Confederate Memorial Day
Today is Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia. It is an ancient question…how to honor the soldiers from the side that lost. They were just as valiant as the Union Soldiers. Considering the shortages of the Confederate Armies, the Rebels may have been just a bit braver.
The issue of Federalism is a defining conflict of the American experience. What powers do we give the Federal Government, and what powers do we cede to the States? The Confederacy was the product of this conflict. The Confederate States were a collection of individual states, with separate armies. This is one reason why the war turned out the way it did.
This is not a defense for slavery. The “Peculiar institution” was a moral horror. The after effects of slavery affect us today. Any remembrance of the Confederacy should know that. This does not make the men who fought any less brave.
It is tough to see the War Between the States through the modern eye. It was a different time, before many of the modern conveniences that are now considered necessities. Many say that the United States were divided from the start, and the fact the union lasted as long as it did was remarkable. When a conflict becomes us against them, the “causes” become unimportant.
The War was a horror, with no pain medicine, and little that could be done for the wounded. It took the south many, many years to recover. The healing continues in many ways today. Remembering the sacrifices made by our ancestors helps.
This is a repost from CMD 2010. Pictures are from the Library of Congress.
Chamblee54 
Thank you for reposting this. I had ancestors in the Confederate Army (none of whom owned slaves), and I am a student of Civil War history. Your post strikes a perfect balance between acknowledging the moral horror of slavery as well as the valor of many of those who fought on both sides.
Thank you for stopping by. That was the intent, in addition to putting something up when I didn’t feel like writing a fresh piece.
I have two things to say. One, if you go far enough in your family tree, you will probably find slaveowners. Two, I prefer the phrase War Between the States. IMO, WBTS is a better description of the unpleasantness.
[…] major battles. For many years after WTBS, the southern states had a separate day of remembrance. Confederate Memorial Day is still observed, though not on as large a scale as before. The next major killing session for […]
[…] major battles. For many years after WBTS, the southern states had a separate day of remembrance. Confederate Memorial Day is still observed, though not on as large a scale as before. The next major killing session for […]