No Risking Profits for Sectional Harmony

From: bernhard1848@gmail.com

It was the tariff issue which had driven South Carolina to nullification thirty years earlier, and ever since it was Southern pressure in Congress that kept the grasping Yankee at bay. With a tariff increase being one of the major planks in the Republican's Chicago platform, the South was forced to recalculate the true value of political union with the North.

Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com


No Risking Profits for Sectional Harmony

"At the March [1861] meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce there was one item that hardly anyone noticed except the merchants. They were considering a proposal to repeal the Federal law giving American shippers a monopoly of the coasting trade and to open this lucrative business to the British on a reciprocal basis. Except to these commercial men the final disposition of the matter seemed to be of small importance during the dramatic weeks of the secession crisis.

And yet nothing illustrated more clearly the real essence of sectionalism and the tendency of Northern compromisers either innocently to deceive themselves or deliberately deceive others.

Conservative New York merchants had spent three months passing resolutions, circulating petitions, and visiting Washington to advance the cause of appeasing the secessionists. Repeatedly they had professed their friendship for the South and their eagerness to defend her rights in the Union.

Now they had an opportunity to give tangible proof of their sincerity, not by the sacrifice of some remote territory to slavery but at the cost of risking their own profits for the sake of sectional harmony. For many years Southerners had protested against the monopoly enjoyed by Northern ship owners in the coasting trade and had charged that it was one of the artificial devices by which the [Southern] States were subjected to Yankee exploitation.

The repeal of the law would reduce the freight charges levied upon the planters by exposing Northern traders to foreign competition. It would have removed one source of Southern complaint.

Nevertheless a special committee of the Chamber of Commerce reported against sharing with Britain "our great and rapidly increasing coasting trade." Rather, the committee believed, "our interests demand we should cherish this trade, and establish our own system, irrespective of this or other nations." Ultimately the whole subject was indefinitely postponed.

This decision of the New York merchants was no isolated phenomenon. Throughout the secession winter, the Northern compromisers generally showed great enthusiasm for concessions on matters that seemed to have no direct bearing upon their particular interests, but they displayed an unfeeling obduracy toward concessions on subjects that touched them closely.

In Congress nearly every type of sectional legislation came up for debate; and Northerners, whether radical or conservative, Republican or Democrat, refused to surrender any law which brought special benefits to their constituents. Southerners could cry out against discrimination and Northern tyranny, but Yankee congressmen were unmoved.

As a result, when Congress adjourned, the navigation laws which benefited eastern merchants were still on the statute books. So was the grant of Federal bounty to New England fishermen. Even though an Alabama congressman bitterly called the fishing bounty a device by which Northerners were "permitted to fleece" his constituents, a Southern proposal that it be repealed was defeated."

(And the War Came, the North and the Secession Crisis of 1861, Kenneth M. Stampp, pp. 159-160)

Letters to the editor: Nov. 21

Journal and Courier


A Confederate flag, freedom of speech and the whiners

Wow! Front page of the J&C: A Confederate flag in the window of someone's personal dwelling. Seems like nothing else is going on in the county, town, state, country or world.

Of course, it's in the People's Republic of West Lafayette, where the thought police and the easily offended seem to be plenty. Please come across the river to see more Confederate flags displayed; there are many in Lafayette.

Shame on the J&C for outing this person's address and creating more of a problem than the one caused by busybodies and the thin-skinned folks who reported the flag. Try calling Lafayette Police Department with that nonsense; ain't nobody got time for that here.

There are a lot of symbols that personally offend me, but I don't begrudge people their right to display, wear and believe in them. Just don't force me to display, wear or believe in them. The Confederate flag is not just about slavery or racism; I've seen black people wear the Confederate flag when I lived down South.

When I read the local paper, I want to see real news, not a drummed up controversy that puts a student renter at risk for reprisal and appeases the whiners.

Andi Williams
Lafayette


J&C making new rather than reporting it on flag

It seems to me that the Journal & Courier is being more divisive than trying to help what they consider a problem.

On the front page of Thursday's paper, with a poor photograph of a Confederate flag, the J&C makes news rather than reporting it. Just how many people called the J&C to complain about the flag? The young African-American interviewed said it personally didn't bother him. Let's see if we can make something out of nothing.

Also in an earlier article on the breakdown of race where it was stated the population in Tippecanoe County was 84 percent white and left the rest of the breakdown out. The inference was that the remaining percent was mostly black. In fact, the Hispanic and Latino population, as is the Asian population, is larger than the black population. Why not tell all of the story and not try to slant the article.

Jon Sexson
Lafayette

http://www.jconline.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/11/20/letters-editor-nov/70023496/

Gentlemen of the South

From: johnyreb43@yahoo.com

It seems that the Sons of Confederate Veterans has awoken to the political reality that re-enactments, parades and cleaning cemeteries will not be sufficient to reverse the continuous, savage, winner-take-all attacks against Southern heritage, history and values.

During my 19 years with the Sons of Confederate Veterans I was blessed to be able to travel the South and speak to almost 100 camps in all the states of the old Confederacy but Missouri.  During that time I was joyous at the quality of the people I met in the camps.  The people I met were Christians, family value people who knew their history, loved their community and the South and wanted to change the course of America.  The folks I met were always welcoming, always kind, always quick to give a compliment and encouragement.

So it was a shock when I rose through the ranks in Texas Division politics to find people who possessed few of the above mentioned qualities.  Most importantly, the people I ran into were grannies who did not see the real challenge to Heritage Defense and its relationship to the state of modern day America.  Or, more likely, saw them...and were active in the SCV to prevent it from taking its rightful place as a spokesman for the Constitution!

Unfortunately, I learned that the Sons of Confederate Veterans does NOT abide by the First Amendment, and thus I was kicked out for statements I made concerning the lack of commitment, the unwillingness to rally to the colors in causes that were essentially political.  I was told the SCV could not participate in politics...that is wrong.  But not the point of this email.

I have written three books about the War for Southern Independence, a fourth is at Pelican Publishing and will be released Christmas 2015.

The books available right now are:

The Military Lessons of the Civil War.  20.00

The Rebel Mountain Reader  20.00

Southern Fried Ramblings with Grits and All the Fixin's  15.00

The last book is focused on the modern South and the Southern movement.  It is a book that should help you consider the fights the South is in today.  My good friend Donnie Kennedy wrote the forward for this book.

If you should want one or more of these books please make out a check to Mark Vogl for the price of the book(s) plus two dollars for postage and send it to PO Box 825, Gilmer, Texas 75644

Additionally, I invite to visit and join the Confederate War College on Facebook. This page is dedicated to working on the issues which face the South today.  And...also, I invite you to visit Nolan Chart at Nolan Chart -   Political commentary for every viewpoint    I have been writing on this site since January 2010.  My column America Today has more than 400 articles, a good many of these articles address the ongoing Culture War.

I know there are many dedicated Southerners in the SCV.  I know many of them hold, or held high positions in the SCV.  I know there has been a granny underground active within the organization constantly placing obstacles in front of true Southern patriots who want to vindicate the Cause.

As the crisis in this nation continues to build, hopefully the great majority of members in the SCV will join together to pursue courses of action that make the SCV combat ready in the ongoing Culture War.  I am,

Your Obedient Servant,

Mark Vogl

Decembers 2014 Upcoming Events

Dec. 3 - Battle of Sharpsburg Camp #1582, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014, 7:00 P.M., Sharpsburg Town Hall, 2nd Floor, 106 East Main Street, Sharpsburg, MD.  Our guest speaker will be local author and historian Mr. Ted Alexander who will be speaking on, "The Confederate Army In Washington County:  1861-1865".  The meeting is free and is open to the public.  For more information, contact Camp Commander Michael Wasiljov at mike24745@aol.com or 301-992-3122-C.


Dec. 12 - Christmas at Hancock House
This event is being sponsored by the William B. Bate SCV Camp # 34, Gallatin, TN.
http://shnv.blogspot.com/2014/11/christmas-at-hancock-house.html


Christmas in Fayetteville, 1864 – A Sesquicentennial Observance
Saturday, 13 December 2014
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Southern Heritage News & Views
http://shnv.blogspot.com/2014/09/christmas-in-fayetteville-1864.html


2015 Stephen Dill Lee Institute in Dallas Texas
February 6-7, 2015
Southern Heritage News & Views

http://shnv.blogspot.com/2014/06/2015-stephen-dill-lee-institute-in.html

Agitating for Equality Rather than Peace

From: bernhard1848@gmail.com

Abolitionists of the Old North were agitating for equality more than the end of African slavery. Their strategy was not to compromise and find a peaceful and practical solution to the riddle; the goal of their radical Republican brethren who aided and abetted them was to destroy the Southern economy and Southern political influence national councils, no matter the cost in human lives and misery.

Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com


Agitating for Equality Rather than Peace

"To have dropped the demand for immediate emancipation because it was unrealizable at the time would have been to alter the nature of the change for which the abolitionists were agitating. That is, even those who would have gladly accepted gradual and conditional emancipation had to agitate for immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery because that demand was required by their goal of demonstrating to white Americans that Negroes were their brothers. Once the nation had been converted on that point, conditions and plans might have been made.

Before the war, they refused to be drawn into discussions on the problem that sudden emancipation might create or on "plans" for easing the transition to freedom, for implicit in such discussions, they felt, was an assumption that Negro inferiority rather than white racism would produce the problems. This would not be so if the discussions were carried on by a society free of racism but merely anxious for the change in the Negro's status be as smooth as possible.

But among whites unready to accept the Negro as inherently their equal, any such debate would feed the prevalent prejudice and provide an anesthetic for consciences that were beginning to hurt.

This is why [William Lloyd] Garrison's first great campaign was to discredit colonizationism; that movement diverted attention from the principle of equality and had proved an adequate salve on potential antislavery consciences. That is also why some abolitionists could not accept free-soilism as a tactic to strangle slavery to death in the Southeast; while they might recognize the practical utility of the tactic, they could not admit the legitimacy of slavery in any part of the country without denying their movement's fundamental principle [of equality].

To criticize the agitator for not trimming his demands to the immediately realizable – that is, for not acting like a politician – is to miss the point. The demand for a change that is not politically possible does not stamp the   agitator as unrealistic. For one thing, it can be useful to the political bargainer; the more extreme demand of the agitator makes the politician's demand seem acceptable and perhaps desirable in the sense that the adversary may prefer to give up half a loaf rather than the whole. Also, the agitator helps define the value, the principle, for which the politician bargains."

(Means and Ends in American Abolitionism, Aileen S. Kraditor, Pantheon Books, 1967, pp. 27-28)

"SOME THOUGHTS FOR THANKSGIVING"

http://www.wadehamptoncamp.org/chap-ms3.html

Thanksgiving is almost here. The Confederate States government did not have a Thanksgiving Day per say. However, the leaders of the Confederacy from President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee on down to Governors and Generals frequently issued proclamations of Thanksgiving calling on the people to look to God for their protection and victories. 

As was his custom, General Lee called on three of his Chaplains to confer with him on certain problems. As they took leave, Chaplain B. T. Lacy of the Second Corps said, "I think it right that I should say to you, General Lee, that the chaplains of the Army of Northern Virginia have a deep interest in your welfare, and that some of the most frequent prayers that we offer are in your behalf." General Lee's face flushed and his eyes filled with tears, and he replied, "Please thank them for that, sir - I warmly appreciate it. And I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation, and need all the prayers that they can offer for me." 

On February 15, President Jefferson Davis issued the following proclamation in these words of pure religious devotion:

"It is meet and right, therefore, that we should repair to the only Giver of all victory, and humbling ourselves before Him, should pray that He may strengthen our confidence in His mighty power and righteous judgments. Then may we surely trust in Him that He will perform His promise and encompass us with a shield. In this trust and to this end, I Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, do hereby set apart Friday, the 28th day of February instant, as a day of fasting, thanksgiving and prayer; and I do hereby invite the reverend clergy and the people of the Confederate States to repair to their respective places of public worship, to humble themselves before Almighty God, and pray for His protection and favor for our beloved country, and that we may be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us." 

General Lee's orders and reports always gratefully recognized God as the "Giver of victory in his reports and General Orders from the front. Here are a few examples: Headquarters, June 27, 1862

To: His excellency, President Davis:

"Mr. President: Profoundly grateful to Almighty God for the signal victory granted to us, it is my pleasing task to announce to you the success achieved by this army to-day." Headquarters, A.N. VA. December 31, 1862 General Order No. 132.

The general commanding takes this occasion to express to the officers and soldiers of the army his high appreciation of the fortitude, valor and devotion displayed by them, which under the blessing of Almighty God, have added the victory of Fredericksburg to the long list of their triumphs." Headquarters, A.N. VA., August 13, l863 General Order No. 83

"The President of the Confederate States has, in the name of the people, appointed the 21st day of August as a day of fasting humiliation and prayer. A strict observance of the duty is enjoined upon the officers and soldiers of this army. All military duties, except such as are absolutely necessary, will be suspended. The commanding officers of brigades and regiments are requested to cause divine services, suitable to the occasion, to be performed in their respective commands. Soldiers! we have performed in their respective commands. Soldiers! we have sinned against Almighty God. We have forgotten His signal mercies, and have cultivated a revengeful, haughty, and boastful spirit. We have not remembered that the defenders of a just cause should be pure in His eyes; that 'our times are in His hands;' and we have relied too much on our own arms for the achievement of our independence. God is our only refuge and our strength. Let us humble ourselves before Him. Let us confess our many sins, and beseech Him to give us a higher courage, a purer patriotism and more determined will; that He will convert the hearts of our enemies; that He will hasten the time when war, with its sorrows and sufferings, shall cease, and that He will give us a name and place among the nations of the earth." (signed) R. E. Lee, General Commanding

Our present Thanksgiving, a very happy holiday when we attend family reunions and are united with loved ones, who often live far away, should also be a time to thank God for His many blessings and goodness to us. As Southerners, we should also thank God for our beloved Southland, and strengthen our determination, to with His blessing, to do all we can to win the present cultural war which threatens our very existence as Southerners. Your Chaplains' Corps wishes you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving and also to remind you for the coming Advent and Christmas Season. May our families and our faith in God, and His Son, who was born in the winters' darkness to be the Light of the World forever be at the center of all that we do in this glorious season of the year! 

Even though we live in a very sinful society, we must rejoice that slavery is no longer a part of it. We must realize that had Mr. Lincoln, not broken faith with the Constitution and invaded our beloved South, slavery would have been abolished by agricultural technology, long before the end of the century, probably by about 1890 or shortly thereafter. We would still be the free Constitutional Republic which our forefathers envisioned and we would have much better race relations today in all parts of our country. Lincoln and his minions, tried to run ahead of our sovereign God and, as a result destroyed our fair Southland and turned America into a large and somewhat irresponsible Democracy, as both Thornwell and Dabney, in almost the same words, foretold.

Chaplain: Rev. Bob Slimp

THANKSGIVING DAY 1862 for victory in battle BY JEFFERSON DAVIS

To the People of the Confederate States:

Once more upon the plains of Manassas have our armies been blessed by the Lord of Hosts with a
triumph over our enemies. It is my privilege to invite you once more to His footstool, not now in the
garb of fasting and sorrow, but with joy and gladness, to render thanks for the great mercies
received at His hand. A few months since, and our enemies poured forth their invading legions
upon our soil. They laid waste our fields, polluted our altars and violated the sanctity of our homes.
Around our capital they gathered their forces, and with boastful threats, claimed it as already their
prize. The brave troops which rallied to its defense have extinguished these vain hopes, and,
under the guidance of the same almighty hand, have scattered our enemies and driven them back
in dismay. Uniting these defeated forces and the various armies which had been ravaging our
coasts with the army of invasion in Northern Virginia, our enemies have renewed their attempt to
subjugate us at the very place where their first effort was defeated, and the vengeance of
retributive justice has overtaken the entire host in a second and complete overthrow.

To this signal success accorded to our arms in the East has been graciously added another
equally brilliant in the West. On the very day on which our forces were led to victory on the Plains
of Manassas, in Virginia, the same Almighty arm assisted us to overcome our enemies at
Richmond, in Kentucky. Thus, at one and the same time, have two great hostile armies been
stricken down, and the wicked designs of their armies been set at naught.

In such circumstances, it is meet and right that, as a people, we should bow down in adoring
thankfulness to that gracious God who has been our bulwark and defense, and to offer unto him
the tribute of thanksgiving and praise. In his hand is the issue of all events, and to him should we,
in an especial manner, ascribe the honor of this great deliverance.

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, do issue this, my
proclamation, setting apart Thursday, the 18th day of September inst., as a day of prayer and
thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great mercies vouchsafed to our people, and more especially
for the triumph of our arms at Richmond and Manassas; and I do hereby invite the people of the
Confederate States to meet on that day at their respective places of public worship, and to unite in
rendering thanks and praise to God for these great mercies, and to implore Him to conduct our
country safely through the perils which surround us, to the final attainment of the blessings of
peace and security.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Richmond, this fourth day of
September, A.D.1862.
JEFFERSON DAVIS

A DAY OF FASTING & HUMILIATION (NOT THANKSGIVING!) 1861 by JEFFERSON DAVIS, PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES

WHEREAS, it hath pleased almighty God, the Sovereign Disposer of events, to protect and defend
us hitherto in our conflicts with our enemies as to be unto them a shield.

And whereas, with grateful thanks we recognize His hand and acknowledge that not unto us, but
unto Him, belongeth the victory, and in humble dependence upon His almighty strength, and
trusting in the justness of our purpose, we appeal to Him that He may set at naught the efforts of
our enemies, and humble them to confusion and shame.

Now therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, in view of impending
conflict, do hereby set apart Friday, the 15th day of November, as a day of national humiliation and prayer, and do hereby invite the reverend clergy and the people of these Confederate States to
repair on that day to their homes and usual places of public worship, and to implore blessing of
almighty God upon our people, that he may give us victory over our enemies, preserve our homes
and altars from pollution, and secure to us the restoration of peace and prosperity.

Given under hand and seal of the Confederate States at Richmond, this the 31stday of October,
year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty one.

By the President, Jefferson Davis

Thanksgiving Proclamation, 4 September 1862

In the Fall of 1862 President Jefferson Davis officially proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving with: "I do hereby invite the people of the Confederate States to meet on that day at their respective places of public worship, and to unite   in rendering thanks and praise to God for these great mercies, and to implore Him to conduct our country safely through the perils which surround us, to the final attainment of the blessings of peace and security."

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman

North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission

"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"

www.ncwbts150.com

"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1862

To the People of the Confederate States of America:

"Once more upon the plains of Manassas have our armies been blessed by the Lord of Hosts with a triumph over our enemies. It is my privilege to invite you once more to His footstool, not now in the garb of fasting and sorrow, but with joy and gladness, to render thanks for the great mercies received at His hand. A few months since, and our enemies poured forth their invading legions upon our soil. They laid waste our fields, polluted our altars and violated the sanctity of our homes. Around our capital they gathered their forces, and with boastful threats, claimed it as already their prize.

The brave troops which rallied to its defense have extinguished these vain hopes, and, under the guidance of the same almighty hand, have scattered our enemies and driven them back in dismay. Uniting these defeated forces and the various armies which had been ravaging our coasts with the army of invasion in Northern Virginia, our enemies have renewed their attempt to subjugate us at the very place where their first effort was defeated, and the vengeance of retributive justice has overtaken the entire host in a second and complete overthrow.

To this signal success accorded to our arms in the East has been graciously added another equally brilliant in the West. On the very day on which our forces were led to victory on the Plains of Manassas, in Virginia, the same Almighty arm assisted us to overcome our enemies at Richmond, in Kentucky. Thus, at one and the same time, have two great hostile armies been stricken down, and the wicked designs of their armies been set at naught.

In such circumstances, it is meet and right that, as a people, we should bow down in adoring thankfulness to that gracious God who has been our bulwark and defense, and to offer unto him the tribute of thanksgiving and praise. In his hand is the issue of all events, and to him should we, in an especial manner, ascribe the honor of this great deliverance.

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, do issue this, my proclamation, setting apart Thursday, the 18th day of September inst., as a day of prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great mercies vouchsafed to our people, and more especially for the triumph of our arms at Richmond and Manassas; and I do hereby invite the people of the Confederate States to meet on that day at their respective places of public worship, and to unite in rendering thanks and praise to God for these great mercies, and to implore Him to conduct our country safely through the perils which surround us, to the final attainment of the blessings of peace and security.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Richmond, this fourth day of September, A.D.1862."

JEFFERSON DAVIS

150th Anniversary of Battle of Griswoldville, Georgia

James & Deborah Bradley  jamesanddeborahbradley@yahoo.com

Sons of Confederate Veterans November 20, 2014         PRESS RELEASE            150th ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF GRISWOLDVILLE, GEORGIA               (Macon - November 20, 2014)  In one of the most heroic stands of the War for Southern Independence, the Georgia militia, consisting mainly of old men and young boys, attempted to halt Sherman's march to the sea at Griswoldville right outside of Macon.  This Saturday there will be a special ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the courageous stand at Griswoldville. Griswoldville had been the site of one of the few gun factories in the south during the War, but now Union troops had burned virtually everything in their path. On November 22nd, 1864, the Georgia militia faced off against an entire brigade of federal soldiers, plus cavalry and artillery.  Throughout the day, Georgia forces made one daring charge after another against the Union line; but each time, canister fire from the Yankee artillery cut the valiant sons in grey to pieces.      The men and boys of the Georgia milita fought with inferior weapons and supplies until they were forced to retreat; but their bravery has become a legacy for all Georgia veterans of the War.  A monument was erected in their honour in 2012.  This Saturday there will be a special ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the courageous stand at Griswoldville.  The Jarrell Plantation Historic Site, the 16th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Co. G, "The Jackson Rifles", and The Camp of the Unknown Soldier, SCV Camp # 2218, of Clinton, Jones County, Georgia, cordially invite one and all to the annual Griswoldville Battle Commemorative Service on Saturday, November 22, 2014. A living history program will begin at 9:30am with the commemoration at 12:00 noon. Guest speaker will be Pastor John Weaver.   THE EVENT IS  NOT HELD AT JARRELL PLANTATION. IT WILL BE ON THE ACTUAL GRISWOLDVILLE BATTLEFIELD.   Griswoldville Battlefield is located east of Griswoldville in Twiggs County, Georgia, 10 miles east of Macon via U.S. 80 and Ga. Hwy. 57 towards Gordon on Baker Road.  More information about the battle can be found HERE.      For more information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans or any of this year's planned events to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the War, contact the Georgia SCV at 404-456-3393 or online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org        END RELEASE    * Permission to reprint this release is granted.

Ray McBerry Enterprises | P.O. Box 1263 | McDonough | GA | 30253

The Minds of Adolf and Josef Sherman

From: bernhard1848@gmail.com

William Sherman publicly expressed his views on official Northern war policy, claiming that the rules of civilized warfare would be conducted by his forces. Despite the assurances, his theory of collective responsibility led him to "the wreaking of vengeance upon a town because it happened to be near the scene" of a recent attack on his command. His total war theory "placed in his hands a weapon, simple in its application, to strike back at his enemy with telling blows."

Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com


The Minds of Adolf and Josef Sherman

"[Sherman wrote Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P.] Chase [in August 1862], not only to set the government straight as to where its cotton policy was leading, but also to clear up his own thinking about the war. [He] summed up to the Secretary:

"This is no trifle when one nation is at war with another, all the people of one are enemies of the other; then the rules are plain and easy of understanding." He assured Chase that at the outset of the war there was apparently no understanding of such a simple matter, and he continued:

"The Government of the United States may now safely proceed on the proper rule that all men in the South are enemies of all in the North; and not only are they unfriendly, but all who can procure arms now bear them as organized regiments, or as guerillas. There is not a garrison in Tennessee where a man can go beyond the sight of the flagstaff without being shot or captured."

Thus did Sherman strip war of all the rules of conduct voluntarily subscribed to by the nations of the civilized nations of the nineteenth century and set up a single very simple one – that all of the people of the South were enemies of those in the North, and the Union armies might therefore proceed on the "proper" rule that no line was to be drawn between the military forces of the South and the noncombatant civilian population.

Sherman here stated, in simple language, the basic principle upon which the waging of total war rests and upon what efforts to justify it are founded.

Sherman [described] his helplessness [before Southern cavalry raids on his forces] in a report to General Grant as early as August 1862. He pointed out the difficulty of coming to grips with the enemy . . . The elusiveness of Southern units brought from Sherman a characteristic recourse to generalization, as he assured Grant: "All the people are now guerillas, and they have a perfect understanding."

[Sherman] wrote his brother in September: "It's about time the North understood the truth. That the entire South, man, woman and child, is against us, armed and determined."

It was evident that this time that Sherman was determined to consider the resistance encountered . . . as the treacherous acts of the civilian populace. He was to shut out any thought that his troubles were caused by Confederate cavalry. It mattered not that he had not investigated or weighed the evidence to establish the truth of the proposition – he had convinced himself that it was true, and that was what he would act upon.

Sherman had been searching around for some means of crippling those he was coming to hate, and as early as July 31 [1862], a few days after he took command at Memphis, he wrote to his wife . . . "We are now in the enemy's country, and I act accordingly. The North may fall into bankruptcy and anarchy first, but if they can hold on, the war will soon assume a turn to extermination, not of soldiers alone, that is the least part of the trouble, but the people."

[His brother Senator] John Sherman had written the General shortly before the Union army occupied Corinth . . . "However delay, defeat or a much longer continuation in the barbarity of rebel warfare will prepare the public mind in the North for a warfare that will not scruple to avail itself of every means of subjection."

(Merchant of Terror, General Sherman and Total War, John Bennett Walters, Bobbs-Merrill, 1973, pp. 57-61)

Va Flaggers: W&L Chapel Desecration Update - An Anonymous Letter

Occasionally, we receive letters such as the one below, with no return address or signature.  This particular one is so full of misinformation and false statements, that we decided to share it and our reply here, in the hopes that the "anonymous" author, and anyone else who may have been misled, might see it and be educated.

The author's comments are in black, our responses in red...

"I was on the W&L campus this weekend.  I saw your people at the entrance to the Chapel lot and I saw the little flyer you were handing out in different places."  Good to hear!  Nice work, Flaggers!  :)

"My great great grandfather fought for the Confederacy and was killed at Petersburg." God bless him!  What SCV Camp or UDC Chapter to you belong to?

"Yours is a sad and puzzling effort.  Let's get the fact straight. 
1)  There were NO flags in the Chapel for 60 years after Lee died, and no evidence that Lee wanted flags there". We are not sure what facts you are "straightening" here.  We have never heard anyone claim there were flags in the Chapel before 1930 and do not dispute that fact.  You claim there is no evidence that Lee wanted flags there.  We assert that there is also no evidence that Lee DID NOT want flags there, despite what the Chapel docents have been instructed to tell visitors. 
"2)  The real flags were there for 60 years from 1930 until about 1990, NOT until 2014, as your brochure so incorrectly states."  Actually, it was 1995 when the original flags were removed for preservation and restoration, as they certainly should have been, and reproductions were secured and put in their place, as they certainly should have been.  Our brochure states that the reproduction flags were removed in July of 2014, which is correct. 
"3)  They were removed over 20 years ago by the MOC because they were deteriorating.  In their place, W&L got some commercial knock off/replica flags which have no more historical value than something I could buy in an Alabama K Mart."  As stated before, we have no issue with the arrangement, made in 1993 between the University, the UDC, and the Museum formerly known as the Museum of the Confederacy, to restore and preserve the original flags.  However, you, Sir or Madame, are greatly misinformed if you believe the replica flags that were carefully placed were something that one could purchase at a department store.

As can be seen in the above photo, the flags were custom made to precisely replicate the unit flags that were removed for restoration.  They were and are of great "significant historical value", and as the flags of several units who fought under General Lee, completely appropriate as displayed in the mausoleum. 
4)  W&L has removed these knock offs and is getting Real battle flags on loan from the MOC (now known as the American Civil War Museum).  Yes, W&L has removed the replicas, but it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the plan to restore and preserve the original battle flags, which was a project started by former President Elrod, NOT President Ruscio.  Removing the replica flags was NEVER a part of that project, and is completely unrelated.  The flags were removed in capitulation to the demands of 6 W&L Law Students who threatened "Civil Disobedience" if the flags were not removed.  University officials have used the (1993!) agreement  as a smokescreen to cover for this fact, and, apparently there are those like you who have swallowed the spin... hook, line, and sinker. 
4)  Those flags WILL be available for viewing and education in the Lee Chapel Museum; anyone who wants to see them can see them.  Bravo!  We are happy to hear that the 1993 agreement and project is (apparently) coming to completion.  The Virginia Flaggers will be the first in line to get a look at the flags if/when they appear in the museum.  The conclusion of this project, however, had NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REMOVAL OF THE REPLICA FLAGS IN 2014.  The removal was a capitulation to the demands and blackmail of 6 students who the university obviously failed in their duty to instruct in the character and honor of Robert E. Lee.

These are the indisputable facts.  On the contrary, your assertions have been clearly disputed above.  How is it possible that The Flaggers think there is a crisis and that anyone other than you is or should be outraged?  For starters, there are the thousands of letters, phone calls, and emails from outraged citizens, students, and alumni that the University has received since the blackmail letter was received in April.  Anyone with Confederate blood in their veins who is NOT outraged by this desecration is not worthy of his/her heritage, in our humble opinion.  You are accusing W&L of desecrating Lee's grave when his remains are on the floor below the room with his statue?!  Yes, we are.  The mausoleum above the grave is clearly intended as an extension of his final resting place.  You are now calling Robert E. Lee IV out of line?  Actually, what we said was we are disappointed that he would privately believe that removal of the flags was ok, and saddened that he would allow himself to be used by the University as a means to cover their deeds.  We stand by both statements.  His blood line is certainly one to be honored, but it is does not allow that he is free from criticism when it is due.  People south and north are laughing at you.  Oh...well in THAT case... (Sorry, couldn't hold back the sarcasm.)  We do what we do because we believe it is right.  No amount of scorn, especially from folks who have no clue what has happened, and no understanding of our heritage, will stop us.  You are feeding those who think the old and new South if full of reactionary nuts.   One man's "reactionary nut" is another man's Patriot, and I know on which side my ancestors and I stand on.  Please devote your time to something logical and productive. You saw us and received and read a flier...sounds pretty productive to me.  End your carnival act in Lexington.  No. Believe it or not, there are those of us who refuse to be silenced by silly threats and PC hogwash.  We will not go away quietly and act like nothing has happened.  We will continue to do everything in our power to spread the truth of what has happened at W&L, and hold Ruscio and the administration responsible for their despicable act.

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The Va Flaggers will return to the LEE Chapel at Washington & Lee University this Saturday, November 22nd, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  We invite all to join us, and stand with us as we protest the University and educate students, citizens, and tourists.  204 W Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450

RETURN the flags!

RESTORE the honor!

Grayson Jennings

Va Flaggers

P.O. Box 547

Sandston VA 23150

info@vaflaggers.com

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, November 22nd: Flagging the VMFA, 200 N. Boulevard, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Saturday, November 22nd:  Flagging Washington & Lee University, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday, December 7th:  Mechanicsville Christmas Parade. The Va Flaggers will join the Edmund Ruffin Fire-Eaters in this VERY Confederate friendly parade.  ALL are welcome! 

Tuesday, December 9th:  6:00 pm.  The Va Flaggers will be making a presentation to the Va War Memorial in memory of Sgt. Cliff Troutman, and in honor of our Veterans.  All are invited to attend.  621 S. Belvedere St., Richmond

Thursday, December 11th:  Susan will be speaking at the December meeting of the A.H. Belo Camp #49, SCV, Dallas Texas

Friday, December 12th:  Susan will be speaking at the Christmas gathering of the

Major Robert M. White, Camp No. 1250, Sons of Confederate Veterans,Temple, Texas

Saturday, December 13th:  Susan will be speaking at the Christmas gathering of the Middleton Tate Johnson Camp #1648, SCV, Arlington, TX

Friday, January 16 - Saturday, January 17th, 2015: Lee-Jackson Day, Lexington, VA.  We will be flagging Lexington and Washington & Lee all day Friday, and flagging and participating in the Lee-Jackson activities scheduled for Saturday, including memorial services for Lee and Jackson, and a parade through town.  THIS YEAR NEEDS TO BE OUR BIGGEST SHOWING EVER!  MAKE PLANS TO JOIN US... take a stand for Lee and Jackson in the town that has chosen to dishonor their memory and let them know that there are those of us who will not forget what City and W&L officials have done.