[May 29, 2024] People don’t learn much from history, which is unfortunate. My Dad was right about that and was correct in saying that we are much closer to historical events than we might imagine; we are all a step closer to history. I was blessed with family stories of the past, and I was surprised by what I’d learned and found interesting. I listened closely to the old family stories of intrigue, going off to war, tragedy, secrets, marriage and remarriage, death, and adventure, all passed down in the Satterfield family.
Many Satterfield families lived throughout the Middle and Southern Colonies of British America as they prospered with ten or more children for each married couple. They brought a strong work ethic and a love of freedom from England, the “old country.” The English tradition of family still remains a part of us. The surname Satterfield can be traced back to the late Middle Ages and a series of English civil wars known as the War of the Roses. Our name is spelled alternatively as “Saterfield” with one “t” or “Sutterfield.”
Members of several Satterfield families originally immigrated from central England to the Maryland and Delaware British colonies in the early 1700s and were Patriots during the American Revolution and fought the British as “minutemen.” Most were simple farmers, carpenters, and merchants with large families, devoted Christians, and committed to their local communities. And Satterfield men were there at Guilford Courthouse in 1781 with a Maryland unit that was cut up badly by a red-coat British regiment.
As told to me and also found in written records, my great-great-grandfather, Colonel Basil B. Satterfield, was a 36th Tennessee State Militia member and an Army colonel by 1828 at the young age of 24. His militia was initially formed to fight in the War of 1812 against the British occupation. Basil was an important figure in the post-War of 1812 period and later in the politics of Southern rights leading up to the American Civil War. Basil’s older brother Peter, born in 1796, served in the 2nd Tennessee militia and fought as an Infantryman during the War of 1812, one of many volunteers under Andrew Jackson.
And so it was that I also learned about the American Civil War. In the Deep South, we called it “The War Between the States.” Growing up, I heard tales of bravery, comradeship, the impact of war on families, and the terrible cost both on the battlefield and after the war. My family members fought on both sides of this war, for the Union and the Confederacy. It is true brother often fought brother. Grandpa Douglas James Satterfield, my namesake, would take me aside to tell me stories of his grandfather, Basil B. Satterfield and his family.
Basil B. had considerable land and wealth in his early years, being one of the wealthiest and most respected men from Hickman County, east of the Duck River in Tennessee. He was a farmer and carpenter by trade and owned a store, often building caskets. Basil died in 1885 of a gunshot wound to the right side of his head. In a newspaper article at the time, it said that he was handing a pistol to his daughter when it discharged, striking near his eye and killing him.
Basil’s younger brother, Sergeant John S. Satterfield of Company G, Napir’s Cavalry, played a heroic role at the famous Battle of Gettysburg of the Civil War in July 1863. John S. Satterfield was there when Confederate General James Longstreet gave the order to General Pickett to “advance at the ready” into the heavily defended, entrenched positions of the Union Army center. The battle for the Confederacy that day went badly.
As the story goes, Pickett was against the order to attack but enthusiastically did his best to make Longstreet’s plan work. The attack failed. Sergeant John S. Satterfield was a color bearer in that Infantry charge up Cemetery Ridge in support of the Pickett’s Virginia Infantry. His unit was decimated by accurate Union musket fire. Miraculously, John survived the battle, as few color guards did, because those carrying the “Stars and Bars” of the Confederacy were a conspicuous target for sharpshooters.
While Basil’s participation in the Civil War is largely unknown to us, we know that in the post-war times, he lost his property and was impoverished, like thousands of other veterans from the South. While this had little long-term impact on the lineage of Satterfield, the harsh conditions of Reconstruction in the South to bring Southerners back into the Union simultaneously destroyed livelihoods and families’ fortunes. The backlash was swift and unfortunate, as groups like the Klu Klux Klan arose to fight back.
A question asked more recently was whether Satterfield family members owned slaves. We know there were no slave owners in my family lineage, supported by county documents such as Wills and Property records, letters, newspaper articles, and informal family stories. Of course, a complete answer to that question can never be fully answered for all branches of the family, as there were many scattered throughout the country.
Satterfield husbands and wives were supportive of their family, church, community, and country. Like so many others, they were real Americans and helped make our nation a great place.
Sometimes, history is only one conversation away. You are much closer to history than you might think. All you have to do is ask.
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NOTE: See all my letters here: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
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Please read my books:
BEAUTIFUL
Very nice and loving, and I have to admit, entertaining letter to your granddaughter, Gen. S. I’m hooked on your letters and like others have said, please continue publishing them for us. I sure am learning a lot about the Deep South and your personality (through your lens of your letters), I’m discovering that childhood might just be a bit chaotic and that is why having both parents around, plus siblings is so important. And, let us not forget the rest of the family and neighbors.
Another great and informative and entertaining letter to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter and that gives me the motivation and the know how to write my letters to my future kids and grandkids. For those like me who never met my grandparents (because they passed away from early cancer), you could learn a lot from them thru their letters. Maybe there are better ways but if they had written letters to me, then I would have had information directly ‘from the horses mouth,’ so to speak. Or maybe an autobiography, but how many write those long narratives anyway?
This is why we have computers now, little excuse not to.
My favorite letter yet. ❤
Very nice letter, I mean great letter to your granddaughter. Gen. Satterfield you continue to impress me with your on-going series to educate your granddaughter on what it took to raise you to become a person who could take on great responsibility. Well done! Keep your letters coming our way, thank you!
I’ve been a huge fan of Gen. Satterfield and reading his articles now for more than four years and have got to say that these letters to his granddaughter is one of my favorite articles, hands down. I only wish they could continue for more than the 100 that Gen. S. originally committed to. Well, let’s see if we can convince him to write more of them. Maybe 200???? Go for it, Gen. Satterfield.
Us Texans will convince him, if no one else will. What da ya say? Don’t mess with Texas.
Ya just gotta love these letters.
Just love this letter, No. 75 and telling us about the past of the “Satterfield” family. Great job, given that this is just a letter. Summing it up here was not easy but I like the final product. Now, I know that some folks will be like “why does he write about his past and his family’s past?” And, well that is, in part, just what Gen. Satterfield wants to do. It’s his website and he can do as he wants. But also, these letters – taken together – begin to form a picture of the little kid Doug Satterfield and that picture is a kid who suddenly realized that there was a whole world out there that was beyond his imagination and he was going to go there and find out about it, join in, and be part of that great world. He did it, and he also tells us about his struggles to do so.
Liz, I thinkyou’ve hit upon something here and that is when we read these letters we are attracted to them in some way that is hard to put your finger on it. I think that is what you said, that he realized the world was bigger than the small town he grew up in and the transition (I couldn’t think of a better word) to it was a bit of a challenge. Thanks.
You just gotta learn history. And from the family is the first step.
Nice, long letter and a first glimpse into the history of the Satterfield family.
What I like most about this particular letter is that Gen. Satterfield is beginning to address the courage of many of his relatives and their participation in various wars that America has been embroiled in. You can see that they have always been great patriots.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/why-im-an-american-patriot/
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COURAGE, a reoccurring theme in Gen. Satterfield’s letters. But, as Gen. S. has written before, “There is a thin line between courage and stupidity.”
Yep!!!!!!!!!!
These letters make my day.
So many letters and so many to read and enjoy. Gen. Satterfield has hit upon a really good idea here, IMHO. He is willing to share much of his childhood with us, with the idea that we all can do well in life if we are willing to do several things that are common across all cultures and all times. This is summed up in Biblical passages, esp. those from the old testament. Read more of Gen. Satterfield and you will see this to be true.
Loving and beautiful …. thank you, Gen. Satterfield for sharing your letters.
Whenever I log onto my computer in the morning, the first thing I do is go to Gen Satterfield’s website to see if there is another “Letter to My Granddaughter” and today I was rewarded with another one. I’m also glad that Gen. Satterfield made it easier for us to go back and read any or all of his letters in this tab https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/ 😊 Take some time and read again some of the earlier letters and see how they are slowly changing and improving too. Just another reason to read them, even if I have to admit that I read them mostly for entertainment purposes and not to learn about how to be a good leader. But the letters do show how to be a good person, and it takes MORE than that person but being surrounded by others who an help you and that is where the family comes into play. 😊
Rowen, I want to thank you for your comments about reading these letters for their “entertainment value.” I must admit that is also why I read them. But as you read more and more of them, they start to develop a pattern of thought and behavior that leads to what others have called “connect the dots” and that connection is with his family and friends and learning to live with your duties and responsibilities. No wonder that Gen. Satterfield says to always tell the truth.
Thank you, Pastor John.
.. and to you as well, Gen. Satterfield. I’ve read all your letters and realized that my life too was much like yours and most folks will say that I turned out okay. My job is to help others and that I do thru my church and God. And, I do appreciate you also being a man of God. Bless you and your family.
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FANTASTIC and LOVING at the same time. I see now that Gen. Satterfield is willing to share from family lore that goes back into the beginnings of the mid to early 1700s when his relatives immigrated from England. Many here in America, have relatives who immigrated from England around that time. If we look at English history, we can see why the waves of immigration from that part of Europe was going on. War, religious persecution, famine, short life spans, little ability to be a free man (or woman), and governments that were small and failing and brutal, plus punishment for any serious crime was death. Better to live in a more risky but country that you could expand and not worry about so much of the European way of life.
💖 Gen. Satterfield, I just love these letters. 💖
Very good letter. I hope your granddaughter likes this one as much as I did. And I don’t want to sound redundant but these letters are a highlight of my reading week.
LM, good to hear from you again and I hope she does, as well.
Yes, LM well said. But MORE than a ‘very good’ letter because in this case the letter is truly revealing in that his relatives were fighters in various wars of America, just like Gen. Satterfield himself was involved. And I know that all the snowflakes and radical leftists will disagree with me on this (and I don’t give a shi#) but that is one of the main reasons America is so strong since the men are willing to fight for the freedoms that America offers us all. You just have to be willing to sacrifice to be part of it, and the snowflakes aren’t willing to do that. They just want their food and clothing handed to them on a golden platter … and it ain’t going to happen. Rant complete, ha ha ha ha ha
🇺🇸 America first! 🇺🇸
Gen. Satterfield is doing us all a favor by publishing these letters to his granddaughter. And for many reasons that I have written about in the leadership forum here. I recommend those who are new to go back and start with his first letter, like Jane (below0 notes that she did.
Yes, indeed, he is. What I would like to see is more “connect the dots” flushed out.
That is what Gen. Satterfield does best.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/clearing-the-spindle-connect-the-dots/
I really loved this letter to your granddaughter, Gen. Satterfield. Wow #75, and me enjoying each and every one. Now I have had time to read all of them from #1 to now, I must say I’m hooked on them. Perhaps you might, just might consider putting all these into a book and publishing it. Plus, like your other two books, you could insert related articles and do the “connect the dots” strategy to tie them all together. Again, great job, keep your letters coming. ❤