Free Republic

Throughout his war-torn presidency, Lincoln was pilloried by his critics across the political spectrum: He was derided as a “duffer,” mocked as a “rough farmer,” criticized for “ignorance of everything but Illinois village politics.” And as he steered the Union around one obstacle after another, enduring generals who wouldn’t fight and Northerners deeply opposed to “the niggers,” Lincoln was also criticized by the press, scorned by Washington society, held up as the object of lofty condescension by eastern sophisticates, even defied by his own military men. Still, his niche in history-it is a large one-is secure. So is his place...

The slave power rebellion largely collapsed on this date in 1865.

DiLorenzo's Lincoln --- a rebuttal Historical scholarship is often a controversial field, so it is no surprise that occasionally we find some argument or dissension over a book or article which appears. This web page is devoted to exposing what its publisher and contributors think are a number of grievous errors in Thomas DiLorenzo's recent book on Abraham Lincoln (The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War; Prima Publishing [an imprint of Random House], 2002).Several people helped with the preparation of this site, and the publisher would like to especially thank Prof. Richard...

A day after voters overwhelmingly ratified the eighth flag to fly over Georgia, political and business leaders called for an end to hostilities in the 20-year war over which banner should represent the state. Lacy Hunter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans joins a protest Wednesday at the Capitol. He wanted the 1956 flag as an option. "The flag debate is now a chapter in history," said state Sen. George Hooks (D-Americus), one of the new flag's designers. "We need to move forward to critical issues we have on the table." Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young said, "I think you'll...

Ralph Nader just said on NBC that congressman John Conyers (whoever that is) would probably file imeachment documents on Bush.

"Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln." Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address"...in the wake of the assasination, editors, generals and public officials across the South voiced the opinion that the region had lost its best friend. Indignation meetings, so-called, were convened in many places. Lincoln stood for peace, mercy, and forgiveness. His loss, therefore, was a calamity for the defeated states. This opinion was sometimes ascribed to Jefferson Davis, even though he stood accused of complicity in the assasination....He [Davis] read the telegram [bringing news of Lincoln's death]...

Just because a cause is lost doesn't mean the fight's over. That's the Confederate way. Thwarted in the final moments of last year's session of the Legislature, supporters of Georgia's 1956 state flag will take another stab at putting the Rebel cross before voters over the next few weeks. Analogies with Pickett's disastrous charge at Gettysburg come quickly to mind. "We're used to having the odds against us," said William Lathem of Paulding County, leader of the Southern Heritage PAC, one of several groups that want to extend debate on the state's most volatile political issue by one more year....

In the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, both sides, leaving fifty thousand dead or wounded or missing behind them, had reason to maintain a large pattern of pretense—Lee pretending that he was not taking back to the South a broken cause, Meade that he would not let the broken pieces fall through his fingers. It would have been hard to predict that Gettysburg, out of all this muddle, these missed chances, all the senseless deaths, would become a symbol of national purpose, pride, and ideals. Abraham Lincoln transformed the ugly reality into something rich and strange—and he did it...

PATTON'S THIRD ARMY Pre-Operational Phase In Normandy When the Third Army Headquarters landed on French soil, the first thing done was to insure absolute security. In accordance with the plan Overlord, the presence of the Third Army was to be kept secret as long as possible. The idea was to keep the German High Command guessing as to the where- about's  of General Patton.During the first days in the  Allied invasion, the XIX Tactical Air Command, whose primary job was aerial support for the Third Army, established its own headquarters adjacent to the army headquarters. Their detailed planning then started...

<p>In recent months, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have missed no opportunity to heap richly deserved praise on the military. But talk is cheap — and getting cheaper by the day, judging from the nickel-and-dime treatment the troops are getting lately. For example, the White House griped that various pay-and-benefits incentives added to the 2004 defense budget by Congress are wasteful and unnecessary — including a modest proposal to double the $6,000 gratuity paid to families of troops who die on active duty. This comes at a time when Americans continue to die in Iraq at a rate of about one a day.</p>

Did anyone notice the congruence between the end of the war and the North Koreans' backing off all their threats?What if, just for speculation, Saddam cut a deal to leave for Russia and got from us a guarantee not to make a fuss if he ducked out?Has anyone else heard this?I understand this hypothesis was discussed on FOX.Walt

Sons of Union Veterans regroup By CAMERON McWHIRTER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Eric Peterson, a Wisconsin native who lives in Gwinnett County, and his son Max hope to start a Georgia chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. A Civil War buff and northern transplant has a simple message for Georgians: The Yankees were the good guys. Eric Peterson, born and raised in Wisconsin, is launching an effort this month to revive a defunct Georgia "camp" of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The Snellville resident wants the group to achieve what was once...

Flag wasn't the root of Barnes' fall It's fun to see a myth take shape, to watch as it emerges unformed from the early fog of facts and then be polished and sanded and finally cast in bronze, so that in time it seems as real and solid as a statue. Consider, for example, the myth of Roy Barnes and the Georgia flag. Make no mistake, the former governor fully deserved the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award he recently accepted at Harvard. His decision to engineer a change in the Georgia flag, despite the risk it posed, was a true...

Confederate flag salute in program upsets parents LARRY MCCORMACK / STAFF Parents of some students at Avery Trace Middle School in Cookeville are upset because a history program by re-enactors included a salute to the Confederate flag. By LEON ALLIGOOD Staff Writer COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A program presented by a local camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans last Friday at Avery Trace Middle School has angered parents because students were asked to stand and listen to a recitation of a salute to the Confederate flag. ''My son told me something happened at school. I couldn't have imagined it would...

Associated Press Birmingham, Ala. -- Former Alabama football coach Mike Price said he was "too drunk to really know" what happened at a Pensacola, Fla., topless bar on the night that ultimately led to his firing, The Birmingham News reported Wednesday. But Price told the News that he did not have sex in his Pensacola hotel room that night, and he denied allegations that he bought alcoholic drinks for students in Tuscaloosa bars on other occasions. Price's attorney, Stephen Heninger, also said Price had never been warned by athletic director Mal Moore about his behavior at Tuscaloosa bars. Moore said...

Banning banner banter The Battle Flag -- and the Stars and Bars -- are racist symbols: Dump them BY JOHN SUGG Monty Python couldn't have done it better. One of the British comedy troupe's fave sidesplitters depicted an incensed John Cleese trying to return a decidedly deceased parrot to a pet store owner, Michael Palin. Part of the sketch goes: Cleese: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now. Palin: No, no, he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! So it goes in the Georgia Assembly in the endless posturing over...

Negotiators approve flag compromise By JIM GALLOWAY Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer Proposed new Georgia state flag. Georgia's state flag would be changed immediately, with a public vote to follow, under a plan endorsed by a key House committee today. The new flag would resemble the first national flag of the Confederacy -- three red and white bars, with a blue field in the top left corner. The state seal would be in the blue corner, and the words "In God We Trust" would be written to the right. The bill adopted by the House Rules Committee calls for the Legislature...

The Duke Of Medina Sidonia By William S. Lind 31 March 2003 In planning a war, the most important task is to understand what can be planned and what cannot. In general, the initial disposition of forces can be planned, and it must be planned with great care. As Field Marshal von Moltke said, "A mistake in initial dispositions can seldom be put right." But Moltke also said, "No plan survives its first contact with the enemy." Once you cross the enemy's border, you have to adjust and improvise constantly. The conduct of war, as distinct from preparation for war,...

Marching To Baghdad (Sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia) Bring the good old bugle, boys! We'll sing another song. Sing it with a spirit that will start the world a long, Sing is as we used to sing it,fifty thousand strong, While we were marching to Baghdad! Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the Jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that makes you free! So we sang the chorus from Basra to the sea, While we were marching to Baghdad. How the Shi'ites shouted when they heard the joyful sound! How the reporters ogled when they saw what we had found!...

When her father was elected governor, Leigh Perdue Brett marveled that her 4-year-old twins would someday read about their grandfather in history class. If Sonny Perdue does not show strong leadership on the Georgia flag, Sunni and Mary Kate might read that their granddad had been the most racially divisive governor of Georgia since Lester Maddox. The state's reputation, its economy and race relations hang in the balance of Perdue's decision on the flag. This square of fabric will determine whether Georgia is seen as a leader of the New South or a captive to the worst of the...