Posted on 12/16/2004 6:48:26 AM PST by cougar_mccxxi
Americans Owe Confederate History Respect
By CHRIS EDWARDS
The Time Has Come To Take A Stand After attending the Confederate Memorial Day service on June 1 in Higginsville, I found myself believing our nation should be ashamed for not giving more respect and recognition to our ancestors.
I understand that some find the Confederate flag offensive because they feel it represents slavery and oppression. Well, here are the facts: The Confederate flag flew over the South from 1861 to 1865. That's a total of four years. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in April 1789, and that document protected and condoned the institution of slavery from 1789 to 1861. In other words, if we denigrate the Confederate flag for representing slavery for four years, shouldn't we also vilify the U.S. flag for representing slavery for 72 years? Unless we're hypocrites, it is clear that one flag is no less pure than the other.
A fascinating aspect of studying the Civil War is researching the issues that led to the confrontation. The more you read, the less black-and-white the issues become. President Abraham Lincoln said he would do anything to save the union, even if that meant preserving the institution of slavery. Lincoln's focus was obviously on the union, not slavery.
In another case, historians William McFeely and Gene Smith write that Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant threatened to "throw down his sword" if he thought he was fighting to end slavery.
Closer to home, in 1864, Col. William Switzler, one of the most respected Union men in Boone County, purchased a slave named Dick for $126. What makes this transaction interesting is not only the fact that Switzler was a Union man but that he bought the slave one year after the issuance of the Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Of course, history students know the proclamation did not include slaves living in the North or in border states such as Missouri.
So if this war was fought strictly over slavery, why were so many Unionists reluctant to act like that was the issue?
In reviewing the motives that led to the Civil War, one should read the letters soldiers wrote home to their loved ones. Historian John Perry, who studied the soldier's correspondence, says in his three years of research, he failed to find one letter that referred to slavery from Confederate or Union soldiers.
Perry says that Yankees tended to write about preserving the Union and Confederates wrote about protecting their rights from a too-powerful federal government. The numerous letters failed to specifically say soldiers were fighting either to destroy or protect the institution of slavery. Shelby Foote, in his three-volume Civil War history, recounts an incident in which a Union soldier asks a Confederate prisoner captured in Tennessee why he was fighting. The rebel responded, "Because you're down here."
History tends to overlook the South's efforts to resolve the issue of slavery. For example, in 1863, because of a shortage of manpower, Lincoln permitted the enlistment of black soldiers into the Union Army. Battlefield documents bear out the fact that these units were composed of some of the finest fighting men in the war. Unfortunately for these brave soldiers, the Union used them as cannon fodder, preferring to sacrifice black lives instead of whites.
These courageous black Union soldiers experienced a Pyrrhic victory for their right to engage in combat. However, history has little to say about the South's same effort in 1865. The Confederacy, its own troop strength depleted, offered slaves freedom if they volunteered for the army.
We know that between 75,000 and 100,000 blacks responded to this call, causing Frederick Douglass to bemoan the fact that blacks were joining the Confederacy. But the assimilation of black slaves into the Confederate army was short-lived as the war came to an end before the government's policy could be fully implemented.
It's tragic that Missouri does not do more to recognize the bravery of the men who fought in the Missouri Confederate brigades who fought valiantly in every battle they were engaged in. To many Confederate generals, the Missouri brigades were considered the best fighting units in the South.
The courage these boys from Missouri demonstrated at Port Gibson and Champion Hill, Miss., Franklin, Tenn., and Fort Blakely, Ala., represent just a few of the incredible sacrifices they withstood on the battlefield. Missouri should celebrate their struggles instead of damning them.
For the real story about the Missouri Confederate brigades, one should read Phil Gottschalk and Philip Tucker's excellent books about these units. The amount of blood spilled by these Missouri boys on the field of battle will make you cry.
Our Confederate ancestors deserve better from this nation. They fought for what they believed in and lost. Most important, we should remember that when they surrendered, they gave up the fight completely. Defeated Confederate soldiers did not resort to guerrilla warfare or form renegade bands that refused to surrender. These men simply laid down their arms, went home and lived peacefully under the U.S. flag. When these ex-Confederates died, they died Americans.
During the postwar period, ex-Confederates overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party. This party, led in Missouri by Rep. Dick Gephardt and Gov. Bob Holden, has chosen to turn its back on its fallen sons.
The act of pulling down Confederate flags at two obscure Confederate cemeteries for the sake of promoting Gephardt's hopeless quest for the presidency was a cowardly decision. I pray these men will rethink their decision.
The reality is, when it comes to slavery, the Confederate and United States flags drip with an equal amount of blood.
Chris Edwards is a local musician and MU graduate student of history. He is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and of the board of Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation.
btw, cvn, you never told me why you so obviously HATE Indians.
free dixie,sw
i know LITTLE to ZILCH about the navy, but more obviously than he/she/it does.
free dixie,sw
free dixie,sw
just PITIABLE.
free dixie,sw
Your god allah frowns upon you.
Anyway, I now sleep with goggles over my eyes and earplugs. Also, I have decided after much internal debate that I am not going to Mongolia this year or next. This may take a while to get over, but I take it day by day.
but you never were mr chan.
its ok we understand.
"Your god allah frowns upon you."
why yes he does mr chan. lol!!!!!!
gee, my history is erased by your voracious reading skills!!!!
lol!!!!
can i have my time back? rofl!!!!!!
"btw, cvn, you never told me why you so obviously HATE Indians"
never said i did professor wonkmeister!
but here's more of that white typeface for you!
ok?
happy?
lol?
your posts are still lacking dr standing water winkie!
one more chance!!!!
the coven is losing interest in beat down honkytroopers!! rofl!!!!
"at least learn some of the jargon."
for you mr chan(ret navy librarian)........
no! lol!!!!!
now you are navy huh?
i could ask you what rank/grade but being the googler librarian you are, you will look one up. lol!!!!!
in another persona have you also served in another branch or will you google that up as need be? (snicker ,snicker, snicker). all your paper tiger buddies have listed their courageous service in their "about" pages or run their mouths off in posts about it, but not you.....until now.
how convenient.lol!!!!
"Nobody serves "on board" a fleet"
too bad ..... i didn't serve "in" cvn76. the term is ON BOARD.......exactly what decade was your imaginary GOOGLE inspired service??? lol!!!!!!!!
once again, wrong palefaced turd!
do you fancy yourself some kind of kepper of the anthology of navy parlance? when you "served" (gee...maybe that's not the right term for mr chan?maybe i should say "floated" or "sailed" or "plied") did you as (i'm sure) a senior officer threaten to recommend MASTING someone who didn't conform to the terminology code you made up?
can i have my ON BOARD time back or not? ON BOARD, ON BOARD, ON BOARD.
google the word "sarcasm":)
what a phony!!!!....go back to the aisles of the library you fake "sailor" (oops...maybe the wrong term again)
on second thought professor winkiewonker, no more chances until i catch you on another post (confederate....of course...lol) trashing someone.
as stated before, your emasculation is complete for now.
stay down professor wonkiewinkiestandie!....it's for your own good........really.....youv'e done enough damage to yourself!
but you can still pump 91 and fix tires and blast roadsigns with your 12gauge so all is not lost!!lol!!!!
i like mr chan. his vocab is more extensive though he is still a "southron" trooper who is unable or unwilling to relate to threads other than those in his hick world.
he a googler and a navy historian/wordsmith no matter how fake other aspects of him are!!!!
he is now "captain hick, usn adm/lbr ret". LOL!!!!
have you critiqued the latest navy mags....."boating world"...or "yachtsman" or "sailng" yet captain hick?
oh wait....maybe more familiar in the captain's experience...."bayou boater"....lol!!!!
oh, oh.... i forgot to google whether "bayou boater" is even a real navy mag. rofl!
[cvn #307] it's very white of you:)
[cvn76 #311] oh..... i see you are from arkansas and professor wonkie's university/ corporate policy institution (LOL!!!) is based in south carolina. both fine places to be white in, yes they are! LOL!!
[sw #321] btw, cvn, you never told me why you so obviously HATE Indians.
As all may observe, the pathetic bigoted racist cvn76 believes that South Carolina are Arkansas are fine places to be white in.
To be sure, this distinction in his mind infers his belief that California is not a fine place to be white in.
Obviously, he finds that California is not a fine place to be yellow in.
As sw has observed, cvn76 hates all red people, so California (or anyplace else) would not be a fine place to be red in.
That only leaves brown and black to be the ones who are making his California not a fine place to be white in.
So he hates brown and black people for ruining his California for people like him.
And, of course, he hates himself for living in a state which he finds not fine to be white in.
And that is why cvn76 loathes everybody, including himself.
He especially loathes the fine, upstanding people who court-martialed and convicted his dumb ass.
Assuming you mean to say "mast" as in an Article 15 proceeding, within the Navy the XO holds XO's mast and the CO holds Captain's Mast. An Admiral holds Admiral's mast.
Now my turn, turd-brain.
What is the standard of proof at an Article 15 proceeding?
By whatever name, Captain's Mast or Office Hours, what is the required standard of proof to sustain a charge?
Does the assused service member have a right to appointed counsel at all courts-martial?
What is the next number in this sequence: 14-23-34-42-50-?
Can you provide a positive integer solution for a cubed plus b cubed equals c cubed?
captain hick usn ret, adm/libr.....i'm surprised at you.
you must be miserable.
how's the bp?
snicker snicker snicker....lol!!!!!
'roid rage?????
go kick some puppies , go to tonight's hootenanny, knock the wife/boyfriend around or whatever you ss-slugs do when somebody hurts your "widdle" feelings!!!
i believe i have awakened the sleeping giant usn (actually i believe after this rant he was ON BOARD the enterprise with KIRK and SPOCK) ret librarian!
you are better than the business mogul/professor who defiles another man's (THE REAL STAND WAITE) name with his racial nonsense. the prof and tools like you think that by fakely invoking the names of people of color (ie: Watie,King,Ghandi etc...) that gives you white trash validity to your silly "northron" vs "southron" drivel.
all anyone needs to do is what i did. follow your trail in fr!!! you might let a "coloured" as your type call them whack the weeds in your lot or serve you meals but don't think for a SECOND you FAKE "we are the world" advocate that it flies past anyone who READS YOURS and WATIES and YOUR BUDDIES posting history!!!
i expect you now will have an indian relative as well or have a mixed marriage.......magically.....to cover yourself.LOL!!!!! you aren't worth me GOOGLING (lol!!!) far back enough to know the significance of your moniker but i'm sure there's a story there just like dr wonkamop. hahahahaha!
so since it's the new year you miserable dolt , you might as well have the title of STARFLEET MASTER SERGEANT GENERAL ADMIRAL MAJOR GUNNERY MATE LIBRARIAN FIRST CLASS CHAN.
and you get an acronym SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN........and you don't even have to be retired!!!!!! you are active duty!!!
lol!!!!!
(wait.......is that an approved term from SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN????)
all better now?
"He especially loathes the fine, upstanding people who court-martialed and convicted his dumb ass." lol!!!!!!
rofl!!!!!
whatever you say SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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