Confederate Memorial Day; First Saturday in June every year

My local chapters and camps of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans will hold their annual solemn commemoration ceremonies, this coming weekend, remembering the brave and loyal sons of the South who answered their new country's call to drive back the invaders who threatened their homes and families. This series of observances has been held every year for about 140 years now.
There are many who misunderstand the purpose of these ceremonies, especially those ultra-righteous liberals who are so quick to condemn the display of Confederate flags and uniforms. The point of these is that they are Military ceremonies intended to honor the courage, devotion to duty and skill of the soldiers of the Confederate States Army, who fought so well and so long for the concept of States Rights, as a bulwark against the possibility of tyranny by the federal government. We all know now that that concept was badly flawed and unworkable.
Their are no Confederates any more. The last Confederates who voted in their state's Referendum on Secession died long ago. There remain only those who refuse to forget the valor and loyalty of their ancestors who brought such honor upon themselves with their military virtues. Let us not forget the words of Gen. Joshua Chamberlain, savior of the Union at Gettysburg; "It was an honor to fight such men, whom no Hardship, no Terror, no Reverse could sway from their duty."
Let me encourage those who have never attended such a ceremony to search the internet for their local historical organizations, such as those listed above, and the various Civil War Roundtable groups around the country, to learn the time and place of these observances in your area, and take time to see what remains of the memories of the Soldiers of the 'Lost Cause.'

'All these were honored in their Generations,
and were the Glory of their Times.
There be of them that have left a Name behind
them that their Praises might be reported.
And some there be which have no Memorial,
who are Perished as though they had never been,
and are become as though they had never been born,
and their children after them.
But these were Merciful men,
whose Righteousness hath not been Forgotten.
With their Seed shall continually Remain
a Good Inheritance,
and their Children are within the Covenant.
Their Seed Standeth Fast,
and their Children, for their sakes.
Their Seed shall Remain forever,
and their Glory shall Not be Blotted Out.
Their Bodies are buried in Peace,
but their Name liveth for Evermore.'

ECCLESIASTICUS xliv

As one of those self-righteous liberals, European no less, I'd like to add a few remarks and, if possible, discuss this further. What offends are not the commemorations but the incorrect history that their participants often convey.

The Confederacy is not the only country with a Lost Cause problem. Most nations do, ranging from the harmless Ricardians fighting for Richard III's good name to the evil (most "Greater X" initiatives such as Greater Hungary, Germany, Serbia, ...). In Germany and, to a lesser intent, in Austria, there has been a long discussion process about how the dead Wehrmacht soldiers can be properly honored. They died for an evil cause, many of them without much enthusiasm for that cause nor for the war. Three brothers of the grandfather of a friend of mine died at Stalingrad. His grandfather only survived because he had been evacuated in time to a hospital in Poland. It is fitting and proper to remember these men and their suffering (as well as the suffering their actions caused to others).

This respect cannot and should not be transferred to the institutions and state these men served. Research has shown that one cannot separate a "clean" Wehrmacht from the crimes it committed or helped commit (This holds true also for the Army of Northern Virginia which re-enslaved men during the Gettysburg campaign.). This has been a hard emotional realization, a process some were never able to complete. I still remember the shock I had when I visited an old lady's living room with a prominent portrait of her brother in full Waffen-SS officer uniform on the mantel-piece. She still begrudged the Russians for his death on the plains of Russia.

If you are still with me, you'll probably interject: The Confederates surely aren't Nazis? The difference, however, is smaller than one might think. The Confederacy held millions in slavery, based solely on skin color. Their exploitation was just too profitable to engage in (irrational) extermination. They really weren't "merciful men". They engaged in, or were duped to protect, a nefarious activity that ran counter to the founding message of the United States of America about mankind's inalienable rights. They also knew that what they were doing was wrong. Why else should they call it "the peculiar institution"?

The States Rights is an intellectually poor foil. Read The fiery trial. At the time of secession, the Republicans wanted to stop the expansion of slavery into the territories (containment) and stop assisting in policying slavery (no longer returning slaves etc.). The Southern States were free to continue torturing and exploiting their slaves as much as they desired - within their own territory. The Confederacy shot first. They were the aggressors, starting a pre-emptive war, breaking for instance Kentucky's neutrality. The Union was probably one of history's meekest invaders returning slaves and paying for burnt firewood. The Union really didn't threaten "homes and families". It threatened the power structure that protected a nefarious institution. The Lost Cause could only develop because the Union didn't prosecute the culprits (Simply depriving Southerners of their political rights without trials probably increased their feelings of being wronged instead of instilling accountability.).

Regarding the commemoration ceremonies, the organisators should follow the German example in acknowledging that these men fought bravely - for an evil cause. They fought to keep others in chains. They fought that a few rich men could regard humans as property. They fought to deny others their inalienable rights. As long as these facts are hidden during these commemorations, these events are justly tainted.

The Civil War Centennial of the 1960s largely stood for a good sport Team Blue vs Team Gray approach. I hope the 150th anniversary allows for some rethinking. Last Monday's "History" Channel docutaintment "Gettysburg", that rearranged the sentences of the Gettysburg Address and was riddled with errors, does not promise to do so.

2> excellent post.

I agree, excellent post jcbrunner.

Quite so...quite so!

>2 jcbrunner:. Thank you for being brave enough to wade in and saying what this Southerner was thinking (once I got through trying to figure out if Message #1 was a hoax, that is).

My great grandfather fought in the Confederate Army, but I will not be celebrating Confederate Memorial Day. In my opinion, the Confederacy was fighting for slavery, which appalls me. I am thankful the south lost.

Well, this explains why my wife's extended family always schedules their 'reunion' that weekend. They're all from a very small town in east Texas, and the reunion is held at the private cemetery that is on the property she and her sisters own. There are 3 (count 'em - three) Confederate soldiers buried there.

I always get a lot of ribbing from them because I'm a Yankee. (I'm from New Jersey). I remind them that there were 2 sides in the Civil War - the Yankees, and the LOSERS!