[Forward the Light Brigade]

My family were Blue Bellied Yankee abolitionist from Maine and severed at all of the great battles in the Virginia Theater. (20th Maine, 2nd Maine, 31st Maine Volunteers) Several fell in the war—one on the second day at Gettysburg. My wife’s family were from North Carolina and Virginia. They served under Lee and Stonewall Jackson. They were slave owners to boot. Both sides fought for want they believed was right. Both fought for their nations. We must not forget what happened and what cause they gave their lives for. Those who do not study and learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.

[artifax]

Nice that you married “well”.....

[hellbender]

Yes, you are right that people fought courageously and idealistically on both sides. I just feel the need to counteract the propaganda which we are so often fed, that Lincoln was a hero and Jeff Davis and the rest of the South villains.

It was touching to watch the part of Ken Burns' Civil War series in which Union and Confederate veterans fraternized and mingled at a memorial event years later. The South went on to contribute disproportionately to the reunited nation's defense during the 20th century.

Unfortunately, we all lost when state sovereignty was crushed by military force as a result of the Northern victory.