNSWEET m7 P BREAKFAST B i 1 kl IV Bm BROKEN ! j Shrimp Prunes ! cp VA Lb. Bag ; DEL IVjOHTE DRINK :t 489 SWEET PICKLES "IT 49 BAKER CHOCOLATE 0HIPS;.39 BEACH SARDINES 10 , 99 slVjl00fE33 24's- Regular and Super VETS DOG FOOD , , 12 , 99' T0P1AT SOUP c..,. 10 r,nr ffllp USDS CHOICE Fresh Bongs 'O s T Fresh Bonelsss TDV IT VftflTUI f A nn j i vi ii vviin WMDDHUE! v-... at '. -, . BEEF SHORT E1EBS c USDA CHOICE
