Free Republic

The Library of Congress announced last week that it has made a huge collection of Civil War portraits available on its Flickr site. The portraits — almost 700 of them — are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157625520211184. This collection is all from one place — the Liljenquist family — and includes the frames of the pictures as well as the ambrotype and tintype photographs themselves. Many of the pictures are soldiers (including some portraits of African-American soldiers) but there are some civilian pictures here as well. There are also many group pictures, both of civilians and soldiers. Some of the pictures are...

Maryland lawmakers are thinking maybe it's time to find a way to scrub "Northern scum" — and a few other sensitive pre-Civil War phrases — from the official state song. "Maryland, My Maryland," set to the traditional seasonal tune of "O, Tannenbaum," was written in 1861 and adopted as the state song in 1939. But now some lawmakers are pushing for a change to the warlike language in what was originally a poem that doubled as a call to arms. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller wants a new commission to examine the song and consider changing some stanzas to...

Nelson Winbush is intent on defending the flag of his grandfather. It's just surprising which flag that is. ___ KISSIMMEE -- Nelson Winbush rotates a miniature flag holder he keeps on his mantel, imagining how the banners would appear in a Civil War battle. The Stars and Bars, he explains, looked too much like the Union flag to prevent friendly fire. The Confederacy responded by fashioning the distinctive Southern Cross -- better known as the rebel flag. Winbush, 78, is a retired assistant principal with a master's degree, a thoughtful man whose world view developed from listening to his grandfather's...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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...

The idea to honor only Confederate soldiers is a bad idea...