Tomorrow (July 1) marks the date of the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg (not counting the few small clashes that happened as the troops were making their way to my favorite town on earth.) I was not able to attend the huge commemoration for the 150th last year, but I watched the live cam and the YouTube videos that were often being uploaded immediately. Anyone here attend? I think the most poignant to me was at the very end. They had civilians walking across the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge area in a live re-enactment. It was chilling... but most touching was at the very end. All along the Union line at the Angle, buglers were playing Taps. Started at the top of the line and when that bugler was finished, the next started, and then the next... on and on, each getting a bit fainter in sound. Hauntingly beautiful... and sad.
This easily avoidable war was a great tragedy for America. Whether we take the PC interpretation or look at the actual facts, this tragedy still resonates in our national soul, and the horror that followed it has not yet ended.
If I wouldn't know better, I'd think that you make statements like this just to stir up controversy. But you wouldn't do that when I'm trying to commemorate something that touches me deeply... would ya? That wouldn't be very nice, so I'll assume that you didn't mean to do that. Yes, all wars are tragic, there's something we can agree on. Those false statements you've been spewing on this forum though... I'd appreciate if we could keep them out of my thread concerning the anniversary of Gettysburg, 'kay? I see that you posted the very same thing in a number of other threads, so that's maybe a better place for debate if anyone feels like taking it seriously. But anyhow, thanks for stopping by. You lose any ancestors or relatives in the Civil War? I'd love to hear stories if you did!
Like many Americans, I had ancestors who fought for both Union and Confederate forces. Some of those who fought for the South were of African-American origins. They were not fighting to preserve slavery, but for their homeland. The documentation that "colored" Americans fought for both sides is indisputable. Lying about it dishonors those brave young men of both sides who died in this terrble war. Lincoln knew that those men of both sides deserved to be honored and mourned. Do not dishonor them.
Thank you for sharing your story. I had relatives on both sides, too... and so many stories to tell came out of that war. I'm concentrating on Gettysburg at the moment... so very many stories and not many of them with good endings. Care to share the companies and regiments your African American ancestors fought with? I have a database I've worked on since last summer... Nearly 10k names now from Gettysburg, so closing in on the end. Maybe I could help you straighten some of this out since except for maybe one black regiment in the south, most of those regiments were fighting for the north. In any case, I hope you'll take a moment with me tomorrow to remember all those deaths in a place I'm very close to emotionally. Oh, and why do you say "colored" in quotes like that? That could be offensive to black forum members, don't you think? Thanks for the reply, Thomas.
Most Southern military groups had "colored" troops (just as the NAACP uses the term, I use it when speaking of the time period in question) integrated into the units, since (unlike the Northern Army) they were integrated. As a young child (late 1950s) I was made aware of the history in general terms, including that some African-American relatives had fought for the South. My great-great grandfather had married into the Josie family when his sister Mary moved to South Carolina, and the Josie family were planters. A number of African-American relatives still lived on the family property as pretend share-croppers, in new, modern houses. One of the best documented use of racially integrated Southern troops is the unit under Bedford Forrest's command. 44 of his troops had been "slaves" on his plantation. When his unit surrendered after the war , 65 of his troops were "colored" Bedford Forrest was a leading advocate of allowing freed slaves and freemen to serve in the Confederate troops. He issued orders that they were to be treated equally, and issued separate orders to the "colored" troops that they were to not allow anyone to mistreat them. He was a leading advocate of civil rights after the war. He helped found the original KKK, which was also integrated. He deconstituted the Klan when it became racist, and was actively opposed to the reconstituted Klan. He was a keynote speaker at a Black voting rights meeting in 1875, and advocated for the employment of former slaves in good jobs, for which they had been trained while still slaves.
