Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Stevearino, post: 3444274, member: 74571&quot;]That was very interesting, [USER=17073]@leeg[/USER].&nbsp; I don&#039;t want to get political on here, nor politically incorrect, but I am a &quot;northern boy&quot; from Minnesota with a great interest in the Civil War, North and South.&nbsp; I just finished reading Mike Shaara&#039;s book about Civil War battlefields&#039;s: what happened, why they matter, what to see, and the importance of preserving what is left of many of these sites of bravery and carnage.</p><p><br /></p><p>I found myself repeatedly saddened to realize that Confederate dead were not allowed to be buried in these national cemeteries, with the exception of a very few.&nbsp; Thousands were buried in mass graves nearby.&nbsp;&nbsp; Young men, sometimes boys, on both sides experienced a horror I find difficult to imagine or comprehend. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have no problem with what southern states did at Stone Mountain to memorialize the sacrifice of several hundred thousand of their own to battle wounds and disease, in the persons of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.</p><p><br /></p><p>Two years ago I was guiding a group of 42 from Norway from New Orleans to Nashville on a &quot;music tour.&quot;&nbsp; Because of my interest in the Civil War, I included an overnight in Vicksburg, MS, with a tour of the battlefield the next morning.&nbsp; Our local step-on guide was an elderly woman who made a point of emphasizing that the Civil War was about &quot;State&#039;s Rights,&quot; not slavery.&nbsp; Our black bus driver about came out of his seat.&nbsp; I vehemently disagreed with her, and in my translation of her dialogue made that plain (and since the local guide couldn&#039;t understand Norwegian she didn&#039;t know what I was saying).</p><p><br /></p><p>Ok, I fear I&#039;m getting political and will stop.&nbsp; If this post is over the line and it disappears I&#039;ll accept that.&nbsp; I just believe that we do a disservice to history when we use our 21st century lenses to view 19th century history.&nbsp; I will continue to treasure my SMHs, not for the effort of the South to preserve slavery, but for the memorialization of brave men and fine leaders who followed their consciences.</p><p><br /></p><p>Steve[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in