In the midst of the current political battle being waged over the Confederate Flag, a few points are worth emphasizing.
The “Confederate Flag” people are clamoring over was not a flag that ever represented the Confederate States of America, or any entity that endorsed slavery. Instead, it was the battle flag of the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Northern Virginia. The two flags had different dimensions, but the design was the same.
This flag, which represented Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, was not associated with racial oppression until much more recently. In fact, many northerners had a great deal of respect for Lee and his army, even during the conflict. For instance, following Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine famously saluted the surrendering army because he believed the southern forces fought honorably. Chamberlain made this stride in earnest reverence, much to the chagrin of some of his peers. Beyond this, Lee biographer Russell Weigley maintained that by the end of the 19th century, Lee’s popularity in the north was widespread. He been honored by the United States in the 20th century, where he has been commemorated several times on United States postal stamps. Lee’s residence of Arlington House has been designated as a national memorial by the United States, and he continues to receive a significant amount of admiration from northerners and southerners alike.
The battle flag in the crosshairs of the current political scuffle gained notoriety for racial oppression when southern Democrats like George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Ernest Hollings, and William Fulbright associated it with their segregationist platforms. Only then, it seems, was the flag’s meaning morphed by ill-designing politicians.
Independent states and localities have the rightful ability to make independent decisions on whether or not to display the flag. I would not support efforts to remove this one, but one could certainly argue that an actual Confederate States of America “Stars and Bars” flag would provide a more definitive historical association.
It is also worth mentioning that the Confederate States of America was hardly a bastion of libertarianism or decentralized authority. While a candid observer would sympathize with many of the seceding states independently, the Confederate government engaged in some of the same deplorable policies that seized individual liberty and suppressed human rights. Among these things were the suspension of habeas corpus, conscription mandates, a nationalization of banks, and the excessive printing of fiat currency.
For his complicity in these policies, Jefferson Davis had his fair share of detractors. Georgia Governor Joseph Brown remarked, for instance, that “every state…should denounce the wicked habeas corpus act.” He condemned the suspension of habeas corpus for striking “a fell blow at the liberties of the people.” Henry Foote, noteworthy political rival of Davis who served in the Confederate Congress, apprehended that the act “clothes the President with extraordinary powers – executive, legislative, and judicial – centering on one human being the Congress and the Court. The whole fabric of civil liberty and law is under his feet. Great God!”
Despite the imperfection of all governments, it seems reasonable to infer that the systematic removal of southern symbols is part of a larger concerted effort to eradicate its history and heritage, and reinforce the supposed moral superiority of the north – which is mostly mythical. The flag kerfuffle is only the starting point for this cultural extermination platform. As we’ve seen in the last weeks, a dispute over the flag has transformed into a fierce campaign that advocates the removal of all monuments for southern generals, regardless of their position on slavery. It seeks to impact popular culture by censoring classic television shows, and hopes to change the names of military bases named after southern heroes. This moral crusade has stooped so low as to convince local governments to literally dig up the graves of southern military veterans, as if that will provide a remedy to the tragic afflictions of America’s past.
Some have noticed that in the debates of the last weeks, it is rarely mentioned that some states remained in the union and continued to allow slavery. Largely, this is because the overarching debate revisits the historical impetus for the Civil War – an indictment upon secession rather than slavery. Since some states in the union didn’t allow slavery, all northerners and the union government are therefore absolved of any wrongdoing. The suspension of habeas corpus, suppression of the press, placing state representatives under arbitrary house arrest, plans to enact forced black colonization, the raising of armies without Congressional approval, the debasement of currency, and forcible deportation of political adversaries should be cheered and celebrated, I suppose.
I have several paintings illustrating events from the war that feature the flag, mostly done by artist Mort Kunstler. My favorite depicts a scene from the Battle of Fredericksburg, featuring Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee during. Upon the observation that his army had repulsed a union charge, one account has Lee remarking: “It is well that war is so terrible – lest we should grow too fond of it.”
I have no problem with displaying this flag in my household, in any form. I oppose all violations of individual rights, and I do not think the free display of art, history, or culture precludes me from this disposition. If anything, the symbol represents a brand of brave defiance against a usurping, national juggernaut of a state that was willing to plunge the country into bloody warfare simply to suppress secession efforts.
If individuals advocating for the flag’s removal were intellectually consistent, they would also urge the removal of any historical United States Flags – which flew over a slave-holding union for decades. They would also strive to lower the union flag of the Civil War-era – as the union happily retained Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland even though they were all states that permitted slavery. Civil War-era flags for Illinois and Oregon would also have to be lowered, since Illinois explicitly prohibited any black migration and Oregon’s 1857 constitution featured a whites-only clause. Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb would have to be dug up, since he was also a prominent Civil War-era general that owned slaves. All monuments built for Washington, Jefferson, and Mason must come down in the union’s capital – despite what these men thought of the institution of slavery, all of them owned slaves. Lincoln’s monument should be brought down as well, considering he was an ardent racist who believed strongly in segregation and married into a slave-holding family.
Joining the historians who do not consider secession as treason – since the Constitution itself maintains a very different definition – I do not see any reason an ethical society should be so hostile toward deceased southern veterans or their cultural symbols. These men gave up good health, fortune, and livelihood to fight for autonomous government, and the vast majority owned no slaves in the first place.
Despite surmising that secession was treason, United States President Andrew Johnson granted a full pardon to all Confederate veterans in 1868, save a few high ranking officers. Johnson’s proclamation hoped “to secure permanent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and to renew and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling among the whole people.” This amnesty acted as a sincere olive branch of reconciliation. The president considered these men Americans in 1868, so why should we desecrate their graves today?
Inquisitive citizens are ultimately the ones who are shortchanged most by these kind of decisions. If we act to remove all cultural relics, symbols, and records simply because of negative associations, we punish ourselves by eliminating an opportunity to study and learn from history’s mistakes. If we believe that removing these objects will alleviate those mistakes, or right the wrongs of history, we are only fooling ourselves. Germany has undertaken this approach in an effort to rid itself of all historical associations with Nazism and the Third Reich. While a sensitive matter, this policy has acted to erase the past and prevent honest attempts to learn from the dangers of fascism and a consolidated, nationalist state. Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding this era has prevented some from learning of this tragedy. Those who are not exposed to history’s mistakes are proven to be much more likely to perpetuate them.
I cannot deny that the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia/Tennessee has come to be associated with racial prejudice and oppression in more recent years, but historical truth should always be valued over contemporary public perception.
