Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Annie Early Wheeler, second child of General Joseph Wheeler, was way ahead of her time.  When the Spanish- American war broke out, she wanted to go fight alongside her  father in Cuba.  At that time, the only way a woman could  serve was by  being a nurse.  Annie promptly joined the  American Red  Cross, although she had not had one minute   of nurse's training.  She quickly learned the profession in  tent hospitals  near  battlefields. She became know as the  'Angel of  Santiago' for her work with yellow fever and  malaria  patients  there.   During  World War I, she served in England and France. When World War II started, Annie, then 62 years old,  tried to enlist, but she was told she was too old.  "Go home," she was told, "and plant a victory garden." Miss Annie came home and started planting boxwoods.  Today, many huge box...

The Joseph Wheeler home, named Pond Spring, is a historic site in Lawrence County owned by the Alabama Historical Commission.  At one time, the town nearby was called Wheeler and had a post office, but it no longer exists. Joseph Wheeler was born in Georgia, graduated from West Point, and was serving with the United States Dragoons in the New Mexico territory (this is where he got the nickname "Fighting Joe") when the Civil War started.  He resigned from the US army, and joined the Confederacy.  While leading his troops across North Alabama, he met his future wife, Daniella.   After the war, he returned to North Alabama and married Daniella, who happened to own the plantation where they lived and raised their family.   At one time, the plantation included 17,000 acres. He became a planter and lawyer, and served in the US House of Representatives for twenty years.  He later served in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-Amer...