[Grand Old Partisan]

"The real scam is thinking that, in 1861, ANY white man would have gone to war over a bunch of black slaves."

Yes indeed, it was ridiculous for 800,000 white rebels to go to war over "a bunch of black slaves".

As for my ancestors, you can insult them all you want. During the 1860s, a great-great-grandfather of mine was in the Austro-Hungarian Army -- and I won't mind a bit if you also insult the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Emperor Francis Joseph.

[bk1000]

I don't know where you got that figure, but I can assure you they did not fight over slavery. Preservation of the union, perhaps.

Personally I have no beef with the Austro-Hungarians, or anyone unfortunate enough to have remained behind as late as the 1860's. It's only recently we've become concerned about immigration.