"It's really hard to have any kind of discussion with you heritage types on this Forum"
Well, it's probably because your arrogance is exceeded by your ignorance. I'm standing with Mr. Reid on this one.
I'm not a hardcore "heritage type", but I sure get tired of those that disparage the Confederate soldier and his sacrifice, which you have done on several threads just this week. I know that it is hard for some non-Southerners to understand, but we still honor our Confederate heritage, despite the nature of the cause or the outcome of the struggle. We do this to preserve the memory of those Confederate soldiers who fought for their cause as honorably as any other soldiers in American history. Each day the memory of their sacrifice dims and their service is forgotten by most Americans. Some of us are unwilling to accept that.
The Confederate soldier is either scorned as a war criminal or pitied as a dupe or a fool by many Americans today. Those soldiers were none of that, but they have few defenders in our universities or in the halls of government. They must not be forgotten by our citizens or disparaged by those ignorant of their service to their county. If we ignore or condemn the Confederates now, will future generations see fit to forget those Americans that fought in Vietnam or Iraq because the causes they fought for were unpopular or embarrassing?
We don't seek to elevate Confederate memory by disparaging those who fought for the Union - we just want to make sure that the Confederate soldier is given his due in our history. With that in mind, here a few quotes for you to ponder:
Robert E Lee, who brought out all the best qualities in his soldiers, probably said it best when he stated that:
“There were never such men in an Army before. They will go anywhere and do anything if properly led.”
Apparently, his adversaries had reason to agree with him... this observation from an unknown Northern newspaper, reprinted in The Messenger of Livingston, Alabama, June 9, 1864:
“There they are, somewhere near Spotsylvania Court House, a set of the most excellent and dirtiest wretches that ever breathed the breath of life. Within two weeks, they have killed or wounded 50,000 to 60,000 of our northern brethren. Their hands are full of blood and their breeches full of mud. We doubt whether there is a clean shirt in the army. We dare say that many of them have left their toothbrushes behind them, a miserable set, truly. Yet there they are, ready to kill 50,000 more Yankees, to keep on sleeping in the mud, to suffer anything, get up at any hour of the night, march anywhere, eat all they can get, or eat nothing at all. What is to be done with such people?"
Joshua Chamberlain, who fought them and saw those "most excellent and dirtiest wretches" at close range, recalled Lee’s men at Appomattox:
“They were the embodiment of manhood, men whom neither toils and sufferings, not the fear of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve.”
Bruce Catton summed it up well:
“There is no other legend quite like the Confederate fighting man. He reached the end of his haunted road long ago. He fought for a star-crossed cause and in the end he was beaten, but as he carried his slashed red battle flag into the dusky twilight of the Lost Cause, he marched straight into a legend that will live as long as the American people care to remember anything about the American past.”
In the future, I’d appreciate it if you give it some thought before you tell us about Confederates, their service or their cause.
At your service,
Oddball
Well, it's probably because your arrogance is exceeded by your ignorance. I'm standing with Mr. Reid on this one.
I'm not a hardcore "heritage type", but I sure get tired of those that disparage the Confederate soldier and his sacrifice, which you have done on several threads just this week. I know that it is hard for some non-Southerners to understand, but we still honor our Confederate heritage, despite the nature of the cause or the outcome of the struggle. We do this to preserve the memory of those Confederate soldiers who fought for their cause as honorably as any other soldiers in American history. Each day the memory of their sacrifice dims and their service is forgotten by most Americans. Some of us are unwilling to accept that.
The Confederate soldier is either scorned as a war criminal or pitied as a dupe or a fool by many Americans today. Those soldiers were none of that, but they have few defenders in our universities or in the halls of government. They must not be forgotten by our citizens or disparaged by those ignorant of their service to their county. If we ignore or condemn the Confederates now, will future generations see fit to forget those Americans that fought in Vietnam or Iraq because the causes they fought for were unpopular or embarrassing?
We don't seek to elevate Confederate memory by disparaging those who fought for the Union - we just want to make sure that the Confederate soldier is given his due in our history. With that in mind, here a few quotes for you to ponder:
Robert E Lee, who brought out all the best qualities in his soldiers, probably said it best when he stated that:
“There were never such men in an Army before. They will go anywhere and do anything if properly led.”
Apparently, his adversaries had reason to agree with him... this observation from an unknown Northern newspaper, reprinted in The Messenger of Livingston, Alabama, June 9, 1864:
“There they are, somewhere near Spotsylvania Court House, a set of the most excellent and dirtiest wretches that ever breathed the breath of life. Within two weeks, they have killed or wounded 50,000 to 60,000 of our northern brethren. Their hands are full of blood and their breeches full of mud. We doubt whether there is a clean shirt in the army. We dare say that many of them have left their toothbrushes behind them, a miserable set, truly. Yet there they are, ready to kill 50,000 more Yankees, to keep on sleeping in the mud, to suffer anything, get up at any hour of the night, march anywhere, eat all they can get, or eat nothing at all. What is to be done with such people?"
Joshua Chamberlain, who fought them and saw those "most excellent and dirtiest wretches" at close range, recalled Lee’s men at Appomattox:
“They were the embodiment of manhood, men whom neither toils and sufferings, not the fear of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve.”
Bruce Catton summed it up well:
“There is no other legend quite like the Confederate fighting man. He reached the end of his haunted road long ago. He fought for a star-crossed cause and in the end he was beaten, but as he carried his slashed red battle flag into the dusky twilight of the Lost Cause, he marched straight into a legend that will live as long as the American people care to remember anything about the American past.”
In the future, I’d appreciate it if you give it some thought before you tell us about Confederates, their service or their cause.
At your service,
Oddball
