To those familiar with the debate, the point will be obvious. Yes, the example is anecdotal, but it is but one example among hundreds that could be cited. Those who see Lincoln as our saviour, love to look down their noses at Southerners who find admirable character traits in men like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and accuse Southerners of embellishing and distorting the truth - all the while they do this very thing with Lincoln.
This watchmaker, at the time of his inscription, made no mention of slavery - it was all about “the government”. But, after the war and Lincoln’s assassination, he made the focus slavery. Just a bad memory. Right.
I've followed and sometimes participated in these WBTS threads for years.
I don't think I have ever seen any pro-Union participant claim that Lee and Jackson didn't have admirable character traits. Especially Lee, who just about everyone at the time and since has agreed was a great and noble man, notably including his opponents. Jackson, OTOH, while obviously a great though occasionally uneven general, was a very odd duck in a lot of ways.
In fact, I have not seen (around here, anyway) the motives and character of those who fought for the Confederacy defamed with anything like the enthusiasm showed by some in attacking the motives and character of those who fought for the Union.