I've been enjoying the New York Times' -- and other publications' -- articles marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. It even drove me to re-watch Ken Burn's remarkable documentary on the conflict, a byproduct of which was to get to hear one of the best Southern accents ever -- that of the late historian Shelby Foote. I think Foote's knowledge and accent may even take a backseat to his facial expressions and emotions. He laughed as if he had just heard Nathan Forrest personally insult the Yankees and looked downtrodden as if Shiloh had just happened.
All of it got me thinking about my own experience. I grew up surrounded by reminders of the War, the largest being the Confederate battle flag that flew over the S.C. state house through my college years. There were other occasional reminders - a Charlie Daniels song with a not-so-veiled reference to reigniting the War and hearing Dixie played at The Citadel while visiting my brother. I drove through the areas where the War happened all the time, often paying no attention to the history beneath my feet.
Since moving to Miami, the memories, the landmarks, even the battle flags disappeared. I put the War back into history where it belonged. That is until my uncle emailed me with photos of my great-great-great grandfather James Cash' gravesite. Seems Grandpa James was in the 44th Tennessee and likely saw action in Shiloh, Chickamauga before getting wounded in Petersburg. Suddenly it all became real. I had always assumed someone in the family had fought for the Confederacy. But now I knew.
As I watched Burns' documentary this time, I thought of my family. Of James leaving his family for years to go fight. South or North, thousands and thousands left it all behind to fight for a cause or, I feel in James' case, to protect their homes. Grandpa James was a farmer, like most of his ancestors since, and didn't own slaves. The Yankees invaded and he and others fought back.
That said, I'm not a 'heritage' only guy. I honor my relative's service but lament one of the other reasons they were fighting. You can't separate the plight of the slave from the War, even if most of the soliders never owned them (Remember, rich folks could pay someone to take their place.) So if you're able to say the South fought for their homes, you better also be willing to say the North fought to free the slaves. And that, in the end, was the nobler cause. The war ended the way God wanted it to, and he sacrifices on both sides made our country the amazing place it is today.
I look forward to seeing some of the battlefields I missed earlier in life.
