By Daniel Nardini
Needless to say, American history has become part of the culture wars being waged. Just as the political left had tried to rewrite America as being nothing more than a European imperialist slave state, so then the political right has tried to define the whole of the U.S. Civil War (1861 to 1865) as an act of Northern states’ aggression against the Southern states. I will not entirely argue this point, but what amazes me is how so many people in the U.S. southeast states get the history of the Confederate States of America so wrong. Let us take for example the “Confederate” flag. To many people who talk about “Southern pride” and “Southern heritage,” they have the wrong flag. The flag so often displayed by many who think it was the national flag of the Confederacy was in fact NOT the national flag at all!
It was in fact the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. That flag was one among many battle flags of the Confederacy. The national flag was quite different. The first national flag had two red stripes and one white and the stars of the Confederate states was arranged in a circle. There was a second national flag where the Army of Northern Virginia flag was in the upper left hand corner on a white background. The problem was that the banner looked too much like a flag of surrender, so the Confederates added a red stripe to make it clear it was not a flag of surrender. When people think about the national anthem of the Confederate States of America, they think about the song “Dixie.” Well, it was a very popular song in the Southern states of the time there is no doubt about that. It was however not the national anthem. The national anthem was “God Bless the South.” When people I have met promote “Southern pride,” they have a tendency to sing “Dixie.” Fine, but that was not the national anthem of the Confederacy.
Finally, slavery was an issue fought over in the war. The Confederate States of America Constitution stated that slavery was a non-negotiable issue. All states that joined the Confederacy had to have it in their state’s constitutions that they would uphold slavery. From beginning to end, all of the Confederate states kept this provision in their constitutions right to the end of the war. The issue of state’s rights and whatever is all nice and good, but yes the Confederacy fought to also preserve the institution of slavery. That is in the Confederate documents that have been preserved to this day. Yes, there were African Americans who fought for the Confederacy, but the institution of slavery itself was preserved until the end. As I said a long time ago, I do not think the worst of the people in the southern states and the Confederate soldiers who fought in the war. But if anyone wants to talk about “Southern pride” and “Southern heritage,” they had better get the facts straight. But I guess in the current culture wars being fought in the 21st Century (even though all of this was resolved in the 19th Century), truth is among the first casualties.
What People Get Wrong About The Confederate States of America
By Daniel Nardini
It was in fact the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. That flag was one among many battle flags of the Confederacy. The national flag was quite different. The first national flag had two red stripes and one white and the stars of the Confederate states was arranged in a circle. There was a second national flag where the Army of Northern Virginia flag was in the upper left hand corner on a white background. The problem was that the banner looked too much like a flag of surrender, so the Confederates added a red stripe to make it clear it was not a flag of surrender. When people think about the national anthem of the Confederate States of America, they think about the song “Dixie.” Well, it was a very popular song in the Southern states of the time there is no doubt about that. It was however not the national anthem. The national anthem was “God Bless the South.” When people I have met promote “Southern pride,” they have a tendency to sing “Dixie.” Fine, but that was not the national anthem of the Confederacy.
Finally, slavery was an issue fought over in the war. The Confederate States of America Constitution stated that slavery was a non-negotiable issue. All states that joined the Confederacy had to have it in their state’s constitutions that they would uphold slavery. From beginning to end, all of the Confederate states kept this provision in their constitutions right to the end of the war. The issue of state’s rights and whatever is all nice and good, but yes the Confederacy fought to also preserve the institution of slavery. That is in the Confederate documents that have been preserved to this day. Yes, there were African Americans who fought for the Confederacy, but the institution of slavery itself was preserved until the end. As I said a long time ago, I do not think the worst of the people in the southern states and the Confederate soldiers who fought in the war. But if anyone wants to talk about “Southern pride” and “Southern heritage,” they had better get the facts straight. But I guess in the current culture wars being fought in the 21st Century (even though all of this was resolved in the 19th Century), truth is among the first casualties.