Free Republic

--Snip-- On this date: In 1863, Federal batteries and ships began bombarding South Carolina's Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.

...The decision comes with no guarantee of where or whether the statue might be displayed or how it is interpreted.

Lunelle Siegel helps her husband Bart Siegel with his tie before the beginning of the first Southern Cultural Festival, held Friday at the Channelside complex in Tampa.

ABC News' Jan Simmonds reports: Republican vice presidential prospect Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., told reporters today that removing the Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina's Statehouse would not be a priority during his final years in office.

he national NAACP has again said it will step up a campaign against South Carolina for flying the Confederate flag at the State House. The organization declared it would exert continued pressure to discourage NCAA sporting events and film production in South Carolina.“This is unfinished business,” said Lonnie Randolph, state NAACP president, echoing the message delivered Monday by NAACP interim president and CEO Dennis Hayes, at the organization’s 99th national convention in Cincinnati. Hayes told the Associated Press the organization is still working on its plan to discourage tourism and film production in the state. The National Association for the...

The Sons of Confederate Veterans say they will permanently install a giant Confederate flag near the junction of Interstates 4 and 75 to counter what they consider increasing slights to Southern heritage. But the group, founded 112 years ago to protect all that is noble about the South, is itself racked by angry divisions. Since the 1990s, clusters of Sons members have aligned themselves with "heritage groups" like the League of the South and the Council of Conservative Citizens, both considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The law center says the Sons may have been taken over...

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) ― Flying the Confederate flag has long been controversial in Southern states but now it's causing a heated debate at Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minn. Three seniors who displayed the flag will not be allowed to attend their graduation ceremony Wednesday evening. "It was sitting like that in the parking lot," said Justin Thompson, as he held a Confederate flag that was hanging from a pole inside a pick-up truck bed. On Tuesday, three seniors, each with a rebel flag on the back of their pick-ups, parked at Kennedy High School. "I'm just a country type...

TAMPA, Fla. -- A giant Confederate battle flag -- believed to be the world's largest -- may soon be flying near a Tampa highway intersection. A Confederate heritage group called the Sons of Confederate Veterans plans to fly the flag that measures 30 feet tall and 50 feet wide. The group said it expects to have its flag in place by 2009. "I'm surprised that they would allow something like this to go on in Hillsborough County," county NAACP President Curtis Stokes told the St. Petersburg Times. The group has building permits but still needs $30,000 to complete the project,...

TAMPA — Next year, a giant Confederate flag may tower above the tree line near the junction of Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. The Sons of Confederate Veterans wants drivers in the Tampa area to see the massive flag — 30 feet high and 50 feet long — atop a 139-foot pole, the highest the Federal Aviation Authority would allow. It would be lit at night. With the pole already in the ground and building permits in hand, the group is on its way to having what it calls the "world's largest" Confederate flag in place by mid 2009. The...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Central Florida man's Confederate flag prompted a free-speech battle with his employer, who doesn't want it displayed on company property. The flag is attached to Bobby Tillett's pickup truck, which he drives to work every day, WJXT reported. Because his employer has banned the flag from his parking lot, Tillett is forced to park far from his job. "If I take it down, that means you know the politically correct people would have won, and that's wrong," Bobby Tillett said. "If you believe in something that strong (you) should have no problem whatsoever to fly it."...

Petition Seeks to Remove Denton Confederate Statue(Denton County, Texas)DENTON - While to some the statue of a Confederate soldier that stands before the Denton County Courthouse represents a piece of history, others say they believe it just represents hypocrisy. That stand has incited two University of North Texas students to start a petition for the removal of the historical landmark, a statue of a Confederate soldier holding his gun to represent the South in the Civil War. "It's really very frustrating that so many people would look at this and clap," said Aron Duhon, one of the students behind the...

Over the last few months, celebrations for Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday have drawn attention to the Kentucky native's life and his legacy as president. But the 200-year anniversary of another Kentucky president's birth, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, is receiving mixed reviews. "I'll say it this way - winners write history," said Ron Bryant, a Lexington historian writing a book on Davis. "We need heroes, we need villains. Lincoln became a hero and Davis a villain." Davis was born in what is now Todd County, Ky., in 1808, one year before Lincoln. Davis served as the only president of the 11...

Is American history still taught in our schools? Do young people know about men like Father Emmeran Bliemel, O.S.B. who was the first American Chaplain to die on the battlefield? Bliemel was killed during the War Between the States Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia on August 31, 1864. As Chaplain of the 10th Tennessee Regiment, Bliemel courageously and unselfishly ministered to the spiritual needs of his Confederate Comrades, both under fire and behind the lines. Let me tell you about the "Heroes of the South" who are affectionately remembered during "Confederate History and Heritage Month" in April. Proclamations will be signed...

Many heads turned in Ringgold Wednesday when they saw an African-American man dressed in a Confederate soldier's uniform, carrying a Confederate flag. It wasn't a joke. H.K. Edgerton came to Ringgold to make a bold statement - he opposes city leader's removing the Confederate flag from the city's flag pole. Edgerton says the Confederate flag is misunderstood, feared and hated because people are trying to be politically correct - which he says desecrates the honor and real meaning of the Civil War era emblem. "I'm here because your town council climbed into bed with all the politically correct folks who...

Does the Confederate battle flag represent heritage or hatred? The answer is yes. It represents a heritage that included hatred.

They will tell you the Civil War was not about slavery. Remind them that the president and vice president of the so-called "Confederate States of America" both said it was. They will tell you that great-great grandpa Zeke fought for the South, and he never owned any slaves. Remind them that it is political leaders - not grunts - who decide whether and why a war is waged. They will tell you the flag just celebrates heritage. Remind them that "heritage" is not a synonym for "good." After all, Nazis have a heritage, too.

(Representative) Brown says it would give motorists a way to show pride in their heritage, but that flag represents a heritage of treason, bigotry, hostility, division and an overall ugly time in American history. No way should his plate proposal become No. 110.

Some things that are blatantly offensive, such as a Nazi swastika, incite a visceral reaction. The Confederate flag is one of them, too. It's a symbol of a time when our nation was split into two warring factions. The Confederates, the folks who advocated slavery, lost.

The controversial stars and bars of the Confederate Flag could soon find their way to Florida license plates. State Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, has worked with the Sons of Confederate Veterans to sponsor a bill that would allow the group to create a non-profit license plate that bears the Dixie flag. The tag would cost roughly $25 from the Department of Motor Vehicles. SCV Executive Director Ben Sewell said his organization has been successful in the past at getting the license plates in numerous states and feels they’ve met the requirements in the state of Florida to acquire the...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Panhandle legislator wants Florida to issue license tags honoring "Confederate Heritage" -- complete with images of Dixie flags and buttons from Rebel uniforms. "It's a part of our history, whether we like it or not," Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, said in an interview with Local 6 News partner Florida Today. "I appreciate the heritage and the good things that people feel about our past." Motorists could pay $25 for the tag, with proceeds going to education programs run by Sons of Confederate Veterans, graveyard location and maintenance, museum exhibits and other cultural activities. The current...

Ringgold City Council is facing potential legal action based on its 2005 decision to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from the Ringgold Depot Civil War Memorial. The Southern Legal Resource Center notified the city Feb. 11 by letter from SLRC chief trial counsel Kirk D. Lyons that it will face legal action unless it replaces the battle flag within 10 days. According to Roger McCredie, Southern Legal Resource Center executive director, the letter puts the city on notice that its clients, the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and its local Joseph McConnell Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp...

I hope no actions of my life will be divisive or hurtful to others. If so, I instruct my descendents not to hoist symbols of hurtful or divisive actions on a flagpole for all to see, even if they perceive my service to the action to be honorable.

The thought of having to dignify the legacy of the Confederacy’s only president by driving my car over his highway rather than his decrepit corpse is enough to make me want to vomit...If there is to be a Jefferson Davis Highway it should begin at the African Civil War Memorial and end at his grave, where onlookers can pull over and spit.

Some students want the school administration to ban the Confederate battle flag outright, even if its presence is mainly limited at this point to small decals, belt buckles or cell phone screens kept by a small number of students... Senior Megan Allen said she's gotten about 300 of the school's roughly 1,500 students and about 20 teachers to sign her petition calling for school officials to ban the flag on campus,

The little known holiday is fine with some Tennesseans, but others don't think the government should still officially honor the Confederate Army General.

The president of the western York County NAACP chapter wants a flag that pays homage to the Confederate flag removed from in front of a downtown business...A flag that is half South Carolina state flag and half Confederate flag flying next to the U.S. flag at Exchange Publishers in downtown York.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - When vandals sprayed black paint on the faces and hands of statues on the Capitol's Confederate monument and left a reference to a rebellious slave's hanging, many assumed it was the work of blacks looking to make a statement.< snip >But the apprehension of three white 17-year-olds raised questions Monday about the motive and whether they should be charged with a hate crime as originally proposed. < snip >The letters and numbers "N.T. 11 11 31" were also written in black paint on the monument's limestone base, an apparent reference to slave Nat Turner who was hanged...

Civil War Watch Stopped Suddenly; Sub End Still Unknown Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina Associated Press December 17, 2007 When scientists opened the watch belonging to the H.L. Hunley commander three years ago, they thought they had the key clue to why the Confederate submarine sank off Charleston, South Carolina. But the 18-karat gold watch now seems to raise even more questions, despite the finding announced last week that the watch did not slowly wind down but stopped quickly—perhaps the result of a concussion or rushing water. "All of us were thinking the watch pointed to the crucial moment,"...

Charleston, S.C. (AP) -- When scientists opened the watch belonging to the H.L. Hunley commander three years ago, they thought they had the key clue to why the Confederate submarine sank off Charleston. But the 18-karat gold watch now seems to raise even more questions even though scientists announced Friday it did not slowly wind down but stopped quickly — perhaps the result of a concussion or rushing water. "All of us were thinking the watch pointed to the crucial moment," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, chairman of the state Hunley Commission. "But I would say instead of the...

Had the Civil War not occurred when it did allowing Nathan Bedford Forrest to serve as a cavalry officer, we very likely would not be studying or even reading about him today. Of course the same could be said about Ulysses S. Grant and many other notable Civil War commanders. What separates Forrest from other successful general officers are his accomplishments despite his almost total lack of education or military background and his impoverished upbringing. His rise from private to lieutenant general was clearly earned, not gained through political influence or social standing. His military success are due to virtually...

The life of Ike Pringle has become a sort of enigma for local historians who are trying to figure out exactly what role the slave played in the American Civil War. Born in May, 1841, Isaac, or Ike as he was better known, was owned by the Pringle family that lived and owned land around Vimville. Ike took on the name of his owners and was forever called Ike Pringle. At an early age he was given to the grandson of the family, Frank Pringle. Not that far apart in age, the two basically grew up together until the Civil...

A man seeking Confederate gold and his own family's hidden history uncovers a cryptic trail that may stretch back to a secret society and Jesse James. HATFIELD, ARK. -- Deep in the woods near Brushy Creek stands an old beech tree, its smooth bark etched with dozens of carvings, including biblical references, a heart and a legless horse. Bob Brewer was 10 when his great-uncle, W.D. "Grandpa" Ashcraft, pointed it out on a logging trip 57 years ago. "He said, 'Boy, you see that tree? That's a treasure tree,' " Brewer recalled on a recent visit to the site. "...

AMERICANA, Brazil Now well past 90, Judith MacKnight Jones is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, the illness that robbed her of all of her memory, her most precious asset. She has been lying here for the past 11 years, covered by a patchwork blanket, made from pieces her great-grandmother brought from the United States between 1865 and 1885, after the Confederacy lost the Civil War. Unable to speak or remember now, her book "Soldado Descanso" ("Rest Soldier") is written in Portuguese, but soon will be translated into English, as the publisher thinks Americans should know about the proud history of Confederate...

More than seven years ago, the subject of the Confederate flag came up at Central York High School. A student originally from Georgia had apparently worn clothing bearing the battle flag of the Confederacy to school, causing problems with some other students who objected. So in March 2000, the school banned Confederate flag from the school, reasoning that its display had a disruptive effect on the education process. There was no legal challenge to the ban. Had there been, it's likely it would have failed. (snip) The ban was imposed after a disturbance in the Susquehannock High School parking lot...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Copperhead Chronicle Al Benson, Jr. Articles Guess What Folks--Secesson Wasn't Treason by Al Benson Jr. More and more of late I have been reading articles dealing with certain black racist groups that claim to have the best interests of average black folks at heart (they really don't). It seems these organizations can't take time to address the problems of black crime in the black community or of single-parent families in the black community in any meaningful way. It's much more lucrative for them (and it gets more press coverage) if they spend their time and resources attacking Confederate...

1864 : Battle of Mobile Bay Union Admiral David Farragut leads his flotilla through the Confederate defenses at Mobile, Alabama, to seal one of the last major Southern ports. The fall of Mobile Bay was a huge blow to the Confederacy, and the victory was the first in a series of successes that secured the reelection of Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Mobile became the major Confederate port on the Gulf of Mexico after the fall of New Orleans, Louisiana, in April 1862. With blockade runners carrying critical supplies from Havana, Cuba, into Mobile, Union General Ulysses S. Grant made the...

I had the opportunity this weekend to visit Gettysburg National Military Park, and experience walking the battlefield. StainlessBanner, Stand_Waitie and all of my southron brothers, for this Yankee (and a descendant of men who fought at Little Round Top, Devil's Den and behind the stone wall during Pickett's Charge) to stand at the Virginia Monument and look down the Confederate line and stare across that wide open field, and to think of what your ancestors did there, brought me to tears, what brave honorable men they were. God Bless their memory and God Keep their sacred honor.

In an unbelievable display of racial insensitivity, the program likened these people, these "Scot-Irish" people as down to earth, hard-working, family-oriented, morally responsible people. These redneck, racist, string 'em up, tar and feather, shoot, beat to death, hang pregnant women and slice their stomachs so the unborn baby falls on the ground-ass people were glorified!

Wary Clyburn is a local Civil War hero I bet many of you don't know about.He's a former slave who fought for the Confederate Army from 1863 to 1865.He was born in Lancaster County but moved to Union. Many of his descendants live in the Wingate area, and they're planning to honor his memory next month.Pension documents confirm that Clyburn was a former slave and a Civil War veteran. The documents say he volunteered for the Confederacy with Capt. Frank Clyburn, who was the son of the man who owned Wary Clyburn (Note: The documents spelled his first name several...

A coffee mug used by Department of Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III showing the Confederate flag in a Civil War battle has angered black leaders who said it was insensitive to display a symbol of hate, particularly when the state police have been under fire for complaints of racism. The issue arose Wednesday night after the NAACP met with members of the Commission on African American Affairs to discuss how to address recent allegations of rampant racism within the state police and state Department of Correction. The African American Affairs Commission is a group of citizens appointed by...

At the beginning of the Civil War the United States had a merchant marine that was second only to Great Britain’s in size. By the end of the war the nation was no longer a maritime power, except in its Navy, which would be quickly and radically reduced in size. Although little noted by history, this profound change had been brought about by Confederate naval strategy. It was perhaps the South’s greatest victory of the war, and the only one to affect the country permanently. Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama, by Stephen...

Remember the American soldier's who defend our great nation. A article recently appeared in a Charlotte, North Carolina newspaper about Wary Clyburn, a Black Confederate, who will be remembered on August, 26, 2007 during a reunion of his descendants in Monroe, North Carolina. August 10th, will also mark the 102nd anniversary of the death of a Black Confederate, Amos Rucker, of Atlanta, Ga. Black Confederates, why haven't we heard more about them? "I don't want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of the Blacks, both above and below the Mason-Dixon Line, but it was definitely a tendency...

The Confederate battle flag used to hang in the old House chamber...next to the speaker's chair with the flags of Virginia, the United States... The battle flag is also a symbol of hatred and racism...Racism and slavery now are inextricably interwoven into the battle flag's fabric...The flag also symbolizes rebellion, insurrection and even treason.

A Confederate flag, in part anyway, is an emblem of slavery and thus racism. If we have not been upset or bothered by the marketing of a racist symbol at the county-owned fairground, perhaps that tells us something about ourselves.

Nearly 150 years after the Civil War ended and approaching a decade after it was moved from the State House dome to a memorial at the intersection of Main and Gervais streets, the Confederate battle flag continues to influence the sporting life of South Carolina.

Is it true what they say about Dixie? by: Mary Kapp, July 12, 2007 Should you notice a disconnect between the southerners that you meet and the American South that you hear about, your personal impressions are probably more accurate than the analysis you may get from media and academic types. “The PC police tell southerners that they have no right to honor their history,” Clint Johnson, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and why it will rise again) says. “Our ancestors were racist, and if we honor them, we are racist too.” He was a featured...

Many Americans from the north like to scoff that our southern brethren are still fighting the Civil War, treating them as if they are unaware that the war was over nearly 150 years ago. It has been so often repeated that southerners are still "Confederate" that the stereotype of the southerner looking to the past instead of the future is secure in northerner's minds. Would that it were true that all southerners are so fond of their history because it appears that even one of the most famous Confederate cemeteries in the Confederacy's very own capitol is being forgotten, uncared...

If we stray too far from the lines laid down by the Founding Fathers and the generations of great American men and women who built on their legacy, we will cease to be "Americans" in any meaningful sense of the word. As Abraham Lincoln warned during the secession era, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Today the danger is not armed rebellion, but the slow erasing of the American national character through a process of political and cultural redefinition.

Historian James M. McPherson's magnificent collection of essays This Mighty Scourge; Perspectives on the Civil War contains an essay on General William Tecumseh Sherman's famous, or infamous, "march through Georgia " that sheds light on the success of his march in bringing victory, and peace, to the United States. ********************************************* Calling such counterterrorist strikes "war crimes," as many who are critical of both America (and Israel) do, is extremely unfair. In fighting an enemy who kills soldiers and civilians without distinction, it is not possible to fight a completely "clean" war, without losing it to the terrorist enemies. No country...

WASHINGTON - The last time anyone from Alabama saw the flag of the 1st Alabama Infantry was when its own Confederate troops woke up for morning muster on a Mississippi River island off the Missouri shore on April 8, 1862. In that day's surrender, Brig. Gen. Elazer Arthur Paine confiscated the 7-foot, red, white and blue banner as a trophy, and decades later, a Civil War historian would speculate only that the flag was still somewhere up North. On Wednesday, Alabama got it back. In an outdoor deaccession ceremony with the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, two Nebraska congressmen and...