Thanks for this, C. I really enjoyed reading it. Very interesting.
A co-worker emailed it. I have not read the entire thing, but so far it is a very interesting history lesson. Why don't we know more about this pivotal part of US history?
Oh yes and I would be remiss not to thank you for the link as well Dave! I will forward to my father who is a, as he coins it, Wah of Nawthen Aggression historian.
Well, you could look at the US Civil War as another instance of Ruthless 19th Century Nation Building. It got to the point that, with folks like William T Sherman, the US would return the South to the Union fold even if it had to scorch every square inch of it.
But the South was no slouch in the aggression department, either. After all, they just couldn't resist taking a pop at Fort Sumter, and when it was done, they didn't recoil in horror at such a step towards war - it was more like "one down and a few dozen more to go - let's finish the job!"
And the Confederacy had expansionist designs to the South. Had it gotten its independence, conflict with the US would have been very likely.
It was a horrific bloodletting, just about as costly, as a proportion of the population, as World War I was to France or Germany.
So, it pitted one side firmly committed to an economic system that depended on buying and selling human beings like animals, against the other, determined to build a nation no matter what the cost in human life. Gotta break some eggs to make an omelet. Joe Stalin said that.
I suspect it would have been cheaper for the US Government to simply have bought all the slaves and given them their freedom, ending slavery and thereby eliminating the burning fuse that led to the whole blowup. But then the same old assholes as we have nowadays would have been howling about the Government Spending All Our Money. Nope, a good old-fashioned war would be preferable.
No matter, now it's transmuted into the Ol' Blue vs. Gray, brothers sadly turned against each other in heroic tragedy and blah blah blah friggin' blah.
Oh yes and I would be remiss not to thank you for the link as well Dave! I will forward to my father who is a, as he coins it, Wah of Nawthen Aggression historian.
I spent a long time looking at those captivating images. I was struck by how many Confederates remained unburied until they were just bones in tattered gray. I found the portraits of the generals quite interesting, too. Since I'm not really a student of the Civil War and didn't even recognize some of the names, I gave Wikipedia a workout. Thanks for the history diversion.
Please, sir, I was referencing the collection of pictures in which the only Confederate solders in the collection were dead ones.
However in reference to the CSA, I stand by my forever, if you please.
Peace
Had you stopped at the first sentence I would have most humbly apologized for misinterpreting your remarks. However your second sentence proves that my reminder is much needed even today. You certainly have every right to stand by your CSA and be proud of it. I grew up in a home that sentimentalized the CSA as well so I am not foreign to your point of view, quite the contrary. However, just know who and what it is you stand by. All soldiers that serve on the front line deserve to be honored and recognized for their tremendous bravery. They are warriors giving their lives for their countries, but more importantly protecting their fellow comrades in arms. The Nazis and Emperor Hirohito's soldiers fought bravely for their father and motherlands, but that does not mean that we should look back lovingly at their respective military dictatorships. Bottom line, I honor our Confederate ancestors soldiers as well as all that give the ultimate sacrifice, but I am not down with the CSA. BTW, I am really not trying to flame, please take it no more personal than I do not like the CSA. I have nothing against you personally and think you are a very nice person. I argued with my family over this subject many times over the dinner table and I love my family very much. Just not down with the CSA is all.
This southerner who was born in a hospital room where you could almost see Fort Sumter would like to remind you that a whole lot of Americans died as well trying to preserve this great country that we live in today so let's not forget them. There were tremendous atrocities committed by both sides, but never forget they died trying to secede from the United States in order to preserve an economy based on slave labor, the cover term was states rights. Yes, states rights to continue to use slave labor. I also know that the vast majority of the foot soldiers who suffered the most did not own slaves which makes the Rebel government even more culpable as the poor die and suffer to maintain the lifestyles of the plantation owners. No, I have no good feelings whatsoever about the greatest tragedy ever to befall our nation. We should remember our fallen from this horrible conflict with nothing but sadness, regret and hopes that we do not make this mistake again.
Please, sir, I was referencing the collection of pictures in which the only Confederate solders in the collection were dead ones.
However in reference to the CSA, I stand by my forever, if you please.
This southerner who was born in a hospital room where you could almost see Fort Sumter would like to remind you that a whole lot of Americans died as well trying to preserve this great country that we live in today so let's not forget them. There were tremendous atrocities committed by both sides, but never forget they died trying to secede from the United States in order to preserve an economy based on slave labor, the cover term was states rights. Yes, states rights to continue to use slave labor. I also know that the vast majority of the foot soldiers who suffered the most did not own slaves which makes the Rebel government even more culpable as the poor die and suffer to maintain the lifestyles of the plantation owners. No, I have no good feelings whatsoever about the greatest tragedy ever to befall our nation. We should remember our fallen from this horrible conflict with nothing but sadness, regret and hopes that we do not make this mistake again.
Cannon fodder for the corporation. Same as it ever was.
Funny you should post this, I was actually thinking the same thing as I was writing it. Yes, you are correct only this time virtually all Americans live the lifestyle of the plantation owners with the new slave being oil and our dependence on it.
This southerner who was born in a hospital room where you could almost see Fort Sumter would like to remind you that a whole lot of Americans died as well trying to preserve this great country that we live in today so let's not forget them as well. There were tremendous atrocities committed by both sides, but never forget they died trying to secede from the United States in order to preserve an economy based on slave labor, the cover term was states rights. Yes, states rights to continue to use slave labor. I also know that the vast majority of the foot soldiers who suffered the most did not own slaves which makes the Rebel government even more culpable as the poor die and suffer to maintain the lifestyles of the plantation owners. No, I have no good feelings whatsoever about the greatest tragedy ever to befall our nation. We should remember our fallen from this horrible conflict with nothing but sadness, regret and hopes that we do not make this mistake again.
Cannon fodder for the corporation. Same as it ever was.
Being from an old Kentucky town, the architecture was familiar to me, too. Are they your pictures? ...and which one is it that is High Street (hahahah) if each row is a letter of the alphabet... ABC ...?
I have always loved old buildings/houses. I would like to see some more of your house.. and hey, why were all the brave boyz in grey DEAD? = )
This southerner who was born in a hospital room where you could almost see Fort Sumter would like to remind you that a whole lot of Americans died as well trying to preserve this great country that we live in today so let's not forget them. There were tremendous atrocities committed by both sides, but never forget they died trying to secede from the United States in order to preserve an economy based on slave labor, the cover term was states rights. Yes, states rights to continue to use slave labor. I also know that the vast majority of the foot soldiers who suffered the most did not own slaves which makes the Rebel government even more culpable as the poor die and suffer to maintain the lifestyles of the plantation owners. No, I have no good feelings whatsoever about the greatest tragedy ever to befall our nation. We should remember our fallen from this horrible conflict with nothing but sadness, regret and hopes that we do not make this mistake again.
Location: No longer in a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA Gender:
Posted:
Mar 12, 2011 - 10:02am
duchamp wrote:
Being from an old Kentucky town, the architecture was familiar to me, too. Are they your pictures? ...and which one is it that is High Street (hahahah) if each row is a letter of the alphabet... ABC ...?
I have always loved old buildings/houses. I would like to see some more of your house.. and hey, why were all the brave boyz in grey DEAD? = )
Actually one was taken a block over from where my 1764 house was. This one
The photos are not mine. I just stumbled upon them while looking for old pics of Petersburg.
This was the house built in 1764 I restored from a derelict ruin that hadn't been lived in for about 20 years. It still had visible damage from the Siege of Petersburg. It also survived Revolutionary War Battles.
2 of those pictures were taken on the street I lived on for about 20 years...High St in Petersburg
Being from an old Kentucky town, the architecture was familiar to me, too. Are they your pictures? ...and which one is it that is High Street (hahahah) if each row is a letter of the alphabet... ABC ...?
I have always loved old buildings/houses. I would like to see some more of your house.. and hey, why were all the brave boyz in grey DEAD? = )
...no problem, sirjoseph; you're still on my dance card.
