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I’m not sure how relevant my comment is, but reading your post made me reflect more on the lingering effects of the Civil War on the little town where I live, Sharpsburg MD.

During the war, Sharpsburg was largely Unionist. The citizens did what they could to support the Union troops, while mostly turning their backs on Confederate soldiers.

Of course, the town and farms were virtually destroyed during the Battle of Antietam, and even more so during the Union occupation after the battle. But, there was the promise of government compensation to help the people rebuild.

As it turned out, the rules for compensation kept changing, claims were outright denied, and at best, nominal compensation was awarded to the lucky few.

The citizens developed real bitterness towards the Federal government for its betrayal, losing any trust they had previously held. They had to rebuild on their own, and they did, proving they didn’t need the government.

Following generations seemed to have doubled down on the distrust of government, and now we have a majority of ultra conservative townspeople, some of whom proudly wave the Confederate battle flag.

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It's a reminder that politics has always been wrapped up in our Civil War memory. Reminds me a little bit of what has happened in Gettysburg.

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In downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in one of the quadrants of Public Square, stands the Soldiers & Sailors Monument. It primarily is a memorial to the veterans of the Civil War who were from Ohio. I believe the committee who is responsible for the maintenance of the monument recently added the names of all Black Union soldiers from Ohio.

If my memory is good (it's a toss-up), I think there was a Union prison camp for Confederate soldiers somewhere in Northern Ohio near Lake Erie. The name at present escapes me.

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author

Hi Karen,

I've seen plenty of photographs of that monument, but I've never seen it in person. Its size and location clearly reflects the place of the veterans in local and national memory at the time.

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I grew up a mile from Brandy Station. Even in the ‘70s, buckles and bullets would be turned up by farmers plowing the fields. I knew little about the war in the west. That changed when I moved to Illinois and went to work at a community college. Once my colleagues discovered where I was from, they called me the Belle of the South :-D and began to fill in my education. The memory there hasn’t entirely faded.

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I should add that one of the most overlooked examples of Civil War memory in the North is its commitment to its veterans through the pension bureau. Its headquarters in Washington, D.C. is itself a celebration of military service and Union.

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founding

Yes, it's alive and well (Civil War memory) here in my hometown, Washington, DC, in more ways than one. *sigh*

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