Federal Law Protects Confederate Heritage

The United States Government Honors Confederate Veterans and the Confederacy

For those who believe that the Confederate States of America and the men and women who pledged allegiance to that constitutionally established government and spilled their blood and treasure in its defense are somehow illegitimate and not worthy of honor and protection by the American government, below are those laws and proclamations honoring them and their service and which proclaim that they were equal in honor and worthiness to those who served the Federal cause. Such official proclamations by the Government of the United States removes all claims against the Confederacy and those who served it and protects, defends and honors their symbols, monuments and heroes. In other words, the current assault upon all things Confederate is contrary to the laws of the United States of America and must be resisted vigorously.

Congressional Act of 9 March 1906 ~ We Honor Our Fallen Ancestors

(P.L. 38, 59th Congress, Chap. 631-34 Stat. 56)

This act authorized the furnishing of headstones for the graves of Confederates who died, primarily in Union prison camps and were buried in Federal cemeteries.

Remarks: This act formally reaffirmed Confederate soldiers as military combatants with legal standing. It granted recognition to deceased Confederate soldiers commensurate with the status of deceased Union soldiers.

U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by 17th Congress 26 February 1929

(45 Stat 1307 – Currently on the books as 38 U.S. Code, Sec. 2306)

This law, passed by the U.S. Congress, authorized the “Secretary of War to erect headstones over the graves of soldiers who served in the Confederate Army and to direct him to preserve in the records of the War Department the names and places of burial of all soldiers for whom such headstones shall have been erected.”

Remarks: This act broadened the scope of recognition further for all Confederate soldiers to receive burial benefits equivalent to Union soldiers. It authorized the use of U.S. government (public) funds to mark Confederate graves and record their locations.

U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958

Confederate Iron Cross

(US Statutes at Large Volume 72, Part 1, Page 133-134)

The Administrator shall pay to each person who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War a monthly pension in the same amounts and subject to the same conditions as would have been applicable to such person under the laws in effect on December 31, 1957, if his service in such forces had been service in the military or naval forces of the United States.

Remarks: While this was only a gesture since the last Confederate veteran died in 1958, it is meaningful in that only fifty-seven years ago, the Congress of the United States saw fit to consider Confederate soldiers as equivalent to U.S. soldiers for service benefits. This final act of reconciliation was made almost one hundred years after the beginning of the war and was meant as symbolism more than substantive reward.

Additional Note of Critical History: Under current U.S. Federal Code, Confederate Veterans are equivalent to Union Veterans.

Other Considerations:

1.   Following the Spanish-American War, which saw former Confederates serving under US colors, the world began to look at us as a "super power."

2.   Recognizing the need to bind old wounds, the government and the north started giving back flags and other captured equipment.

3.   Confederate Veterans were enlisted to teach our "doughboys" the Rebel Yell battle cry. Unfortunately, they could not duplicate the three-tone yell.

4.   President Wilson appointed former disenfranchised Confederates to official posts such as Post Master General.

5.   President Roosevelt sent the President's own Marine Band to play at the only "out of South" UCV Reunion in Colorado. He also gave remarks at the unveiling of the Robert E. Lee memorial statue in Dallas, Texas - recognizing Lee as one of America's greatest Christians and one of America's greatest gentlemen.

6.   Southern men distinguished themselves in every war following the American Civil War, with more men serving from the South than any other sector of the country.

7.   This reconciliation period[*] led up to the Congressional Act of 9 March 1906, U.S. Public Law 810 Approved by 17th Congress 26 February 1929, and the final crown of reconciliation with U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958. [*known as The Grand Bargain ~ Editor]

By the President of the United States of America ~ A Proclamation

The years 1961 to 1965 will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the American Civil War.

That war was America's most tragic experience. But like most truly great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism and sacrifice by men and women of both sides who valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to duty is a part of our Nation's noblest tradition.

Both sections of our now magnificently reunited country sent into their armies men who became soldiers as good as any who ever fought under any flag. Military history records nothing finer than the courage and spirit displayed at such battles as Chickamauga, Antietam, Kennesaw Mountain, and Gettysburg. That America could produce men so valiant and so enduring is a matter for deep and abiding pride.

The same spirit on the part of the people at home supported and strengthened those soldiers through four years of great trial. That a Nation which contained hardly more than thirty million people, North and South together, could sustain six hundred thousand deaths without faltering is a lasting testimonial to something unconquerable in the American spirit. And that a transcending sense of unity and larger common purpose could, in the end, cause the men and women who had suffered so greatly to close ranks once the contest ended and to go on together to build a greater, freer, and happier America must be a source of inspiration as long as our country may last.

By a joint resolution approved on September 7, 1957 (71 Stat. 626), the Congress established the Civil War Centennial Commission to prepare plans and programs for the nationwide observances of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Civil War, and requested the President to issue proclamations inviting the people of the United States to participate in those observances.

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby invite all of the people of our country to take a direct and active part in the Centennial of the Civil War.

I request all units and agencies of government--Federal, State, and local--and their officials to encourage, foster, and participate in Centennial observances. And I especially urge our Nation's schools and colleges, its libraries and museums, its churches and religious bodies, its civic, service, and patriotic organizations, its learned and professional societies, its arts, sciences, and industries, and its informational media, to plan and carry out their own appropriate Centennial observances during the years 1961 to 1965; all to the end of enriching our knowledge and appreciation of this momentous chapter in our Nation's history and of making this memorable period truly a Centennial for all Americans.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this sixth day of December in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-fifth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

By the President:

CHRISTIAN A. HERTER, Secretary of State

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11th ANNUAL YORK CONFEDERATE HERITAGE YOUTH DAY

                           

615 Woodland Park Rd Smyrna, SC 29743

Sept 19, 2015
9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sponsors— Pvt. Thomas Caldwell Camp #31 (Clover, S.C.), Maj. E. A. Ross Camp #1423 (Matthews, N.C.), Moses Wood Camp #125 (Gaffney, S.C.), Maj. Charles Q. Petty Camp #872(Gastonia, N.C.), Col. William A Stowe Camp #2142(Dallas, N.C.), Mechanized Cavalry Headquarters Camp #212(Blacksburg, SC), Stonewall Jackson Camp #23(Charlotte, NC), Gaston Guards Camp #1822(Stanley, NC), S.C. Div. Mechanized Cavalry, 3rd Batt. Co. A (Sons of Confederate Veterans)

Youth are the Future!

The annual York Confederate Heritage Youth Camp will be held Sept. 20th at 615 Woodland Park Road, Smyrna, SC 29743 in York County, S.C. This year’s event will be larger and better, with cavalry, artillery and infantry demonstrations conducted by War Between the States re-enactors. Free Admission to everyone!

The youth need to be taught this important part of American History. Come and take an active part in educating and learning about the Cause for Southern Independence! 

Instructors are teamed up to teach programs on several topics concerning this war.

For those interested in coming early: You can camp on Friday, Sept. 18th. Arrive at the site around 4 p.m. A small breakfast will be served for the campers at 7:30 A.M. Dinner will also be served on Saturday. Scout Troops are encouraged to attend and will have their own camping spot. Contact all area Scoutmasters to inform them.

Confederate Heritage T-shirts will be given to everyone that responds by September 3rd, and limited supplies are available. But same day registration will still be available.

Contacts: Kirk Carter-(704-806-2941)or Email-pvtwilliamcarter@yahoo.com , Joe Fore-(803)222-1928, and Billy Starnes-(704)458-4804 P.S.— Children planning to take part in the Youth Day program, please ask for pre-registration forms. Adults are encouraged to attend the Youth Day as well. Everyone is welcome.

The Emerging American Theocracy

Over most of my lifetime grave concern has been muttered by the chattering classes about the need for separation of church and state. But we have in America a new theocracy emerging: the civic religion of antiracism.  The media is ablaze with rhetorical auto-de-fes calling for the excision of any symbol of the Old South and the Confederacy following the tragic murders by a drug-addled lunatic in Charleston.

Grave dangers are lurking to the Republic. Children might actually see the Confederate Battle flag atop the “General Lee” on the Dukes of Hazzard. Unless people are stopped from placing Confederate Battle flags on the graves of deceased Confederate soldiers in national cemeteries the nation will be in danger of collapse.  Incalculable psychic harm is done if any symbol of the Confederacy is glimpsed, however fleetingly, at any point, at any time, anywhere. 

As the great leader and legal savant, Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina has pointed out Confederate symbols may be permitted on private property – still. Maybe one day we can progress beyond this unfortunate circumstance.

What we are seeing is one of the most irrational and hysterical reactions to tragedy in American history. Yes, we know that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, does not represent all environmentalists. And we are constantly reminded that even if tens of thousands of ISIS members are doing their best to sever heads from bodies that Islam is a religion of peace. No, no group or thought is to be condemned by the actions of one person or even tens of thousands.  The chorus of correction is already rising after the crimes of Chattanooga. 

But if that person is Dylann Roof or some other person who poses with a Confederate Battle flag, the public must draw conclusions about "hate."

The truth be told, the polls are telling us that the great mass of people remain blissfully ignorant of the perils presented by Confederate symbols. But the managerial elites who operate the levers of power have seen that the time has come to use Charleston as an cudgel to exterminate symbols which they find repellent. No Voltaires are found in their number eager to defend the right of multiple civic expressions in a “diverse” society. Every knee must bow to their gods.

The emerging civic theology of antiracism and equality is a jealous God. It will accept no dissent.

And we are told that the managerial elites are showing great “courage” to act against the symbols of the Confederacy. The support groups of the system hold regular courage conferences in which they bestow upon each other awards for standing up against the St. Andrew’s cross flag with only the media, the Chamber of Commerce, the banks, big business, organized minority pressure groups, university professors, and other minor players to support them.

Of course, once we can eliminate any Confederate symbology from the public and private marketplaces, we will enter into the long-promised paradise. It’s a promise made as far back as the French Revolution as mobs shouted for “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” lubricated by the blood of aristocrats, priests and other enemies of the people.

Antiracism and equality were the watchword of such gentle souls as John Brown, a great hero in his day and, carefully explained nowadays by the New York Times, not a terrorist but a real humanitarian – a mensch, so to speak. Chopping up children with swords was merely a means to ensure a glorious future.

Equality was once again the watchword as the Bolsheviks in Russia, Eastern and Central Europe exterminated tens of millions and incarcerated other millions. Communism in China was even more vigorous in its determination to bring about equality. But, as a fine Pulitzer prize-winning journalist pointed out concerning the emerging Brave New World, “you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.”

Fortunately, we are all brilliant and progressive enough not to hold the antiracists and equalitarians of today responsible for the roughly 100 million omelettes broken in pursuit of these noble goals.  We will keep our eyes on the prize.

Permit me to shyly shuffle forward to ask a question: what if this Taliban-like purge of the Confederacy from the public and private markets fails to end the problems for which it is charged?

Racism is certainly more deeply entrenched and other purges will be required. After all, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 every single one of the colonies had legalized human chattel slavery.  Despite the soaring language of “all men are created equal” there was no equality in a single colony at the time of the adoption of the Declaration. There has never been any since.  Even today, the progressive elements explain that we are not equal; they insist that in some distant time we can be made equal.

Wise civic fathers (and mothers) are now engaged in expunging any slaveholder from public commemoration. Of course, this includes the author of the phrase “all men are created equal” Thomas Jefferson. I’ve heard, as an established fact, that he has been purged from honor at several public schools around the nation for his unpardonable, mortal sin of being a slaveholder.

Washington D.C. is said to require a new moniker because the father of the country is unfit for commemoration.

In order to cure the problems of poverty, pellagra, ignorance, racism, drug abuse, murder, illegitimacy, and the other social problems that bedevil us today we need to dig deeper.

Our managerial elites, being positioned to know what is best and instruct the ignorant democracy, must tell us the new, revised list of heroes and heroines, acceptable symbols and proper forms of civic worship.

It is only then that we can move forward into the radiant light first promised in such clarity in the shadow of the guillotine.

 

Martin K. O'Toole
Lt. General Leonidas Polk Camp #1446
Smyrna, Georgia

Confederate History and Current Events

By Mark Vogl

johnyreb43@yahoo.com 

The phones are ringing off the hook at the homes of Southern heritage leaders; “What can be done, and what can we do?” people are asking.

Over the past decade or, each time there has been a Culture War battle over a symbol or issue related to Southern heritage which draws national attention, sleeping Americans wake up and want to know what can be done?  For a few days, weeks or months the heritage organizations see an influx of members and increased interest in their communities.  And usually, with time, things calm down and other “crisis” take the minds of the American people, and Southern heritage recedes into the shadows.

This most recent attack on the South,  (a combination of the Supreme Court case ruling against the Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans and their application for a vanity license plate,  and the battle over the Confederate Battle Flag in Columbia, South Carolina) has now led to attacks against the United States itself, in terms of attacking the American Flag, to calling for the removal of monuments to American icons like Jefferson and Washington, and even fringe discussions about the need to change the name of America’s capital, Washington, D.C. because of President Washington’s slave ownership.

All of this comes as Neo Conservatives and Obama-ites attack American national form and sovereignty from different directions, for different reasons. 

The concept of a Christian, capitalist, Constitutional republic reflecting the will of the majority within the confines of constitutional parameters is under direct assault.  And it’s not just in the streets, it starts in the college classrooms where Professor Obama taught!

The attack on the South is merely the tip of the ice berg of the huge effort to undermine, attack and replace what we conventionally and parochially think of as the United States of America.

Transformation, with a capital “T” is what candidate Obama promised, and it is what he is attempting to do.  The Culture War is just one front, in a war that threatens the very existence of America.  The war rages in economics, separation of powers, societal norms and design, and not just the role of God, but whether the Christian framework of America will be forever removed and replaced by Islam and/or secular humanism.

Never before has it been so clear, so obvious, how the absence of heritage organizations from American politics has left a huge vacuum, or hole in the defense of the concept of America.  The voice of history was kept silent as decisions which alter the fundamental character of our nation are considered.

This fight is not just about the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, or the Untied Daughters of the Confederacy.  This fight includes the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters, the Grand Army of the Republic and all patriotic organizations.  While minority and liberal not-for-profits have learned the ropes of political activism and hold great influence in the national and state capitals, the patriotic organizations have been gagged by the I.R.S. and their internal leadership.  But, it is a greater abdication of responsibility than just the leadership, the very membership has avoided any realization of their critical role in sustaining democracy and Christianity.

Another sleeping giant is the Christian Church of America. 

It is difficult to say who is more guilty of dereliction of duty to their own purpose, those heritage organizations dedicated as guardians of American history, or those organizations dedicated to the memory of the South, whose very Charge calls for “vindication of the Cause.”

What is clear is that the enemies of America know the importance of history and are savagely attacking the history which tells the American story.  It is clear they know that the foundations of today’s nation rest in Christianity, the Founding Fathers, and issues which led to Civil War (not the issue of slavery, but the issues of States’ Rights, consent of the governed, state sovereignty and the right of secession, and the rule of law and agreed social contracts.)

The answer to the phone calls is not a simple, easy one.  And it is not one that can have results tomorrow.  Citizens must realize that the Left, comprised of atheists, agnostics, libertarians, socialists and Marxists have spent scores of years working in a coordinated fashion to wreak the havoc they now cause.  It will take that kind of dedication and persistence to right the ship.

For national leaders like Rush Limbaugh, it will require a new understanding of 21^st Century Conservatism.  It will require the injection of Christianity and nationalism into the corporate board room.  It will require a more solid link between conservative politics and individual economics, where like the government employing liberals, the corporations and small business must employ conservatives.  It requires a recognition that while the economic pie can expand, it does have limits at any given time, and to retain political power requires benefiting those who share political views first.

The answer to the phone calls to the heritage leaders is to tell the caller we need to be robust citizens, vigilant and active at all levels of government, local, state and federal.  It is time for a fusion of groups like the Tea Party with groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution.  It is time for those who work to preserve the history of States’ Rights and separation of powers to be equally as active in pursuing those political objects in the present tense.

There has been an outpouring of Southern symbols in road rallies across the South, but these rallies, while beautiful and spontaneous must be seen as the first step in restoring American Culture, much as King’s march in Selma was only the first step in the 20^th Century Civil Rights battle.

For starters, get a copy of the Confederate Constitution and read it.  And when you read it take careful note of the differences.  When you do, you will see that the Founders of the Confederacy saw the issues on their horizon which are with us today.

Let me close with this observation; is it coincidence that the Supreme Courts ruling on homosexuality, and their ruling against the Sons of Confederate Veterans occurred in the same session. weeks apart?

Confederate Memorial Park Flag Rally 4th July

The flag rally as hosted by the Judah P. Benjamin camp had a duel purpose; Rally the SCV/UDC folks after the terrible week of “All Things Confederate” cleansing  to return our symbols  to the public view and also harness the public momentum of the NAACP’s Confederate phobia. Our harnessing effort was the chartering of “General Lee’s Dukes of Hillsborough.”

The Confederate Memorial Park rally brought together two camps well known for their differences; the Benjamin camp 2210 SCV, recipient of the SCV’s Dr. George R. Tabor “Most Distinguished “ camp award & the Jubal A. Early camp 556 SCV. A truce has been called to JOINTLY RESPOND TO ATTACKS FROM OUR COMMON OPPONENT. While there was no “love fest” occurring, there was a very well run PUBLIC event receiving extensive media coverage while gathering hundreds of attendees along with mutually beneficial results such as raising funds in support of the Park. I hope this effort might serve as an example to other stubborn Southerners to temporarily set aside differences and rally for common good.

We had 4 speakers totaling less than an hour at the microphone. Due to the close proximity of Tampa Bay’s well known summer thunder storms and standing next to the “World’s Largest Confederate Lightning Rod” we did abbreviate the speaking. After a call out to the audience, announcements returned that folks had traveled from across Florida to attend. SCV, UDC, ORC, SCV-MC, Hard Core Confederates and many others were present and counted.

Past Early camp CMD Mike Herring spoke about the history of “Flags Across Florida” effort and the founding of Confederate Memorial park. CMD David McCallister of the Benjamin camp spoke of the background cause of the public disdain for all things Confederate; The NAACP’s “Odious Blight” resolution from 1991. This resolution defining all things Confederate as hateful, racist and condoning slavery. Since the media, corporate America and spineless politicians swallow this definition without question, no wonder we have friction over the flag. CMD McCallister called for the retraction of this hateful resolution. William Pew, the gentleman who organized the effort of public flagging in response to Conferderatephobia, had a few words to add. Wrapping up the presentations was 1^st LtCMD Phil Walters of the Benjamin camp, the organizer of the event, spoke of the “intellectual dishonesty” associated with the NAACP’s resolution and the need to educate people concerning the issue. Prior to the looming cloudburst, we produced the “Charter” for General Lee’s “Dukes of Hillsborough” Southern Heritage Flaggers. The Charter contains specific terms of honorable conduct along with a “call to action” whenever or wherever a dishonorable attack occurs to anything disparaging the Confederate soldier’s good name within Hillsborough County. William Pew accepted this  challenge associated with the charter. Additionally, a call out was made to those in attendance, in honor to the Patriots of July 4, 1776, to step forward and attach their signatures to this document to inform our elected officials that they too will step forward to defend our honorable heritage for attacks. The 17x11 charter was completely chocked full of signatures.

Overall, the event went smoothly, we had 200-400 folks show and to our luck, avoided a downpour  and/or a lightning strike. It was a good day for Liberty.

General Lee’s “Dukes of Hillsborough” Southern Heritage Flaggers Chartering

After the tidal wave cleansing of all things Confederate from public view as advocated by the NAACP’s horrible “Odious Blight” resolution, The Benjamin camp decided pushback was in order. Additionally, with public outrage over this cultural cleansing motivating people to peacefully “Take to the Streets,” I saw opportunity to utilize this energy for a higher purpose.

William Pew organized via social media a pro Confederate vehicle rally on June 26, drawing hundreds of cars & concerned citizens along with extensive media coverage. CMD McCallister & myself attended the event,  contacted  Mr. Pew and offered to share our experiences in becoming an effective advocate for our common cause.  The concept of  Susan Hathaway’s  Virginia Flaggers was at the core. Recognizing this situation we immediately called for a flag rally hosted y the Judah P. Benjamin camp  at Confederate Memorial Park for the 4^th of July and invited Mr. Pew to “accept a higher calling and challenge,” that of organizing his hastily assemble concerned citizens into an effective “ pro Confederate public view” movement, all conducted within the spirit of “The Charge” of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

No doubt, William’s crew of hundreds is a motley assortment of citizens; young, free spirited, blue collar, passionate and agrarian (lots of 4x4’s) in need of leadership, focus & direction, similar to the motley assortment of independent citizen soldiers that assembled in the South during 1861-1865. Believing the Benjamin camp & SCV has something to offer this group such as leadership and focus, the Benjamin camp presented a charter or commission for the formation of the “Dukes of Hillsborough” with a battle cry of “They even BANNED the General Lee!”  Within the commission is a specify code of conduct and direction for the “Dukes.” Additionally, the Benjamin camp will be providing Compatriots as mentors with the goal of forming these recruits into an effective and passionate force to advance the colors within the public’s view.

While success is not guaranteed, this truly is an opportunity to influence a demographic not common to the SCV and to synergize the public to our cause. Since we of the SCV have studied for a lifetime the history and lessons of one of the world’s most renowned fighting force, it is OUR DUTY to share with these “green and passionate” Southerners our experience to shape them into the image of the soldier they too are descended from, to the best of our ability. The time is now…………..

The “Dukes” are not SCV. They are a separate organization at arms length to us. Our aim is to “organized, educate, motivate and suggestively direct them to assist us in execution of “The Charge.” Our immediate plan is to to them outlines of how to organize, codes of conduct & appearance, media talking points and discussion of the next event.  Hillsborough County is considering removing a 3^rd National flag from the County Center and I believe this is the next event. I’m calling upon the “Dukes” to provide speakers at the Commissions’ next meeting and a flag rally against this measure near the Commission’s meeting location. Additionally, the theme the politicians are “embarrassed” by the Confederate heritage of their constituents and wish to regulate us to the closet” will be expounded. I’m cautiously optimistic we can form into a positive wave with this effort. I’ll be reporting back at a later date.

Media

St Pete (fish wrapper)  Times  http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/confederate-flag-supports-rally-beneath-their-banner/2236180

TBO/Tampa Tribune http://tbo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?ArtNo=704009998&Category=ARTICLE&Date=20150704&Profile=1088&Ref=PH&Site=TB

St. Pete wrapper: Related Brandon 4^th Parade http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/at-brandons-fourth-of-july-parade-a-more-muted-display-of-confederate/2236156

Chanel 10 CBS News http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/07/04/confederate-flag-supporters-willing-to-fight-for-their-flag/29724907/

We pushed hard to expose and question the NAACP’s “Odious Blight” resolution to the media, resulting in little if any coverage. This resolution MUST BECOME THE FOCUS of our EFFORTS. Maybe there is a reason the media did not report this often repeated issue?

Additional pictures: Lunelle  Sieigel Facebook feed: https://www.facebook.com/lunelle.siegel

                                        My Facebook feed:                        https://www.facebook.com/

If you wish to have a copy of the “Dukes of Hillsborough” charter, drop Phil Walters a line Gatorstick@tampabay.rr.com

If you have an outpouring of public sympathy for CONFEDERATE issues in your area, gather your BEST LEADERS & MENTORS and HARNESS THIS ENERGY by hosting a flag rally. I’ll assist or advised if contacted.

Capt. Phil Walters

GatorGuides.com

Dixie Gator Trappers

Sons of Confederate Veterans-Life member

Safari Club International-Life Member

National Rifle Association-Life Member

In Defense of the Flag

It truly pains my heart that a lot of blacks, and misguided whites, are offended by the Confederate Battle Flag.

That flag does not now represent, nor has it ever represented, slavery.  Yes, it has been hijacked by hate groups, like the KKK, but their main flag of choice has been the U.S. flag, and they also use the Christian flag. Why are the U.S. and Christian flags not called “racist” flags?  Because there is a war going on against all things Southern; our heritage, our history, and our symbols ever since the socialists won the War of Northern Aggression.

Southern culture would not be what it is without the flavor of the Southern blacks. Much has been contributed  by our fellow black Southerners.  It is sad to see them, and others, indoctrinated and brainwashed by those who are promoting a socialist agenda, which includes cultural genocide.  While nobody condones the institution of slavery, the fact is that it was a way of life, in both the North and the South, for many years. It was the New England slave traders that built the ships to transport already captured Africans from their homeland to the U.S. where they were sold to both Northerners and Southerners. Many brave, black Confederates fought the invading armies of blue, as did many Cherokee Indians, Jews, and Mexicans who sided with the Confederacy.  Slavery was not the issue, as taught in our rewritten history, but money, power, and greed, as is the case in all wars. General Robert E. Lee was against slavery, and had freed the slaves he inherited.  Union General Ulysses S. Grant retained his slaves even after the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which actually freed the slaves. So, the South was NOT fighting for slavery, and the North was NOT fighting to free the slaves. The institution was on its way out anyway.  The war just destroyed everything in its path, which included slavery. Slavery ended first in the North, not because of any moral endeavor or mercy on their part, but due to the institution not being conducive to an industrial society, and because Northerners refused to work alongside of blacks. Segregation, Jim Crowe Laws, and the Black Codes all originated in the North, not in the South.

Since the South was being burdened with 85% of the federal revenues, Lincoln could not bear to see that disappear with the seceded states.  He stated in his first inaugural address that he would continue the collection of duties, “by force if necessary”.  His invading armies raped, burned, murdered, and looted their way through the South, waging war on innocent civilians, who were mostly old men, women, and children. The Marxists have tried to stamp out our symbols and heritage for 150 years.  They don’t want any sign of self reliance or defiance to tyranny displayed.  They want us all to be crushed beneath the thumb of tyranny and not know what our Founders stood for, as well as our dead Confederate ancestors. They slander our symbols with words like “hate” , “racism”, and “slavery”, which are much more suited for their Yankee flag than any Confederate banner. It was their flag that flew high above the slave trading ships, built in New England. No Confederate flag ever flew on any slaver. Slander, lies, and propaganda are all the enemy have to hurl at us, because none of the historical facts back up any of their arguments. The truth easily deflates anything they can produce. We must defend these attacks upon our culture and heritage and not let these lies against us go unanswered.

Why would a former president of the NAACP, H. K. Edgerton, dress in Confederate gray and carry the Confederate Battle Flag from Asheville, NC to Austin, TX if the flag represents “hatred” and “racism”?  Because it does not represent these things, but represents a proud people fighting to defend their homeland from an illegal and unconstitutional invasion by an overgrown, oppressive government.  Mr. Edgerton has risen up above the traditional myths of indoctrination and learned for himself the truth which the media, and the government do not want known.  Anyone who contradicts the “standard” version of “history” is labeled as a kook or a lunatic. Well, as Mark Twain said, “It is easier to fool someone than to convince them they have been fooled”.   The truth is out there for anyone who dares look for it. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people destroy themselves for lack of knowledge”.  I would invite everyone, especially my Southern brethren, black and white, to discover the truth and infuse themselves with knowledge of that great conflict which has been rewritten to hide the truth.  Then the light of truth will open your eyes to what has been hidden and lied about for 150 years.

Deo Vindice

Jeff Paulk
Tulsa, OK

cwipaulk@earthlink.net

19 Points the History Books Leave Out

The Unfulfilled Promise of Reunion  

by Steve Quick

No other place of origin evokes such strong reactions and prejudices as the word “Southern”. It is all the more amazing when one considers the manner in which the early Republic was shaped and dominated by Southerners. Jefferson was the intellectual and spiritual architect of the Declaration and as the third President acquired the vast Louisiana Territory staking an early claim as far as the Pacific. Washington’s feats after he defeated the British at Yorktown include the first two terms as President, declining a third and an offer to be “King”. James Madison and Patrick Henry crafted a Constitution which has proved the most enduring and practical political document in the world. In fact, five of our first seven Presidents were Southern and it was James Knox Polk in the 1840’s who assured the U.S. would be a permanent transcontinental nation.


It is not only ironic but forgotten that it was once New England that suffered from the inferiority complex when compared to the feats of these Southern giants. The hinge upon which this extraordinary about-face occurred was the epic known now by the misnomer the “Civil War” and the events which preceeded.  That terrible conflict, much distorted by both traditional history and more recently the revisionist variety, holds the unfulfilled promise of our national destiny. We currently lack the will and the courage to learn its great truths, banish its dark lies, probe its obscured origins and confront its painful legacies. These myths and distortions must be replaced with historical facts if we desire the ultimate goal of national reconciliation. These include:

1) The slave trade prospered in West Africa 40 years before Columbus even discovered    America. African tribes actually conducted raids on their neighbors for the express purpose of enslaving them. Tragically, slavery is practiced to this very day in places like   the Sudan, Zaire and Nigeria.

2) Five European powers (Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and Britain) competing for New World influence all employed slavery, with Brazil (Portugal’s crown jewel) topping the list at 5.5 million slaves, half of the total brought to the New World. By 1860, their numbers had dwindled to a little over 2 million.

3) Only 6% of Africans reached our shores (about 600,000). By 1860 their numbers had increased (without new importations) to almost 4 million, the only slave population in recorded history to increase in captivity. Indigent Anglo-Celts filled the need for slaves (as indentured servants) in our early history by selling themselves into slavery because they could not afford the cost of passage. Most white Southerners are descendants of these early bondsmen.

4) Slavery was practiced in all thirteen colonies and NY city was second to Charleston in 1776 as the city with the highest percentage of slaves. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Van Wagner, a slave in New York.

5) The liberal guilt, which today besets the North, has at its roots the profits from its vast slave trading which did nothing less than finance the Industrial Revolution. At the Constitutional Convention a continuation of the slave trade was a concession wrung by the Northern delegations from the South which allowed the North to continue the international trade another 20 years, until 1808.

6) New England slave ships continued plying the waters in defiance of the ban thereafter providing millions of slaves to French and Spanish sugar plantations in the Caribbean and South America.

7) The 1860 census reveals 95% of America’s slaves were owned by just 5% of the population while 85% of Southerners owned the land and structures they lived upon. This clearly establishes a large, independent non slave-holding class of yeoman farmers who later became the rank and file as well as the heart and soul of the Confederate army. To state their motive for fighting was the preservation of slavery is pure nonsense.

8) Secession as a doctrine was asserted by both North and South (Massachusetts threatened to secede on three separate occasions).  The abolitionists had also advocated secession. It was only after 1830 when the control of national politics by the North became permanent that secession became associated exclusively with the South. As a nation conceived in secession and built upon the principle that government is contingent on the consent of the governed the South, or any other section of the country for that matter was completely within principle to assert the right.

9) Slavery was an inefficient, self-consuming labor system driven by cotton and already well-contained within its own soon to be encountered natural frontiers (the American desert). It required ever newer lands to replace that which it exhausted. The pattern was identical throughout the entire Western Hemisphere. It was doomed for extinction well before the end of the century if left alone.

10) Support for war among the general population North and South was weak prior to Sumter. The original seceding states contained only 30% of the Southern population. Four southern states subsequently voted down one ordinance of secession, four others would remain within the Union fold throughout the war. Northern war fever was equally tepid. The manipulation of Ft. Sumter by Seward and Lincoln which resulted in hostile fire polarized the vast middle and guaranteed a long and bloody conflict.

11) The war was unconstitutional and the closing of over 300 Northern newspapers and suspension of habeas corpus that jailed 13,000 Northern civilians (including elected officials) is without parallel in our entire history! The Lincoln Administration repeatedly violated amendments 1, 4,5,6,8, 9 and 10. By contrast Jefferson Davis closed not one paper nor jailed one citizen.

12) Warfare against citizens had ceased in Europe and a conduct of war eventually known as the “Geneva Conventions” codified in Europe during the 1860s forbade war against civilian centers. Contrary to this great humanitarian trend when it became apparent the Confederate armies could not be subdued in the field war was commenced against civilians. The depredations of Sherman in Georgia and the Carolinas as well as Hunter’s and Sheridan’s in Virginia mirror much witnessed in the recent Balkan war.

13) While the war is now represented as an altruistic crusade by the North to free the slaves the historical facts could not be more contradictory. The 1860 Republican Convention contained a platform plank promising protection for slavery everywhere it currently existed. Lincoln at his first inaugural address offered a constitutional amendment forever protecting slavery. A Congressional Resolution in 1862 reaffirmed the war’s aim was to “preserve the Union, not free the slave”.

14)  The Emancipation Proclamation was met in the North by laws collectively known as “Black Codes”. These laws forbade entry, travel, work or residence by African-Americans in Northern states.The Proclamation was nothing but a clever ruse to stall imminent European recognition of the Confederacy. It freed no one. Slave states remaining in the Union (in the border states) not only retained their slaves, but also benefited from the strictest enforcement of the hated Fugitive Slave Law.

15) Blacks served willingly and honorably in the Confederate armies. Estimates of their numbers run as high as 100,000. Their motive was the same as their Federal counterpart; patriotism and the desire to disprove the misconceptions about their race. They fought no more to preserve slavery than to preserve Jim Crow during the Spanish-American War, or the doctrine of separate but equal in Korea.

16) The holocaust that resulted from the halt of the prisoner exchange is the sole responsibility of Stanton (Lincoln’s Secretary of War) and Grant. Its only design was to deprive the Confederacy of manpower with the full knowledge scores of thousands on both sides would perish. By the wars’ end, 30,000 on each side had died in captivity. The largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere is located at Oakwood Cemetery in Chicago and contains the remains of 4200 Confederate known  P.O.W.s. The bodies of the other 1800 were lost and remain unknown.

17) Had the South prevailed Robt. E. Lee would have undoubtedly been elected president (the Confederate Constitution limited the President to one six year term) and just as undoubtedly have taken immediate steps to free the slaves. This single act, proposed as it would have been by President Lee would have been accepted by the South and would have advanced race-relations light years.

18) As it was Reconstruction was the single most corrupt period of our entire history, pitting newly enfranchised Blacks against disenfranchised and occupied southern Whites. When in 1877 the last of the troops and carpetbaggers left only Blacks remained to face the rage and hatred of a humiliated South. The ugliness of the 1960s can be traced unbroken from the 1860s.

19) Recent interpretations, Ken Burns The Civil War foremost among them, while artfully crafted, serve only to perpetuate the victor’s propaganda that lies at the root of the unresolved conflict.

By the beginning of the 20th century the wounds of that war had finally begun to heal. Southerners embraced anew the Stars and Stripes while Robert E Lee became a national, not just a regional hero. Confederate Battle flags were returned to the restored states and Southern pride in the old Confederacy was not considered inconsistent with their fundamental American patriotism. Unfortunately South-bashing has replaced the mutual respect of a century ago. In an age of so-called tolerance there are no boundaries to the venom that is daily heaped upon all things and persons Southern; our faith, our heroes, our symbols and our history. It has reopened a rift that may ultimately and ironically fuel a desire for independence from a people who refuse to be homogenized or abused any further. This much is certain, until we understand and teach the Civil War truthfully the ink on the surrender documents signed in McLean’s parlor will never dry.  

Reprint and reproduction permitted with credit given to Steve Quick, Land of Lincoln 

rebsailor8@sbcglobal.net
http://Www.skitrooper.org/SQuick2.htm

Honoring Confederate Flags and Symbols

During Vietnam, while at Fort Benning, Georgia as a young enlistee, I witnessed a parade with Army historical color guards and colors from our nation’s history being paraded.  I still have photos of it.  As a young Southerner I was proud of the fact that a Confederate Army color guard marched with a Battle Flag in review.  This color guard represented the valor and courage of soldiers who were my ancestors.  Under President McKinley, a series of four acts of Congress from 1900-1958 restored Confederate soldiers’ standing as “American” soldiers ---- part of “reconciliation” of the North and South.  That’s why Confederates have VA headstones. That reconciliation is now being undone by haters and people with a lack of cultural historical knowledge and appreciation despite a comprehensive national poll by Lou Harris. That poll shows that 82% of Americans have no problems with Confederate emblems.  In an age of PC, the tyranny of the minority appears to be the rule.

I have taught logic and critical thinking courses at the Army’s Command and General Staff College for years. I taught in the graduate history department prior to retiring from the US Army.  What amazes me is the lack of historical knowledge by graduate students.  Former Under Secretary of the Army, Norm Augustine (retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin) in a recent ARMY magazine article stated that “…it’s not primarily the memorized facts that have current and former CEOs like me concerned.  It’s the other things that subjects like history impart: critical thinking….”.  Dr. Bruce Cole (Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a member of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission) stated in a column entitled “American Amnesia” that a:

“…study of students at 55 elite universities found that over a third were unable to identify the Constitution as establishing the division of powers in our government, only 29% could identify the term "Reconstruction" and 40% could not place the Civil War in the correct century….[and]…that over half of high school seniors couldn't say who we fought in World War II.”

The poll represents “educated” Americans.  Some of these are the same people mindlessly criticizing Confederate monuments, symbols and flags that they know virtually nothing about.

When Army students (mostly majors) ask me if Confederates wore gray, or blue uniforms, I know that even we, as a professional military institution, reflect the history ignorance of our society at large.  In the graduate course on the Civil War that I taught, more than half of the military students were at the high school, or lower, level of knowledge about the Civil War. Unfortunately, the best educated on US history are many times our foreign military students.  So what?  Well, if US students don’t know the basic facts of the war, how can they understand the more complex ones?  They can’t.  They parrot mindless mantras like “The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism!”  I guarantee they don’t know the difference between the “Stars and Bars” and the “Battle Flag”.

Granted, some racists have misused the Battle Flag. They misuse the US flag just as much, yet, under the (il)logic of Confederate flag haters, it gets a total “pass”.  A number of photos of KKK rallies with US flags can be easily found online.  One of the largest KKK rallies occurred in Washington, D.C. and not a single Confederate flag can be seen in a sea of US flags. This logic fallacy of stereotyping everyone with a Confederate emblem as a racist is ignorant and totally illogical except for some like Louis Farrakhan.  He uses the same criteria to condemn the US flag.  His logic is perfect----even if his premise is wrong.  Yep, the US flag is a RACIST emblem.

Cultural cleansing is wrong.  Our version of the Taliban is trying to cleanse our Southern heritage because of ignorance.  The Sons of Union Veterans (descendants of Union soldiers) proclaim in a 2000 resolution that they support the flying of the Confederate Battle Flag and our Confederate monuments.  They recognize the history and truth of why Southerners honor their ancestors.  President Eisenhower, who recorded his views in a letter to a concerned citizen, told why he honored General Lee with a portrait in his White House office.  In their convoluted reasoning, haters believe Eisenhower was a racist for doing that as well.

LtCol (ret) Edwin Kennedy is a retired US Army infantryman.  He was invited to speak at the Army’s Equal Opportunity Conference at Fort Gordon, Georgia about black Confederate soldiers.  He has given that presentation around the country.  The views expressed in this column are his personal ones and do not reflect the official views of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College or those of the US Army.

SONS OF UNION VETERANS' RESOLUTION ON THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG

 (ATLANTA - July 3, 2015)    In 2000, the annual national Encampment of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War passed the below resolution regarding their position on the Confederate Battle Flag.  These men are the descendants of those Union soldiers who fought on the opposite side of the field from our brave forefathers in grey.   In light of the current attack upon our beloved Flag, the re-publishing of that resolution is timely.  It reads as follows...    

  

GENERAL ORDER NO.26

SERIES 2014-2015

SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR

Display of the Confederate Battle Flag

By the authority vested in me as Commander-in-Chiefof theSons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the National Constitution and Regulations, and National Policies, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1: 
Recently many individual Brothers, Camps, Departments and the National

Organization have been contacted regarding the position of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) on the display of the Confederate Battle Flag.

Section 2: 
The SUVCW already has an official position on file regarding this issue, as

adopted by the 119th National Encampment. As the National Encampment is the supreme governing body of the SUVCW, and as no subsequent National Encampment has revisited this issue, the SUVCW's official position remains the same. Neither the Commander-in-Chief nor the Council of Administration has the authority to amend the position.

Section 3: For clarity, the official position of the SUVCW regarding the display of t

he Confederate Battle Flag is included in this order, as follows:

RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT

DISPLAY OF BATTLE FLAGS OF THE CONFEDERACY

119TH NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT OF THE

SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR

LANSING, MICHIGAN AUGUST 19, 2000

A resolution in support of the display of the Confederate Battle Flag.

WHEREAS, we, the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,

condemn the use of the confederate battle flag, as well as the flag of the United States, by any and all hate groups; and

WHEREAS, we, the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,

support the flying of the Confederate battle flag as a historical piece of this nation's

history; and

WHEREAS, we, the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,

oppose the removal of any Confederate monuments or markers to those gallant soldiers in the former Confederate States, and strongly oppose the removal of ANY reminders of this nation's bloodiest war on the grounds of it being "politically correct;" and

WHEREAS, we, as the descendants of Union soldiers and sailors who as

members of the Grand Army of the Republic met in joint reunions with the Confederate veterans under both flags in those bonds of Fraternal Friendship, pledge our support and admiration for those gallant soldiers and of their respective flags;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Sons of Union

Veterans of the Civil War in 119th Annual National Encampment, hereby adopt this

resolution.

Dated in Lansing, Michigan, on this nineteenth day of August, in the year of our

Lord Two thousand.

SUVCW General Order No. 26, Series 2014-2015


Section 3:

Individual Brothers, Camps and Departments shall be mindful of the official

position of the SUVCW when addressing issues involving the Confederate battle flag. It is recommended that inquiries about the SUVCW's official position be directed, without further comment or elaboration, to the Order's website (http://suvcw.org/flagres.htm) where it can be read in its entirety.

The foregoing General Order is proclaimed this 25th day of June in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of Ameri

ca the two hundred thirty-ninth, in the City of Gilroy, County of Santa Clara, State of California.

Tad D. Campbell, PDC

Commander-in-Chief