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Absalom Markland created the most efficient military mail system ever devised. Candice Shy Hooper tells his amazing story.

Image courtesy of interviewee. September 10, 2024

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This video recounts the story of Absalom Markland, a man from Kentucky who became a significant figure during the Civil War due to his role as a postal agent. He was a schoolmate of Ulysses Grant and later worked as a special agent for the post office, which made him integral in maintaining communication for the Union army. Markland's responsibilities included handling mail logistics during key battles, supporting Grant's military operations, and also implementing a money order system that improved soldiers' morale by enabling them to send money home safely.

The narrative emphasizes Markland's close relationship with Grant, showcasing how his entertaining personality complemented Grant's reserved nature, and how Grant trusted Markland's judgment in postal matters. Significant events included Markland’s role in facilitating Sherman’s famous march to the sea, where he cleverly managed mail deliveries to confuse Confederate forces.

Markland continued his postal career after the war, rising to a position where he was responsible for civil rights advancements, including hiring the first Black male railroad agent in Kentucky during a tumultuous post-war era influenced by the Ku Klux Klan. Throughout, the text highlights the often-overlooked importance of postal workers in history and their contributions to communication and morale during the Civil War. In conclusion, it calls for recognition of individuals like Markland who make vital, albeit unheralded, contributions to society.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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He was a man who was born in Kentucky.

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Um, went to school as a teenager with

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a man named Hiram Ulysses Grant,

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who later became Ulysses Grant,

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and then went on to, work as a lawyer.

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A steamboat man went to Washington DC just

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before the Civil War broke out.

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And when it did, became part

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of Abraham Lincoln's inner circle of Kentucky confidants.

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And then he was, wonderfully,

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hired by the post office department

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to become what they call the special agent.

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And those special agents are the predecessors

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of the postal inspectors that we know today.

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Um, and he, then was assigned

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to the district of cao, Illinois,

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which is spelled like Cairo, but they pronounce it cao.

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And it just so happened that his old school, chum

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Ulysses Grant, was the commanding general there.

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And that's where the story really begins.

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You're researching one thing, something comes up

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and it sort of sticks in your mind.

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And when I was researching my first book, which was about

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how the wives of four

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of Lincoln's generals affected their military careers,

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the name Absel Marclin popped up,

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just once in connection with Ulysses Grant.

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And then again, in connection with William Tecumseh Sherman.

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I never got that name out of my mind.

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Um, I figured he had something to do with the mail

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during the war, but I knew nothing more than that.

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And I had done much of my research on

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that first book at the Library of Congress.

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So I looked him up,

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and it turned out that there were some of his

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official papers, left to the Library of Congress.

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And from those papers, I could tell that he had been

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in every single place

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that Ulysses Grant had battles.

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Um, and they all related to the post office.

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So, with, with just those 60 pages

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of documents, I then embarked on,

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a journey.

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Um, sadly, it was during Covid I,

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so there were places I couldn't go.

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Um, but a lot of it I could find out,

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particularly the newspapers online.

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And amazingly though, Markland

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shows up perhaps once and oftentimes

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Only in a footnote in nearly every biography of Grant

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or Sherman, he was all over the newspapers

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during the Civil War.

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And from that, I realized that he was the man

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that was delivering the mail

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for the United States Army Generals always knew that

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it was just of the utmost importance to try

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to keep up communication between their soldiers

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and between essentially the front lines and the home front.

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And certainly, grant was, very much a part

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of this because in my first book, as I showed his wife,

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probably

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because she had an eye defect, did not write him.

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And he was depressed.

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He actually left the Army at one point, because of it.

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Uh, and when he went back into the Civil War,

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she still wouldn't write, but she traveled with him.

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But he knew the value of letters to his soldiers.

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And so when he ran into

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Markland in Cairo, Illinois, he asked him if,

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if he could keep up the letters

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with the soldiers, is how he put it.

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Um, and Markland said yes, even though he was an employee

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of the post office department.

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He said yes to this young brigadier general that, yes,

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I will, I will handle your mail.

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And as it happened,

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because Grant went from battle to battle to battle, winning

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the post office department,

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and certainly, Abraham Lincoln, the the administration

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supported him in doing that.

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And so he ended up being this highly unusual,

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personage in the Civil War where he was both,

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paid by the post office.

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So he was a civilian,

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but his duties were, ordered

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by the military, by the, by the general,

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because Grant, was

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so focused on making sure that his soldiers got the mail.

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And because as it happens,

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Absalon Markland was this wonderfully

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entertaining character.

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Um, and Grant was, was very reserved person,

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but he enjoyed, spirited talk.

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He enjoyed, being around, man,

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he enjoyed even pranks that were, were, were,

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played upon him.

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Um, the two of them just were, were very close

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And every time.

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And he trusted Mark Lynn's instincts on how

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to handle the male.

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And there, there're two very important,

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incidents of this.

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Um, the, the first one was when, when Markly

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suggested that they install a money order post,

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in Grants headquarters,

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before that time, the men either had to send cash

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through the mail, which Markland knew was very dangerous,

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or their families just didn't get the money,

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except there were certain circumstances.

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But, the post office department had never allowed a

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money order post to be put in with any army, position.

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But at that point, grant was the guy.

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And so, he wasn't able

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to have a money order department,

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which just enormously increased the morale of the men.

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They felt confident they could send their family money.

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The other great incident was when, Sherman,

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who had taken Atlanta

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and then had this amazing notion to just strike out

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for the sea and,

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cut all the ties, no communication.

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Uh, don't let the enemy know where you're going.

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Don't let them know what city you'll be in next.

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Don't let them know where you're going

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to come out at the end of it.

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Um, and Grant trusted Sherman to do that.

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And in conversation with Sherman,

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and Grant Marclin figured out how to try

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to fool the Confederates at the beginning so

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that they wouldn't know that Sherman had actually left

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with the bulk of his army and what direction he was going.

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And it was because of the way he would divert the mail

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deliveries during that time.

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Um, and then when in fact,

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Sherman arrives in Savannah, at the sea,

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and even Lincoln doesn't know that's where he's going to be.

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Markland is there in a boat with 20 tons of mail

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for his soldiers, is I think it's probably one of the most

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remarkable feats of logistics in the Civil War.

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Markland became a lawyer lobbyist in Washington,

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so that he could be near his wife instead

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of traveling all of the time.

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And when Grant became president in 1869,

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he asked Marclin

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to go back into the post office business

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and to take over supervision of Kentucky and Tennessee.

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Now, that would seem to be a, a real demotion from

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what Marclin had done by the end of the war,

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where he was basically in charge

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of the mail across the whole country.

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Um, but Markly took that job.

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And, in the book I talk about how

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Grant had appointed a postmaster general

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who had been a strong abolitionist before the war,

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and who began to place black men

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and women in positions of authority

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and responsibility in the post office department.

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Um, post mistresses, postmasters.

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Uh, at the same time that this was happening,

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the Ku Klux Klan was rising

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and they were most apparent and bloody and, and,

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and, and just, horrific crimes

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in the Carolinas.

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Uh, and so Congress was trying to, at least the Northern

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Republicans at that time, were trying to reign them in.

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We're trying to make sure

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that the states would enforce the laws,

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the states would not.

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Uh, so Markland

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with the full, approval of Grant

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and the Postmaster General hired the first

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black male railroad agent in,

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in Kentucky, which was the site of

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what they called the Bluegrass clan.

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The clan was actually very active there,

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but had not, hadn't gotten the attention.

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He hired this man named William Gibson,

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who is just the most courageous person

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and who deserves his own biography

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and who should be touted as one of the key,

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heroes of reconstruction.

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Uh, William Gibson gets on the train between Lexington

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and, and, and Louisville in the middle

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of Frankfurt, Kentucky, the Capitol.

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And on the first day, the people are just astounded

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that there is a black man with a uniform

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of the postal service on the train, having that job.

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And the second day he goes out, they're prepared.

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And at this one little lonely stop in Kentucky,

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these four men attack him.

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Uh, they tried to pull him off the train, then they tried

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to shoot him, but he was able to climb back into the car.

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Um, and from that point on, I, it was all reported

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To Markland.

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And Markland decided that they should have a squad

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of 10 soldiers accompany him.

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President Grant was in favor of that.

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Now, understand that Grant could have made a decision right

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then, or the Postmaster General just to pull

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that black man off and put a white man in his place,

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but he didn't.

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Uh, that went on for about a month.

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And then Grant said in a cabinet meeting

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that he wasn't going to do that anymore.

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That what he was going to do instead was just

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shut down the mail between Lexington and Louisville.

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That's the main line of the postal servicing in Kentucky.

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And it included the capital

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of Kentucky Frankfurt on that route.

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Well, in Congress, the southern

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Democrats, who had not tried at all

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to suppress the clan activity, suddenly realized

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that there could be real consequences

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to the actions of the clan.

12:59.575 --> 13:03.755
Um, they were just outraged that the male would be stopped.

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And literally within a month,

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the Ku Klux Klan Act was packed.

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A number of things of, certainly there are aspects

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of current day military postal service

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that can be directly traced back to him.

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The money orders, the fact that, the first thing

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that is done when, when a general

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or anybody sets up, Colonel,

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sets up a headquarters in a distant post, they prepare

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for the mail, usually the first plane

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that comes in to a headquarters, in a combat

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situation, a supply plane has the mail on it.

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So all of that is, is part of his legacy.

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But I think his real legacy is, is for all of us

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to really pay attention to the people

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around us who do things that make our life easier,

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that we don't normally, look for,

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that we don't normally pay attention to.

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Now, some of this came out during the pandemic when we all,

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you know, applauded the garbage workers and,

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and everybody else.

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But I think that's all part of this, the fact

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that nobody had really ever tried to find out

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how the mail was delivered, despite the fact

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that there are over a hundred thousand books about the Civil

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War, and almost every one of them includes a letter

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that was delivered.

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Most of the homage is given to the letter writer

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or the letter receiver for keeping it.

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But there was somebody in between those two

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that delivered it.

"Unseen Connections: The Role of Absalom Markland in Civil War Mail Delivery and Military Communication"

00:00:00 - He was a man who was born in Kentucky. went to school as a teenager with a man named Hiram Ulysses Grant, who later became Ulysses Grant, and then went on to, work as a lawyer. A steamboat man went to Washington DC just before the Civil War broke out. And when it did, became part of Abraham Lincoln's inner circle of Kentucky confidants. And then he was, wonderfully, hired by the post office department
00:00:47 - And those special agents are the predecessors of the postal inspectors that we know today. and he, then was assigned to the district of cao, Illinois, which is spelled like Cairo, but they pronounce it cao. And it just so happened that his old school, chum Ulysses Grant, was the commanding general there. And that's where the story really begins. You're researching one thing, something comes up and it sort of sticks in your mind.
00:01:29 - how the wives of four of Lincoln's generals affected their military careers, the name Absel Marclin popped up, just once in connection with Ulysses Grant. And then again, in connection with William Tecumseh Sherman. I never got that name out of my mind. I figured he had something to do with the mail during the war, but I knew nothing more than that. And I had done much of my research on that first book at the Library of Congress. So I looked him up, and it turned out that there were some of his
00:02:12 - And from those papers, I could tell that he had been in every single place that Ulysses Grant had battles. and they all related to the post office. So, with, with just those 60 pages of documents, I then embarked on, a journey. sadly, it was during Covid I, so there were places I couldn't go. but a lot of it I could find out, particularly the newspapers online.
00:02:55 - shows up perhaps once and oftentimes Only in a footnote in nearly every biography of Grant or Sherman, he was all over the newspapers during the Civil War. And from that, I realized that he was the man that was delivering the mail for the United States Army Generals always knew that it was just of the utmost importance to try to keep up communication between their soldiers and between essentially the front lines and the home front.
00:03:38 - of this because in my first book, as I showed his wife, probably because she had an eye defect, did not write him. And he was depressed. He actually left the Army at one point, because of it. and when he went back into the Civil War, she still wouldn't write, but she traveled with him. But he knew the value of letters to his soldiers. And so when he ran into

"Absalon Markland: The Unsung Hero of Civil War Communication"

00:04:18 - if he could keep up the letters with the soldiers, is how he put it. and Markland said yes, even though he was an employee of the post office department. He said yes to this young brigadier general that, yes, I will, I will handle your mail. And as it happened, because Grant went from battle to battle to battle, winning the post office department, and certainly, Abraham Lincoln, the the administration supported him in doing that.
00:05:01 - personage in the Civil War where he was both, paid by the post office. So he was a civilian, but his duties were, ordered by the military, by the, by the general, because Grant, was so focused on making sure that his soldiers got the mail. And because as it happens, Absalon Markland was this wonderfully entertaining character.
00:05:38 - but he enjoyed, spirited talk. He enjoyed, being around, man, he enjoyed even pranks that were, were, were, played upon him. the two of them just were, were very close And every time. And he trusted Mark Lynn's instincts on how to handle the male. And there, there're two very important, incidents of this. the, the first one was when, when Markly
00:06:21 - in Grants headquarters, before that time, the men either had to send cash through the mail, which Markland knew was very dangerous, or their families just didn't get the money, except there were certain circumstances. But, the post office department had never allowed a money order post to be put in with any army, position. But at that point, grant was the guy. And so, he wasn't able
00:07:00 - which just enormously increased the morale of the men. They felt confident they could send their family money. The other great incident was when, Sherman, who had taken Atlanta and then had this amazing notion to just strike out for the sea and, cut all the ties, no communication. don't let the enemy know where you're going. Don't let them know what city you'll be in next. Don't let them know where you're going to come out at the end of it. and Grant trusted Sherman to do that.
00:07:45 - and Grant Marclin figured out how to try to fool the Confederates at the beginning so that they wouldn't know that Sherman had actually left with the bulk of his army and what direction he was going. And it was because of the way he would divert the mail deliveries during that time. and then when in fact, Sherman arrives in Savannah, at the sea, and even Lincoln doesn't know that's where he's going to be. Markland is there in a boat with 20 tons of mail

"Resilience and Reform: Absalom Markland's Legacy in Civil War Logistics and Racial Equality"

00:08:29 - remarkable feats of logistics in the Civil War. Markland became a lawyer lobbyist in Washington, so that he could be near his wife instead of traveling all of the time. And when Grant became president in 1869, he asked Marclin to go back into the post office business and to take over supervision of Kentucky and Tennessee. Now, that would seem to be a, a real demotion from what Marclin had done by the end of the war,
00:09:06 - of the mail across the whole country. but Markly took that job. And, in the book I talk about how Grant had appointed a postmaster general who had been a strong abolitionist before the war, and who began to place black men and women in positions of authority and responsibility in the post office department. post mistresses, postmasters. at the same time that this was happening,
00:09:48 - and they were most apparent and bloody and, and, and, and just, horrific crimes in the Carolinas. and so Congress was trying to, at least the Northern Republicans at that time, were trying to reign them in. We're trying to make sure that the states would enforce the laws, the states would not. so Markland with the full, approval of Grant and the Postmaster General hired the first
00:10:32 - in Kentucky, which was the site of what they called the Bluegrass clan. The clan was actually very active there, but had not, hadn't gotten the attention. He hired this man named William Gibson, who is just the most courageous person and who deserves his own biography and who should be touted as one of the key, heroes of reconstruction. William Gibson gets on the train between Lexington
00:11:12 - of Frankfurt, Kentucky, the Capitol. And on the first day, the people are just astounded that there is a black man with a uniform of the postal service on the train, having that job. And the second day he goes out, they're prepared. And at this one little lonely stop in Kentucky, these four men attack him. they tried to pull him off the train, then they tried to shoot him, but he was able to climb back into the car. and from that point on, I, it was all reported
00:11:54 - And Markland decided that they should have a squad of 10 soldiers accompany him. President Grant was in favor of that. Now, understand that Grant could have made a decision right then, or the Postmaster General just to pull that black man off and put a white man in his place, but he didn't. that went on for about a month. And then Grant said in a cabinet meeting that he wasn't going to do that anymore. That what he was going to do instead was just shut down the mail between Lexington and Louisville. That's the main line of the postal servicing in Kentucky.

The Unsung Heroes of Communication During the Civil War: Mail Delivery and Its Impact on History**

00:12:38 - of Kentucky Frankfurt on that route. Well, in Congress, the southern Democrats, who had not tried at all to suppress the clan activity, suddenly realized that there could be real consequences to the actions of the clan. they were just outraged that the male would be stopped. And literally within a month, the Ku Klux Klan Act was packed. A number of things of, certainly there are aspects of current day military postal service
00:13:21 - The money orders, the fact that, the first thing that is done when, when a general or anybody sets up, Colonel, sets up a headquarters in a distant post, they prepare for the mail, usually the first plane that comes in to a headquarters, in a combat situation, a supply plane has the mail on it. So all of that is, is part of his legacy. But I think his real legacy is, is for all of us to really pay attention to the people
00:14:07 - that we don't normally, look for, that we don't normally pay attention to. Now, some of this came out during the pandemic when we all, you know, applauded the garbage workers and, and everybody else. But I think that's all part of this, the fact that nobody had really ever tried to find out how the mail was delivered, despite the fact that there are over a hundred thousand books about the Civil War, and almost every one of them includes a letter that was delivered.
00:14:52 - or the letter receiver for keeping it. But there was somebody in between those two that delivered it.

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