Black Confederates Book

March 10, 2016 @KevinLevin

 http://cwmemory.com/2016/03/10/update-on-my-black-confederates-book/ 

I have received numerous emails over the past year inquiring as to when my book, tentatively titled,Searching For Black Confederate Soldiers, will be completed. While I greatly appreciate the interest, these messages left me feeling incredibly frustrated. To make a long story short, it has been very difficult focusing on this project over the past few years. I have experienced bursts of energy on a few occasions, but nothing sustaining. Chalk it up to being burned out and distracted by other projects.

But this past week I realized that there was another problem. I have spent so much time on this subject over the past 8 years that I lost sight of what it is I even want to say in the form of a book. Naively, I believed that my familiarity with the subject meant that I did not have to waste time outlining chapters and smaller sections. Somehow this book was going to write itself.

What ‘woke me up from my dogmatic slumbers’ was picking up a copy of Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published by Susan Rabinder and Alfred Fortunato, which was suggested to me by a friend in my book writing group last spring, but I had never bothered to read before now. This book was just the kick in the ass that I needed. Almost immediately I started sketching a proposal along the lines suggested by the authors. What question will this book pursue from beginning to end? What will the table of contents look like and what specifically will be addressed in each one. Why is this book needed and why am I the person to write it? Simple questions, yes, but framed in a way that allowed me to approach the subject with fresh eyes.

For the first time in years I am once again excited about this subject. Yesterday I completed a draft of the proposal that outlines what the book is about and its central argument. I have sample chapter that is also close to completion. Today and tomorrow I will work on two sections that focus on the books that already occupy this market and how my own research, writing, and public outreach on this subject will help to set my book apart from the field. Once it is ready I will share it with a few friends, have them tear it apart, and start all over.

Finally, I am going to pursue an agent to help with selling the proposal as a trade book. This project has all the elements of a solid history trade book and I have absolutely no doubt that it will sell well. It is definitely a step in a new direction and I am going to rely heavily on the advice of my good friends in Book Squad, but I am convinced that this is the right move and the right time to pursue it.

Not too long ago I was convinced that I had missed my window of opportunity, but the horrific events in Charleston last summer and the continued debate about Confederate iconography that ensued all butguarantees that the debate about Black Confederate soldiers will remain a popular and misunderstood subject.

Again, thanks to all of you who have expressed interest in this project. I hope you can hold out with me for just a little longer. It will hopefully be worth the wait

Slavery Was Not the Cause of the War Between the States, The Irrefutable Argument

Southrons,

Slavery Was Not the Cause of the War Between the States, The Irrefutable Argument. was reviewed in the most recent Confederate Veteran magazine, July-August, 2016, and here is the review:

 

I have several fundraising specials and quantity discounts for camps, chapters and units on www.BonnieBluePublishing.com that include my book AND the two-DVD set on black Confederates, Mixed Up with All the Rebel Horde, Why Black Southerners Fought for the South in the War Between the States featuring Professor Edward C. Smith. Stop getting beat up over slavery! Fight back! My 360 page book (and Kindle eBook) is easy to read and thoroughly documented with 218 footnotes and over 200 sources in the bibliography. There are 86 sample pages on the website where you can buy copies signed and numbered by the author. --------------------------------------------------- "Historians used to know - and it was not too long ago - that the War Between the States had more to do with economics than it did with slavery. The current  obsession with slavery as the "cause" of the war rests not on evidence but on ideological considerations of the present day. Gene Kizer has provided us with the conclusive case that the invasion of the Southern States by Lincoln and his party (a minority of the American people) was due to an agenda of economic domination and not to some benevolent concern for slaves. This book is rich in evidence and telling quotations and ought to be on every Southern bookshelf." Clyde N. Wilson Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History University of South Carolina "Gene Kizer persuasively shows how the North fought the South out of necessity to prevent economic collapse. No where else is proof of this motive made clearer with indisputable evidence. Mr. Kizer writes with authority from the desire to tell the truth. His common sense style is the product of honesty. One cannot read his work without concluding that this is a man to be trusted." James Everett Kibler Professor of English University of Georgia Author of Our Fathers' Fields; Walking Toward Home; and many other outstanding books --------------------------------------------------- I am working hard on Volume Two of Slavery Was Not the Cause of the War Between the States and two other similar publications that will be out in the next few months. THANK YOU, and God bless! Deo Vindice, Gene Kizer, Jr. Charleston Athenaeum Press www.BonnieBluePublishing.com

The last year has been the worst for our Southern heritage since the end of Reconstruction.

--- Forwarded message ---
From:	Christopher M. Sullivan <Sullivanc@skyagunsta.com>
Date:	June 9, 2016 4:34:48 AM
Subject:	Our So. Car. ally needs our help
To:	jamesbradley_1970@yahoo.com

The time for action is now. View this email in your browser It's safe to say that the last year has been the worst for our Southern heritage since the end of Reconstruction. Beginning here in South Carolina with the removal of the Confederate Battleflag from beside the Confederate Soldiers' Monument on the Statehouse grounds, we have seen an endless string of attacks on our flags, monuments, and even the very graves of our noble Confederate ancestors. Last July, when the powerful forces of political correctness were bearing down on the Palmetto State, our legislators, many of whom had previously pretended to be an ally, cowered under the heat of the national media spotlight. When the actual vote came down in the State Senate, only three Senators voted right, but only one Senator took the floor to unashamedly defend our heritage and make the case to keep it flying: that Senator was SCV Compatriot Lee Bright. Sen. Bright made a forceful and courageous stand, not only on the floor of the Senate, but he braved numerous interviews with the national media, all while being excoriated and threatened for refusing to toe the party line. I hope you haven't forgotten about the courageous stand Sen. Bright took because, I can tell you, our enemies haven't. At the time of the vote last year, they vowed to defeat Sen. Bright in his re-election. They want to be rid of him, and they are spending tens of thousands of dollars on radio and television attacking Sen. Bright for his conservative stands on everything from government spending to his fight to prevent President Obama from forcing us to open the ladies bathroom to men who "identify" as women. Because of that, Sen Bright is in a tough re-election bid. These liberal groups want to put his head on a pike, because if they can defeat him, they can intimidate anybody else who dares to stand up to them. And don't think the fight is over. Just last week, Governor Nikki Haley announced she now wants to get rid of the historic Confederate Battleflag displayed in the Chapel at The Citadel. I hope I don't need to convince you that we need to become much more aggressive in fighting back against these repeated insults to our ancestors' sacred memory. The first step is to join ranks with Sen. Bright. The election is just a few days away: June 14. Please take a moment, right now, and make a contribution to Sen. Bright's re-election campaign. <<< Contribute by clicking here. >>> Sen. Bright has some great television and radio commercials but right now we're being overwhelmed by the opposition. Sen. Bright stood up for us last year, now is our chance to stand up for him. Now is our chance to regroup and begin returning fire. In addition to making a contribution, you can also volunteer to help the campaign by sending an email to Manager@BrightforSenate.com. Using an internet-based system you can make calls from anywhere. As Robert Burns so eloquently put it: Lay the proud usurpers low! Tyrants fall in every foe! Liberty's in every blow!—          Let us do or die! Thank you. Christopher M. Sullivan Druxurb@gmail.com (864) 660-9188 Copyright © 2016 Christopher M. Sullivan, All rights reserved. This list is for Southern Heritage supporters. Our mailing address is: Christopher M. Sullivan Post Office Box 3743 Greenville, SC 29608 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Sons of Confederate Veterans Confirm What We Knew All Along

by Kevin Levin October 12, 2015 24
http://cwmemory.com/2015/10/12/sons-of-confederate-veterans-confirm-what-we-knew-all-along/

The Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans has issued a statement in response to plans to erect a monument to Martin Luther King, Jr. atop Stone Mountain. As you might suspect, they are not pleased. Their statement is couched in some history of the site as well as their legal reading that supposedly prevents the erection of additional monuments on the landscape. The SCV has had little success with legal cases in the past, so I don’t put much stock in their reasoning. More interesting, however, are their concerns about how a monument to King alters the meaning of the site.
Consider the following passages:

This decision by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association is wholly inappropriate in that it is an intentional act of disrespect toward the stated purpose of the Stone Mountain memorial from its inception as well as a possible violation of the law which established the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and charged it with promoting the mountain as a Confederate memorial.
The erection of monuments to anyone other than Confederate heroes in Stone Mountain Park is in contradistinction to the purpose for which the park exists and would make it a memorial to something different.  The park was never intended to be a memorial to multiple causes but solely to the Confederacy.  Therefore, monuments to either Michael King or soldiers of any color who fought against the Confederacy would be a violation of the purpose for which the park was created and exists.
Furthermore, the erection of a monument to anything other than the Confederate Cause being placed on top of Stone Mountain because of the objections of opponents of Georgia’s Confederate heritage would be akin to the state flying a Confederate battle flag atop the King Center in Atlanta against the wishes of King supporters.  Both would be altogether inappropriate and disrespectful acts, repugnant to Christian people.

It isn’t at first clear what the SCV believes to be the original meaning of the carving when it was commissioned and completed, but by the end there can be little doubt. The problem isn’t simply the presence of multiple causes or multiple meanings atop Stone Mountain. The problem is that MLK and black Union soldiers threaten – in a way that no other monument can – the meaning of the place. The Confederate carving and monument to King don’t just point to different narratives, the problem is that the presence of the latter throws a shadow on the former – a shadow that no number of mythical black Confederate soldiers can remove.
Why would a Confederate flag atop the King Center be offensive? Because it is the flag of an army that struggled for four years to help bring about an independent slaveholding republic. And it is the flag that white supremacists have used ever since to keep that cause alive. That is why anyone would see it as disrespectful.
What the SCV should have done was supported the placement of an MLK monument, but suggested that it be located elsewhere. Unfortunately for the SCV their attempt to explain why it is inappropriate at Stone Mountain reinforces why organizers want it there in the first place. In other words, the SCV confirmed what we all know to be true: that slavery and white supremacy lay at the center of the Confederate experiment.

SCV Responds to MLK Statue on Stone Mountain

Sons of Confederate Veterans Georgia Division        PRESS RELEASE            SCV RESPONDS TO ATTEMPT TO PLACE MLK STATUE ON STONE MOUNTAIN                    (ATLANTA - October 12, 2015)    The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans responded today to the proposal by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to erect a monument to MLK, former black civil rights activist.  This decision by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association is wholly inappropriate in that it is an intentional act of disrespect toward the stated purpose of the Stone Mountain memorial from its inception as well as a possible violation of the law which established the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and charged it with promoting the mountain as a Confederate memorial. The Venable family, which owned Stone Mountain in the early 1900's, leased the face of the mountain to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916 for the purpose of creating a carved memorial to the Confederacy.  The UDC contracted Gutzon Borglum, who later sculpted the Mount Rushmore carving; after the work was halted due to a disagreement with Borglum, the carving remained unfinished for several decades.  As the state began to discuss interest in reviving the memorial project as a state project, the Venable family deeded the land to the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial, Inc. in 1956.  Two years later, in 1958, the state of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain; and the General Assembly created the Stone Mountain Memorial Association expressly to maintain the mountain and all adjacent property as a Confederate memorial and complete a portion of the original design for the carving. The act of the General Assembly which created the Stone Mountain Memorial Association specifically states the park, including both the mountain and all adjacent property, is to be maintained and operated as a Confederate memorial (OCGA 12-3-191).   The erection of monuments to anyone other than Confederate heroes in Stone Mountain Park is in contradistinction to the purpose for which the park exists and would make it a memorial to something different.  The park was never intended to be a memorial to multiple causes but solely to the Confederacy.  Therefore, monuments to either Michael King or soldiers of any color who fought against the Confederacy would be a violation of the purpose for which the park was created and exists. The opinions of the park's current neighbors and opponents are of no bearing in the discussion. Furthermore, the erection of a monument to anything other than the Confederate Cause being placed on top of Stone Mountain because of the objections of opponents of Georgia's Confederate heritage would be akin to the state flying a Confederate battle flag atop the King Center in Atlanta against the wishes of King supporters.  Both would be altogether inappropriate and disrespectful acts, repugnant to Christian people.   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 404-271-8473 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 Equestrian Statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest

From: bernhard1848@gmail.com

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a great American military leader who fought to win and made every effort to attain victory even when vastly outnumbered. He was admired by all, and those who attended his funeral noted the number of black people "among the thousands of mourners who viewed his corpse and followed it to the cemetery."

Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com  The Great American Political Divide


The Equestrian Statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest

"The height of the entire monument is 22 feet. The height of the bronze figure is 9', and it weighs ninety-five hundred pounds. The cost of the structure approximates thirty-three thousand dollars.

In Forrest Park, Memphis, Tennessee, surrounded by fifteen thousand spectators, at 2:30PM on May 16 [1905] little Miss Kathleen Bradley pulled the cord that released the veil from the magnificent equestrian statue of her illustrious great- grandfather, Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

There was momentary silence as the imposing grandeur of this colossal bronze figure of the great "Wizard of the Saddle" and his steed met the gaze of the expectant crowd, then a wild cheer broke from hundreds of his old surviving followers clustered around the base and was enthusiastically taken up by the vast multitude.

The idea of erecting a monument to General Forrest was first projected in 1886, but it was not until 1891 that it took definite shape and a monument association was organized for this purpose. On November 18, 1900, the design was accepted and the order was given to the sculptor, Charles H. Niehaus. The designer of the base was Mr. B.C. Alsup, and it is built of Tennessee marble. The statue, which was made in Europe, arrived in Memphis on April 16, and was placed on its base a day or two later.

The unveiling of the monument was attended with elaborate ceremonies. In the big parade were most of the surviving staff officers of General Forrest, his general officers, and many of his old veterans who rode with him from 1861 to 1865.

Judge J.P. Young, who was one of Forrest's old troopers, was master of ceremonies. In the opening proceedings he said in part:

"No one who did not ride with Forrest can have so keen an appreciation of the personal qualities of the man as those who were actually under his direct command, and who, from daily, hourly observation, witnessed his fertility of resource, his vehemence in battle, and his soulful tenderness toward the stricken soldier, whether friend or foe.

But it was no holiday parade. It cost something to ride with Forrest. It meant days and nights of sleepless toil and motion. It meant countless miles under a burning sun in the choking dust. It meant limitless leagues across icy wastes, with a blanket of snow at night for a covering. It meant to run down and destroy miles of freighted supply trains, to burn depots of stores, to scale the parapets of redoubts, and to plunge, mounted, into the seeming vortex of hell, lighted with the fires of a myriad rifles and scores of belching guns.

It meant to meet death face to face like a drillmaster, to look into his dread eyes, to toy with the horrid trappings of his trade, to scorn the daily chill of his breath, and to turn away unscathed or sink into the oblivion of his eternal embrace."

Of the many eloquent tributes paid to the great soldier that day, one of the most significant was that spoken by Colonel C.A. Stanton, of the Third Iowa Cavalry, 1861-1865, who for two years was directly opposed to General Forrest. He realized Forrest's methods of war at Brice's Cross Roads, Ripley. Harrisburg, Old Town Creek, Tallahatchie, and Hurricane Creek.

The spectacle of an officer who had fought in the Federal army delivering an address at the unveiling of a Confederate monument was an interesting one, and when Colonel Stanton was introduced the applause was most generous. Colonel Stanton said in part:

"General Forrest possessed the characteristic traits of the successful soldier; his personal bravery was without limit; his resources seemed to be endless; and his decisions, like Napoleon's, were instantaneous; he was aggressive, masterful, resolute, and self-reliant in the most perilous emergency; he was comprehensive in his grasp of every situation, supremely confident in himself and his men, and inspired by his presence and example his soldiers fought as desperately as did Hannibal's fierce cavalry at Canne or the trained veterans of Caesar's Tenth Legion at Pharsalia.

I think the battle at Brice's Cross Roads in June, 1864, was one of the best illustrations of General Forrest's daring courage, his ability in a critical moment to decide swiftly, his relentless vigor of action, and his intuitive perception of the time and place to strike fierce, stunning blows which fell like thunderbolts upon his enemy and won for him in this battle an overwhelming victory over an opposing force which greatly outnumbered his command.

Impartial history has given General Forrest high rank as one of the greatest cavalry leaders of modern times. No American, North or South, now seeks to lessen the measure of his fame, and no one can speak of him without remembrance of the men who served with him and whose soldierly qualities made it possible for him to win his wonderful victories.

This monument is history in bronze; it illustrates an eventful era in our national history; it commemorates General Forrest's fame and it represents all the gallant soldiers of his command; it attests the splendid courage which won triumphant victories and did not fail when reverses came; it stands for heroic deeds which are now the proud heritage of all American citizens.

It is eminently fitting that this figure should stand here within the borders of the Volunteer States, whose soldiers have marched and fought "from valley's depth to mountain height and from inland rivers to the sea," in every war in the history of our republic, with a valor which has helped to make the name and fame of the American soldier immortal."

(Historic Southern Monuments: Representative Memorials of the Heroic Dead of the Southern Confederacy, B. A.C. Emerson, The Neale Publishing Company, 1911, pp. 313-318)

Missouri State Guard Flag coming down at Lexington

Gentleman,

I just spoke with Commander Maples and am sending this out on his behalf. Commander Maples has spoke with Rep. Warren Love, who is an SCV Member and Mo. State Rep, about the Missouri State Guard Flag coming down at Lexington. The order to remove the flag came down to the Lexington site from the head of the Missouri State Parks-Bill Bryan. He takes his orders from the Department of Natural Resources, who takes their orders from Gov. Nixon. 

Here's what our starting response will be, please hammer your State Reps and Senators, and the Governor's office complaining about the removal of the flag. I would suggest to tell them that you will not be disenfranchised as a voter and it's not acceptable to not have representation.  Also, that  while there is a State statute that says only the US, Missouri, and POW flags can fly at State owned facilities, there is also something called the status quo, in this case the Missouri State Guard has flown at Lexington for years with no complaints. And since it has been flying all along, that is the status quo. The Governor has changed the status quo with no debate, public comment period etc. Be blunt, tell them to put the flag back up, and that you will not allow further attacks on our families, history, heritage, and that you won't allow our history to be erased or lied about. You could also urge them to pass legislation that protects all monuments, flags, historical sites to be protected. We've urged this for 15 years now, and they've sat on their duffs and never brought it to the floor for a vote, and now everything is under attack due to their lack of action. 

Here is a link to find your State Rep and Senator: http://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/default.aspx/leg_lookup.aspx

Here's a link to email Nixon: https://governor.mo.gov/get-involved/contact-the-governors-office

Call him or mail letters to: Office of Governor Jay Nixon

P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3222

Last, Commander Maples says he will call for an emergency executive cancel pretty quick. If Camp Commanders could be prepared to be there that will be great, so look for a message from the Commander soon on that. 

Feel free to send this to friends and supporters of history, heritage, Veterans and freedom of speech. If there are those that read this that don't care about the rights of Confederate Descendants, stand with us, because sooner or later the tyrants will come after something you do care about! To defend Confederate Veterans, who are American Veterans by Federal Law, is to defend all Veterans. 

For Commander Maples, Missouri Division SCV Commander

Larry Yeatman, Commander, Missouri Society MOS&B

Call Your Congress Men Today!!!

Compatriots,

Today the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on whether to permanently ban the Confederate Flag from all Federal cemeteries regardless if Confederate soldiers, sailors, marines or civilian are buried there or not.

I urgently request that you contact a US Representative today and tell them to vote no and ask for a written reply back.  Please use the links below to help with the phone numbers of your members of both the Senate and House.

House of Representatives

U. S. Senate
  
Friends, time is of the essence, so act now. 

Sincerely, 

Charles Kelly Barrow

Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
@scvcic
www.scv.org 

US House Looking to Remove CSA Flags from ALL US Cemeteries

Gentlemen,



This is in my mind the greatest threat we face right now – the banning of 
Confederate flags over our men’s graves on federal property.  This is an 
INSULT!



http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/247171-house-votes-to-ban-confederate-flags-at-federal-cemeteries



http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/House-moves-to-ban-Confederate-flag-in-federal-6372880.php



Mike



Michael L. Landree

Executive Director

Sons of Confederate Veterans

P.O. Box 59

Columbia, TN 38402