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The cover for the book To Concerned Americans contains abundant meaning and symbolism relevant to the book’s content and personally to author John White. In the following essay John shares some of the story behind the cover.
The prominent symbol that first attracts the eye is a modern U.S. flag waving in the breeze. The flag is held up by an age worn, but still sturdy, wooden flagpole. The focus of the book is our nation, the United States of America. That banner is unique among the world’s nations. That flag has drawn to it people from throughout the world looking for freedom and opportunity in a magnitude unprecedented in history.
The flag is supported by an old yet reliable staff firmly secured in a mound of solid rock.The mound is a modified photo of a steep hill underlaid by a rich silver and gold deposit where I once worked. America has been blessed with a vast array of natural resources spread through the land; minerals, petroleum, forests, and rich farmlands, that helped the nation grow an economy of a combined magnitude and per capita living standard unparalleled in history. The hill also represents the firm Constitutional foundation established by the nation’s founders.
Moving into the background, we see a broad blackened hillside with barren ground and trees stripped of their leaves. This is part of a picture of a several miles long hill located east of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The picture was taken shortly after the Civil War battle of Missionary Ridge. My great great grandfather George Van Valkenburg was a participant in that desperate fight. My book begins with a consideration of events that led up to the Civil War that took the lives of more American soldiers than any other war we have fought. His story gives some personal connection and perspective to the book’s Civil War comments.
George lived in Pecatonica, a small town in Winnebago County, Illinois. He enlisted inSeptember of 1862 with the 74th Illinois Volunteer Regiment of the Union army, along with several friends and relatives including his brother Henry. Prior to the confrontation at Missionary Ridge, they had already been involved in the battles of Perrysville, Murfreesboro (Stone River),and Chickamauga, as well as many minor skirmishes. They spent time between battles, setting up and taking down their tent camps, marching at odd hours of the day and night, and constructing breech works, in efforts to maneuver and position their army to engage the rebel forces. George's brother-in-law, Lumen Billock, had already died on August 9, 1863.
The rebel forces had laid siege to Chattanooga for two months and controlled the hills and mountain ridges east and south of the town. After Union reinforcements arrived, plans were made to attempt to dislodge the rebels from their reinforced positions on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Here is George Van Valkenburg's description of the events from his diary.
"Nov 15 Received a beautiful flag from the ladies of Rockford... Nov 22 Had orders to hold ourselves in readiness to move at any moment with two days rations. Nov 23 We moved out to the front at two PM. Had considerable skirmishing capturing three pieces of artillery and 140 prisoners. Nov 24 We laid in line all day. Hooker attacked them on Lookout Mountain and drove them off after a severe struggle. Nov 25 This day all was quiet until afternoon when we moved forward in line of battle outside the works. At 2 PM our skirmishers became engaged driving the rebels slowly back. At 3 our lines started double quick charging Missionary ridge. I was struck in the head when near the top. At 5 o'clock our troops had full possession of the rebel works.
"George’s terse descriptions leave out many details of that day. There were 25,000 Union troops that charged the ridge. The new 74th regimental flag was the first to reach and be planted at the top of the ridge after having been carried by four different soldiers, the first three having been wounded or killed, each in turn passing the flag to the next volunteer as they scaled the ridge. General Grant’s orders had been to merely move up to the rebel’s forward positions, and not take the hill. Assistant Secretary of War Charles Dana who witnessed the battle reported later to president Lincoln that the assault on the ridge “was one of the greatest miracles in military history.”i
Because of his head injury, George received a two-month furlough during which he was able to go home and visit his family. After returning to his unit, he visited the battle site atMissionary Ridge on February 3, 1864. "This day I visited Mission Ridge... the traces of the late charge were yet distinctly visible. Solid shot and shells were lying profusely spread over the entire battlefield, and everything connected directly with the battlefield showed evident signs. that the carnage inflicted on either for the mastery of the ridge had been terrible."
After that battle, the Union forces pushed their way toward Atlanta in a string of battles.The most significant for George was Kennesaw Mountain. On June 27th they were ordered to charge up the mountain against the well-fortified rebels that as George said, "nearly resulted in the extermination of our Regiment." His brother Henry was killed in the assault, as well as their company captain, and Colonel Kerr. The next evening on the 28th, as they lay behind the works,George was wounded severely in the side. He was sent to the field hospital, and from there traveled by train to Cumberland Hospital in Nashville.
After spending three weeks there, he was offered the opportunity to join the invalid corps, and thus not have to return to the fighting. He declined, and consequently went back to his unit where he continued to serve until the war ended. George Van Valkenburg was formally discharged from service on June 28th, 1865, and died just two years later, I suspect due to complications from his several injuries sustained during the war.
Superimposed above the photo of the hillside is a cross and a cloudy sky with rays of sunlight beaming through the clouds. The sky scene is just a portion of a larger photo dominated by storm clouds. The storm represents the multiple concerns we see in our nation. The cross and the rays of sunlight portray the hope and possibilities we find in our faith in Jesus Christ. While editing the cover, the cloud picture was cropped to fit into the cover space, and the rays of sunlight inadvertently ended up backlighting the cross, radiating upward and out from its base.
To Concerned Americans points to how essential the Christian faith is to the success of the United States of America. The last chapters provide an example of how Christians can respond to the disparities we see in our society that can unify Christians and communities while raising the quality of life and extending the American dream to all citizens of this great nation.
