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Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
Blacks' role in Confederacy remains a touchy subject in the U.S.
by Renee Elder / AP
RALEIGH, N.C. – As America embarks on four years of Civil War commemorations, it revives an unsettling debate that lingers 150 years after the conflict: how to view the role of African Americans in the Confederacy.
It arose last year when a Virginia textbook was yanked over protests that it inaccurately claimed thousands of blacks served as Confederate soldiers. More recently, a North Carolina community turned down an effort to erect a monument to 10 black men who served the Southern army and later collected Confederate pensions.
Confederate law prohibited slaves from serving as soldiers until March 1865, when it was changed in a last-gasp effort to strengthen troop numbers.
Yet the debate continues bubbling to the surface in many ways.
Gregory Perry of Monroe, N.C., who learned recently that an ancestor was awarded pension for Confederate service, says it's hard to reconcile that fact with what he knows firsthand about being a black man in the South.
"I grew up in the era of Malcolm X and militancy, and would never have considered something like this possible," said Perry, 46, reflecting on the life of his great-great-grandfather, Aaron Perry.
"I wonder: If Aaron Perry knew the Union Army was coming to free him, why did he join the other side?"
Most Civil War historians agree black slaves and even some free blacks contributed crucial manpower to the Southern war effort — but it was mostly menial work done under duress or for survival, not out of support for the secession movement.
John David Smith, professor of American history at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and a member of North Carolina's Sesquicentennial Academic Advisory Committee, said the South's 11th-hour effort to recruit black soldiers was "too little, too late."
"There's no evidence of any real mobilization of slaves," Smith said. At most, a company or two — including one of hospital workers — was ever organized.
Yet efforts to depict blacks as Confederates persist.
The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond once sold black toy soldiers, clad in Confederate gray. They were pulled from shelves in fall 2010 after several complaints.
Historian and library director John Coski posted an explanation in the gift shop.
"There is much wartime and postwar evidence of African-Americans acting in ways that suggest loyalty to the Confederacy — staying `home' even when there was an opportunity to run away, even burying the family silver," Coski wrote. But as to whether significant numbers of black men enlisted as combat soldiers, Coski says "the answer is a resounding `no.'"
Smith says he believes painting African Americans as Confederate sympathizers plays down the real causes of the Civil War.
"What gets professional historians concerned is when certain people start calling these people soldiers. It all goes back to how you define soldier. And for me, the story of so-called black Confederates is not as important as the story of why it keeps coming back."
He added, "I think it keeps coming up because there are certain people who resist the idea that slavery and white supremacy were the cause of the Civil War."
One such group is the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a Southern heritage organization whose members say state's rights, not slavery, was the primary motivation for succession. Through a steady stream of website commentaries, blog posts and printed articles, Sons of Confederate Veterans members frequently promote the idea of black support for the Southern Army.
The author of Virginia's recalled textbook, Joy Masoff, said articles by Sons of Confederate Veterans members helped convince her to include information in the fourth-grade history book that said "thousands" of black Confederate soldiers fought in the war.
Slaves undoubtedly worked for the Confederate troops, especially in the early years before food and supplies were scarce.
Workers like Gregory Perry's great-great grandfather were brought onto the battlefield to drive horses, cook and even serve as valets. Slaves also were occasionally conscripted from their owners to help work on roads and other infrastructure needed by the army, Smith said.
"African Americans built bridges, erected fortifications, worked on the docks — all kinds of support work to free whites up to go and fight," he added. "That's nothing new."
In the 1920s, 2,807 Southern blacks were approved for pensions authorized for black Confederates. In most states, each applicant was required to report the nature of the work performed and to which unit his "master" had been assigned.
In North Carolina, Sons of Confederate Veterans member Tony Way researched historical records and found that 10 black men from Union County received Confederate pensions. All were listed as having served the Southern Army as guards, servants, cooks and in other supporting roles.
Way proposed a marker on the courthouse square to recognize their contributions. He said he wasn't trying to make a political statement.
"There are no African American monuments in Monroe County, so, being a Civil War buff, I thought the marker might highlight a unique and un-talked-about part of this region's history," Way said.
Jerry Surratt, chairman of the Union County Historical Commission, said the commission voted against the marker mainly because of the existing Confederate veterans' monument nearby. It bears the titles of local regiments — not individual names as Way wanted.
"If we were going to list the names of those who served from Union County, there could be 1,800 names up there, 500 of whom didn't return living," Surratt said.
Earl Ijames, curator of African American and community history at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, helped Way with his research.
Ijames, who is black, said it is unrealistic to maintain that no people of color took sides against the Union. A seventh-generation North Carolinian, Ijames said some blacks may have pledged allegiance to the Confederates as a means of self-preservation.
This is something Gregory Perry has begun to consider about his ancestor.
"I can only think there must have been something more about this war, something we don't know about, for him to have had such a connection to the Southern people or to the land," he said.
Meanwhile, Ed Smith, an American University professor who has spoken widely on the subject, says today's audiences can't really gauge the societal, economic and other pressures that played on blacks and whites during slavery.
He said that's why it is so hard for anyone to imagine that a slave's Southern identity could have been at odds with his ideas about freedom.
"In today's world, it's hard to look back on slavery with any kind of clarity," Ed Smith says. "Frankly, I think it's going to be quite messy for the next four years."
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
This war is still being fought.
I can honestly say growing up in the South that there's tons and tons of misconceptions and chronic lies, on both sides. Some of the dumbest in history have been the KKK was started because of blacks who enslaved whites (seriously?). But they're no dumber than your typical Tea Party/Palin supporter. They just go on and on and on.
I also remember the years and years of whites who just could not accept that their southern ancestors started a war over slavery. Granted, and this is true, there were many other aspects as to why the South went to war with the North, alot having to economic aspects, disrespect towards culture from the North, lies running wild in the North thanks to fraudulent novelists speaking of "experiences in the South" which never occured, and so on...
But secession was launched due to Slavery. By the South. Just is the way it is. DEAL WITH IT. No one wants to though...
But the South wasn't always the bad guy. Northern historians tend to forget that the U.S. (before secession) had HUGE profits from cotton exports from the South, and they KNEW it was from no overhead because of Slavery, yet when they were allowed to make that money - no war - yet when the South took it away, suddenly the North gets pissed.
Although the role of blacks in the actual Confederate army had to be really REALLY exaggerated ('cause that just WAS NOT blacks role in the South), by the time the South allowed it, blacks still were only cooks, drivers, assistants and such. Not soldiers.
Another miscarriage of truth is alot of Northern historians who paint a "freedom freedom freedom" image of the mighty Union freeing the slaves, are just as full of shit as the 'not slavery' Southern historians.
TONS and TONS of blacks actually returned home from the North and went right back to the same exact jobs they ran from, to work for VERY low wages (rather than for free), because despite the North "freeing the slaves", virtually no one in the North would employ the blacks, as racism ran just as rampant in the North as it did in the South.
So for as horrible as the South was, many blacks risked certain death (some were shot dead in the streets simply for walking on the same sidewalk with whites) to return to the South for work.
I'm not saying it wasn't hell on earth for blacks. But there is definitely something more to the story of the Civil War, specifically the cultural dynamics in the South and the relationships between blacks and whites, when some blacks (not all) but some would prefer the company of a white Southerner post-war, than a Northerner.
Just sayin'
Imo, this is still definitively the WORST war in the history of America. Not only did it have the highest body count in U.S. history (because Americans were killing Americans), but to this day, even in 2011... the true story has yet to be told, and BOTH the South & North historians tend to lie and bias their side.
It's still North vs. South
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
It's funny, everytime I see the Tea Party I think of the confederacy. They were both fake patriotic joke political movements to benefit the wealthy.
I'm a son of the confederacy, btw 
Some things that iritate me, especially what northern liberals like to ignore: Southerners were not all fighting for states rights; The Confederacy was the first to impose a draft and actually had a special army who arrested and forced young men into military service and sometimes executed people who wouldn't fight.
There were a lot of white southerners who helped free slaves, and were killed for it. Not really talked about much, is it? There was also a movement of southern renegades who fought the confederate armies, especially in TN, that actually affected the way the Confedrate armies moved in certain states.
And only about 5% of whites owned slaves in the South. Just like today, where people want to cater to the top 2% of the population, no matter what the costs, we had the bloodiest war in the history of our country, almost tearing it apart, for 5% of the population who didn't want to pay for people to work their lands. They'd rather have poor young men be butchered to keep an entire race of people in bondage, to save money. Sickening. Slavery was devestating to poor souhterners. Admittedly, there were some who gleefully volunteered to fight to keep slavery legal even when it affected them the worst. I think its absolutely stupid that some people can get caught up in "states rights" bullshit and fight against their own interest. Then and today.
It was purely a rich mans war, poor mans fight, as the poor southerners used to say during the war. But I completely understand people wanting to fight an "invading" army who, truth be told, were going to take your land, slave holder or not, leave you with nothing. There were A LOT of war crimes comitted against poor southern whites that are completely ignored by people today. Rape, murder, imprisonment, etc. These atrocities are NEVER talked about. It almost makes me think that some liberals think that it's okay.
And Slavery was absolutely the cause of the war. Simple as that. States rights were envoked purely so wealthy land owners could keep their slaves and not pay for the labor for whites and free men to work the lands (kind of like illegal immigration today, huh?). And the slave trade was making huge amounts of money. Slavery was not dying out, like some southern revisionist like to say.
But I think every southern state should have a rebel flag on the state flag to remember all the soldiers who died for it.
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
Just for the subject of the thread: General Lee and even Jefferson Davis wanted to offer southern blacks their freedom to fight for the south. The conferate senate said no.
Also, one of the reasons the south lost was the 'states rights' political system of the Confederate goverment, that a lot of Conservatives like to salivate over today. There were states who refused to help other state armies with men and supplies, when they desperately needed them, and there was no way to force them to help. Georgia actually wanted to secede from the confederacy and become it's own country when Davis asked them to do so. That's what a joke states rights political movements are. It's just a big clusterfuck. And it's also pretty unpatriotic and anti American, imo.
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
The Articles of Confederation is what the Confederacy drew their structure from, and the 'duh moment' of American history - there was a reason Confederation was abandoned by the U.S. and a democratic constitution draw up. It allowed states rights, but gave more federal powers and ultimately - enforced taxation.
The South goes and brings it back, only to DIE under the exact same circumstances. Your states have such carte blanche that you can't even get .50 cent off them for a haircut and shave at the local bathhouse, and we're supposed to fund an entire country this way? Huh?
It's not shocking at all. The North was laying the pressure on, but unbiased history has proven the South imploded and collapsed under it's own belief in states rights.
The only reason the Sarah Palin fan club salivate over that structure is because they're the dumbest mother fucking Americans that exist. Probably worse than liberals. When Palin can't even explain the American Revolution (which is BASIC history for American kids from elementary school) like she flubbed up the other day, and that is your beacon of hope... we're fuckin' doomed.
But I think every southern state should have a rebel flag on the state flag to remember all the soldiers who died for it.
Amen. Considering how much poor man's blood was spilled all over that red flag for fuckin' land baron capitalists (no different than the Lincoln County War), I say fly that baby, the 'ole stars n' bars, loud n' proud.
The absolute worst thing that ever happened in the history of that symbol, was when a bunch of fuckin' cracker ass Klansmen started running around symbolizing that flag with White Supremacy (which was NEVER what that war or even Slavery was about - it was about GREEN supremacy, as in M-O-N-E-Y, like it always is in this fuckin' world, not about whites).
Unfortunately the dumbest, loudest, and least-educated of blacks ran with it, and believed it, instead of opening a book. It's easy to just bash something without really understanding the message or history behind it.
There's a guy on I-75, the big interstate from Michigan to Florida, and right outside Tampa, FL, he has a HUGE 'capitol-like' Confederate Flag flying right beside the interstate. They tried to make him take it down, but it's his property, he can do what he wants with it.
Everytime i'm in the area, and I pass by that flag I smile a little. And I remember, "never forget, stay a rebel, and never trust a rich man".
THAT is what that flag means to me.
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
Racism is very much alive and well in Detroit. I've never really understood the "racism is a southern thing" mentality.
@ Axlin and Russtcb I don't get where that came from either. My cousins have told me racism is bad down in the south but its everywhere.
Re: Blacks' role in Confederacy remains touchy subject
Racism can be bad out here, especially in rural areas, but the cities are just as bad, because they believe in the stereotypes, yet convince themselves how cultured and progressive thinking they are.
I think alot of people forget that for as much hateful and oppressive history exists in the south.... the African-American's roots and origins are rooted in the south.
Sure you can focus on all the bad, but there's so many good things that black culture added to the south. Stories past from generation to generation, soul food, blues music, etc.
Most black people i've known in my life remind me of my own relatives. For as much divide has been put in front of southern whites & blacks over the years, both of them act in their family dynamics and culture almost identically - in other words - they're both Southern Americans.
