And who fought honorably out of a sense of duty and honor and country?
FWIW white employees of northern industrialists were often worse off than slaves in the south. The industrialists could literally work a man to death and then just hire a replacement. If a slave owner worked his slave to death he was going to have to pay a lot of money for a replacement. Workers comp laws didn't come into effect until the 20th century.
These white southern boys who fought and died under the Confederate battle flag were fighting for their honor and for their liberty. They may have been on the "wrong side of history" but for the most part they were not slave owners nor did they hope to become slave owners. They were honorable and brave men. But today even the honorable heroes of the South are treated as pariahs and any hint of Southern Pride now carries with it the taint of racism. The fact of the matter is that you can be a proud black man or hispanic man, or oriental man or native american, but you can't be a proud white man. If you are white, then you are required to hang your head in shame and apologize for being a member of a race that is on the wrong side of history.
Thomas Jefferson is such a dilemma for liberals. They want to elevate him for their (wrong) take on his rejection of religion, they need to pillory him for being a slave owner (sally whatshername), and they want to both love him and hate him for the revolution...love because of the word revolution...hate because of the word freedom.
Southern White Slave Owner Freedom Monger!