Posted on 04/18/2003 6:53:53 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
latest update: Friday, April 18, 2003 at 08:36 AM EDT
click photo to enlarge By MATT MAY, Staff |
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By PETER GUINTA
Senior Writer
Most Civil War histories usually ignore the more than 70,000 African-Americans who served with Confederate armies.
People know little about them, but in 1861, noted black abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, "There are many colored men in the Confederate Army as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down loyal troops and doing all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government."
Black soldiers' contributions to Union armies are already well known, popularized in Hollywood films such as "Glory" with Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.
However, suggesting that Southern blacks fought and died for a government that condoned and supported slavery is politically incorrect nowadays.
Nonetheless, at least three black Confederate veterans are buried in San Lorenzo Cemetery on U.S. 1 -- three of only six documented in the state.
click photo to enlarge By MATT MAY, Staff |
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Their memories -- and the memories of 46 white Confederate soldiers who died during that war -- will be honored Saturday, when Nelson Wimbush of Orlando, grandson of a black soldier who rode with Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, speaks at 10 a.m. at the Plaza de la Constitucion.
Wimbush is coming to St. Augustine to mark an early observance of Confederate Memorial Day by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Gen. William Wing Loring Camp 1316, St. Augustine.
According to Jim Davis, a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam and adjutant of the Loring chapter, the observance was moved from April 26, the anniversary of Gen. Joseph E. Johnson's surrender, to avoid conflict with Flagler College's graduation.
"After the speech, the names of all veterans listed on the Confederate Monument will be read aloud," Davis said.
Loring, a veteran of the Seminole and Mexican wars, was raised in St. Augustine and accepted a commission in the Army of the Confederacy in 1862. His ashes are buried under a monument in the west Plaza, Cordova and King streets, raised in his honor in 1920 by the Anna Dummett Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy.
"All of our veterans ought to be honored for the sacrifices they gave," Davis said. "This is our way of honoring the sacrifices of our Confederate veterans."
After reading the names, participants will be invited to San Lorenzo Cemetery to place flags on the graves of the 160 Confederates -- black and white -- buried there.
John Masters of St. Augustine, a retired U.S. Army colonel with combat service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, has documented 9,000 Confederate graves in Florida. Only six of them are black, he said, because most records of the time did not list race.
"Graves of black Confederate veterans are scarce as hen's teeth," he said.
Most black Confederates worked as cooks, drivers or musicians, but at least 18,000 served as combat troops, Masters said.
"Black people don't want to believe that, but it's true," he said. "Nobody wanted to be a slave, but this was their home and the North was an aggressor nation."
All St. Augustine black Confederates survived the war.
Osborn was born here in 1843, the son of freed slaves. He was 18 when he enlisted in 1861 as a musician in Capt. John Lott Phillips' Company B, 3rd Florida Infantry Regiment, called the St. Augustine Blues.
He served in St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Tallahassee, Mobile, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn., fighting in the Battle of Perryville.
He was discharged in 1862 after his one-year enlistment ended and due to his ill health. He died in 1907.
In St. Augustine National Cemetery is buried a Samuel L. Osborn Jr., private in Company D, 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, who died in 1890. Masters believes this may be Emanuel's brother.
Welters, who served in the same company as Osborn and Papino, was also known under other names, such as Anthony Wetters, Tony Fontane and Antonio Huertas. A former slave, he was born in 1810 and enlisted as a fifer in 1861, when he was 51 years old.
He participated in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville.
Returning to St. Augustine, after the war, Welters lived at 79 Bridge St. and became active in politics and with the E. Kirby Smith Camp, United Confederate Veterans. He died in 1902 at 92 years old.
Only a few facts are available about Papino. He was born in 1813 and enlisted as a musician and mechanic in 1861 at 48 years old but was discharged in November 1862.
His burial place is not precisely known, but a stone in San Lorenzo stands near his comrades' graves in memorial of his service.
Many blacks who fought for the Confederacy drew pensions for their service after the war. Arkansas, the only state which identified these individuals by race, documented 278 blacks who received such pensions.
Masters said Confederate Gen. E. Kirby Smith, who was born and raised in St. Augustine, had a black orderly, Alex Darns. After the war, the general paid for his former orderly to attend medical school.
Darns later became a successful doctor in Jacksonville.
"St. Augustine was occupied by the Union in 1862," Masters said. "Smith's mother was a Confederate spy. She and someone else cut down the flag pole in front of the arsenal (now National Guard headquarters) so they couldn't fly the Union flag on it."
The rebels would only accept the help of blacks -- if they were slaves -- this, up until the very end of the war, when the rebel congress passed a bill to enlist black troops, after it was too late.
Walt
sorry, wrong answer!
the PACSA was NEVER more than a few thousand (during most of the war it numbered about 3,000 men total- after the war was won, there was a plan to have about 20-25,000 regulars & a large reserve force of state, local & privately-raised troops.of course the plan was never completed, as we lost our war for independence.) men- mostly senior NCOs & senior commissioned officers.
the 4th MO Partisan Rangers, led by COL Quantrell, were MO state militia & were never part of the PACSA.
free dixie,sw
BTW, have you suddenly morphed into a "valley girl"?
free dixie,sw
Not in this case. You "col of medical troops" was a civilian doctor in no way associated with the government.
And you somehow morphed Antietam into Gettysburg, and you somehow morphed Dr. Steiner's 3,000 negroes of 64,000 total into "20/25%".
You are a pathetic joke.
Walt
Would this be credible?? Capt. Heysinger was a Union Officer
Wednesday, September 10: At 4 o'clock this morning the Rebel army began to move from our town, Jackson's force taking the advance. The movement continued until 8 o'clock P.M., occupying 16 hours. The most liberal calculation could not give them more than 64,000 men. Over 3,000 Negroes must be included in the number. . . . They had arms, rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives, dirks, etc. They were supplied, in many instances, with knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, etc., and they were manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederacy army. They were seen riding on horses and mules, driving wagons, riding on caissons, in ambulances, with the staff of generals and promiscuously mixed up with all the Rebel horde.
Capt. Isaac Heysinger
the following independent nations recognized the CSA: Apache,Cherokee, Chickasaw,Choctaw,Comanche,Creek,Dinea (Navaho),Lakota, Mohawk & Seminole.
all of these Indian nations sent ambassadors (the Cherokee embassy is still standing;it is now a private home in Richmond.)to Richmond;all but the Lakota & Dinea sent TROOPS to fight against the damnyankees.
but of course, you damnyankees never accepted our Indian nations as anything except groups to exploit.
there were a large number of European nations who were ready to recognise the CSA, as soon as the war was won, including Denmark, several German states,South Africa, France & Great Britain.
free dixie,sw
Capt. Isaac Heysinger
I don't know who this guy is, but this text was in a phamplet written and published in 1862 by a Dr. Lewis Steiner.
See this link:
http://www.edinborough.com/Life/AtFront/Steiner.htm
Where'd you get your info? SCV or League of the South? Hate groups don't make real objective sources.
Walt
Though you might have found an example otherwise, in my limited checking stand watie capitalizes "Confederate" but not "yankee". 104
How very odd.
Walt
the WBTS was caused by slavery in precisely the same way that fish cause floods.
for 90% of southerners (at least), the war was about just ONE main cause: freedom for dixie.
for those of us who favor LIBERTY, it still is.
free dixie,sw
the US Archives states that he was a COL(surgeon) of the union army.
as usual, you are twisting the truth to suit your agenda, scalawag.go read the records as i have, and stop posting revisionist PROPAGANDA.
free dixie,sw
it's a southron thing.
free dixie,sw
Anyone with even a slight knowledge of the ACW knows that Lee's army at Antietam was only 40-45,000. No matter who wrote this (and Dr. Steiner definitely did), he's not very credible.
Neither are you.
Walt
It doesn't say any such thing. I usually don't respond to you at all, but you are even more over the top ludicrous today than usual.
Walt
free dixie,sw
Slave ownership devolved on 50% of whites in MS, LA and SC and on 1/3 of southerners elsewhere. There were more slave owners in the south than there were real property owners in the north.
Walt
what are you drinking this morning? must be strong!
as the VAST majority of southerners were POOR yeoman farmers, with total gross assets of less than $5,000 including home,livestock & their land, your claim is both ill-informed & LAUGHABLE! the average rebel soldier in the ranks had total gross assets of less than $50 & net assets of less than $ 25.
Shelby Foote said that perhaps 10% of southerners could have AFFORDED to buy a slave, even if they wanted to own one.
your silly, hatefilled,ignortant,off-point, foolish posts are a source of merriment to all but the most ignorant members of the forum AND the WORST of the south-haters.
free dixie,sw
Nuff said. BTW, haven't you tired of posting that same old piece of crap from the WSJ? Everytime this issue comes up this is the first thing you go to. And McPherson's data is not only unchecked, it's suspect by his very leanings. He throws out anything that disagrees with his POV even though the paper could be staring him in the face. What? All these documents stating the existence and bravery of blacks in the Confederate Army were forged by Southerners? That's a good conspiracy theory there Walt.
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