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.
i can just picture SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN/STARFLEET DUDE furiously bapping his keys searching google right now:)
maybe he'll ask me for a block diagram for an intergallactic transporter or to characterize power transients for his new phaser design.
if so, i'm may have to think about taking on a degree program from starfleet university.....dr/wonker watie is likely on faculty and will be a familiar face in whatever star system the univ is located.
sheesh.....i did it again.....i'm sure if "on faculty" is the correct terminology but i'll hear about it from the staff librarian:) :) :)
dinnertime here in los "southroners"
no hootenanny for me though.
about 820 in hickville....still too early for the torpor to clear for you "people".
wake up my little ants!!!!!!!!
jiggle,jiggle,jiggle.......:)
"[cvn76] don't forget to google the word "masting" for us.... we're on edge waiting for your expert interpretation of who actually does this procedure.
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."
one last question SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN/STARFLEET DUDE before dinner:
googled or "jag"?
you don't have to answer that really SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN/STARFLEET DUDE.
just kidding.....
seethe/smolder away.
lol!!
Here is a reminder to all lurkers that turd-brain could not answer anything and is reduced to attempting to cover his lack of knowledge with bluster.
[cvn76] don't forget to google the word "masting" for us.... we're on edge waiting for your expert interpretation of who actually does this procedure.
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 accused service member have a right to appointed counsel at all courts-martial?
He is, of course, an engineer in his mother's basement where he plays with his train set.
Hey mister FRAUD engineer:
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?
cvn76 watched an ant climb a blade of grass this morning. When the ant reached the top, his weight bent the blade down to the ground. Then, twisting his thorax with precision, the ant grabbed hold of the next blade. In this manner, he traveled across the lawn, covering as much distance vertically as he did horizontally, which amused and delighted the Great cvn76. And then, all at once, the Great cvn76 had what is sometimes called an "epiphany," a moment of heightened awareness in which everything becomes clear. Yes, hunched over that ant on his hands and knees, the Great cvn76 suddenly knew what he had to do...
Quit drinking before noon.
Sorry, you keep me laughing too hard.
Come along my little chihuahua, I want to hear you say Yo quiero Taco Bell.
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 accused service member have a right to appointed counsel at all courts-martial?
"Come along my little chihuahua, I want to hear you say Yo quiero Taco Bell."
hey......SMSGAMGMLFC CHAN/STARFLEET DUDE!!!
i spotted this same "yo quiero" reference in another thread referencing YOU.
could it be.....????
i better fire up that google thing tonight and find out what's up with that.
THE COVEN warned you about being watched. lol!!!!
lunch is over here in the los.
Hey mister FRAUD engineer:
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?
Hey mister FRAUD naval officer:
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 accused service member have a right to appointed counsel at all courts-martial?
In an act of desperation, the cowardly, duck-abusing cvn76 fled the country in fear of his life, running all the way to the orient. There, he sought asylum and protection from the outraged ducks. Due to his inherent communications problems which render it difficult for him to talk clearly in any language, even English, the local authorities considered his request and found that cvn76 was deserving of being in an asylum.
It is now reported that cvn76 is once again on the move, and may attempt to once again infiltrate the Peoples Republic of California. Ducks and other animals should remain on alert.
No, I don't feel it represents that, I know it represents that.
Hey mister FRAUD engineer:
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?
Hey mister FRAUD naval officer:
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 accused service member have a right to appointed counsel at all courts-martial?
Yes, I believe this very well could have avoided the civil war altogether. I honestly don't see why any southerner would be proud of the confederacy. If they knew their history correctly they would know the only people that had any power in the confederate states were rich plantation owners who hurt poor whites just as much as the black slaves. The people standing up for these plantation owners while getting upset about near slave labor taking away our jobs in China are displaying irony at its finest.
I know you didn't post this to me, but I would like to try to guess the answer if you don't mind.
61
I'm sorry, but 61 is not correct.
What makes you think he's "my bud"?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.