Posted on 04/18/2004 9:38:38 AM PDT by aomagrat
CHARLESTON S.C. — They seemed to rise up out of the past and go on forever.
Some 4,000 Confederate re-enactors, in hues of gray and butternut, bayonets sparkling in the sun, wowed 10,000 spectators Saturday on the long, last march to bury the eight sailors of the H.L. Hunley submarine, sunk off Charleston in 1864.
“Enough people have come by to fight the Civil War all over again,” mused Sonny Bowyer, 57, down from Richmond, Va., after watching the procession 40 minutes with still no end in sight.
Past, present, legend, history and drama — all collided for more than eight hours in one of the most elaborate funerals South Carolina has ever held.
“There are so many crossroads of history here you can’t count them all,” said state Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville, dressed in a two-star Confederate general’s uniform, marching near the head of the parade.
It started shortly after 7 a.m. Eight black limousines bearing the Hunley crew’s remains, escorted by an S.C. Highway Patrol SWAT team, rolled into the Battery, a park on Charleston’s southernmost tip.
Then came the endless parade of gray ghosts, ending in mid-afternoon, 4½ miles away, when Hunley organizer state Sen. Glenn McConnell — dressed as a three-star Confederate general, apparently the highest rank of all re-enactors present — gave a funeral oration comparing the Hunley sailors to the greatest military heroes in world history.
What generated some of the warmest applause from the crowd of an estimated 10,000 lining the streets was the sight of the American flag carried by a contemporary U.S. Marine color guard from Parris Island. In full dress uniforms, the Marines marched near the end of the miles-long parade. The U.S. flag was carried by Sgt. Nicholas Underwood, 26, a black Marine who said he was “probably” the descendant of slaves, who were freed only by the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865.
“It’s an honor to be here carrying the American flag,” said Underwood, of Brevard, N.C.
Spectator Helen Rowan, of Jacksonville, Fla., said she applauded the Marines and other modern-day military in the parade because of “the contribution they make to peace today.”
In another sign of the “crossroads of history,” several black Union re-enactors from the 54th Massachusetts — the African-American “Glory” Regiment that fought against Confederate troops near Charleston in 1863 — showed up and marched with about 40 “bluecoat” re-enactors.
Just like the men of the Hunley, who made history by being the first submarine crew to sink an enemy ship (the USS Housatonic) in warfare, the men of 54th Massachusetts made history. They proved to whites of that era that free black people could make good soldiers.
Their attack, although it failed and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of blacks, was a trail-blazing moment, according to Robert Rosen, a prominent local historian and attorney in his book “A Short History of Charleston.”
George Hughes, 73, a black “Glory” re-enactor, said he felt good about honoring the Hunley crew. “These men believed in what they were doing, and we lost men on the Housatonic. We’re honoring everybody.”
Today’s politics intruded on the day. Along the parade route, young men passed out leaflets urging people to become members of the League of the South, an ultraconservative neo-Confederate group that promotes the “purity of our Anglo-Celtic cultural heritage.”
But mostly, the day belonged to the lost Confederacy, and those who came to honor, mourn and bury the Hunley crew.
In a funeral ceremony before the procession, Hunley official Randy Burbage — his voice shaking and his eyes abrim with tears, said: “We have not forgotten you. We will not forget you. ... It’s hard to say goodbye. We have come to regard you as family. ... May the sacrifices that you made never, ever be forgotten.”
Some four hours later, McConnell spoke at Magnolia Cemetery.
“This is a legacy that will inspire the world for generations to come,” said McConnell, speaking of the Hunley crew’s being history’s first successful submarine crew.
“The crew members who walked toward their destiny that night were young men in the prime of their life, a band of brothers filled with hope for the future. They probably did not imagine that the footprints they were making along that path that night would leave such a large and permanent imprint on the sands of time. ... We know that the courage and heroism that they brought to that mission rose to the level of legend.
“Because of what they achieved that night, maritime history and the technology mankind uses to conquer the sea changed on our planet for all time.”
He added that he believed the spirits of the Hunley crew were present.
“I believe the eight men of the Hunley are watching over us today,” he said. “We are together with them now, on their last leg of their journey home.”
Many felt, in their own ways, the bond McConnell alluded to.
“They volunteered to be on the sub, just as we did,” explained Keith Schnebel, 57, leader of a group of modern-day submariners who served as one group of pallbearers. “A mariner lost at sea is a mariner lost at sea, and it all started with the Hunley.”
at that time, the CofC crowd, of Charleston were "going to play it down".
i predicted that there would be few CSA flags, weeping belles in black & few CSA personnel.
i'm PLEASED that i was SOOOOOOOO WRONG!
free dixie,sw
free dixie,sw
He did mention that a web site is being prepared. Anyone who would like to be pinged when that's available please FReepmail me and I'll send you the URL when it's live.
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