Taking the War out of The American Civil "War"

[Guest TankerHC]

Just to preface this ridiculousness, my 3rd Great Grandfather and a handful of other relatives were captured at Third Winchester and spent some time (September 19th 64 to March 15th 65) at Point Lookout Maryland POW Camp. There are 12,000 Confederates buried there, it was worse than Andersonville. So a single Maryland State Senator gets his panties in a wad and finds it offensive that St. Andrews Cross flies over the graves of 12,000 dead Confederates that the Union murdered. He isnt even from the area, probably before someone told him and whined he didnt even know the memorial was there. So he has the VA Historic Preservation Office remove the flag and replace it with the US Flag, and SCV gets involved and they go to court, the flag is changed back, then back again and finally a Federal Judge decided that the VA was in charge, it was offensive and today, the US Flag flies over the graves of 12,000 Confederate dead. Right next door (30 seconds away) the SCV and some other organizations bought the adjoining land, built a new memorial, far bigger than the one on top of the graves. Two Confederate Flags fly when you come through the gate, a giant memorial with the names and units on brass plaques right in front and an obelisk with a huge Confederate flag fly in the back. Small Confederate flags fly all over. There are a few smaller graveyards with some of the veterans in the area, but the majority are in a mass grave under the what you might call "rotting" memorial flying an US Flag. The Memorial over the graves run by the VA is a disgrace. Or it was last year and the year before. The coating on the brass plaques is coming off, you cant even read the units on some of them. There were soda cans, beer bottles, cigarette butts, trash, all over the place. The grass wasnt cut both times and to put it bluntly, it was a national disgrace. Right next door the new memorial is absolutely immaculate, and beautiful. Its a great thing, but that is not where they are.

 

I was a member of the SCV Camp in Hattiesburg, MS when Rick Forte headed up the fundraising and restoration of Beaviour, Jefferson Davis retirement home and the location of the Confederate Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I did my small part to help raise funds and was there with Mr. Forte and Senator Lott and a lot of other people on the opening of the restoration and Rick led the next restoration after Katrina. I wont even go into whats going on with that, look it up and read it. Its ridiculous. And Rick Forte is 1000% in the right.

 

But over the last year and a half I have had the opportunity to make some good friends and get some great lessons in the Historical Forensic business (No, I am not claiming to be that, but it is darned interesting to listen and watch),, specifically to the Civil War. Union, Confederate, Civilians, relics, firearms, documents, all of it. Over the last 3 days I have spent all day, every day asking ten million questions and they are happy to give answers, and I watch. One thing I learned, actually two that disgust me. One, a Foreign company is buying up all of our historical documents. As many as they can, they are taking them overseas, the reason, they want Americans to pay for the copies. All of the money made leaves the US and goes to this Foreign Country to this company. These original documents will never be available except in copies to Americans again, and all proceeds from those historical documents will never benefit any of the Battlefield Preservation Societies, internal or external again. And take my word for it, the sales and transactions by these high end collectors do, lots of money comes from them that goes to preserve our Battlefields, and most of them buy these documents, or entire collections, and insure that Americans can still view them if they want.

 

Then there are these Museums all over the country. They are moving in the "Relics" direction and selling off their Firearms Collections. Why? Well sometimes they need the money, but in MOST cases it is because Americans AND Foreigners visiting these Museums deem these firearms "Offensive". The people I know find this ridiculous, I find their being offended "OFFENSIVE". I have now met people, AMERICANS, who are buying up entire Museum Collections and donating them to Museums who seem to actually "get it". Our National Museums are not selling anything off. But much of our National Heritage sits in smaller Museums, at the State and Local level. That is who is selling off their firearms collections. 

 

I know some will not care, but I do. I REALLY do. They have been going after our Civil War Heritage for years, and not just Confederate, Union AND Confederate, looks like they are succeeding. Maybe that's why, since Obama has been elected our Revolutionary Patriots have become "Insurgents" and "terrorists". Maybe that is why our Politicians have been apologetic to the Japanese for WWII.

 

I am pretty damned sick of it myself, to put it bluntly. Most Americans are ignorant of their own History, they have no clue beyond the last tweet or dumb book post. And when I say THEY, we know damned right well who "THEY" are. "They" being the Socialist Left.

 

They wanted to destroy our Country, one surefire way is to wipe out our History, and they are doing a damned fine job of it.

 

Just sign me "J", the guy here who believes our Constitution says exactly what the Founders meant, and our Battlefields, relics, documents, and our dead are "Living",  

 

These people make me want to vomit. 

 

 

 

 

[Monkeyman2500]

It is a sad thing that is being done with our history. I've seen it with the civil war relics and history for quite a while. Now it also seems that the WWII history is fading even quicker. And don't even ask these dimwits about WWI. I think they forgot it even happened.

[ironsniper1]

I was home schooled my whole life and mostly ignored everything I learned so I'm not as smart in a lot of areas but I find it sad when I know more about WWII or certain things in history than the current generation. It also upsets me how every year we are loosing more and more of our history though loosing battle fields and relics because of no money or wanting to build new houses or something

[Hershmeister]

The next great conflict of our nation: The right to offend / or never be offended

[china coaster]

I know some of the folks that were envolved in the monument progect you spoke of. My great Granddaddy began and ended his time in yankee prison camps at point lookout. I was also involved in fun raising and planning for the sesquicentenial event at Beaviour. We are heavily envolved in living history and historical preservation. If we the people don't teach our children and grandchildren our history they will continue to elect the same type of people to office we have had in the last few years.    Deo Vendice!  

[tnguy]

The government won't even look after the soldiers that are currently alive and working for it. I fear there's not much hope for a vanquished foe from long ago. I do wish you success in your endeavors though.

[Will Carry]

I have spent my life studying and reading about history. I still consider myself a student. I have been accused of being an "Apologist" for pointing out historical facts about the Civil War. I think it's a shame that more people don't study our past. One of the things I have learned reading history is, when people are ignorant of the past, they are easier to manipulate. That is why the communist kill and imprison teachers.

[Guest TankerHC]

I have spent my life studying and reading about history. I still consider myself a student. I have been accused of being an "Apologist" for pointing out historical facts about the Civil War. I think it's a shame that more people don't study our past. One of the things I have learned reading history is, when people are ignorant of the past, they are easier to manipulate. That is why the communist kill and imprison teachers.

This

 

Here's a few of the misconceptions that people glean from modern over romanticized Civil War writings and movies. "Gone with the Wind" and "Gettysburg" the Civil War was not.

 

From my home State, Maryland is a Liberal Unionist State. No quite, at all. All New Yorkers were Unionists. Sorry, nope. If you were from Georgia, Tennessee, or Mississippi or (Add State here), you were a Confederate and a Patriot because you wanted to secede from the grasp of a centralized Government. Nope. General Lee was the greatest Civil War Commander of the entire War. Not no, but not at all. he just happened to be the one to survive. Remember Picketts Charge! Whats that? Oh that story that Mary Pickett made up. All the great generals in the South were Southerners. Umm, no. Im pretty sure the senior commander at Vicksburg was not a Southerner and a couple of others. General Sherman was is and always will be hated in the South. Umm, no again. Im pretty sure on his retirement tour as Chief of Staff of the Army, through the South he was pretty much hailed and thanked for ending the war. Especially by ALL OF HIS FRIENDS in the South. Lee's old warhorse was a warrior, not as good as Jackson but knew we could have won. Wrong again. Stonewall Jackson was a very Pious man who never touched a drop and refused to fight on the Sabbath. Not exactly, on any of it. 

 

The War was decided on the field of Battle....but not the end result. That was decided in the chambers of the US Supreme Court. It was the troops who just happened to make you abide by those decisions. Read Nitschke.

 

The troops were pious, and if they werent a Chaplain seemed to always join the unit and change their minds, that would be minus the several thousand courts martialed the several tens of thousands who couldnt stay away from the hookers and the many many many who died of Venereal Disease and cost both armies a fortune because they had to build and maintain VD Hospitals. And they were all (Mostly) brave. Yea, and many of them were freaken insane. As an example, read the contemporary out of print accounts of target practice games at Petersburg.

 

I could go on and on, but I do get it  Want to know the truth, study the politics, not the battles. Want to read what really happened on those fields, read the out of print contemporary accounts written by the troops who were there. Because in the modern "first person" or "first units" accounts, they leave out the truth. 

 

I get it Will Carry. 

 

Almost forgot, figured Id throw in the big one. "The War was about Slavery/Southern Independence/States Rights/saving the Union..etc. Yep, and 14,000 other things, feel free to just pic one and use that.. Lincoln fought to free the slaves. Ummm...NO....just ask Horace Greeley.

Edited April 10, 2014 by TankerHC

[Will Carry]

Very cool Tanker! Also very true. I have only recently began reading about the politics of the Civil War. Holy crap! There's so much to learn. I agree that a person who only studies the battles is missing out. Who is Nitschke? You mean Ray Nitschke the football player? ;) Edited April 10, 2014 by Will Carry