Let’s have some disclosure. I am related, through a branch of my mother’s side of the family (called a “collateral relation”) to three cousins who fought for the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Two of the cousins died as a result of their service. One died in a hospital Richmond, Virginia following the Battle of Gaines Mills which was part of the “Seven Days Battles” in 1862. He had been seriously wounded but we have no other information. The other cousin died of dysintery on a prison ship off of Fortress Monroe Virginia. He had been captured after the Battle of Gettysburg. He was in what some folks call “Pickett’s Charge”. Both of these men served in the 40th Virginia Infantry. A third cousin had also joined the 40th but we have no information other than a statement that he had enlisted. It is as if he suddenly disappeared from the earth. All three men were desperately poor. They farmed tiny farms in Northumberland County, a tough place to try to scrape out a living. In the early 1700’s we know that branch of the family had a large plantation and a bunch of slaves. But by the 1860, one of the three cousins had a NET WORTH of $300. That was land and everything on it. In agreement with what most learned scholars of the War state, these cousins were vastly typical of Confederate soldiers: 90 to 95 percent had no financial, personal, or political interest in slavery.
Now I read that Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson was asked about the Confederate battleflag last night at the CNN debate. With Thompson and Edwards being the leading Southerners in the race I knew that it was only a matter of time before this came up. Now I find it interesting that political reporters never seem to ask candidates from the north if any of their relatives took part in Sherman’s Rape of Georgia or Sheridan’s Rape of the Shenandoah Valley. But I digress.
I was the commander of the first ever camp of the Sons of Confederate Veteransthat was ever in Wisconsin. When we grew to two camps, I became the Charter Division Commander. Because of constraints on my time, I left the SCV but still fully intend to rejoin and be active in it. During my time with the SCV, I led the very successful fight to get Harley Davidson to back off its decision to ban the Confederate Battle Flag from any gear that had the HD logo on it.
I am very proud of my Confederate ancestors. They epitomize what is so good about the American soldier. The driving force that caused them to enlist, indeed most of the Confederate soldiers to enlist, was the simple fact that an invading force had come upon their soil. These men were fighting to defend their homes. The South could have been invaded by China and the reaction of the men would have been the same. Few learned researchers have ever found any evidence that a desire to preserve slavery was a motivating influence to enlist in the Confederate military. Indeed, when you read the racist letters written by many Northern soldiers (including many from Wisconsin) and when you read about the rapes and privations that Northern soldiers often inflicted upon African-American slaves that they encountered you end up questioning why the North was fighting the War.
Now, as to the Confederate Battle Flag. I fully understand and am moved that some folks would see that flag as an emblem of racism. I can understand why they get their feelings hurt. Afterall, the Klan and the skinheads wave that banner in their rallies. Personally, every time I see the Klan and skinheads do that I would like to take that flag and choke them to death with it. You see, they are desecrating the symbol of the memory of my ancestors. What’s more they put me into the indefensible position of having to prove a negative. Whenever we would do a memorial service at a Confederate soldier’s grave here in Wisconsin (and there are about 200 Confederate soldiers buried in this state including 140 in Madison)the SCV has to first prove that we are not racists ala the Klan and skinheads. Few military historians withhold their admiration of the Confederate soldier. Most wax eloquent when describing the tenacity and ability of “Johnny Reb” to fight given his miserable equipment and supply. Yet, when we’d do a memorial service consecrating a new headstone on a Confederate veteran’s grave, reporters and local scolds would always challenge us about “how dare you fly that flag!”. It would be particularly galling when the late soldier’s family was there. Instead of asking about the soldier and his noble service and the terrible conditions he did that service in, we would be forced to defend our right to fly that soldier’s battle flag. It is even more astounding when African-American members of the SCV were present. Oh yes, African-Americans served proudly in the Confederate military and not always as cooks and camp slaves. Most of the time these men were armed and not just a few of them were freed slaves. Apparently they too were racists fighting to preserve slavery.
Then we’d get the challenge: “Well, why honor Confederate soldiers? After all, they lost.” The answer is simple: To us, they are family. Go walk around Confederate Rest in Madison, Wisconsin on a cold and blustery Winter day. Those men whoa re buried so far from home and loved ones. Every year one or two families from Arkansas or Alabama come to see a grave. Many times that is the first time since the soldier was buried that his family has visited. Some folks have even challenged us with: “Why don’t you honor the graves of Nazi soldiers, too?” Well, I’ll leave that up to the descendants of members of the Wehrmacht. The same goes to descendants of the Imperial Japanese military. It just gets rather galling that every Confedrate Memorial Day I have to worry if someone might firebomb my house because there is a Confederate Battle Flag hanging out front.
You see, I refuse to let the Nazis, the Klan, and the skinheads steal my ancestor’s precious banner, the one that they gave their life to defend. There is a lot of talk, and has been a lot of talk, about Southern states removing the Confederate Battle Flag from state-owned property and even from state memorials. That to me is not only reprehensible, it almost makes me physically sick with disgust. At the time of the War, what state you were from was more important than being a citizen of the United States. Recall that Robert E. Lee, when offered command of all of the United States military forces (an act so incredibly stupid given that it was done right after the North invaded Virginia) refused saying that he could not take up his hand against his home. “His home” was Virginia, not the United States. Now we understand things differently. I recognize that in these modern times that I’m a citizen of the USA first and Wisconsin second. So, when states such as South Carolina, Georgia, and others remove the Confederate Battle Flag from official display at the state house, or move it to some hidden place where it is only shown upon request, they are essentially officially giving that flag to the racists. They are making the official declaration that the Confederate Battle Flag is no longer the physical representation of the memory of the Confederate soldier. They are saying that yes indeed that flag is the representation of the Klan and allied racists. The SCV simply cannot allow that. The SCV has been officially the owners of ALL of the Confederacy’s symbols. Note:
Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans
“To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier’s good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish.”
Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General,
United Confederate Veterans,
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 1906.
In 1906, with those veterans dying at a rapid rate the Confederate Battle Flag was given into the hands of the SCV for protection. Note that the Klan, Nazis, skinheads et al are not mentioned.
