Free Republic

Breezy gusts out of the north flutter banners of red, white and blue near a quiet gathering in Oakdale Cemetery. Long wisps of gray moss swing in the wind. The sudden sharp boom of a small cannon shatters the stillness as a man's cracked voice raises an old battle cry. The piercing howl once struck fear into the hearts of brave soldiers in blue, and inspired those in gray.Echoes of the rebel yell die away like a kind of benediction to Confederate soldiers buried in Oakdale.The annual ceremony marking Confederate Memorial Day is a patriotic event held at a large...

BAYBORO -- A handful of students from Pamlico County High School asked school board members Monday night to rescind their school's ban on clothing that contains the Confederate flag, arguing it strips them of their Southern heritage and compromises their First Amendment rights. The three students, all of whom were white, told board members that they don't believe the clothing creates any conflicts at their school, and they presented the board with a 201-name petition urging it to allow the clothing."Most people we've talked to don't have a problem with it," said 17-year-old Kristina Mayeur. "We've talked to black kids...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – If John Kerry wants to be president, he ought to come down South and ask us Southerners to vote for him. Say it nicely, and we might do it. It makes us mad that Republican candidates for president have come to taking us for granted and Democrats have come to ignoring us. Give us a little credit. We don't put up forever with somebody blowing smoke and calling it incense. Think about it. We in the South are ranked highest in areas we don't want (school dropout rates, illiteracy, malnutrition, infant mortality, poverty) and lowest...

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...

<p>Saddam Hussein's devilish practice of using human shields isn't exactly new. It was pioneered by an American, in fact, during the last year of the Civil War.</p> <p>"Your officers, now in my hands, will be placed by me under your fire, as an act of retaliation," Union departmental commander Gen. John G. Foster wrote his Southern counterpart in an edict, and with that a sordid new standard was set in the conduct of war.</p>

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Confederate flags waved and cannons boomed Monday at the state Capitol as Gov. Bob Riley and several hundred others used Confederate Memorial Day to celebrate the restoration of the Confederate Monument. Federal funds covered the $231,600 cost of restoring the monument that stands alongside Alabama's Capitol, where the Confederate States of America was organized and had its first seat of government. The monument honors Alabamians who died in the Civil War from 1861-65."We are the caretakers of their memory and their reputation. The restoration of this monument is part of our duty to them," Riley told...

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...

...they did not observe our rules regarding the inappropriateness of displaying the confederate flag. They had to be asked twice to take the flag down... There is never a time when it is appropriate to either wear or display the confederate flag at a Scouting function.

The Hunley Burial This site does not engage in rebel flag waving nor does it have any intention of refighting the Civil War. That being said, we have the utmost respect for the men, women (yes, there were) and children who stood up for their right to freely exit a union they freely entered. This past weekend, the crew members of The Hunley, the first submarine to ever successfully sink an enemy ship were laid to rest in Charleston, SC. Fourteen governers from the south were invited to attend. A grand total of zero showed up. While some cited scheduling...

Front and center of the Dixie Daily News today is a Bush hit piece by Harry Browne titled "The 19 Dumbest Statements By Bush During the Last Week" I emailed Ron Holland, the site admin, owner, etc. the following: Dear Editor,Harry Brown's 4/20/04 article referenced above is a political hit piece against President Bush that has absolutely nothing to do with Southern issues. By running this article, the Dixie Daily News aligns itself with the anti-Bush crowd..a position that will not be well received by Southerners. If you look at the famous red/blue map of the 2000 election, you will...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The eight men of the CSS Hunley came to the end of their journey Saturday, a journey interrupted by 136 years on the ocean floor outside Charleston harbor, entombed in the submarine hull fabricated on Mobile's Water Street. They went home to Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery, their route thronged by tens of thousands of people who still hold the Confederate cause warmly in their hearts. Their arrival was heralded by speakers who dwelt on the nobler aspects of the Confederate struggle.The remains of Lt. George Dixon, the Mobile resident who commanded the Hunley, were ushered to his grave...

The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, made explicit his view of slavery as early as 1774, when he wrote, “I absolutely deny all slave-holding to be consistent with any degree of natural justice.” It would have surprised Wesley to see defenders of a cause that condoned slavery honored in a Charleston-area church bearing his name, Methodist scholars say. On Wednesday, the Hunley’s Confederate crew lay in state at John Wesley United Methodist Church on Savannah Highway. “Though he died before the Civil War, there’s no doubt Wesley would have sided with the anti-slavery forces,” said John Wigger, a...

Nowhere will it be mentioned that if the eight-man Hunley crew had been on the victorious...4 million black people would have continued to be slaves.

We've all done it. You've just gotten home, logged on to FR, and are scrolling down the "Latest Posts" page, deciding which thread will get your attention this evening, when THAT SCREENNAME jumps out at you in a "to" or "from" position. You are powerless to resist; if THAT GUY's there, it's gonna be a good thread... All of us have our own "favorites" among the many colorful souls who congregate at this fine website. They could be someone you disagree totally with, agree completely with, or somewhere in between. They might be a fount of useful information, links, and...

Michael Butzgy writes "WILLIAM LORING is today known but by a scant few, yet in 1886, ten thousand people attended his burial in Florida. He was an attorney and a member of Florida's first state legislature. He helped open the West for millions of settlers. He was the youngest colonel in the history of the U.S. Army. He commanded the Departments of Oregon, the Rio Grande, and New Mexico." His Confederate assignments included: brigadier general, CSA (May 20, 186 1); commanding Army of the Northwest July 20-August 3, 1861 and October 1861February 9, 1862); commanding brigade, Army of the Northwest...

As is customary across the South, Gov. Haley Barbour has declared April as "confederate Heritage Month" in Mississippi. In keeping with this important, public recognition of our valiant Confederate ancestors, the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library, the Friends of the Library, and the Gainesville Volunteer (Sons of Confederate Veterans) are featuring a Confederate "Heritage of Honor" display in the library's foyer through April 12, 2004. The public is cordially invited to view the display during regular library hours. In declaring April as Confederate Heritage Month, Gov. Barbour said: "Whereas April is the month in which the Confederate States began and...

The Founders did not Grant the Federal Judiciary the Power to Interpret the Constitution By Robert Greenslade © Nitwit Press March 29, 2004 Several prominent conservative commentators have stated that it is critical to re-elect George W. Bush because presidents have a direct voice in the appointment of federal judges and these judges “have the power to interpret the Constitution.” Since most Americans have been carefully indoctrinated in a federally funded education camp masquerading as an institution of higher learning, most people, including conservative media pundits, only have a vague understanding of the system of government established by the Constitution....

Confederate flag debate flares in school tribute Students at Lawrence County High School are paying tribute to 15-year-old classmate Kyle Anderson, who died last week in an ATV accident.In honor of Anderson's love of southern heritage, some students wore shirts with the Confederate battle flag to school this week. A typical week at Lawrence County High School turned tense. It was bad enough that classmates had lost a friend, after 15-year-old Kyle Anderson was killed in a 4-wheeler accident last Friday. But then a tribute to his memory went awry. Principal Mickey Dunn said, "Kyle didn't have a prejudiced...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The NCAA has indefinitely extended its ban on awarding championships to South Carolina for flying the Confederate flag on Statehouse grounds. NCAA spokesman Jeff Howard told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the August 2001 decision for a two-year moratorium called for "significant change" from the state. That has not occurred, he said.The NCAA executive committee had voted for a ban on selecting sites in South Carolina for sports events, such as basketball championships."The membership believes that this is the correct stance to take around this particular issue," Howard said.The NCAA tournament was in Greenville for the...

In February 1996, the Museum of the Confederacy, located in Richmond, Virginia, held a fund-raising ball celebrating its centennial and invited participants to come in black tie or period clothing. This created a controversey that launched a televised face-off between former Gov. Douglas L. Wilder, a grandson of slaves, and Robin Reed, the museum's director. Wilder drew comparison between Confederate soldiers and Nazi prison camp guards. Reed said the ball was a non-political event, designed to raise money and attract a younger audience. Denunciations and affirmations piled up, and the publicity swelled participants in the event. To some critics, it...