Descendants honor Confederate soldiers

indystar ^ | October 5, 2003 | Bill McCleery

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As more than 100,000 blacks gathered in Indianapolis to celebrate their heritage, about 20 descendants of Confederate soldiers huddled at Crown Hill Cemetery to remember theirs.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans on Saturday honored 1,616 Southern soldiers buried in a mass grave. The men died while prisoners of war at Camp Morton on the Near Northside during the Civil War.

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Members of a Civil War re-enactors group based in Indiana - the 33rd Virginia Infantry - participated in Saturday's ceremony at Crown Hill Cemetery honoring Confederate POWs who died at Indianapolis' Camp Morton. -- Bill McCleery / For The Star

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wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
- John Adams -

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[laotzu]

Yea, yea.....it was all about slavery.

If only the South had first freed their slaves, the North would have had absolutely no problem with secession.(/sarcasm)

[4CJ]

Twenty-six of the Confederate dead buried at Crown Hill are black slaves or servants who chose to remain with white Southern soldiers imprisoned at Camp Morton rather than take oaths of loyalty to the U.S. government, said Allen Trapp Jr., of Carrollton, Ga., another SCV official.

Bump.

[Luke]

MOS&B BUMP!

[Moose4]

You can debate back and forth whether the government and moneyed interests here in the South fought for slavery or not. That one will never be solved.

But my guess is that Johnny Reb, poor farm boy from Virginia or Georgia or Tennessee or wherever, didn't care much about a plantation owner and his slaves. His home, his State, was being invaded, and by God, he was going to go out there and defend it. Back then, people viewed themselves as Virginians or Georgians or Tennesseeans before they viewed themselves as Americans.

Grunts in any war don't always fight for lofty principles or great ideals. Johnny Reb wasn't fighting to keep slaves any more than Billy Yank was fighting to free them. They did their duty, plain and simple.

}:-)4

[Badray]

C'mon now.

How in the *&%$!#$# are we gonna have a 1000 post fight if you continue to inject common sense and reason into it?

[Moose4]

Oh, don't worry. I feel sure we'll still have a nice flamewar. :)

}:-)4

[Badray]

Not so sure. It's looks like you killed the thread.

Party pooper,

LOL

[Non-Sequitur]

Back then, people viewed themselves as Virginians or Georgians or Tennesseeans before they viewed themselves as Americans

Not everyone did:

"The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles -- you have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess, are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes." -- George Washington

[Moose4]

Well, no, not everyone did. But you have to admit, regional/state identity was much stronger 140 years ago, when society was less mobile. After all, most people (especially farmers) stayed in the same area most or all of their lives...and if they moved, they didn't move far. Nowadays, of course, it's uncommon for somebody to spend their life in one town or even one state--and mass communication and mobility is wearing away at regional identities.

My guess is that the South, being more agrarian, was generally less mobile, so people developed more of a tie to their home states than in more urban areas. But I'm no sociologist, so that's not a real informed opinion, just a gut feeling.

}:-)4

[Non-Sequitur]

My guess is that the South, being more agrarian, was generally less mobile, so people developed more of a tie to their home states than in more urban areas. But I'm no sociologist, so that's not a real informed opinion, just a gut feeling.

Perhaps. My point was not to disagree that many people identified with states rather than their country. That doesn't mean that such beliefs were supported by our founding fathers.

[Colt .45]

"Back then, people viewed themselves as Virginians or Georgians or Tennesseeans before they viewed themselves as Americans"

" Not everyone did"

They viewed themselves as Southerners or Northerners. Cultural societal economics played a big role in how one was viewed. As well as what part of the country one was from. The damnYankee merchants did just as much to push the South towards secession as did the Southern fire-eaters.