1st Louisiana Native Guard Photo…Myth…and it is Busted!

Hat Tip to All Other Persons blog…

This is a great post and article on how some neo-confederates have distorted a picture of Black Union Soldiers with their white officer into a photo of “black confederates”.

Here we have the original photo…

A contemporary recruitment poster…

Here is the fake 1st Louisiana Native Guard photo…

And finally, the website that sells (or sold the photo…appears not to be for sale any longer) the photo…The Great War of the Confederacy’s Rebel Store. 

If you want to read about how this photo and its fake were discovered head on over to Retouching History for the complete scoop.

A New Black Confederate Emerges…???

From the Columbia Star

Alice Gallman has fought for what she believes her whole life. This 87- year- old Columbia woman’s great uncle, a former slave and Confederate soldier, John Alex Sarter, had that same fighting spirit.

Gallman contacted Lt. Commander for S.C.’s Sons of Confederate Veterans and also the founder of radiofreedixie.com Don Gordon and asked him to investigate her great uncle’s history. Gordon found Sarter fought for the Confederacy first as a slave and later as a free man. His owner, William Sarter was appointed Captain of S.C.’s 18th Infantry Regiment, Company B on August of 1862. Sarter died the following September from his war wounds. But Alex Sarter chose to enlist after William died.

Sarter was later captured by Union soldiers and forced to help dig a tunnel the army filled with explosives. The Union army used the explosion to divide Confederate forces during the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia. The SCV gave an account of the battle in a DVD Gordon presented to Gallman on September 2, 2009. The footage chronicled a memorial service by the SCV at Sarter’s gravesite.

But Gallman remembers Sarter as her wise, old uncle. When she was a girl growing up in Union, the adults would sit around the fire in the winter and have what they called “fireside chats.” Gallman remembers sneaking up behind Sarter and eavesdropping on the adults’ conversations. She said she learned a lot from the older generations.

Gallman’s grandparents were sharecroppers. Gallman was her mother’s first bi- racial child. Her father was Jewish. She said her status made growing up difficult. “There were so many days I didn’t have a bite of bread,” she said. But humble up bringing didn’t stop Gallman from giving her time, energy, and skills to other people who needed help.

Gallman taught the poor to can vegetables, so they would have foodstuffs when times were lean. And when she was a teenager she taught people how to construct mattresses made of cotton instead of straw.

Gallman has fought for the poor and she was involved in helping African- American teachers receive adequate books instead of the damaged hand- me- downs used by white children.

Today, Gallman shares her stories and wisdom with younger generations. Gallman worked hard to send her daughter to Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. Her daughter later attended Yale University and went into the law profession. And her son worked at the Pentagon.

Alice Gallman, like her uncle, has been a fighter.

I did a quick search for William Sarter and then John Alex Sarter in the 18th South Carolina Infantry and only found William in the ranks.  Not one mention of John Alex anywhere which seems to be par for the course when it comes to black confederates/confederate slaves.  Maybe someone else how reads this post and has better access to SC archival material can do a search with more luck then I.  But my guess is…I doubt it.  This is more likely another tale similar to the one you can find over at Cenantua’s Blog.

SCV & “Looking for Lincoln”

 Here is a post in the SCV’s blog site about their inclusion in the new PBS documentary called “Looking for Lincoln”  They seem very proud of their inclusion in this movie on Linclon and even mention people like fomer president Bill Clinton and Doris Kearns Goodwin…people who are usually not mentioned by the SCV without some form of criticism.  They mention a “sizable” segment on the SCV, but their segment is only a bit over five minutes and unfortuantely, the viewer is left with more questions than answers concerning Lincoln and “Black Confederates or Confederate slaves”.

By J. A. Davis, Chairman,
SCV Public Relations and Media Committee

Elm Springs, Columbia, TN
3 February, 2009

After a full year of working with the PBS television network, producers and the host-writer, Henry Louis Gates, the Sons of Confederate Veterans announces its participation and inclusion in the premiere of a the two hour multi-million dollar production entitled “Looking For Lincoln” which will first air on PBS nationwide on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 9 PM Eastern Time. It will also be repeated in the days following the initial airing. Consult local listing for the airing times in your area.

Pre-play date showings to critics and select audiences indicate the production will likely be regarded as one of the top television shows of 2009 and a potential candidate for major awards.

Besides a sizeable segment on the SCV, the program features former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Doris Kearns Goodwin and about a half dozen historians.

The SCV’s participation went forward after careful consideration and scrutiny by the SCV PR & Media Committee, ultimately approved by Commander-in-Chief Chris Sullivan and continued by his successor, Commander-in-Chief Chuck McMicheal. A series of’ understandings were reached with the producers, leading to “Looking for Lincoln” host, Henry Louis “Skip” Gates and a full production crew coming to the SCV Reunion at Concord, NC.in the summer of 2008.

Interviews were arranged with SCV members regarding Lincoln. These will appear on the program on February 11th. They include, from the PR & Media Committee, Jim Dean, of Georgia, Army of Northern Virginia Commander, Bragdon Bowling, of Virginia,
and former Chief- of- Staff, Don Shelton, of Kentucky.

Considerable time is spent showing the tribute paid at the Reuion to the Clyburn family, descendants of a black Confederate soldier from North Carolina. This includes a conversation with the Associate Archivist at the North Carolina State Archives.

The program was originally conceived to be part of the commemoration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday. While that remained its main theme, the segments including the Sons of Confederate Veterans represent a major breakthrough in network television for the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

For those who would like an advance screening of the program on the internet, conduct a search for “Looking For Lincoln” on pbs.org . The program is divided into segments. The segment most centered on the SCV is titled “The Beginning of the Civil War”.

 

 

Lincoln and Memory

I had the opportunity over this past weekend to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library in Springfield as a guest of State Farm and WNET out of New York in order to preview “Looking For Lincoln”… an new documentary from PBS that will air on Feburary 11th.  On friday night we were treated to a talk by Philip Kunhardt III on the companion book of the same name that he and his brother and nephew along the same lines as the new documentary.  During the dicussion that preceeded the talk by Mr. Kunhardt, we were told by the producer of the documentary that the movie and the book do not follow each other exactly, for the movie was supposed to be four hours but they only received funding for two hours.

Mr. Kunhardt then gave a short talk on Lincoln and Memory and how Lincoln’s myth is more understood today than the real man.  Following his talk was a short (15 minute) segment of the movie which dealt with several of the topics in the entire movie.  I was supprised to see two very unexpected parts, one interview with Lerone Bennett who said that all he ever believed about Lincoln was a lie.  Any student of slavery and the Civil War will know that Lerone Bennett was the author of “Foreced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream”, which makes the case that Lincoln was really a white supremicist.  The other scene that surprised me was the creator of the documentary, whose journey you follow to find Lincoln, Henry Louis Gates attends the 2008 Sons of Confederate Veterans Annual Convention where they honored Weary Clyburn as a black confederate.   If you watch this movie on Feb. 11th, you will have to be the judge as to how you think the Clyburn family looked and felt with this “distinct honor” bestowed upon them by the SCV.

The next day the teachers that had attened the “premier” the previous night joined WNET and State Farm for a educational seminar at the Lincoln Presidential Library to learn how  to use the companion website and the lesson plans for our classrooms.  To be honest this was more helpful and more applicable to my teaching than the previous night for obvious reasons, but it also helped that during the three our seminar we were able to see more of the documentary.  I did recieve the entire DVD as I left the museum on friday night but was not able to watch it in my hotel room for lack of a DVD player.  After the seminar I had the chance to visit the museum fully and hit the gift shop.  There I parted with $50 of my hard earn teacher’s pay and bought the companion book…and I am glad I did.

On monday I was able to set down and finally watch the entire two hour documentary and look through the companion book and I must say the documenaty needed four hours to finish its discussion of the topics it presented.  For example, there is the discussion between Gates and Bennett where Bennett says everything he learned about Lincol was a lie…and that is it…no further fleshing out of that idea or argument.  The book goes much deeper into why and how the myth of Lincoln developed after his death up until the death of Robet Todd Lincoln in 1926.

All in all the the experience was a great one.  I really enjoyed being invited to take part in something connected to the Lincoln 200th Birthday and to visit the ALPLM.  I look forward to trying out some of the lessons associated with the documentary and I really look forward to reading more of the companion book.

Black Confederates vs. Confederate Slaves via Virginia Pension Records

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, Robert Moore over at Cenantua’s Blog , has posted some very interesting articles about black confederates or more correctly Confederate Slaves and their claims in the Virginia Pension system in the early 1900’s.  I think both Robert and Kevin Levine have provided some very good insite into this new claim by the neo-confederates and the SCV in an attempt to make their heritage appear more acceptable. 

Here is another site that reports on Black Confederates that has a wealth of information, but I believe Robert and Kevin have done more in their posts than this site has done with all of its massive amounts of “documentation”.  Once again proving that quality matters more than quantity.

Why A Southern Perspective of the Rebellion’s 150th?

A Shreveport educator has been elected national head of Sons of Confederate Veterans

The above mug shot was taken from this article.  The educator, and I use that term lightly, pictured is Charles “Chuck” McMichael of Shreveport, La. and is now the new head of the largest Confederate “Heritage” Organization in the country…The SCV.

In the article Mr. McMichael briefly explained that the SCV would be working over the next couple of years towards the goal of presenting the “southern perspective” of the civil war for the 150th anniversary starting in 2011.  He says,

“One overall goal will be working to prepare for the sesquicentennial of the Cause for Southern Independence to make sure the true history is presented to the people. And in all instances and everywhere uphold the honor of our Confederate heritage.”

  

I am constantly perplexed about the idea of having to put forth a “southern perspective”.  What is the purpose of the “southern perspective”?  What is the “southern perspective” compared to the main line interpretation of the events of the Rebellion?  Is there a fully “Northern perspective” of the Rebellion that differs not only from the main line perspective, but from the “southern perspective”?  Will the “southern perspective contain information about “Black Confederates” or Confederate slaves and will that story be told by the old white men that make up the SCV or will African-Americans have some input? (Let’s hope they use more African-Americans besides old H.K.!)

I know that as your read those questions you already know the answer just as much as I did when I wrote them.  I fear that this “southern perspective” will be a continuation of the Lost Cause Mythology that this country is now beginning to shake off.  I have already heard of showings of “Gone with the Wind” in some southern towns…but maybe this is just typical and not connected with anything but nostalgia.  I wonder how soon we will see special showings of “Birth of a Nations”?…maybe at the White House again!

Also, on a more personal note – as a teacher myself, I would love to be a fly on the wall of Mr. McMichael’s classroom.  If you ever wonder how or why the myth of the lost cause continues to permeate our nation’s character, it is because of teachers like Mr. McMichael.  Could being a teacher and the CIC of the SCV be a conflict of interest?

SCV National Convention Plans for War of the Rebellion 150th!

You can read the full run down of the events of this years SCV convention here.

But there is one part of the synopsis that I would like to bring some attention to…and here it is.

Date: 19 July 2008

Compatriots,

Soon the 150th anniversary of the South’s struggle for Independence shall be upon us.

It is our duty to see that it is commemorate in an accurate and visible fashion.

We should have in place plans to, among other efforts, publicly demonstrate our commitment to this.

General Headquarters will be planning a “National” event for each year of this period.

Likewise, each Division should plan some event to be carried out and attended on a Division

scale for each year during this period. These events will be placed on the Commission’s Calendar of events and promoted there.

Be it so ordered:

Each Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans shall plan a Division-wide event for each year during the period of the Sesquicentennial of the Cause for Southern Independence. Each Division shall transmit details of these plans, as they come available, to the Commander in Chief and the Chairman of the Sesquicentennial Commission.

With the 150th of the War of the Rebellion coming up in the next couple of years it will be interesting to see how this country deals with its own history in light of the possibility of having a black president.  With, not only the established events, we see now that the SCV will sponser its own version of their fight for Independence.  I am sure these will counter the established story of the War and counter the new version of the story that includes slavery as a major player.  It is my prediction that if we continue with the current trend of black confederates that during the 150th they will be coming out of the woodwork thanks to the SCV.

The one thing that I have not seen or heard from groups like the SCV or the LoS is any kind of counter history in dealing with the 200th Birth of Abraham Lincoln besides the usual equal time calls for Davis.

Where Was the SCV for These Descendents of “Black Confederates”?

There has been a great deal written and discussed recently in the civil war blogosphere about black confederates.  I have mentioned before that one of the reasons I don’t think the story of black confederates in the south jive is due to the treatment of freed African Americans in the south following the war or duing the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.  What I want to know is where was the compassion of the SCV and southerners when the events in the above photos were taken?

 

Oh yeah…nevermind!!

 

Billy Yank

No Black Confederates Here!

I found this picture on the Military History Online’s page on Gettysburg Photographs

Amateur Photos from the 1913 Reunion at Gettysburg – Final Entry 1-29

I would have thought that these good southern slaves would have joined their master and fought the damn Yankee Invaders to the end…but alas…they done joined the Yankees!