civil war

Chris Knight's avatar

Over the weekend I watched Gettysburg, the 1993 Civil War epic film about the Battle of Gettysburg.  It’s one of my most favorite historical films, although at more than four hours long it’s really not one I can afford enough time to watch often.  But for some reason or another I felt led to see it again.

Maybe I sensed that I was needing to watch it anew.  That the time was coming soon to bring it up in conversation.  That opportunity comes tonight, after reading how President Donald Trump is restoring the name of seven military bases back to their original names that honored Confederate officers from the Civil War.  The bases had been re-named by the Biden administration to be more “neutral” or “politically correct”.  The venerated Fort Bragg became the vacuous-sounding “Fort Liberty”, f’rinstance.

Now, to be accurate about it, the Trump Administration is not ...

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Chris Knight's avatar
This might upset some people. I can understand. Bear with me here though…

In 1828 the United States Congress passed what came to be called “the
Tariff of Abominations”. It was meant to protect northern industry.
Instead it inflicted enormous harm on southern manufacturing and
agriculture, especially the cotton industry. And no place was more hit
by the consequences of the tariff than South Carolina.

This led
to the Nullification Crisis of 1832. South Carolina declared that the
Tariff of 1828 did not apply to within its borders. It effectively set
the state of South Carolina against the United States of America.
Fortunately cooler heads eventually prevailed, a new tariff was approved
to South Carolina’s satisfaction, and everyone was happy.

But think about it: the American Civil War could well have broken out thirty years earlier.

I believe that civil war was going to happen regardless. It was
inevitable. In

...
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Chris Knight's avatar

It’s stuff like this that never ceases to fascinate me.  These things impress upon us that so much of our history… isn’t that long ago after all.

Luke Martin, Jr. passed away a few days ago in Raleigh (that’s the capital of North Carolina for those who might not know that).  Mr. Martin was 97.

He died 179 years after his father was born.  His father, by the way, was a former slave who escaped to freedom and then fought in the Civil War as a soldier in the Union army.

Fox News has more about the life of Luke Martin, Jr. and his father.

It wasn’t all that uncommon for soldiers on both sides of the conflict to, long years later, marry much younger women.  A lot of it was because of the considerable pensions that soldiers received.  But the general consensus is that there was never a lack ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

On July 1st, 1863, what is considered the greatest and most decisive battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere began on the outskirts of the sleepy little college town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania…

Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War, 1863

Entire volumes of books have been written about this engagement (some devoted solely to Day 2).  Even now, historians discuss and debate the tactical decisions made at Gettysburg, along with its impact.

I have respect for the soldiers and officers of each side.  Without regard to their earthy perspectives, those men were only fighting for what they believed was right according to their conscience before God.  It is our limited understanding which leads to things like war… but I have to think that in the eyes of the Almighty, any sincere seeking after His will is going to be a credit to those striving to follow Him.

In honor of those men, be they Confederate or Union, this ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

The message went out loud and clear last night from citizens and their elected representatives alike: “Mayor Festerman, tear down this tree!”

Confederate Soldiers Monument in downtown
Reidsville, North Carolina prior to the
May 2011 accident

Lots of friends who went to yesterday evening’s meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners conveyed the good news: that by unanimous vote, all five board members passed a resolution calling for the return of the Confederate Soldiers Monument in downtown Reidsville.

And what’s more, there was not one person at the near-capacity public hearing in Wentworth who spoke against restoring the monument.

Let that lil’ detail sink in, friends and neighbors. During a two-plus hour public meeting that had been announced and advertised well in advance, nobody came to the podium to insist or remotely suggest that the monument remain absent from the town’s landscape. That alone indicates the overwhelming belief ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

The Police Department of the City of Reidsville has as of late last week implemented and begun enforcing a policy of limiting those protesting for the return of the Confederate Soldiers Monument to a six-inch wide raised enclosure surrounding the former site of the monument, The Knight Shift has learned. Those who do not limit themselves to this “area” will be arrested.

This writer has attempted to contact Chief Edd Hunt to learn why. As of this evening I haven’t heard from him or from anyone else in the police department. However one source did suggest that the policy came from “higher up”.

Obviously there is a question of whether this policy violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, in that it is restricting of the rights of free assembly, of free speech, and also of petition (in the form of protest).

But that might be the least of the ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

Jourdon Anderson was a freed slave who for thirty years had been the property of Colonel P.H. Anderson, a Tennessee plantation owner. Four months after the end of the Civil War, Jourdon Anderson wrote a letter to his former master, who had asked Jourdon to return to work on his farm.

Jourdon’s letter was subsequently published in The New York Daily Tribune later that same month, and it then found its way into Lydia Maria Child’s The Freedman’s Book (which is enjoying republication this very week!). And now Jourdon’s letter to his previous owner has been published at the Mail Online’s website.

Y’all have got to read Jourdon’s letter! This freed slave – who had to dictate it to a writer – uses better English than a darn lot of modern-day college students. And then there is the wit and irony that Jourdon employs… along with a considerable amount ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

Confederate Soldier’s Prayer

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I that I asked for but got everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.

— Found on the body of a Confederate Soldier, 1861-1865

Good friend, fellow historian and ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

I hadn’t wanted to revisit the issue of the Confederate Soldiers Monument in my hometown of Reidsville this soon. But earlier this morning I was led to consider something, and I think it’s worth sharing and asking others to ponder it also…

I have visited many historic battlefields, and cemeteries, and locations of monuments. Both in my own country and also abroad.

I have seen many memorials honoring soldiers who fought in war.

But I have yet to see a single memorial honoring any war....

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Chris Knight's avatar

My original plan for this day was to head out around lunch to grab a spot at the back of the chamber and do live blogging of this afternoon’s meeting of Reidsville City Council. Agenda Item #5 was public comments on how to proceed with the Confederate Soldiers Monument, which was greatly damaged in an unfortunate vehicular accident on May 23rd. So I was going to be there and blog/tweet during the session.

In the end however, I chose not to attend, for a number of reasons. There was already going to be quite a large crowd in attendance with limited space available, and since I don’t live in the city limits proper I didn’t think it was going to be fair. Citizen journalist though I am, I’m also a citizen who’s already publicly stated that the monument should be restored. There were a number of associates who had ...

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