I began this stroll down memory lane with only the last paragraph reprinted in a December 20, 1903 Norwich Bulletin article as Bulletin Editors Gift to Jefferson Davis. Not explained was that Isaac Hill Bromley was the editor of The Norwich Bulletin when he wrote the letter,and a master of writing irony. He explained in other columns of the Bulletin the letter was written at the request of a friend “who placed the relic alluded to at our disposal. At his request we publish the letter as a matter of local interest.”
So with a little help from my friends and Newspapers.com who have digitized thousands of papers and articles including this issue of the White Cloud Kansas Chief (White Cloud, Kansas) of Thu, Jun 13, 1861.
Norwich, Conn to Montgomery, Ala.
The appended letter we clip from the Norwich (Conn) Weekly Courier of the 28th of February, and we recommend it to the attention of our readers as a caustic production, containing a decidedly palpable bit. No one can fail to see the point. The letter and its sentiments will lose none of their interest in this community. I. H. Bromley, the writer of the letter, is the editor of the Courier:
Hon. Jefferson Davis, President of the “Confederate States of America:”
The position in which you have been placed by the action of the representatives of six newly confederated States, and the magnitude of the business in which you and your associates are engaged, have emboldened me, a private citizen of a New England State, to address you a few words in presentation of the enclosed revolutionary relic.
The associations that cluster around the birth of great events are rarely lost to history. There is no inhabited place where you may not find treasured bits of wood and stone, or consecrated soil, in all respects like other wood and stone and earth, except that their associates with great events has made them sacred as relics, or immortalized them in history.
The landing of a ship load of refugees from tyranny upon the jutting ledge of a barren coast made Plymouth Rock immortal. The bell whose tongue proclaimed the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the hall in which that instrument was perfected, and all the inanimate things connected in the minds of men with that event, could, by no formula of consecration be made more sacred than they are. The world abounds, too, in relics of its great men ho have lived for good or evil, left their impress on their ages, and became names immortal. We are not content with a mere observance of the birthdays of our heroes, statesmen, philosophers, or any of those whose names we honor, and whose memories we revere. We gather momentoes of their lives, and treasure as relics the most insignificant trifles that have been consecrated by their touch.
Every epoch in the world’s history has reached forward its handful of relics to the next incoming era, and every revolution has gathered in its way the tinder in which the fire of the next has been kindled. The power of association links together great events, and it is a single train of thought that takes in Magna Charta, Plymouth Rock, and Independence Hall.
There are events of note in our revolutionary history which will readily be connected in the minds of thinking men with the undertaking in which you are engaged. True, Lexington and Concord may have no significance at Charleston and Pensacola, but I think there are memories of West Point which may not be wholly meaningless at Montgomery.
It is the fortune – of good or ill as you as you may choose to term it – of the town in which I live, to be associated with one of the events to which I have alluded; and the little memento thereof which I enclose, has a history which I think will appeal more strongly to your sympathies than could almost any other relic of the revolution.
This pen holder was fashioned from a rafter in the roof under which was born, a man – more than any other in the age in which he lived – your prototype. His name figures largely in all our revolutionary history. He was a soldier, like yourself, and of the same rank in the army. His name, like yours, was synonymous with bravery. Like you, he fought well and bravely the battles of his country; never flinching from danger, but always in the thickest of the fight; impetuous and rash at times, but never cowardly, and always daring to lead “where any dared to follow.” I mean no detraction from the reputation you have so hardly earned when I say he was your equal in courage, loyalty and patriotism. More need not be said. Sixty years have been passed since his death, but no monumental marble bears the inscription of his name and virtues. Yet he is not forgotten. For more than half a century past, the house from whence this relic came has been pointed out to the passing stranger as the birth place of Benedict Arnold.
I have taken occasion to present to you this pen holder, as the relic whose associations are linked most closely to the movement of which you are the lead. Let it lie upon your desk for use in your official duties. In the ‘eternal fitness of things’ let that be its appropriate place. It links 1780 with 1861. Through it, West Point speaks to Montgomery (Ala.). And if we may believe that spirits do ever return and haunt this mundane sphere, we may reckon with what delight Benedict Arnold’s immortal part will follow this fragment of his parental roof tree to the hands in which is being consummated the work which he began.
Hoping that you will accept this gift in the spirit in which it is tendered, I have the honor to remain,
Your obedient servant,
I. H. Bromley
Walk Norwich, CT conductors please add this tale to your performances. I followed up with Beauvoir, The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, Biloxi, MS and they were not able to locate the relic. It was worth a try though.
Thank you for reading and sharing my history and Norwich Community blog freely with your family or friends or anyone you think might be interested or in a position to take on some of the suggested projects. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further information. I am happy to pass along anything I can. Together we can make a difference. Email comments on this blog to berylfishbone@yahoo.com View my past columns at http://www.norwichbulletin.com/section/blogs.