Latest On The Madoc Plaque

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Americymru would like to acknowledge receipt of the following email from Janice Gattis of the Alabama Welsh Association and salute her efforts to restore the Madoc Plaque to its rightful place in Mobile Bay. It appears that the campaign will take a new form from now on. Since the Alabama Senate is incapable of addressing and resolving a simple issue like this there is little point in wasting further time on them. It now appears that funds will be raised to commission a new plaque to be displayed at a new location. Details of this campaign will shortly be made public. Meanwhile you can donate via paypal using the button above and in the navigation column to the right of this post. We hope all our readers will consider giving a donation to support this vital cause. If you prefer to mail your donation the address of the Alabama Welsh Association can be found at the bottom of this post. The text of the email is reproduced in its entirety below:-

Dear Alabama Welsh Members
Friends of AWA
Supporters of the Restoration of the Prince Madoc plaque
Welsh Parliament & Assembly Members
BBC News
North Wales Pioneer News


Re: Restoration of the Prince Madoc plaque to Mobile Bay

I thank all A.W.A. members and supporters of Prince Madoc Plaque
restoration, who rallied around magnificently and carried out a sustained
effort to ensure every single legislator in the Alabama Legislature learned
about Prince Madoc plaque resolution. (HJR#679)

However, we were failed by the Alabama Senate. I listened to some of the
Senate legislature session yesterday. They spent the entire session
bickering, and scoring political points instead of doing the job we pay them
to do. An entire legislative session wasted instead of dealing with the
legislative issues that were before them.

Needless to say, they did not bring the Prince Madoc Resolution to the
table, therefore, it was never voted on. The Legislative session for this
year ended yesterday so this means we have to wait until January 2009, and
we'll have to start over with the House of Representatives.

We will continue to collect signatures on the petition, so please keep
promoting it. We've decided to start a Prince Madog "Fund" which will be
used for a NEW memorial for Prince Madog ap Owain Gwynedd. What kind will
be determined by the funds we're able to collect. Where will it be
displayed is still in the works.

Thank each of you for all your support and we kindly ask for your help to
continue until we reach our goal. Our goal is to properly honor Prince
Madog as was the wish of the 1953 Virginia Cavalier Chapter of the Daughters
of the American Revolution, and Zella Armstrong of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a
historian, writer, and archaeologist.


Cymru am byth!

Janice Price Gattis
President - Alabama Welsh Association

For those of you who are Alabamians, please call, email, or write your
senator. Tell them how you feel about their dismal failure to achieve
anything this year. How you feel about their poor representation of you on
the national political field. How you feel about them confirming everyone's
prejudices about our great state. Tell them you will remember that all they
achieved in 2007 was to vote themselves a huge pay raise.

Above all, let them know that in 2010 you will remember their failures of
the past two years and that voluntary failure is not acceptable and will not
be tolerated.

Find your senator HERE


Mailing address for donations:-

Prince Madog Memorial Fund

c/o Alabama Welsh Assoc.

327 Mountain Lake Circle

Rainbow City, AL 35906

Make Payable to: Alabama Welsh Assoc.

(please note on the check, For: Madoc Fund)

Alabama Welsh Association site HERE
Previous Americymru posts on this topic can be found HERE

Madoc and Literature: Restore the Madoc Plaque! Sign the petition HERE!

Not many historical incidents/legends have inspired not one but two epic poems! The Madoc story is one such. Robert Southey and Samuel T. Coleridge once intended to follow in Madocs footsteps. They were planning to cross the Atlantic and live amongst the Indians in a commune or "Pantisocracy". When this plan failed to materialize Southey's fascination with Madoc was displaced into his literary creations. The epic poem he wrote on this theme may not be one of the greatest products of 19th century English literature but it is a significant product of the Romantic imagination.

Southey published "Madoc" in 1805. But he is not the only author who was inspired by the legend.

Nearly 200 years later Paul Muldoon published his "Madoc: A Mystery" which is likewise based upon the Madoc legend. Both works deal with the theme of colonialism amongst others and can be regarded as political poems ( "Madoc" impilicitly and "Madoc: A Mystery" explicitly ).

Other authors who have drawn inspiration from this tale include:-

Madeleine l'Engle 'A Swiftly Tilting Planet' 1978
Pat Winter 'Madoc' (Madoc Saga, Book 1)' 1990
James Alexander 'The Children of First Man' 1994
Sanders Anne Laubenthal 'Excalibur' 1973

Surely this event/myth is worth a plaque for its effect on the literary imagination alone!


ROBERT SOUTHEY 'MADOC' 1805 ( text reproduced on iPaper )

Read this doc on Scribd: Madoc

Sign the petition HERE

Jefferson and Madoc: Restore the Madoc Plaque!

Few people who read this blog will be unaware that Thomas Jefferson was of Welsh descent but some may be unaware that he was born on this day in 1743. If you want to follow some Jefferson links you could do worse than to head on over to our Calendar page which can be found here.

The particular point of this post is not to discuss Jefferson in general, however, but to draw attention to his attitude to the Madoc legend. In the following excerpt from a letter written by Jefferson on January 22nd, 1804 he makes it clear that Meriwether Lewis ( also of Welsh descent ) will receive further instructions from a 'Mr Rees' regarding the lost Welsh speaking Indian tribes. The letter suggests that Jefferson regarded finding them as a supplementary objective of the expedition:-

In that of the 13th instant I enclosed you a map of a Mr. Evans, a Welshman, employed by the Spanish government for that purpose, but whose original object I believe had been to go in search of the Welsh Indians, said to be up the Missouri. On this subject a Mr. Rees, of the same nation, established in the western part of Pennsylvania, will write to you.

All in all today is a good day to sign the Alabama Welsh Association's petition to restore the Prince Madoc Plaque in Mobile Bay if you havent already done so.

Sign the petition HERE!

Welsh Tories Stand Up To Be Counted! Restore The Madoc Plaque!

Well OK so they were probably sitting down at the time but the important thing is that they signed up. Several Welsh Conservative AM's have added their support to the online petition and campaign to restore the Madoc Plaque in Mobile Bay and more importantly Nick Bourne ( Conservative AM leader ) has made it pretty clear that the party is officially behind this request. For this he is to be heartily thanked and congratulated by all those concerned to preserve the Welsh heritage internationally.

But this raises a few interesting questions. Why could the other parties in the Senedd not officially lend their weight to this campaign? Where is Plaid Cymru? Individual AM's from all of the major parties in Wales have signed but only the Tories have gone so far as to give official support.

Another closely related and equally interesting question is this. Why have the D.A.R. ( Daughters of The American Revolution ) not officially supported the restoration of their own plaque? Has America outsourced preservation of its heritage to the Welsh Parliament?

Sign The Petition HERE

An Open Letter To The Press In Alabama

Sign the Petition HERE

RE: The Plaque Story Which The Rest Of The Worlds Press Is Covering But Not You

Dear Sir

As a resident of Portland , Oregon it concerns me to discover that I know more about the local news in your area than you do. Allow me to fill you in. The Alabama Welsh are campaigning for the restoration of the historical plaque dedicated to Prince Madoc in Mobile Bay. Unfortunately the Alabama Welsh have not raped, murdered or killed anyone but might I suggest the following headline if you feel that the story lacks dramatic impact:-

"Alabama State Parks Department Rapes History! Murders Myth and Defiles Legend!!"
( I left some room for additional exclamation marks should they be needed )

Now I am not suggesting that a major international incident will occur as a result of this campaign. It is unlikely that we will see Welsh gunboats ( or even coracles ) anchored in Mobile Bay any time soon. I do feel, however, that you should contact the Alabama Welsh Association and ask them for the inside story. The BBC thought it worthwhile and so did Radio Wales.

Best Regards

Ceri Shaw

There's History and There's Lies: Once More on the Madoc Plaque

( Sign the petition HERE )

Studying the roll of honor on the Alabama Welsh Associations petition site one notices the names of concerned individuals and representatives of Welsh Communities and ex-pat Societies from all around the world. One also notes a distinct lack of support from the Welsh academic community and in particular Welsh historians.

Yes I know that Gwyn Williams debunked the theory that Gutyn Owen referenced the Madoc saga before John Dee. I share the general view that the whole tale is so fantastical as to be at the very least highly improbable. But then I dont believe in Pryderi's pigs either!

The very same Gwyn Williams who may have given the Madoc legend the kiss of death was fond of referring to the 'Mabinoggion' as a 'foundation text'. In that sense he likened it to the Old Testament. I dont think any sane person would deny the historical significance of either work.

The 'Mabinoggion' is a book of fairy tales but none the less significant for that. If the Madoc legend is also a fairy tale, as it very well maybe, why is it singled out for special treatment? Why is it not considered significant? It has motivated writers, explorers and statesmen. Its role as a subsidiary factor in the motivations of many of those who explored the American West is a matter of established fact! It inspired Robert Southey and many other authors.

The history of Wales is littered with fantastical episodes and fanciful figures. Arthur, Merlin and Iolo Morgannwg spring readily to mind. Is it the business of historians to despise them or study them?

Please humour those of us who are not professional academic historians. It would be greatly appreciated.

Previous post (HERE)

Please Sign This Petition!! Restore The Madoc Plaque!

Reproduced from the website of the Alabama Welsh Association:-

"URGENT! The Prince Madoc (Madog) plaque located near Ft. Morgan on Mobile Bay has been removed and put into storage by the Alabama Parks Department. The plaque was put in place in 1953 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. According to the site manager of Fort Morgan, it is currently in storage because the site only "focuses on the United States military presence". Please help get the plaque restored for public viewing on Mobile Bay by signing our petition by clicking HERE. You can also email your desire to have the plaque restored to: Barnet Lawley, Director of the Dept. of Conservation Blanton Blankenship, Site Mgr of Fort Morgan Your help in removing this plaque from the storage shed, thus putting another piece of history back on display is greatly appreciated!"

See our earlier post on this topic HERE

An Act of Historical Vandalism! Restore The Madoc Plaque!

Sign the Petition
Storm Over Missing Madoc Plaque
Support The Alabama Welsh

Firstly let me say that I entirely support the Alabama Welsh Society in their efforts to have the plaque restored ( see above linked articles for background ). I am not a believer in the Madoc story. Of course I would like to believe it and am always ready to be convinced but currently there is no concrete evidence to support it and the whole episode seems too convenient for Tudor propaganda purposes not to have been fabricated. It is a fact, however, that many people have believed this story including Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis. Both men were of Welsh ancestry and one of the secondary goals of The Lewis and Clark expedition was to locate the lost tribe of Welsh speaking Indians possibly amongst the Mandans.

The following is a quote from the above-linked article. It outlines the official explanation for the plaque's removal:-

"But according to the site manager of Fort Morgan, Blanton Blankenship, the plaque has since been removed and is currently in storage because the site only "focuses on the United States military presence".

In a letter to the Welsh society, Mr Blankenship said: " This does not reflect prejudice against Prince Madoc or the Welsh, as we also do not interpret the prehistoric Native American nor historic Spanish, French and English occupations of this area. There are no plans to put it back on exhibit."

All of this entirely misses the point! The plaque is itself a part of American history. It is a manifestation of a belief ( mistaken or otherwise ) that has motivated men like Jefferson and Lewis and many others amongst the pioneers and explorers of the 19th century. In Hudson N.Y. there is a public park which, for various bizarre reasons, is home to a statue of St. Winifrede, a 7th century Welsh Saint. Should it be removed because the park focuses on recreational use and not religious or historical commemoration? Is it not conceivable that a site, historical or otherwise, can serve more than one purpose or provide a home for a variety of artifacts?

But let us indulge in a little reductio ad absurdum. I am a former resident of downtown Cardiff. Cardiff Castle is well known as a mish-mash of Roman, Norman, late Medieval and 19th Century structures. Let us suppose that it was decided that visitors should focus on the period of the Roman occupation. Do we then demolish the rest in order to remove any possible distractions? Surely the absurdity of this must impinge upon even the most beaurocratically warped mind?

The Alabama Welsh society want us to write to a number of people listed on this page. I for one will be heeding their call.

As a side note:- How come it took twenty years before anyone noticed it was gone?

(Image at the top of this page reproduced by kind permission of The Alabama Welsh Society. Why doesn't Blogger allow captions??)