The Union and the Myth of the Righteous Cause, Warts and All

Letter to the Editor, Roanoke Times (http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/commentary/cahoon-the-union-and-the-myth-of-the-righteous-cause/article_c934992d-c511-5dca-87d6-304f38e439d4.html ) 

The Union and the Myth of the Righteous Cause,

 Warts and All

Halford Ryan is at it again with his recent one dimensional interpretation of why the Confederate soldier fought. He challenges Virginia Flaggers and SCV to respond to what he considers embarrassing questions.

 I am here to respond and to remain at the service of anyone who still believes in The Myth of The Righteous Cause and the nobility of the Union Army destroying the southern states as conquered providences.

Let’s lay some facts on the table. The Civil war was caused by secession. Secession had multiple causes including fear of instant emancipation.

For the deep South, this brought out legitimate of fears of the Santo Domingo effect and the Nat Turner revolt, both where whites were slaughtered.

Ryan either forgets or is unaware of Southern efforts toward ante bellum emancipation that were botched by the likes of William Lloyd Garrison. For years leading up to the war there had been a moral recognition and multiple solutions proposed by the South. Slavery was immoral, inefficient and would ultimately die out.

Not mentioned are Lincoln’s racists quotes that he was simply fighting to restore the Union and wanted all blacks freed and sent back to Africa.

How about that for warts and all. This is the great Myth of The Righteous Cause

 White supremacy flowed from the mouth of Lincoln and every American, north and south. To assign it only to the Confederate Battle flag when we see the KKK parading in Washington DC with the Stars and Stripes is the ultimate hypocrisy.

Ryan’s credentials imply as a teacher of Southern oratory he surely must have used statements from 1861 political leaders as published in Southern newspapers. Recent election results testify to the credibility of the press and politicians.

Not heard from are the common soldiers. I suggest one listen to them, Union and Confederate as they tell you why they fought. It was not to end slavery…it was over the rights of states to secede.

 Slavery later became incidental and many Union soldiers threatened to mutiny because they had no intention of fighting for emancipation.

Let us dispatch the mixed-race issue (I find the term mulatto degrading) in America. Miscegenation began at Jamestown and has continued through today with no stigma attached to the couple or children now. If Ryan would like to do some big-time shaming, he should go back to 1787 and start removing all vestiges of Thomas Jefferson from UVA.

Jefferson and many others, were committing no crime using their property as they saw fit. Miscegenation took place in the North, on the frontier with Native Americans, forcibly with Union soldiers invading the South, with indentured female Scots Irish slaves and recently within any country where the American military has been stationed.

 Virginia’s ordinance of session and the convention proceedings, clearly state that we voted to stay in but warned Lincoln against coercing other states. On April 15 Lincoln called for Virginia to furnish our militia for his control. On April 17, we withdrew the powers granted to the federal government and left the Union as we warned we would in our ratification June 26 1788. Contrary to Ryan, it does not say emancipation is the prime reason.

The right to secede when an individual state believes the Federal government is acting against the best interest of a particular state is THE STATES RIGHTS that seems to elude superficial history students who wish to depict every Confederate soldier as fighting to preserve slavery. Other rights were tariffs to finance infrastructure projects that benefited the North.

Also, there was a self-righteous arrogance building up in the North by those who wanted instant abolition but did not have to live with its consequences. Ryan may wish to read the Black Codes of Northern states which in many cases prohibited blacks from residing in their states.

As we close our defense of VA Flaggers and SCV, who will be in Lexington on Lee- Jackson day, I would challenge Ryan to cite the highways or streets we have illegally closed with unauthorized marches. Tell me how many riots, burning of automobiles and looting of liquor stores in which we have participated, although our freedoms were abridged and our legitimate heroes’ statues spray painted.

In spite of hate rhetoric in Ryan’s article, race relations stumble forward. Yes, there are enlightened blacks who march with us. It is pathetic that true history is there for the reading but hate is so much easier.

John L. Cahoon
Roanoke, VA
Member, Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Virginia Flaggers

Prattville Dragoons Camp Meeting for January 2017

Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 compatriots enjoyed another excellent meeting on Thursday January 12th with over 30 attendees, including Brigade Commander Butch Godwin. Butch thanked the camp for the active role we take in the community and for our efforts to fulfill the Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Our knowledgeable guest speaker was Meredith McDonough from the Alabama Department of Archives and History who presented a most interesting program on 19th century photography. She included visual aids of many photographs from the mid 1800’s in the possession of the Archives including some Confederate soldiers and other significant Alabamians. She also explained the various types of photographs of the period and how photography evolved in that century. 

Also attending the meeting from the Archives was Curator Graham Neeley. He is very familiar with the collection of Confederate flags at the Archives and gave an update on the collection and efforts toward preservation of the flags. 1st Lt. Commander Harold Grooms made the Dragoons annual donation of $500 to the preservation of these flags with Meredith and Graham accepting the check. The Dragoons have made this annual donation for approximately 13 consecutive years. 

1st Lt. Commander Grooms presided over the meeting due to the unavoidable absence of Commander Waldo. There was cheerful fellowship among the members and guests and the satisfaction of donating money to the worthy cause of historic flag preservation at the Archives. 

SCV Alabama Division Celebration of Robert E. Lee's Birthday

On Saturday January 2017 the Alabama Division SCV hosted a celebration of the birthday of Robert E. Lee at the Alabama State Archives in Montgomery AL.  As the program reminded all in attendance, Robert E. Lee was a man of character and integrity.  A top graduate of West Point, he was an exceptional soldier in the U.S. Army for 32 years before resigning to follow and defend his home state of Virginia, becoming the most beloved hero of the Confederate States of America. After the War for Southern Independence, Lee became President of Washington University in Lexington VA.  Lee was born on January 19, 1807 and died on October 12, 1870.

The Tallassee Camp 1921 String Band provided period music for 45 minutes before the program started proper.  The Alabama Division Color Guard posted the colors, the historic Confederate national and Battle flags and Division Commander extended welcome and introduced leadership from the other heritage organizations including the Alabama Division United Daughters of the Confederacy, Children of the Confederacy, Alabama Order of Confederate Rose, Military Order of the Stars and Bars and the Alabama Division Mechanized Calvary.  The Reverend John Killian provided the Invocation and Benediction as well as the message on Robert E. Lee where he highlighted the leadership and character which Lee exemplified, quoting Benjamin Hill who said of Lee, "He was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery, a soldier without cruelty, a victim without murmuring.  He was a public officer without vices, a Christian without hypocrisy and a man without guilt. He was Caesar without his tyranny, Napoleon without his selfishness, and Washington without his reward."

Following Rev. Killian's powerful speech, Commander Hill and the members of the Alabama Division Executive Committee presented the Alabama Archives with a check for $6500 for continuing flag conservation there at the Archives.  The colors were then retired and the Tallassee String Band led everyone in singing "Dixie" before closing announcements by Commander Hill.  Despite inclement weather including tornado watches for all of central Alabama, a great crowd of hundreds filled the auditorium at the Archives to celebrate the life of one of the country's true great leaders and heroes, Robert E. Lee.  Nine members of the Prattville Dragoons were in attendance including Commander Waldo, 1st Lt. Grooms, Treasurer Leverette, Comms Officer Larry Spears and his father James, Quartermaster Myrick, and compatriots Tyrone Crowley, Bill Gill and (not pictured below) Ryan King.

Tallassee String Band

Rev. Killian Takes the Stage as Commander Hill Takes a Seat

Member of the Prattville Dragoons

2017 Robert E. Lee Day Celebration Program

Lee Jackson Banquet 2017

The Montgomery Captain Henry C. Semple SCV Camp 2002 hosted their annual Lee Jackson banquet at Grace Pointe Church of Christ on Friday evening January 20th to celebrate the birthdays of Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  Compatriot Philip Davis provided the Invocation and Benediction and Jack Caraway led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag as well as the Salute to the Confederate Flag.  Compatriot John Land served as the MC and did a wonderful job introducing everyone and keeping the program going while providing personal observations on this joyous occasion.  Grace Pointe Paster Scotty Harris blessed the food before everyone went through the banquet line and sat to enjoy the delicious dinner of beef tenderloin, wild rice and green beans with a wonderful fruit and greens salad.  Then everyone enjoyed a slice of the birthday cake which was wonderfully decorated with images of Lee and Jackson.  The speaker was Professor Grover L. Plunkett who teaches history at Faulkner University in Montgomery.  He delivered a superb message that we all should seek to emulate the virtues of these two great Christian leaders.  Specifically, he cited three such virtues of each providing examples of their courage, magnificence and temperance.  The program provided short stories about each man including one illustrating the empathy General Lee displayed toward a wounded enemy soldier following the Battle of Gettysburg.  Approximately 40 compatriots enjoyed the program and banquet and fellowship to celebrate the birthday of these two honorable beloved great Confederate generals.

Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson

From the Prattville Dragoons January 2017 Camp Dispatch newsletter:

Jackson and his army spent the winter of 1862 and early 1863 at Moss Neck on the Rappahannock River, not far from Fredericksburg. During this time, Jackson took leave to visit his wife and to see his infant daughter for the first time. On April 29, 1863, Jackson received word that 134,000 Union troops were crossing the Rappahannock River on both sides of Fredericksburg. Consequently, his leave was interrupted.
These Union forces were under the command of Major Generals John Sedgwick and Joseph Hooker. Jackson sent a small force to defend against Sedgwick, while taking the bulk of his army into the Wilderness near Spotsylvania on April 30, where he joined General Lee in hopes of stopping General Hooker. On May 1, they were able to stop Hooker's advance down the Rappahannock River toward Fredericksburg, and in doing so, drove them back toward Chancellorsville. That evening, Lee and Jackson met and decided to split their army again. Lee was to stay at Chancellorsville to take on Hooker's front lines, while Jackson would make a sweep around Hooker, and attack him from the rear. On the morning of May 2, Jackson was successful, completely overwhelming the Union XI Corps.
This was one of Jackson's most sensational victories during the war, only to be marred by tragedy. As dusk began to fall, while Jackson and staff were scouting forward of his own lines, several of his own men mistakenly fired at him, believing him to be the enemy. Hit and badly injured, he was taken to a nearby house, where doctors had to amputate his left arm. Soon thereafter, it appeared that his condition was improving. However, it then suddenly worsened, and was now complicated by pneumonia.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, easily one of the finest generals in the war on both sides, died on May 10, 1863. With his death, General Lee had lost one whom he considered his "right arm". “Stonewall” Jackson and his tactics are studied still today at various military institutions around the world, including Maxwell Air Force Base.
-- Compatriot Tyrone Crowley

Robert Edward Lee

From the Prattville Dragoons January 2017 Camp Dispatch Newsletter:

On Monday, January 16, Alabama will celebrate the birthday of one of its greatest heroes. General Robert Edward Lee was born January 19, 1807, the son of Revolutionary War General “Light Horse” Harry Lee. Robert attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating second in his class, and served with distinction on the staffs of John Wool and Winfield Scott in the Mexican War, where his abilities were first noted. When war broke out in 1861 Winfield Scott offered him command of all Union forces. Lee, who well knew the horrors of war, declined to take up arms against his native state. In a letter to his sister he stated: “With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, and my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.”
The short space of this article does not permit us to review the military genius that outmaneuvered a Union force superior in numbers and resources for three years. Instead, let us focus on the character of Robert E. Lee that made him a hero north and south for years after his demise. What led a man who was offered the command of an Army he had served and loved to decline an office that would provide him honor and riches?
Lee was a man of honor and deep religious conviction. He opposed both secession and slavery. However, coming from a family that was instrumental in the establishment of the Union he knew well the premises upon which it had been established. States established the Union. States had the right to leave if they so desired. Furthermore, no state or section of the union had the right to economic gain at the expense of the others. Still, he shuddered at the thought of war. In his own words,
“Northern politicians will not appreciate the determination and pluck of the South, and Southern politicians do not appreciate the numbers, resources, and patient perseverance of the North. Both sides forget that we are all Americans. . .”
Why then did he fight to defend slavery? Answer: He did not! Again in his own words:
“There are few in this enlightened age who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil. . .I think it is a greater evil to the white rather than the colored race. . .Their emancipation will sooner result from the mild and melting influences of Christianity than from the storm and tempest of fiery controversy.”
In short, Lee believed slavery would abolish itself as it indeed did in Central and South America a short time later. War would benefit only northern industrialists, not African slaves. He was right on both counts.
After the war, Lee was one of the few who took seriously Lincoln’s promise to “bind up the nation’s wounds.” Working as he characteristically did, he repeatedly refused lucrative offers that would have made him financially comfortable. His reply to one such offer was, “My good name is the only thing I have saved from this war and that, Sir, is not for sale.” He died October 12, 1870.
Camp Dispatch – Vol 16 No 1 Page 2
So what? Why bother explaining all this? What does all this mean now? Today, as young people search for heroes and leaders, they would do well to look to a man whose word was his bond and who was guided solely by principle and religious conviction, rather than monetary gain. In short, they would do well to emulate the virtues, convictions and example of this great man who died admired by both the people he led and those he fought against. They would do well to emulate Robert E. Lee.
Today, the Sons of Confederate Veterans still revere the challenge given us by our founder, General Stephen Dill Lee: "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 also cherish, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish. Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations.”
--Lieutenant Commander Harold Grooms

Alabama Division Robert E. Lee Day Program

Mark your calendar for the Division Robert E. Lee Day on January 21, 2017 at the Archives and History auditorium in Montgomery. Music by the Camp 1921 String Band will begin at 9:15 am with the program to follow. The speaker will be the dynamic and enthusiastic Reverend John Killian. If you have never heard him speak you don’t want to miss this opportunity. If you have heard him, you know what to expect and will want to hear him again. 

After the program you can go to the Confederate monument at the capitol where weather permitting there will be a cannon salute; or you can tour the Confederate flag conservation room in the Archive building and see the banners many of our ancestors fought under. 

For more information on this or other upcoming Division events, go to alscv.org.