Talk about being divided! The following is from an Internet posting by John T. Williams. I'd like to see that monument! (Better yet, I'd like to post a photo of it here!) I remember Red Skelton once did something like this in a comedy... - Jonah


The Half and Half Monument


"Being a graduate of the University of Alabama and a native of that fine state, here is some poop on the issue of part of Alabama trying to stay in the Union. Winston County is just north of Walker County (around Jasper), northwest of Birmingham, north of Tuscaloosa. This area is very rugged plateau piney woods country and was a hot bed of Northern sympathy. The county seat of Winston County is Double Springs, and the monument in the courthouse square today features a Civil war soldier...the left half is dressed as a Confederate, the right half as a Western Union private. Winston County was adamantly opposed to secession and the representative of the county so opposed secession he threatened to secede from Alabama and was tossed into jail in Montgomery. To my knowledge, the county did not secede, but sent more troops to the Union Army than to the Southern army. However, following the burning of the University of Alabama, and after Forrest became a regional hero, the county generally grudgingly did their patriotic duty to the State.

A similar story exists for the Free State of Jones County, Mississippi. This is even more famous in that supposedly letters were sent asking for Sherman to help, and a regiment was raised to defend the county from the forces of the Confederacy. And the Confederacy did send two expeditions into the county to put down the "rebellion."