Post by CornFedReb on Dec 31, 2007 20:04:56 GMT -5
31 December, 2007 AD
The Humble Cow Pea
Tomorrow is New Years Day, 2008. Here in the South we are fond of tradition and one of the traditions which will be observed tomorrow is the eating of Black-eyed Peas also known in the South as Cow Peas and often served in a dish known as Hoppin’-John.
Tradition is a good and useful thing. It’s purpose is to make us remember and it serves to teach those who were too young to witness the original lesson first hand what was so important to their ancestors.
So what’s so important about Black-eyed Peas? What lesson could that humble little pea possibly teach us? Well, let me tell you a little story.
The Cow Pea was brought to the shores of North America in the late 1600s. It was not considered a food source for humans, hence the name, Cow Peas. They were grown for feeding livestock. That was, until the turbulent period between 1861 and 1865 when Southerners were fighting for the independence of their Southland.
During this time the US Army had the custom of burning everything in it path that it couldn’t steal and use for itself or ship North. Cash crops like cotton and tobacco were often burned to prevent its use in funding the Confederate cause. All food crops were also stolen or burned often leading to the intentional starvation deaths of thousands of Southern women and children. One crop that was often overlooked was the Cow Pea. It was just an animal feed and with the animals stolen and shipped North or shot and left to rot where they fell, what was the since in expending the time and manpower in burning a useless livestock feed crop?
History has it that during the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi the ravaging horde of United States troops burned every food crop surrounding the city that their vandal torches could touch. Every available food source left to the citizens of Vicksburg, animal or vegetable was laid waste. The patriotic citizens held out for as long as possible eating shoe leather and rat meat. If an artillery mule was accidentally killed by an incoming federal shell, its meat barely had time to cool before it was cut up and distributed to the starving civilians and soldiers in the city. The shelling was so thick from the federal guns that the citizens took to living in dank and filthy bomb-proof caves cut from dirt banks. Disease took its toll along with starvation. No doubt, the prayers rose thickly to Heaven from Vicksburg during that brutal siege and prayers were answered. It was discovered that the Cow Peas were still available and they didn’t taste so bad after all when you’re hungry. The dried peas were ground into flower and mixed with water to make bread. They weren’t too bad just boiled in water or even eaten raw. The threat of death from starvation has a way of making things look different. I know it’s hard to imagine anyone turning up their nose at Black-eyed Peas today but back then it would have been like asking someone to eat dried dog food or a bag of goat feed.
Even though the city of Vicksburg eventually fell to the forces of federal despotism, the lives of many Southerners were spared due to the little Cow Pea. This scene was played out all across the South, especially in the swath of desolation cut by Sherman in his vindictive march to the sea.
But what has the little Cow Pea taught us? Why have we remembered it every year since the close of that war so long ago? Many people will just tell you that eating Black-eyed Peas will bring you good luck and that’s as far as the story is ever told. But for our Southern ancestors it wasn’t about good luck. They had something else they wanted us to know and remember. The lesson taught by the Cow Pea was a blessing from God. It reminded us that God never places a burden on us too great to bear and he always leaves a way out to the faithful. It was a lesson in humility. Sometimes the way out is to humble ourselves. The Cow Pea showed us that we can adapt and persevere in the face of death and overwhelming odds. It gave us hope when all hope had fled. It was a symbol of strength in that the small and insignificant can confound the strong and mighty.
And there are other things the little pea taught us that our fathers wish us to remember every year. But this is where I start to talk of things that scare my friends and family and those who were raised in government schools, learning government lies from government textbooks printed up North.
Our fathers wanted us to remember the importance of liberty through Southern independence. To them, it was worth every deprivation imaginable. It was worth starvation and disease. It was worth dismemberment, blindness and other horrific wounds on the battlefield and slow death. It was worth the risk of rotting in a government prison. It was worth losing all your worldly possessions. Liberty at every cost save the loss of honor because the alternative was slavery under a despotic government.
Our fathers wanted us to remember their noble Cause and the sacrifices they made for it. They wanted us to vindicate that Cause. Not by merely talking about it and remembering it but by making the same kind of sacrifices they made. So tomorrow, and every New Year’s Day henceforth, when you hoist a forkful of savory Hoppin’- Jon to your palate, think about this; Are we more free today than our ancestors 140 years ago? If you say yes, go back to sleep. If you say no, prepare with me for hard times and sacrifice.
Happy New Year.
The Humble Cow Pea
Tomorrow is New Years Day, 2008. Here in the South we are fond of tradition and one of the traditions which will be observed tomorrow is the eating of Black-eyed Peas also known in the South as Cow Peas and often served in a dish known as Hoppin’-John.
Tradition is a good and useful thing. It’s purpose is to make us remember and it serves to teach those who were too young to witness the original lesson first hand what was so important to their ancestors.
So what’s so important about Black-eyed Peas? What lesson could that humble little pea possibly teach us? Well, let me tell you a little story.
The Cow Pea was brought to the shores of North America in the late 1600s. It was not considered a food source for humans, hence the name, Cow Peas. They were grown for feeding livestock. That was, until the turbulent period between 1861 and 1865 when Southerners were fighting for the independence of their Southland.
During this time the US Army had the custom of burning everything in it path that it couldn’t steal and use for itself or ship North. Cash crops like cotton and tobacco were often burned to prevent its use in funding the Confederate cause. All food crops were also stolen or burned often leading to the intentional starvation deaths of thousands of Southern women and children. One crop that was often overlooked was the Cow Pea. It was just an animal feed and with the animals stolen and shipped North or shot and left to rot where they fell, what was the since in expending the time and manpower in burning a useless livestock feed crop?
History has it that during the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi the ravaging horde of United States troops burned every food crop surrounding the city that their vandal torches could touch. Every available food source left to the citizens of Vicksburg, animal or vegetable was laid waste. The patriotic citizens held out for as long as possible eating shoe leather and rat meat. If an artillery mule was accidentally killed by an incoming federal shell, its meat barely had time to cool before it was cut up and distributed to the starving civilians and soldiers in the city. The shelling was so thick from the federal guns that the citizens took to living in dank and filthy bomb-proof caves cut from dirt banks. Disease took its toll along with starvation. No doubt, the prayers rose thickly to Heaven from Vicksburg during that brutal siege and prayers were answered. It was discovered that the Cow Peas were still available and they didn’t taste so bad after all when you’re hungry. The dried peas were ground into flower and mixed with water to make bread. They weren’t too bad just boiled in water or even eaten raw. The threat of death from starvation has a way of making things look different. I know it’s hard to imagine anyone turning up their nose at Black-eyed Peas today but back then it would have been like asking someone to eat dried dog food or a bag of goat feed.
Even though the city of Vicksburg eventually fell to the forces of federal despotism, the lives of many Southerners were spared due to the little Cow Pea. This scene was played out all across the South, especially in the swath of desolation cut by Sherman in his vindictive march to the sea.
But what has the little Cow Pea taught us? Why have we remembered it every year since the close of that war so long ago? Many people will just tell you that eating Black-eyed Peas will bring you good luck and that’s as far as the story is ever told. But for our Southern ancestors it wasn’t about good luck. They had something else they wanted us to know and remember. The lesson taught by the Cow Pea was a blessing from God. It reminded us that God never places a burden on us too great to bear and he always leaves a way out to the faithful. It was a lesson in humility. Sometimes the way out is to humble ourselves. The Cow Pea showed us that we can adapt and persevere in the face of death and overwhelming odds. It gave us hope when all hope had fled. It was a symbol of strength in that the small and insignificant can confound the strong and mighty.
And there are other things the little pea taught us that our fathers wish us to remember every year. But this is where I start to talk of things that scare my friends and family and those who were raised in government schools, learning government lies from government textbooks printed up North.
Our fathers wanted us to remember the importance of liberty through Southern independence. To them, it was worth every deprivation imaginable. It was worth starvation and disease. It was worth dismemberment, blindness and other horrific wounds on the battlefield and slow death. It was worth the risk of rotting in a government prison. It was worth losing all your worldly possessions. Liberty at every cost save the loss of honor because the alternative was slavery under a despotic government.
Our fathers wanted us to remember their noble Cause and the sacrifices they made for it. They wanted us to vindicate that Cause. Not by merely talking about it and remembering it but by making the same kind of sacrifices they made. So tomorrow, and every New Year’s Day henceforth, when you hoist a forkful of savory Hoppin’- Jon to your palate, think about this; Are we more free today than our ancestors 140 years ago? If you say yes, go back to sleep. If you say no, prepare with me for hard times and sacrifice.
Happy New Year.
