Free Republic

In response to Abraham Lincoln winning election as President of the United States as well as a list of grievances against the Federal govt, the state of South Carolina voted (thru a Convention) to secede from the United States of America. The Convention was held in Charleston and issued a Declaration of Secession at the end of the convention. That document can be seen here: http://www.thevrwc.org/historical/SouthCarolinaDeclarationofSecession.html Comments or opinions - anyone?

Scientists: Hunley's hatch was unlocked Scientists say they may have found an important clue in the mystery of why the Confederate submarine Hunley sank 140 years ago after making history by sinking an enemy warship in battle. Archaeologists and others working to restore the submarine recovered six years ago from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Sullivans Island have found evidence the forward hatch may have been opened intentionally on the night the sub sank. The forward hatch was one of two ways crew members got in and out of the sub. It is covered in...

Kevin Willmott's ersatz documentary "CSA: The Confederate States of America" is an act of provocation that's sheer genius in its conceptual simplicity. Fairly unoriginal, too. Writers and historians have been penning "what-if" scenarios predicated on the War Between the States going the other way for decades; I recall MacKinley Kantor's "If the South Had Won the Civil War" on my elementary school reading list years ago, and more recent authors such as Harry Turtledove and Roger L. Ransom have addressed the matter as well. Willmott isn't interested in academic niceties. He wants to make you laugh and hurt at the...

Missing view port muddies long-held theory of Hunley's disappearance By JOHN C. DRAKE, Published Wednesday, December 28, 2005 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Scientists chipping away the hard layer of mud that covers the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley have discovered that a view port on the front of the vessel is missing. If no pieces of the view port are found in the ship, then it is possible the tower was knocked off when the sub sank. That would conflict with the prevailing theory that the tower was blown in by an enemy warship, causing the Hunley to fill with water....

Students marching Saturday to ban a Confederate flag, dyed in LSU's colors met the most fiery opposition from tailgaters since the students began protests of the popular game-day decoration three weeks ago. Police arrested three people for throwing objects at or inciting protestors as about 200 mostly black students trekked from the African American Culture Center to Tiger Stadium before LSU's homecoming game with Appalachian State. The arrests were the first made during any of the three protests staged so far this fall, LSU Police Capt. Ricky Adams said. Chanting "ban that flag" and "LSU unite," protestors were met by...

CSA: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, through the eyes of a faux documentary, takes a look at an America where the South won the Civil War. Supposedly produced by a British broadcasting company, the feature film is presented as a production being shown, controversially, for the first time on television in the States. Beginning with the British and French forces joining the battle with the Confederacy, thus assuring the defeat of the North at Gettysburg and ensuing battles, the South takes the battle northward and form one country out of the two. Lincoln attempts escape to Canada but is captured...

Aug. 9, 1862, was a hot and dusty day, a grueling time to be marching into war. Confederate soldiers struggling through the blistering heat on their way from Gordonsville that day were about to engage in a battle that would go down as the deadliest in Culpeper County history. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, the only time Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is known to have drawn his sword in combat, is approaching its 143rd anniversary, and the fledgling preservationist group Friends of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield has planned a weekend of activities to commemorate the event. The group, in partnership...

Jason McKenney of Half Moon Bay wanted to make a political statement. Not by marching in the streets. Not by boycotting big business. Not by signing a petition. But by growing fruits and vegetables naturally. In this day and age of mega-scale corporate farming, 34-year-old McKenney, who studied environmental studies and biology at Brown University, ekes out a living growing organically on all of three leased acres along the coast. There, among the rows of potatoes, garlic, onions, kale, chard, arugula, mustard, parsley and Forellenschluss (an heirloom lettuce with green leaves speckled with burgundy), McKenney makes his point. ``This is...

On this day of July the 3rd in 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia left the field at Gettysburg PA , broken . On this same day CSA forces at Vicksburg in Mississippi surrendered after a long and difficult siege . To all the brave men that died on this day in 1863 , on both sides of North and South , I offer a toast ,and a heartfelt thanks for their sacrifice . You are not forgotten.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Scientists excavating the Confederate submarine Hunley say they've found another unique feature of the boat. They say the Hunley had a series of skylights on top of the hull. Each had a cover which could be closed from inside. Charleston Senator Glenn McConnell chairs the Hunley Commission. He says the covers could have prevented light from escaping from the inside of the Hunley, revealing its position. McConnell says it appears the covers were designed to help seal the sub if one of the skylights broke. He says it's another indication the Hunley was a well-thought-out...

Archaeologists, with an assist from 21st-century technology, have gotten their first detailed look at Georgia's most notorious shipwreck — the best view since the Confederate forces scuttled the ironclad CSS Georgia in 1864 as Union Gen. William Sherman's army entered Savannah. Detailed sonar scans of the wreck — the only way to "see" anything in the murky, 40-foot depths of the Savannah River — show sections of the ship's armor, as well as cannons, engines, boilers and propellers scattered across the river bottom off Fort Jackson, where it went down 141 years ago. To everyone's surprise, however, there is no...

On the surface there would seem to be little to unite the Aryan racialists of the neo-Nazi movement with the terrorists of radical Islam. To the neo-Nazis, Muslims are almost all members of ``inferior`` races; and to the Islamic terrorists, the neo-Nazis are almost without exception either atheists or members of fringe quasi-Christian sects. But the reality is that there has been close cooperation between Muslim extremists and Fascists ever since the founding of the Nazi movement in the 1920`s. For all of their differences, Muslim extremists and Nazis have always been united by a common group of beliefs and...

Letters from the Front News from the battlefield was not always good, but sad mail was better than none Last of a series. By Deangelo McDaniel DAILY Staff Writer With a heavy heart, Col. Columbus Sykes sat near a tree in Aberdeen, Miss., and wrote a letter to his niece and nephew. "You are yet young, very young," he wrote, "one just emerged from his mother's arms; the other an infant, whose age is numbered only by months." Less than a month earlier on Oct. 26, 1864, Sykes had held his brother, Dr. William E. Sykes, in his arms as...

It's merely a guess - and an admittedly presumptuous one, too - but here's some unsolicited advice for attorney George Felos - as long as Jeb Bush reigns over Florida, your client Michael Schiavo will never be permitted to allow his brain-damaged wife Terri to die. Even if courts continue to rule in Michael Schiavo's favor? Nope, not even then. Not even if indeed it was Terri's wish never to be simply kept alive as the world's leading Larry King prop?Nope, not even then. Not even if the medical evidence supports the argument that Terri Schiavo's consciousness slipped away 15...

In Memory of Confederate General Robert E. Lee born on January 19, 1807.

What's wrong about this photo? Or if you're a true-born Southerner, what's right? While scanning through some of the up and coming movies in 2005, I ran across this intriguing title; "CSA: Confederate States of America (2005)". It's an "alternate universe" take on what would the country be like had the South won the civil war.Stars with bars:Suffice to say anything from Hollywood on this topic is sure to to bring about all sorts of controversial ideas and discussions. I was surprised that they are approaching such subject matter, and I'm more than a little interested.Some things are better left...

Americans Owe Confederate History Respect By CHRIS EDWARDS The Time Has Come To Take A Stand After attending the Confederate Memorial Day service on June 1 in Higginsville, I found myself believing our nation should be ashamed for not giving more respect and recognition to our ancestors. I understand that some find the Confederate flag offensive because they feel it represents slavery and oppression. Well, here are the facts: The Confederate flag flew over the South from 1861 to 1865. That's a total of four years. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in April 1789, and that document protected and condoned...

I grew up in Missouri and most of my family voted for Bush, so I am going to be the one to say it: The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not. (Well, almost 58 million—my relatives are not ignorant, they are just greedy and full of classic Republican feelings of superiority.) Ignorance and bloodlust have a long tradition in the United States, especially in the red states. There used...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Constitution of the Confederate States of America Preamble We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity -- invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God -- do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Confederate States of America. Article I. - The Legislative Branch Section 1 - The Legislature 1. All legislative powers herein delegated shall be vested in a Congress of the Confederate States, which shall consist...