When we think of the Fourth of July, all too many people think of a holiday with family gatherings, fireworks and backyard barbecues. Somehow over the years we have lost much of the sense of gratitude for our country’s forefathers, what they accomplished and the timeless documents they created.
We still have some wonderfully patriotic and enjoyable events, like Fireworks on the Water, but all too many view those events as entertainment rather than their true meaning as a celebration of Independence Day. That was not always the case, and it is fascinating to look at celebrations from years ago. Columbus newspapers from 1838 devoted many articles to the Fourth of July celebrations.
The celebrations in both Columbus and Macon commenced with the firing of a cannon followed by a parade, speeches and then a community dinner. All of the speeches were on patriotic themes and nonpolitical, as were the toasts at the dinners.
The Columbus celebration was a rather elaborate day-long event and it started early. At sunrise a cannon was fired as a “federal salute” and to signal “the hoisting (of) the National Flag.” Then at 9 a.m., a procession formed in “Franklin Square” (grounds of Franklin Academy). It was led by the “Columbus Band” and composed of local military units, the day’s “Orator and Reader,” clergy, Capt. William Vance — a veteran of the Revolutionary War “whose silver locks bespoke him of another age” — public officials, students and teachers, “strangers” and local citizens. Lastly, and for good reason, were the mounted “Columbus Dragoons” military company. One of the military companies was “Colonel Byrn’s juvenile company in their red hunting shirts and white pantaloons and feathers.”
The procession commenced at “the firing of a gun” and proceeded through town. Its route was “down Seminary Street (at Franklin on 3rd Avenue North) to Market Street; down Market Street to Main street; down Main Street to St. John’s Street (Catfish Alley); down St. John’s Street to Washington Street (College Street); up Washington to Market; up Market to Main; up Main to Caledonia Street (7th Street North) to the Episcopal Church (corner of 7th and 4th Avenue North and location of Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum), where the “services of the day” were performed.
The day’s services consisted of prayers, music, speeches and a reading of the Declaration of Independence. After the service the procession returned to Franklin Square where a “feu de joi” was fired as a signal to disband. There followed the firing of a “national salute” at one o’clock and at two o’clock a dinner at the Columbus Hotel concluded the festivities. At sundown a gun was fired to signal the lowering of the National Flag.
There was also a grand celebration at the old town of Nashville which was once a ferry crossing and thriving Tombigbee River landing between Columbus and the Alabama state line. There, in a grove of “China trees,” a large crowd gathered for a barbecue and to hear “orators.” A newspaper article described the event: “The firing of the cannon was a signal for the commencement of the services. The citizens of Noxubee county and ‘Old Pickens’ in Ala. had been pouring in all morning, and the ladies, always lovely, but never more so, than when they assembled around the alter of freedom, graced the occasion with their bewitching smiles.
“The service consisted of Rev. Henry Petty briefly ‘alluding to the glorious cause’ and then giving a prayer. F.A. Lacy of Nashville read the Declaration of Independence. There was music and a speech by William Harris of Columbus. Then the company repaired to the banks of the Tombigbee River where the most sumptuous feast the eye ever looked upon had been spread out.” Col. Samuel. D. Lauderdale was President of the day.
The barbecue concluded with numerous toasts. Mostly patriotic but including:
“By a Bachelor. The Ladies of Nashville — The fairest of the fair.
By an Alabamian. The Yeomanry of Lowndes, Noxubee and Pickens — Honest, independent, hospitable and fearless.
The last toast. Our spirits are high, but the sun has gone down — we had better ‘cut out.'”
The concluding paragraph of the Nashville article could as well have been said of all the reported celebrations: “The company separated about dark, perfectly satisfied with the manner in which they had spent the day. Politics were not alluded to in a single instance — all was harmony and good feeling.”
Rufus Ward is a local historian. Email your questions about local history to him at [email protected].
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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