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WISTA DX.
This is my father. He came out with me for a session the past week. This final shot was the best of that day...
Read the Full Story on my Photoblog | My Facebook Page
A photo I did for fun, with a friend posing as a crazy assistant with an umbrella-softbox. Photography is, above all, a game. Every game must be fun.
Most of the frames starting with light testing... Sometimes i do this with model, sometimes with assistants. This is Willy, crazy man who can make every single test shot outstanding ) Look the whole set, its wonderful )
Brabourne nextes in the shadow of Wye Down, nestling in a fold in the land, and driving through it hardly seems to be a village, more a few houses and a farm. But just visible down a gravel track, which has a sign stating quite clearly that it was not suitable for parking for the church. In which case I woulve to partially block the lane through the village.
One approaches the church down a brick path, which is tricky as over the years it has developed quite an arch. You soon see that the trees are hiding a formidable church, and the most impressive of towers, almost castle keep-like.
A small porch allows the visitor to leave the chill air outside, and you are met my a sturdy door, which invites you in.
St Mary is a large and impressive church, the walls covered with memorials to the local big family, also are several cut out which may indicate where carved figures one laid. High in the north wall of the chancel, is possibly the oldest stained glass still in original position (although reset), which seem to date to the year 1200 AD, which is incredible if true, and I have no reason to diubt that.
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St Mary's is a very tall church, more Saxon in its proportions than Norman. The church dates in its present form from the twelfth century, with typical decoration in the form of pilaster buttresses on the outside north wall of the chancel. In the thirteenth century a south aisle was added and the present arch to the tower rebuilt; the remains of the original Norman arch may still be seen. In the chancel is a remarkable survivor - a twelfth-century window with its original glass. It has been reset and restored, but vividly recalls the dusky colours of the period. The pattern is purely geometric, of flowers and semi-circles, and may be compared to the contemporary glass in Canterbury Cathedral. Also in the chancel is one of the two thirteenth-century heart shrines in Kent. This little piece of sculpture consists of a plain shield - originally painted - under decorated and cusped tracery, the whole squeezed between thin pinnacles. It is uncertain whose heart was buried here, but it dates from about 1296 and may be associated with the de Valence family. The other Kent heart shrine is at Leybourne (see separate entry).
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Brabourne
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A Church has existed here since Saxon times - mention is made of one at 'Bradeburna' soon after the coming of Archbishop Lanfranc to Canterbury in about 1070.
The present St Mary's Church is of Norman design, and dates from the twelfth century.
Most of the original Norman nave can be seen on the north side, and the Chancel is pure Norman. Notice the priest's doorway and the twelfth century window in the Chancel - this still has its original glass. It is almost certainly unique in the country as most were smashed during the reign of Henry VIII, or later, during the Civil War. It was also left when other stained glass from the Church was sold in 1774. It is believed to be England's oldest complete Norman window still in its original setting with light falling through.
Additions were made in the thirteenth century , including the rebuilt arch to the tower. The staircase in the tower is of great antiquity: halves of an oak tree 31ft long form the sides, with another tree for the base and a forked branch as a support.
The Chancel also holds one of only two thirteenth century heart shrines in Kent (the other is in Leybourne). The sculpture consists of a plain shield (the original paint has long since worn away) under fine decorated arches. In the back there is a recess, which would have been used to contain a heart encased in silver or ivory. It is thought that the shrine was built for the heart of John Baliol, founder of Balliol College, Oxford. Whether it served its intended purpose is unknown, but it was found to be empty when opened in the early 1900s.
The tomb of Sir John Scott, made of Caen stone, stands in the north wall of the Chancel. Sir John, who died on October 17th 1485, was a Privy Councillor and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Above the tomb hangs a trophy helmet, carried at the funeral of a knight, most probably Sir Thomas Scott, Commander of the Kentish Forces during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Another helmet (in the south east corner of the Chancel) is thought to have belonged to Sir William Scott, who died in 1433.
The altar is a tomb, topped with a slab of Bethersden Marble, and dates from around 1600. It is decorated with the arms of the Scott family.
www.brabournepc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=1140
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LIES the next parish to Bircholt north-eastward, being written in Domesday both Breburne and Bradeburne, and taking its name from its situation on the broad bourne or rivulet which rises in it.
THE PARISH is situated at the foot of the upper range of the chalk or down-hills, which reach from hence to the sea shore at Folkestone, and here take the name of Braborne downs; it is an unfrequented place, and from the soils of it not a pleasant one, for near the downs it is mostly chalk; the middle part, though there are various soils in it, consists mostly of a stiff, though not unfertile clay, and the southern part is a deep red sand. It is about two miles across from north to south, and somewhat more from east to west, stretching itself along a narrow slip beyond Hampton, almost as far as the village of Brooke, and on the other part within a very little of Stowting court-lodge. The village of Braborne, having the church and court-lodge in it, lies at the foot of the Down-hill, on the side of a wide valley, which extends below it southward. At the foot of the hills westward are Combe, Bedlestone, the hamlet of West Braborne-street and Hampton. The parish is well watered by several rivulets, one of them, which rises in and near Braborne-street, runs southward into that branch of the Stour below Scottshall, and so on by Sevington to Ashford; and there are others, which from the foot of the hills, more towards the west, which join the stream which runs by Swatfield bridge towards Ashford likewise.
In the southern part of the parish is the heath called Braborne-lees, one half of which only is within the bounds of it; across these lees the high road goes from Ashford towards Hythe. Here is a noted warren for rabbits, belonging to the Scotts-hall estate, they are of a remarkable fine flavor, from which Canterbury, and all the neighbouring towns are plentifully supplied with them. A fair is held in the village on the last day of May, for pedlary and toys.
That part of it which is within the borough of Cocklescombe, is in the hundred, and within the liberty of the royal manor of Wye.
THE MANOR OF BRABORNE, soon after the dissolution of the Saxon heptarchy, was, according to a very antient record, the inheritance of a lady called Salburga, who is stiled in it Domina de Brabourne, and by her will, in the year 864, ordered that the future possessors of it should give yearly to the monastery of St. Augustine, a quantity of provisions, on condition of their performing certain religious services for the health of her soul; which provisions were forty measures of malt, fifteen rams, twenty loaves of bread, one measure of butter, one measure of cheese, four cart loads of wood, and twenty hens. Who were the possessors of this manor afterwards till the time of the Norman conquest, does not appear; but at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, it was become part of the pos sessions of Hugo de Montfort, on whom that prince had bestowed likewise more than thirty other manors and estates in the neighbourhood of it. Accordingly he is numbered in that record as one of the thirteen, (for there are no more) who held lands in this county at that time, and under the general title of his lands this manor is thus entered in it.
In Wivart lath, in Berisout hundred, Hugo himself holds Breburne, Godric de Burnes held it of king Edward, and it was taxed at seven sulings, and now for five sulings and an half and half a yoke, because another part of it is without the division of Hugo, and that the bishop of Baieux holds. The arable land is fifteen carucates. In demesne there are two, and thirty-one villeins, with ten borderers having ten carucates. There is a church, and eight servants, and two mills of seven shillings, and twenty acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty-five bags. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth twenty pounds, and afterwards eight pounds, now sixteen pounds.
That part mentioned above, as without the division of Hugo de Montfort, is likewise noticed in the same book, in the description of the adjoining manors of Hastingligh and Aldelows, belonging to the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen hereafter, in the account of them.
On the voluntary exile of Robert de Montfort, grandson of Hugh above-mentioned, in the reign of king Henry I. this manor, among the rest of his possessions, came into the king's hands, whence it was soon afterwards granted to Robert, son of Bernard de Ver, constable of England, who had married Adeliza, daughter of Hugh de Montfort, and was the founder of the priory of Horton, in the next adjoining parish. (fn. 1) After which it appears to have come into the possession of Henry de Essex, who was constable likewise of Eng land, from his succession to which, as well as from other circumstances, it should seem that he became entitled to this manor by inheritance Henry de Essex, before-mentioned, was baron of Raleigh, in Essex, his chief seat, and hereditary standard-bearer of England; but by his misbehaviour in a battle against the Welsh, in the 10th year of that reign, he forfeited all his possessions to the crown. (fn. 2) Before which he had confirmed to the priory of Horton all the former grants of his ancestors. And by another charter he granted to it, in free and perpetual alms, the pasture of twelve oxen in his park of Braborne, with his own oxen, for so long as they should be at feed, whether within his park or without; and all tithe of his hay, to be taken wholly and fully with his carriages to the barns of the monks. After which this manor appears to have been held by Baldwin de Betun, earl of Albermarle, who, in the 5th year of king John, granted it to William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, with Alice his daughter in frank marriage, to hold to them and their heirs. William, earl of Pembroke, in the 10th year of king Henry III. his first wife being deceased, married Alianore, the king's sister, and in the 14th year of that reign had a confirmation of this manor, on condition that Alianore his wife, if she survived him, should enjoy it for life. He died in the 15th year of that reign, and she became possessed of it, and afterwards remarried Simon, earl of Leicester, who was slain fighting on the part of the discontented barons at the battle of Evesham. After which the countess and her children were forced to forsake the realm, and she died abroad in great poverty. In the mean time the four brothers of William, earl of Pembroke, successively earls of Pembroke, being dead s. p. their inheritance became divided between their five sisters and their heirs, and upon the division of it, the manor of Braborne, among others, was allotted to Joane, the second sister, then the widow of Warine de Montchensie, by whom she had one son William, and a daughter Joane, married to William de Valence, the king's half brother, who afterwards, through the king's favour, on William de Montchensie's taking part with the discontented barons, and his estates being confiscated, became possessed of this manor, of which he died possessed in the 23d year of king Edward I. leaving Joane his widow surviving, who had it assigned to her as part of her dower. She died in the 1st year of king Edward II. holding it in capite by knight's service, as of the king's marechalsy, and leaving one son Adomar or Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and three daughters; Anne, married to Maurice Fitzgerald, secondly to Hugh Baliol, and lastly to John de Avennes; Isabel, to John de Hastings, of Bergavenny; and Joane, to John Comyn, of Badenagh. (fn. 3) Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, on her death, succeeded to this manor, and in the 6th year of that reign, obtained a charter of privileges for it, among which were those of a market, fair, and free-warren. He was a nobleman greatly favoured by king Edward I. and II. but in the 17th year of the latter reign, attending the queen into France, he was murdered there that year. He died possessed of this manor, and without issue; so that John de Hastings, son of Isabel, one of the earl's sisters, and John Comyn, of Badenagh, in Scotland, son of Joane, another of the earl's sisters, were found to be his coheirs and next of kin; and the latter of them, on the division of their inheritance, had this manor, in his mother's right, allotted to him. He died s. p. in the 19th year of king Edward II. leaving his two sisters his coheirs, of whom the eldest, Joane, married to David de Strabolgie, earl of Athol, possessed this manor as part of his wife's inheritance, and died next year. His descendant David de Strabolgie, earl of Athol, died in the 49th year of that reign, possessed of this manor, (fn. 4) leaving by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Henry, lord Ferrers, who died the same year, anno 1375, and was buried in the high chancel of Ashford church, two daughters his coheirs, the youngest of whom Philippa, married to John Halsham, of Halsham, in Sussex, by her father's will, became entitled to this manor. The Halshams bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron engrailed, between three leopards heads, gules. Their grandson Sir Hugh Halsham, died anno 21 Henry VI. leaving Joane, his only daughter and heir, who entitled her husband John Lewknor, esq. of Sussex, to the possession of it; in whose descendants it continued till the latter end of king Henry VII.'s reign, when Sybilla, daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor, carried it in marriage to Sir William Scott, K. B. and in his descendants, resident at Scotts-hall, this manor, with the rents, services, courtlodge, and demesne lands, remained, till at length George Scott, esq. about the year 1700, sold the manor-house, called Braborne court-lodge, with the demesne lands belonging to it, being enabled so to do by an act passed anno 10 and 11 William III. to Tho. Denne, of Patricksborne, whose grandsons Daniel and Thomas Denne, of Sittingborne, in 1768, conveyed this estate to William Deedes, esq. of St. Stephen's, (who was before possessed of an estate in this parish, which had been purchased of George Scott, esq. by his grandfather William Deedes, M. D. of Canterbury) and his eldest son of the same name, now of Hythe, esq. is the present owner of it.
BUT THE MANOR RENTS AND SERVICES remained in the family of Scott for some time afterwards, and till Edward Scott, esq. some few years ago, alienated the quit-rents of this manor, together with the Park and Pound farms, in this parish, to Thomas Whorwood, esq. of Denton, who by will devised them for life to Mrs. Cecilia Scott, of Canterbury, daughter of George Scott, esq. before-mentioned, on whose death in 1785 the property of them became vested in lady Markham, widow of Sir James Markham, bart. of Lincolnshire, who was Mr. Whorwood's heir-at-law, and she sold them in 1787 to Sir Edward Knatchbull, bart. the present owner of them.
BUT THE MANOR OF BRABORNE ITSELF, with the court baron and other manerial rights belonging to it, remained in the descendants of George Scott, esq. down to Francis Talbot Scott, esq. whose trustees, about the year 1784, conveyed it, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to Sir John Honywood, bart. of Evington, who is the present proprietor of it.
HEMINGE is a manor, lying at the south-east corner of this parish, next to Horton, which in antient time gave both surname and residence to a family so called, as the deeds without date belonging to it plainly shew. At length, after this manor had been in the possession of this name, as might be traced out fully by these evidences for almost three hundred years, it was conveyed by William Heminge, in the 2d year of Edward VI.'s reign, to Peter Nott, in whose descendants it continued till the 16th year of Charles II. when one of them alienated it to Avery Hills, by whose daughter and heir it went in marriage to Hobday, whose descendant sold it, in the year 1713, to Mr. John Nethersole, who left three sons surviving, John, who was of Barham; Stephen, who was of Wimlinswold; and William, who was of Canterbury, in whose three daughters, or their representatives, this manor at length became vested. They agreed on a partition of their inheritance, on which the whole of this manor was allotted to Jacob Sharpe, esq. of Canterbury, the surviving son of Mr. Jacob Sharpe, by Elizabeth, the eldest of the three daughters, who in 1796 sold it to Mr. Thomas Ken nett, of Brabourn, who is the present possessor of it. A court baron is held for this manor.
COMBE is another manor, in the northern part of this parish, close at the foot of the downs, which name it had from its situation, cumbe signifying in the Saxon a bottom or valley, and to distinguish it from other manors of the same name in this neighbourhood, it was called Braborne Combe. About the year 990, one Edward de Cumbe, whose son Leofard was a monk in St. Augustine's monastery, by his will bequeatned the land of Cumbe to that monastery. Whether the abbot and convent ever gained the possession of it, or if they did, how long it staid with them, I do not find; but at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the Conqueror's reign, it was parcel of the possessions of the bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is entered in it as follows:
The same Wadard holds of the bishop, Cumbe. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is two carucates. In demesne there is one, and nine villeins, with five borderers having one carucate and an half. There are fourteen acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of five hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth sixty shillings, and afterwards fifty shillings, now four pounds, and the service of one knight. Leuret de rochinge held it of king Edward.
After this, on the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, this manor was held of the crown, by a family who took their name from their residence at it; of whom Richard de Combe, and Simon his son, served the office of sheriff, as assistants to Sir John de Northwood, in the 20th year of king Edward I. and bore for their arms, Sable, three lions passant-guar dant, in pale, gules. At length by a female heir of this name, it went by marriage, in the reign of king Richard II. to John Scott, who afterwards resided at it, as did his descendants till Sir William Scott removed to Scotts-hall at the latter end of king Henry IV.'s reign; and in his descendants, of Scotts-hall, this manor continued down to George Scott, esq. of Scotts-hall, who procured an act anno 10 and 11 king William, to vest this manor, among his other estates, in trustees, to be sold for payment of his debts, in pursuance of which it was soon afterwards sold to Brook Bridges, esq. of Goodnestone, afterwards created a baronet, whose great-grandson Sir Brook Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, is the present possessor of it.
HAMPTON is the last manor to be described in this parish, being situated in the north-west corner of it, adjoining to Brooke. It has the name in antient deeds of Hampton Cocklescombe, and sometimes is described by the name of the manor of Cocklescombe only, being so called from its situation in the borough of that name, and within the hundred of Wye. This manor was given by Robert de Ver, constable of England, and lord of Braborne, to Osbert his marshal, and Emeline his wife, who gave it again to the priory in the adjoining parish of Horton, by the description of the land of Hanetone; which gift was confirmed to the priory by the same Robert de Ver, and Adeliza de Montfort his wife, and afterwards by Henry de Essex, (fn. 5) as appears by the register of it; of the priory of Horton this manor was afterwards again held, at the rent of forty shillings in perpetual fee farm, by a family who took their name of Hampton from their residence at it, as appears not only by the above register, but by antient deeds and court-rolls, and that they remained here till the reign of king Henry VI. when John Hampton pasted it away to one of the name of Shelley, by whose heir general it became the property of John May, of Bibroke, in Kennington, whose son of the same name leaving an only daughter Alice, the carried it in marriage to John Edolph, of Brenset, and his daughter Elizabeth entitled her husband William Wil cocks, esq. of New Romney, to it, who died possessed of this manor in the 16th year of queen Elizabeth, holding it in free socage. His widow survived him, and afterwards married Ralph Radcliffe, esq. of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, who survived her. She died in the 39th year of that reign, and by her last will devised this manor to her only son by her first husband, John Wilcocks, who dying s. p. his two sisters became his coheirs, of whom Martha married Sir Edward Radcliffe, of Sevington, in this county, and physician to king James I. and Elizabeth married William Andrews; and on the partition of their inheritance, Sir Edward Radcliffe became entitled to the sole possession of it, in whose descendants it continued down to John Radcliffe, esq. of Hitchin priory, who dying in 1783, s. p. this manor, among his other estates, came to Sir Charles Farnaby, bart. of Sevenoke, in right of his wife Penelope, sister and heir-at-law of the above mentioned John Radcliffe. Sir Charles Farnaby afterwards took the name of Radcliffe, (fn. 6) and removed to Hitchin, where he died in 1798, and his heirs are now entitled to it.
Charities.
WILLIAM FORDRED, by will in 1550, gave to this parish, among others, a proportion of the rents of 25 acres of land in St. Mary's parish, in Romney Marsh; which portion to this parish is of the annual produce of 4l. 12s. 4¾d. to be distributed annually to the poor, and vested in trustees.
MR. KNOTT gave for the use of the poor, a sum of money, vested in Robert Goddard, of Mersham, now of the annual produce of 8s.
The poor constantly relieved are about fifty-five, casually twenty-five.
BRABORNE is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Elham.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a large handsome building, consisting of two isles and two chancels, having a square tower steeple at the west end, in which are five bells. The northern isle is much lostier than the other, having an upper story, choir-like, with the three upper windows to the south; below which is the roof of the north isle. Both chancels are full of the interments of the Scott family; but the brasses and inscriptions are almost all gone. Against the north wall is a tomb, with an arch and recess over it; against the back have been two figures, with inscriptions, and two shields of brass, now gone; on the side of the tomb are two shields carved in stone, one Pympe, the other Scott. Against the opposite wall is a kind of altar, the form of which is given before, P. I. At the east end, within the rails, is a large altar-tomb against the wall, of Bethersden marble; on it the marks of a figure, the brass gone; on the front five shields, with the arms of Scott, and their several impalements. Over the tomb is a kind of altar-piece, ornamented with stone carve-work, and three shields of arms; I. Scott impaling oblit. over it the date 1290; 2, being the middle shield, Scott and the following quarterings, Beaufitz, Pympe, Pashley, Normanville, Warren, Sergeaux, Gower, and Cogan In which arms of Scott it is noted, all the bordures are plain. In the south chancel belonging likewise to the Scott family, the brasses on the gravestones, with which the pavement is covered, are all gone. In the south wall is a very antient tomb with an arch over it; underneath this tomb the late Edward Scott, esq. was buried. Against this wall is a monument for Arthur Scott, commissioner of the navy, third son of Geo. Scott, of Scotts-hall. Against the north wall a monument for lieutenant-colonel Cholmeley Scott, esq. youngest son of George Scott, esq. of Scotts-hall. Weever mentions several memorials of this family in the body of the church remaining in his time, all which have been long since obliterated, and their brasses destoryed. In the south isle is a stone, with the figure of a man in brass, habited in armour, with sword and spurs on, the latter having the rowels much like the figure of a catherine wheel; a greyhound under his feet; the inscription gone, excepting the words of Brabourne, armigr. and anno Dni mil. Against the north wall, a monument for William Richards, put up by Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, in 1672; arms, Sable, a chevron between three fleurs de lis, argent; a crescent for difference. Another for John Richards, vicar, obt. 1727. In the south scite of the body of the church, is a memorial for Dionisia, daughter of Vincent Fynche, alias Harbert, esq. obt. 1458; arms, Finch impaling Cralle; and in the same isle is a stone, robbed of the figure on it, but the brass inscription remains, for Joane, daughter of Sir Gervas Cliston, married to John Diggs; arms, Clifton impaling Fineh, and Diggs impaling Clifton. The tower at the west end is of a large size, but flat at top, and only of equal height with the roof of the north isle.
Mr. Evelyn, in his Discourse on Forest Trees, mentions a superannuated yew-tree growing in this churchyard, which being 58 feet 11 inches in circumference, bore near 20 feet diameter; and besides which there were goodly planks, and other considerable pieces of square and clear timber, which he observed to lie about it, which had been hewed and sawn out of some of the arms only, torn from it by impetuous winds. This tree has been many years since gone, and a fine stately young one now flourishes in the room of it.
The church was formerly appendant to the manor, and continued so till it was given, in the beginning of king Henry II.'s reign, by Robert de Ver, lord of the manor of Braborne, to the priory of Horton, at his first foundation of it; and it was appropriated to the priory before the 8th year of king Richard II. the priory being bound to pay the tenth of the vicarage. But there does not seem to have been any endowment made till anno 1445, when there was one assigned by the prior to Thomas de Banstede, the vicar of it. (fn. 7) In which state this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, continued till the dissolution of the priory in the reign of king Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, and remained there till it was granted in exchange to the archbishop, where it still continues, the parsonage being at this time parcel of the see of Canterbury, and his grace the archbishop the present parton of the vicarage.
The parsonage is a very handsome brick house, standing at a small distance from the church-yard, to which the vicarage adjoins likewise, being a neat small brick building. The family of Kennet have been lessees for many years, Mr. Claude Kennet being the present lessee of it, who resides at it.
¶The vicarage of Braborne is valued in the king's books at 11l. 12s. 6d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 3s. 3d. And there is annually, by the endowment of it, paid out of the parsonage to the vicar, one seam or quarter of wheat, and the like of barley; and archbishop Juxon, anno 15 Charles II. augmented it sixteen pounds per annum, to be paid by the lessee of the parsonage. In 1640 this vicarage was valued at sixty-four pounds, communicants one hundred and six. In 1733 it was valued at one hundred pounds. There is one acre of glebe land belonging to it.
May 29, 2013 -- Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Cyrus Amir-Mokri delivers remarks at an event marking the release of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) National Financial Capability Study at the George Washington University.
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William R. Brownfield participates in a Facebook Q&A on Combating Wildlife Trafficking at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
It looks as if the Livery Stables at Malkins Bank has got some extra help in.
Seen from the towpath of the Trent & Mersey canal, along the South Cheshire Way,at Hassall Moss in Sandbach, Cheshire.
BRIEFING WITH LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS
MODERATOR: So welcome to the New York Foreign Press Center. We’re really honored today to have Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield with us. This is a roundtable on-the-record discussion. It’s also DVCed to Washington --
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Okay.
MODERATOR: -- so if people have questions from Washington, we’ll bring them in.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Okay.
MODERATOR: So I know that the assistant secretary is on a tight schedule, so we’ll go ahead and get started. She’ll give a few remarks and then we’ll open it out to your questions. So thank you all for coming and I’ll turn this over to Assistant Secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Good. Good evening and let me thank all of you for being here and thank those who are joining us from Washington. This has been a very, very hectic period at UNGA this year. Being here with so many leaders from throughout the African continent has provided us a fantastic opportunity to have a series of bilateral meetings and provide us an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with African heads of state, and I’m pleased that so many of them are here, and we’ve been able to discuss discrete ideas that allow us to collaborate on issues that we’ve worked on in the past, but also to advance our own goals of promoting democracy, peace, and prosperity on the continent. So I’m very excited about the opportunities that I’ve had. We refer to this in Washington as speed dating. Last year, I had – I think, if I recall correctly – 39 bilats during UNGA week. We have not counted yet. I started last week, Friday, and we have been going nonstop since then and it continues for me until Friday.
Just to say there have been a number of very positive developments on the continent of Africa since last year. President Obama’s trip to Kenya and to Ethiopia this summer was a historic trip for many reasons. He opened the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and that gave entrepreneurs from across the globe an opportunity to see Africa at its best, to see Kenya at its best, to seek opportunities to invest on the continent.
The recent reauthorization of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act was a big success and it sent a very strong signal to investors and showed confidence in the possibilities of investing on the continent of Africa. As you know, we had the good fortune of the Gabonese Government hosting the AGOA Forum in Gabon at the end of August and it was quite successful. It was extraordinary that we had members of Congress participate in the forum, and that AGOA is a bipartisan, very widely supported initiative that we have on the continent, and we had several members of Congress at the forum to reflect that view.
Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on the importance of strong democratic institutions and solid performance in the area of governance, which is essential, in our view, to security and prosperity across the continent of Africa. Many African countries will conduct parliamentary elections and presidential elections over the coming months, and certainly quite a few are occurring in 2016. So we will be working with African countries to support on-time, free, peaceful, and fair elections.
The Sustainable Development Goals under discussion here at UNGA remind us of the challenges the continent faces. Africa is the youngest and it is the fastest growing continent. Incomes are rising and the middle class is growing, but Africa will need to generate millions more jobs to sustain its momentum. So to help create these jobs, we’ll continue to work with our partners to build up the investment and entrepreneurship climate and encourage more trade with Africa.
All of our discussions here at UNGA have focused on taking advantage of the progress we’ve made to solve some of the hard problems we will face, and this is the core of our engagement with our African colleagues this week. Of course, there are a number of things happening on the continent right now that has keen interest for us. I’ll look forward to taking your questions. I think in the question and answers we’ll get to those difficult issues, and I’ll be able to address those then.
So thank you very much, and I’m happy to take your questions.
MODERATOR: Yes.
QUESTION: Bingxin Li from People’s Daily, based at the UN. I understand that President Obama initiated the Power Africa strategy several years ago. How is that going on?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: It’s going quite well. The idea was to bring power to Africa. As you know, sometimes I refer to the fact that (inaudible) refer to as the dark continent. What that darkness means is the lack of electricity, and the idea of Power Africa was to bring power to more African homes and more African businesses. We tripled this to bring electricity to at least 60 million new households and businesses and to encourage more companies, as well as other governments, to look at power as a source of prosperity (inaudible) on the continent of Africa.
So (inaudible) I was just meeting with European colleagues, and they’re looking at doing some similar investments on the continent of Africa. And we know that power or energy will be the engine of investment and growth on the continent.
MODERATOR: Yes.
QUESTION: I have half a dozen questions.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Try one at a time. (Laughter.)
MODERATOR: If everyone could introduce yourself – say your name and news organization.
QUESTION: Right. So I’m Kevin Kelley. I’m based here in New York. I cover the UN for the Nation Media Group in Kenya, which also publishes The East African weekly paper covering the eastern half of the continent. So my questions are mainly about that, not about Kenya per se. I’ll choose the one about the DRC. At the Africa Summit, which is now 14 months ago – President Obama’s summit in Africa --
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yes, a little over a year.
QUESTION: Ambassador – yeah, right. Ambassador Feingold was saying it’s urgent that there be action now against the FDLR. Then there was all these complications involving human rights questions and the generals in command. Nothing’s happened as far as anybody can see. What’s the U.S.’s view of what can and should be happening there now?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Well, first of all, we’re very disappointed that nothing has happened. We think that the parties need to address the FDLR threat in DRC. Commitments were made to the Rwandan Government, as we worked to address the issues related to M23, that once we completed the actions against M23 we would turn to FDLR, and we are still committed to doing that. We’re encouraging all of the parties, including the Government of DRC, MONUSCO, the FB forces, to bring their combined resources together to address the FDLR threat and we continue to push that.
We have named a new special envoy, Tom Perriello, and he has been actively engaged on this issue since taking over his responsibilities about six weeks ago.
QUESTION: Just to --
MODERATOR: And he’ll be here at 4 o’clock today.
QUESTION: Yeah, he’ll be here. Just to follow up on that, can the United States bring pressure to bear on President Kabila? This is the issue. It’s that the UN says we can’t act because of these human rights violations that these generals are at least alleged to have committed. It’s fairly simple, it seems, that if these generals weren’t in command, the UN, the FIB, could act. Is that too simple an analysis?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: It probably is, but I would make those same arguments as well that it ought to be simple to deal with this issue. And it is one that, again, we are working very deliberately and very intensely on, because commitments were made that we would work to address this issue, and we need to get the parties to do it.
QUESTION: Hi, I’m Bukola Shonuga with the African View Network, and I also host a radio program called The African View – and it’s a pleasure to meet you. So with reference to Nigeria within your Administration and in light of the issue of Boko Haram, I was just wondering are there any new efforts form the United States Government to partner with this new administration to combat Boko Haram? And with the 20-some – 200-something girls still missing, so we don’t think they’ll ever find them, so I just wanted you to shed some light on that.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I hope you’re wrong. I know that their mothers, their parents are still hopeful that some of these girls will be found and brought back to their homes. And we’re not going to give up hope and working with the Nigerian Government and with the families to try to bring as many of them back as we can.
We are working very closely with the Nigerian Government, as we were with the previous government. It is has been made somewhat easier with the current government to work more cooperatively on trying to address the Boko Haram threat. We have provided some assistance and funding to the multinational task force through the AU. They are working to pull together the Lake Chad Basin countries so that they can coordinate their efforts in addressing Boko Haram.
We still continue to cooperate with the Nigerian Government in terms of information sharing as well as training. Our AFRICOM team will be going to Nigeria later in the month to hold discussions on resuming the training that was stopped previously, and we hope to continue to work with the government in a much more positive and proactive way to address what is not just a Nigeria problem. It is a regional problem, and terrorism is a global problem. So we have to work with Nigeria. We cannot leave Nigeria to address this problem alone.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Frank Obimpeh from News Ghana. During your submission, you said that the U.S. is trying to build investment and climate of opportunities for Africans. Now let’s come back to my country, Ghana, whereby while we have a lot of malls – new malls going around, where we have foreign products in the malls. So there is what’s called a tendency of our culture families losing bias or their products. What is the U.S. doing, because the investment are taking jobs from the African and then they becoming poor? What are you doing to overcome?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yeah. Well, I think investment can create jobs. So having greater investment in Ghana can create new job opportunities for people in areas that they may not have worked in in the past. But we don’t want to see trade opportunities and business displace people who already have jobs. And it is important that government policies support their own local industry, encourage the local industries. But also the local industries have to be competitive. They have to be able to compete on a global market. They have to be able to compete with the products that are being sold in large department stores if they want to advance.
People – I remember working on a program in Liberia where people were making small products and making additional money, and we talked to them. And they said, oh we were making it before you came and supported our project. We were making about $50 a month, and now we’re making $80 a month. Well, they’re still poor. What we want to do is move people from being the working poor to being the working middle class, so that they can benefit from the investments that are coming from overseas, but also they can take their products and sell their products overseas so that they become part of the working middle class.
So it’s not an easy – the answer is not easy, but it is not about keeping new products from coming into your market. It’s about making the products that are produced in your country more competitive. AGOA offers the opportunity for Ghanaians to import their products to the United States duty-free, and Ghana has taken advantage of that.
QUESTION: Thank you, Ms. Ambassador. I just wanted to thank you for all your work. My name is Garry Iwele. I’m a freelance from DRC. And my question is just about the upcoming election. We know that eight of the – eight of some of the African countries go into the election next year. And the president are trying to run again against the constitution. So we saw it in (inaudible) a bit already; it’s sending people to the referendum. And now there is a piece of legislation in DRC under the table trying to do the same thing. I mean, my question is this: What you’re doing as U.S. Government? We know that you are the biggest partner in Africa. What are you doing to push those presidents to not try to run again –
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Our policy – yeah.
QUESTION: -- when the constitution does not allow them?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yeah, our policy is very clear on that. We do not support countries changing their constitutions to change term limits to benefit the incumbent who is currently serving in office. People can change their constitutions; that’s their right. But when the constitutions are changed just to support the incumbent, it sends a message that people don’t want to leave power. And Africa has gone through many generations of presidents for life, and we believe in a true democracy, transitions actually work. We think transitions contribute to stability. There are a number of countries in Africa that have had elections and transitions, and they’ve worked. Nigeria is our most recent example where it has worked.
So we are engaging with these governments to discourage their efforts to change constitutions. We are working closely with the regional organizations, with the African Union, with ECOWAS, and other regional organizations, to gain their support in pushing for this. ECOWAS, for example, has been looking at an agreement that would limit terms to two terms in ECOWAS countries. And actually, they went quite far, except two countries declined to agree. But I think it’s something they’re still working on.
People support democracy. Africans line up to vote like no other countries in – that I’ve seen in the world. And when they – when African people are given the opportunity in their individual countries to express their will at the ballot box, they do it. They do it enthusiastically. And so we want to support those efforts, and we are very clear on our policy. No country gets a pass on this. We raise it with every country where we see there are issues. And we certainly have had that discussion with DRC, with Republic of Congo, with Rwanda, and with Burundi, even though they did succeed in pushing forward an election that we believe was not transparent, that led to the president being elected for a third term against their constitution.
QUESTION: Hi, I just wanted to go back to the AGOA issue. I mean, in Africa, across the world, youth employment continues to be a major issue. And in Nigeria 60 percent of the youth are unemployed, according to the recent presentation by President Buhari. I was just wondering, how does AGOA translate into job gain for the youth in – across Africa?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yeah. We believe, actually, AGOA creates jobs both in Africa and in the United States because it allows for increased export products that are produced in your countries that are allowed into the U.S. duty-free. And so it does create jobs. But ultimately what will create jobs in Africa is investments in Africa, more companies creating opportunities for jobs, better education for young people so that they are qualified for the many job opportunities that will open up. The situation in Nigeria exists across the continent, where you have populations that are very, very young, and they need to be supported.
We have an initiative called the Young African Leaders Initiative, or the Washington Mandela Fellowship Program, where over the past two years we’ve brought 500 a year young people across the continent. Next year we will be bringing 1,000. They do a six-week leadership program at a major university in the United States and then they have a one-week summit in Washington in which President Obama and senior leaders across the U.S. Government participate. The first year of this program, when we were only choosing 500, we had 50,000 completed applications. There is intense desire, there is intense hunger on the continent of Africa by young people to get the tools that they need to be successful in the future.
So this is a challenge for African governments. It is a challenge for them to figure out how they engage with their young people, how they support their young people, and what tools they give to them so that they are able to be successful in the future. Some countries have raised questions about the Young African Leaders Initiative. I had one country suggest to us that we were brainwashing Africa’s young. And my response to that is you should not be worried about the U.S. brainwashing your young; you should be worried about Boko Haram brainwashing your young, you should be worried about al-Shabaab brainwashing your young, you should be worried about ISIL brainwashing your young.
What we’re trying to do is give them the tools so that they can be successful in the future, they can hone the leadership skills they already have to contribute to their governments. And what we’ve seen so far with the 1,000 who have gone through this program is they will be great in the future, whether they are great teachers, university professors, businesspeople, politicians. Whatever field of endeavor they’re involved in, they’re going to be good. And we’ve given them just a little bit more in terms of leadership tools to sharpen their skills to help them be successful in the future.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Do you know if any private sector initiative, for instance, that could facilitate funding for the private sector in Africa that are trying to create employment for these – because the programs for the most part on the U.S. – from the U.S. side is government – government initiatives. But we feel that private sector is actually more powerful or maybe just as powerful.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Well, we certainly work very closely with the private sector, and in terms of promoting the capacity of businesses in Africa – when I was in Nigeria, I visited a company that was being run by a young woman that produced animal feed, and she had been a Young African Leader, a Mandela Washington Fellow, and her – she got a small grant from the African Development Foundation, used that grant to improve the packaging for her products, and her products are competing with products that are coming from overseas. And she’s doubled the number of employees in a very short, short period of time.
So sometimes it just is small investments. Similar to what is being done by the African Development Foundation, USAID supports capacity building for small companies. We have trade hubs that are in Ghana and in Kenya that support businesses that want to do business with the United States. So there are many opportunities there, but there’s – the challenges are huge and it’s going to take a lot more effort on all of our parts.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MODERATOR: We only have time for a couple of questions, so maybe Kevin and then we want to give PK a chance.
QUESTION: Okay, thanks a lot. So I’ll combine two into one, and they both relate to President Obama’s initiative regarding peacekeeping the other day. So – and the British prime minister announced that they’re going to send troops to Somalia and Sudan. Would the United States consider doing that? Specifically also, there’s always complaints by AMISOM and others that they lack airpower especially to combat Shabaab. The United States has engaged with airpower in Somalia, but could you do more? Could you supply helicopters, transport planes? And the same – in the same vein, with South Sudan, would the United States consider sending peacekeeping troops to South Sudan?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I think on the – to answer your last question first, it is not something that we normally do, but we do support peacekeeping efforts quite extensively. We’re the largest funder of peacekeeping. And through our Africa training initiative, we’ve trained more than 250,000 African peacekeepers and we will continue those efforts to train. In addition to training them, we equip them. And we have provided them with airpower, and we’re looking at how we can provide additional enablers such as air to Ugandan and Kenyan and Ethiopian troops in Somalia. We’re working very, very closely with the AMISOM troops in Somalia in terms of helping to build up the capacity of the Somali national army. So we’re there as well, working to support the efforts of peacekeeping.
We were very pleased by the results of the peacekeeping conference. There were huge commitments that were made. The next step is to get those commitments honored. But again, I think this was responded to in a very serious way. And we look forward to working with these governments, particularly for myself on the continent of Africa, where we’ve had African countries that have very, very graciously and generously contributed to peacekeeping.
QUESTION: But the United States would not send troops to South Sudan?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I – it’s not something that I’m aware that we have considered. But I certainly know that we will support the efforts.
QUESTION: I’d like to ask something regarding health in Africa. I’m from Ghana. Ebola never got to Ghana thankfully. And one of the things that Ebola exposed was the health structures in Africa. I’m sure you’re aware of this. In the aftermath of Ebola, if I could say that there still nothing has been done – I can speak for Ghana. And I know that the U.S. is a major contributor in terms of resources and personnel to the health systems in Africa. Do you ever get tired that you do all these things and African governments don’t respond – (laughter) – and do the updates? I mean, are you impressing on them to do something actually on the ground?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yeah. I never get tired. (Laughter.) No, let me be clear. We have worked with governments, and a lot has been done. We have signed an agreement with the African Union to help them to develop a center for disease control, an African center for disease control. CBC has also worked with African governments to support their efforts to address responses to infectious diseases. And in the case of Nigeria, where we did have Ebola cases, the Nigerians were able to control this because they had an effective CBC-like operation that they had worked over many years to develop. And we’re working with Ghana as well on developing that capacity.
Still, there’s tremendous additional effort that will be required in terms of building Africa’s health infrastructure. What Ebola showed us is that infrastructure is extraordinarily fragile and any infectious disease that occurs on the continent can really force a total collapse. And we saw that collapse take place in the three Ebola countries. So we are more than engaged on trying to address these issues across the continent, because you can’t do it just in one country. You have to work in all the countries to ensure that any type of infectious disease doesn’t go – doesn’t cross borders, because they don’t recognize borders. And we certainly saw that in the case of Ebola.
But we’ve had Ebola-like diseases in Central Africa for many, many years, and it’s been kept under wraps. So there are – there is some progress being made, but I agree with you: A lot more needs to be done. But we can’t get tired, because if we get tired, we will be defeated. And I’m not prepared and I don't think our Center for Disease Control that is intensely engaged in this – that any of us are prepared to declare defeat at this point.
MODERATOR: I understand the Assistant Secretary is on a really tight schedule and I’ve been asked to go ahead and end the briefing. Thank you so much for coming. We’re so happy to have you, and it’s been a wonderful discussion.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Thank you very much. And thanks to all of you.
# # #
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 2:00 P.M. EDT
NEW YORK FOREIGN PRESS CENTER, 799 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA, 10TH FLOOR
Maj. Gen. Walt Piatt, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe, and the Honorable Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy & Environment, traveled to Lithuania, Nov. 10, to observe how U.S. Army Europe is training alongside its allies and partner nations.
Hammack was in the region to gain a better understanding of USAREUR’s strategy for rotational basing and how the strategy translates to living conditions for the troops, and meet the new USAREUR command team.
(Photo courtesy of the Lithuanian Army)
Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Koumans and CBP's Office of International Affairs hosted an inter-agency World Customs Organization meeting with 17 other U.S. government agencies Who discussed issues related to International Customs matters on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at CBP headquarters in Washington D.C. The meeting features the World Customs Organization Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya as the “keynote speaker.” Photo by James Tourtellotte
There was a time when she would leave me alone when I was taking a pic....not so anymore....everytime she sees the camera and a doll, she runs over and swoops in to "help"
U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mark Wells, speaks before Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, signs the Artemis Accords, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Colombia is the nineteenth country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
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One of my lovely little coworkers, helping me have more cucumbers.
I've spent the past 2.5 days putting up veggies.
Those anti-fatigue kitchen mat things are hideously ugly, but...I'm beginning to think it might be worth keeping one rolled up in the pantry for canning days.
Chatham Manor is the Georgian-style home built between 1768 and 1771 by William Fitzhugh on The Rappahannock River in Stafford County,Virginia,opposite Fredericksburg.It was for more then a centruy of a large,thriving plantation.Flanking the main house were dozens of supporting structures: a dairy,ice house,barns,stables.Down on the river were fish traps.the 1,280-acea (5.2 km) estate including an orchard,mill,and a race track where Fitzhugh'horses vied with those of other planters for prize money.The house was named after British parlliamentarian Whilliam Pitt 1st Earl of Chatham,who was championed of many of the opinion held by American colonists prior to the Revolutionary War.
In January 1805,the plantation was the site of a minor slave rebellion.A number of slaves overpowered and whipped their overseer and assistants.An armed posse of white men quicky gathered to capture.One was killed in the attack,two died trying to escape,and two others were deported.
Fitzhugh owned upwards of one hundred slaves with any were from 60 to 90 being used at Chatham,depending on the season.most worked as field hands or home servants,but he also empoyed skilled tradsman such as millers,carpenters,and blacksmiths.Litte physical evidence remains show slaves livede;until recently,most knowlege of slaves at Chatham is from written records.
In January 1805,a number of Fitzhugh's slqaves rebelled after an overseer ordered slaves back to work at what they considered waso short an interval after the Christmas holidays.The slaves overpowered and whipped their overseer and four other who tried to make them return to work.An armed posse put down the rebellion and punished those involved.One black man was executed,two died while trying to escape,and two other were deported,perhaps to a slave colonny in the Caribbean.
A later owner of Chatham,Hannah Coulter,who acquied the plantation in the 1850s,tried to free her slaves through her will upon her death.She stated that,upon her death,her slaves would have the choice of being freed and migrating to Liberia,with passage paid for,or remaining as slaves for their new owner of Chatham.
That new owner,James Horace Lacy,took the will to court to challenge it and have it overturned.The court denied Coulter's slaves any chance of freedom by ruling that the 1857 Dred Scott Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court,had declared that slaves were property- without choice-and not person with choice.
The slave story at Chatham ended in 1865 with end of the Civil War,and passage of the Constitution Amendment abolishing the institution.
Has revealed a sketch made by a New Jersey soldier during the Civil War that showed other buildings at the Chatham site.Most slave dwellings were to be in the "rear",or non river side area of the estate,an area over cultivated an upon which had bullt 20th Century strustures.The sketchs show buildings to the south side of the manor house,in an area across a ravine away from the cental area of the property.The faint rooflines of the buildings in that area,thus indicating the possible location of heretofore unconfirmed slaves dwellings.More of the slave ere story at Chatham may now be discovered.
Fitzhugh was a friend and colleague of George Washington,whose family's farm was just down the Rappahannock River from Chatham.Washington's diaries note that he was a frequent guest at Chatham.He and Fitzhugh served together in the House of Burgesses prior to the American Revolution,and they shered a love of farming and horses.Fitzhugh 's daughter,Mary Lee,would marry the fist president's step grandson,george Washington Parke Custis.Their daughter wed the future Confederate General Robert Le.Lee.
That Thomas Jefferson and James Monre also visted at Chatham,begining a veritable "Who's Who" of important Americans who stopped in to enjoy Fitzhugh's hospitality.His feasts were legendary and included caviar the sturgeon in the Rapponnock.(They lasted in that habitat until the 1930s.)Fitzhugh trapped the fish in what essentially was a "caviar factory" on his river frontage.
In 1806 Major Churchill Jones,a former officer in the Continental Army,purchased the plantation for 20,000 dollars.His family owned the property for the next 66 years.
William Henry Harrison stopped by Chatham in 1841 on his way to be inaugurated as President.
The Civil War brought change and destruction to Chatham.At the time the house was owned by James Horace Lacy (1823-1906),a former schollteacher who had married Churchill Jone's niece.As a plantation owner and slaveholder,Lacy sympathized with the South,and at the age of 37 he left Chatham to serve the Confederacy as a staff officer.His wife and children remained at the house until the spring of 1862,when the arrial of union troops forced them to abandon the building and move in with relatives across the Rappahannock River in the beleagurered city of Fredericksburg.For much of the next thirteen months,Chatham would be occupied be the Union Army who would refer to the mansion as the "Lacy House" in their orders and reports as well as diaries and letters.
Northern officers initially utilized the building as a headquaters.In April 1862,Major General Irvin McDowwll brought 30,000 men to Fredericksburg.From his Chatham headquaters,the general supervised the repair of the Ricmond,Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad and the construction of several bridges across the Rappahannock River.Once that work was complete,General McDowell planned to march south and join forces with the Army of the Potomac outside of Richmond.
President Abraham Lincoln,journeyed to Fredericksburg to confer General McDowell about the movement,meeting with the general and his staff at Chatham.His visit gave Chatham the distinction of being one of three houses visited by both President Lincoln and President Washington ( the other two are Mount Vernon and Berkely Plantation).
Seven months after President Lincoln's visit,fighting erupt at Fredericksburg itself.In November 1862,Major General Ambrose E.Burnside brought 120,000 men Army of the Potomac to Fredericksburg.Using pontoon bridges,General Burnside crossed the Rappahannock River below Chatham,siezed Fredericksburg,and launched a series of bloody assaualts against General Lee's Confederates,who held the high ground behind the town.One of General Burnside's top generals,Major General Edwin Sumner,observed the battle from Chatham,while Union Artillery batteries shelled the Confederates from adjacent bluffs.
Fredericksburg was a disastrous Union defeat.General Burnside suffered 12,600 casualtties in the battle,many of whom were brought back to Chatham for care.For several days,army surgeons operated on hundreds of soldiers inside the house.Assisting them were volunteers,including pote Walt Whitman and Clara Barton,who later founded the American chapter of the International Red Cross.
Walt Whitman came to Chatham searching for a brother who was wounded in the fighting.He was shocked by the carnage.Outside the house,at the foot of a tree,he noticed "a heap of amputated feet,legs.arms,hands,ect -about a load for a one-horse cart.Several dead bodies lie near,'he added," each covered with its brown woolen blanket." In all,more that 130 Union soldiers died at Chatham and were buried on the grounds.After the war,their bodies were removed to the Frederciksburg National Cemetery.Years later when three additional bodies were discovered,the remains were buried at Chatham,in graves marked by granite stone lying flush to the ground.
In the winter following the battle,the Union Army camped in Stafford County,behind Chatham.The Confederate Army occupied Spotsylvania Court,across the Rappahannock River.Opposing pickets patrolled the riverfront,keeping a wary eye on their foe.Occasionally the men would trade newspapers and other articles by means of miniature sailboats.When not on duty,Union pickets slept at Chatham;Dorothea L.Dix of the United States Sanitary Commission operated a soup kitchen in the house.As the winter progreeed and firewood became scarce,some soldiers tore paneling from the walls for fuel.
Dr.Mary Edwards Walker served the wounded at Chatham.Dr Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor,the only women from the Civil War to be so recognized,for her meritorious service to the wounded during several battles.When the law for the Medal of Honor was changed to restrict the medal to combat veterans,she was asked to return hers.She refused and died with the medal in her possession.Her fammily continued to petition for the full restoration of the honor.In 1977,then-President JamesE.Carter signed the Congressional bill into law that restored Dr.Mary E.Walker's medal.
Military activvity resumed in the spring.In April 1863,the new Union commander,Major General Joseph Hooker,led most of the army uprive,crossing behind General Lee's tropps.Other portions remand in Stafford County,including General John Gibbon's divion at Chatham.The Confederates marched out to meet General Hooker's main force for a week fighting raged around a country crossroad known as Chancellorville.At the same time,Union troops crossed the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg and drove a Confederate force off of Marye's Hights,behind the town.Many of 1,00 casualties suffered by the Union Army in the engagement were sent back to Chatham.
By the time the Civil War ended in 1865,Chatham was desolate and severely damaged.Blood stains sportted the floor,graffiti marred its bare plaster walls and sections of the interior wood had been removed and used for firewood.In addition to the damage to the house itself there was a lot of damage to the grounds as well;The surrounding forests had been cut down for fuel,the gardens and several of the outbuildings where damaged or destroyed and the lawn had become a graveyard.In 1868 the Lacys returned to their home but were unable to maintain it properly and moved to another house they owned called "Ellwood",selling Chatham in 1872.
The property had a succession of owners until the 1920s,when Daniel and Helen DeVore undertook its retoration (and made significant changes).Their efforts can probably be credited with literally saving the house.In addition to restoration,the DeVore's re-oriented the house away from the river/West front and made the East entrance the main entrance.They also added a large,walled English-style garden on the East.As a result of their effords,Chatham regained its place among Virginia's finest homes.
Today the house and the 85 acres (340,000 m)of surrounding grounds are open to the public.The last owner John Lee Pratt purchased Chatham from the DeVores in 1931 for 150,000 cash.Chatham's distinction as a destination of note continued during his ownership.Serving as one of President Franklin D.Roosevelt's
"Dollar-a-Year" men,Pratt met and as vistors General of the Army George C.Marshall and General of the army Dwight D.Eisenhower.Upon Pratt's death in 1975,his will provided to the National Park Service.
Tami Nail starts her dream job as assistant curator at Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum this coming Monday. She replaces Michelle Mason, who moved up the the curator’s position.
Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Michael Evanoff, Under Secretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, and General Service's Administrator Emily Murphy cut the ribbon and officially open the Diplomatic Security Service’s newest training facility the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) in Blackstone, Va, Nov. 14, 2019. (U.S. Department of State photo)
He watches over the area as I try some long exposures of the river on a slightly bouncy wooden footbridge.
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I thought it only fair to show a photo of the assistants who helped on my photoshoot last weekend. The granddaughters are showing an interest in how it all works, and hope they continue to have fun with it.
USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg plays with Syrian children at Islahiye Refugee Camp in Turkey on January 24, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
A friendly store owner smiles to me. He is making a victory sign just out of view from below the counter. This instersting store sells a variety of doodads like fridge magnets, figurines etc. His specialty howver seems to be istikana, or traditional Turkish tea cups, scores of which can be seen on the shelves inside his store. He also seems to sell spouted jars.
On October 21, 2014, CSIS and USAID/DCHA's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) will host a major event, Advances and Challenges in Political Transitions. In honor of OTI's 20th anniversary, this conference will feature more than 40 experts and senior officials focusing on the challenges and opportunities of working in conflicts, crises, and political transitions. What will new conflicts look like, region by region? What role will extremism, organized crime, and chaotic violence play? What contributions will youth, women, the private sector, and technology make to prevention, mitigation, and recovery? And what tools, approaches, resources, and support will be needed to build more resilient societies in the coming years?
Agenda
Welcome and Opening Remarks
John Hamre, President, CEO, and Pritzker, CSIS
Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID
Keynote Address
Ambassador Alfonso E. Lenhardt, Deputy Administrator, USAID
Opening Presentation
Robert Lamb, Visiting Research Professor, U.S. Army War College, and Director and Senior Fellow (on leave), Program on Crisis, Conflict, and Cooperation, CSIS
Morning Plenary: Conflict Response and Recovery in Complex Environments
Moderator: Stephen Del Rosso, Program Director, International Peace and Security Program, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Panelists:
Stephen Lennon, Acting Director, OTI, USAID
Ambassador William Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration
David Yang, Deputy Assistant Administrator, DCHA Bureau, USAID
Morning Breakout Panels
Track 1: Violent Extremism in MENA
Moderator: Tom Sanderson, Codirector, Transnational Threats Project, CSIS
Panelists:
Robbie Harris, Senior Transition Advisor, USAID/OTI
David Hunsicker, Senior Conflict Advisor, USAID/CMM
Hunter Keith, Development Specialist, DAI
Mona Yacoubian, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Middle East Bureau, USAID
Track 2: Geography, Technology, and Data
Moderator: Amy Noreuil, Data Analysis Support, USAID/OTI
Panelists:
Noel Dickover, Senior Program Officer, PeaceTech Initiative, USIP
Ian Schuler, CEO and President, Development Seed
Jessica Heinzelman, Manager, ICT Strategic Initiatives, DAI
Ivan Sigal, Executive Director, Global Voices
Track 3: Urban Violence and Organized Crime
Moderator: Lt. Col. (Retired) Scott Mann, CEO and Founder, Stability Institute
Panelists:
Miguel Reabold, Honduras Country Representative, USAID/OTI
Scott Aughenbaugh, Fellow, International Security Program and Deputy Director, Strategic Futures, CSIS
Enrique Roig, Coordinator, Central America Regional Security Initiative, USAID
Lunchtime Plenary: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Moderator: Jim Kunder, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States
Panelists:
Robert Jenkins, Deputy Assistant Administrator, DCHA Bureau, USAID
Rick Barton, Former Assistant Secretary, Bureau for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Department of State
Johanna Mendelson Forman, Scholar in Residence, American University, and Senior Associate, CSIS
Steve Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
Afternoon Breakout Panels
Track 1: Future of Conflict in Africa
Moderator: Jennifer Cooke, Director, Africa Program, CSIS
Panelists:
John Langlois, Africa Advisor, USAID/OTI
Pauline Baker, President Emeritus, Fund for Peace
Track 2: Future of Conflict in Eurasia/Pacific
Moderator: Susan Kosinski Fritz, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Europe and Eurasia Bureau, USAID
Panelists:
Oren Murphy, Ukraine Country Representative, USAID/OTI
John R. Deni, Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational Security Studies, Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Track 3: Future of Conflict in Latin America
Moderator: Katie Prud'homme, Latin America and Caribbean Team Leader, USAID/OTI
Panelists:
Beth Hogan, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator LAC, USAID
Steven Dudley, Codirector, InSight Crime
Douglas Farah, President, IBI Counsultants, and Senior Fellow, International Assessment and Strategy Center
Afternoon Plenary: Evolution of Agencies and Resources
Moderator: Kathleen Hicks, Senior Vice President; Henry A. Kissinger Chair; Director, International Security Program, CSIS
Panelists:
William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State
Tom Perriello, Special Representative for the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, Department of State
Melissa Brown, Director, Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, USAID
OTI in Transition: A Brief Oral History (film)
Programs
PROGRAM ON CRISIS, CONFLICT, AND COOPERATION (C3)
Topics
DEFENSE AND SECURITY, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RECONSTRUCTION, GOVERNANCE, DEVELOPMENT POLICY