Jim Webb, former Virginia senator and Navy Secretary, has weighed in on the decision to remove the Confederate monument in Arlington National Cemetery. My response to Webb’s op-ed is not focused on the question of whether the monument should be removed, but on his understanding of the monument’s history and Civil War memory.
Thank you for this detailed explanation of a statue that I didn’t know existed. The idea of Confederate soldiers buried next to Union dead is hard to fathom, and if I were a descendent of a Union soldier almost impossible to accept.
The focus on differentiating between reunion vs reconciliation is critical in understanding the truth about the War. The South really believed they were fighting against the aggressor Yankees intent on destroying their way of life. They were rebels all, and, in an earlier time would have been treated far more harshly than they were by the victors thanks to Lincoln, Grant and the corruption of Johnson.
Take it away, I don’t care where it goes but it certainly doesn’t belong in a cemetery honoring US military patriots who have their last full measure to protect a nation which the men in grey were committed to destroying.
I do hope they can find a way to place parts of the memorial in a museum setting, but I don't believe this is very likely. Thanks for the comment, Charles.
"Yes and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears
When they saw the honored flag they had not seen for years;
Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in cheers
While we were marching through Georgia"
Reducing the Civil War to a purely sectional conflict (with the need for purely sectional reconciliation) erases the messy sectarian aspects (which were particularly ugly in the South). There were not insignificant subpopulations of white people who found themselves suddenly under a new government who remained loyal to the US (or where otherwise pretty ambivalent about the new Confederacy) -- and they were repressed, often pretty brutally. I would encourage people to read about events such as the Shelton Laurel Massacre, the Nueces Massacre, and about Unionist hunting irregular groups like "Witcher's boys"... and: (1) see if you better understand that particularly song verse; (2) re-visit how you feel about monuments glorifying the Confederacy.
In contrast with Webb's disappointingly patronizing last paragraph, I personally found that the more I learned about history, the more my antipathy toward Confederate memorials grew.
I couldn't agree more. There is so much nuance and complexity in this subject, but all too often we tend to generalize. Sometimes it's necessary, but not when it is intended simply to reinforce a political ideology or personal position. That's not history.
Thank you for this excellent article. I saw Webb’s op-Ed and had the same thoughts as you. I would have written about it citing much of what you said , but I would not have been able to shed as much light on it as you did, this was outstanding work. Thank you. I have been backed up with my Dan Sickles series which grew on me forcing me to do a lot more research. I want to finish it before the final year of my doctoral program heats up on Monday.
All the best and thank you for this outstanding piece. Faugh A Ballahg!
Shorter “Reconciliation”, from an ex-Confederate perspective:
Ex-Cons: northerners have to agree with us and admit that we were right and morally superior; in exchange, we’ll agree to never shut up about it.
(Webb’s take on slavery as motivation is infuriating , but continues a WSJ tradition of utterly misunderstanding 1860s racial politics and it’s misuse of evidence.)
The percentage of slave owners that Webb mentions doesn't add up. I think more than 5% of the South's white population owned slaves. Would that be accurate?
The way to count is not by individual slaveowners but by family. When you do this the percentage increases significantly, but this is also largely irrelevant to the meaning of the monument. The monument is an argument that slavery was central to the Confederate cause, though as I point out, that interpretation is problematic.
Thanks again for this analysis, which seems so spot on.
I have always enjoyed Webb’s fiction, especially “Fields of Fire“ and “The Emperor’s General.“ I also appreciated his sometimes iconoclastic stances when he served in the government. However, his pre-Vance defense of the Scots-Irish tradition in warfighting in the United States began a troublesome rhetoric.
I still see places where keeping these statues might warrant retention. There’s a public art loss in their destruction, as well as an erasure of the history of the white supremacy that impelled the monuments erection in the first place. I worry about unintended consequences of failing to remember the imposition of the glorification of the attempt to destroy the Union.
In many places, such as here in Richmond, I applaud the elimination of statues in public places. Something about the Arlington monument makes me think of the same controversies of Lost Causisms at Gettysburg or Chickamauga. State monuments don’t mark regimental positions. They glorify the sacrifices of a state, even if the cause in which suffering occurred is abominable. However, the addition of context seems a minimum.
We can and should have a discussion about whether individual monuments/memorials should be removed or relocated, but the relevant history is a different issue altogether. Jim Webb is not a historian nor does he appear to have any understanding of the history of this particular monument or the broader subject of Civil War memory.
I hope I didn’t imply that I felt he was a historian nor that his reflection of this monument had grounding in historicity. If I did, that’s on me being inartful.
Just to make clear, the main part of the monument itself is to remain for fear its removal will disturb graves. The Army is considering what to do with the frieze with the figures such as the loyal slave "mammy."
Thank you for this detailed explanation of a statue that I didn’t know existed. The idea of Confederate soldiers buried next to Union dead is hard to fathom, and if I were a descendent of a Union soldier almost impossible to accept.
The focus on differentiating between reunion vs reconciliation is critical in understanding the truth about the War. The South really believed they were fighting against the aggressor Yankees intent on destroying their way of life. They were rebels all, and, in an earlier time would have been treated far more harshly than they were by the victors thanks to Lincoln, Grant and the corruption of Johnson.
Take it away, I don’t care where it goes but it certainly doesn’t belong in a cemetery honoring US military patriots who have their last full measure to protect a nation which the men in grey were committed to destroying.
I do hope they can find a way to place parts of the memorial in a museum setting, but I don't believe this is very likely. Thanks for the comment, Charles.
"Yes and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears
When they saw the honored flag they had not seen for years;
Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in cheers
While we were marching through Georgia"
Reducing the Civil War to a purely sectional conflict (with the need for purely sectional reconciliation) erases the messy sectarian aspects (which were particularly ugly in the South). There were not insignificant subpopulations of white people who found themselves suddenly under a new government who remained loyal to the US (or where otherwise pretty ambivalent about the new Confederacy) -- and they were repressed, often pretty brutally. I would encourage people to read about events such as the Shelton Laurel Massacre, the Nueces Massacre, and about Unionist hunting irregular groups like "Witcher's boys"... and: (1) see if you better understand that particularly song verse; (2) re-visit how you feel about monuments glorifying the Confederacy.
In contrast with Webb's disappointingly patronizing last paragraph, I personally found that the more I learned about history, the more my antipathy toward Confederate memorials grew.
Hi Gordon,
I couldn't agree more. There is so much nuance and complexity in this subject, but all too often we tend to generalize. Sometimes it's necessary, but not when it is intended simply to reinforce a political ideology or personal position. That's not history.
I do hope you are sending this to the Wall Street Journal
I may write something up once we get closer to the date of removal.
I certainly hope that you do!
Kevin,
Thank you for this excellent article. I saw Webb’s op-Ed and had the same thoughts as you. I would have written about it citing much of what you said , but I would not have been able to shed as much light on it as you did, this was outstanding work. Thank you. I have been backed up with my Dan Sickles series which grew on me forcing me to do a lot more research. I want to finish it before the final year of my doctoral program heats up on Monday.
All the best and thank you for this outstanding piece. Faugh A Ballahg!
Peace,
Steve+
Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.
Shorter “Reconciliation”, from an ex-Confederate perspective:
Ex-Cons: northerners have to agree with us and admit that we were right and morally superior; in exchange, we’ll agree to never shut up about it.
(Webb’s take on slavery as motivation is infuriating , but continues a WSJ tradition of utterly misunderstanding 1860s racial politics and it’s misuse of evidence.)
It's a horrible take overall, especially his understanding of slavery and his need to reference, of all historians, John Hope Franklin.
The percentage of slave owners that Webb mentions doesn't add up. I think more than 5% of the South's white population owned slaves. Would that be accurate?
The way to count is not by individual slaveowners but by family. When you do this the percentage increases significantly, but this is also largely irrelevant to the meaning of the monument. The monument is an argument that slavery was central to the Confederate cause, though as I point out, that interpretation is problematic.
Thanks again for this analysis, which seems so spot on.
I have always enjoyed Webb’s fiction, especially “Fields of Fire“ and “The Emperor’s General.“ I also appreciated his sometimes iconoclastic stances when he served in the government. However, his pre-Vance defense of the Scots-Irish tradition in warfighting in the United States began a troublesome rhetoric.
I still see places where keeping these statues might warrant retention. There’s a public art loss in their destruction, as well as an erasure of the history of the white supremacy that impelled the monuments erection in the first place. I worry about unintended consequences of failing to remember the imposition of the glorification of the attempt to destroy the Union.
In many places, such as here in Richmond, I applaud the elimination of statues in public places. Something about the Arlington monument makes me think of the same controversies of Lost Causisms at Gettysburg or Chickamauga. State monuments don’t mark regimental positions. They glorify the sacrifices of a state, even if the cause in which suffering occurred is abominable. However, the addition of context seems a minimum.
We can and should have a discussion about whether individual monuments/memorials should be removed or relocated, but the relevant history is a different issue altogether. Jim Webb is not a historian nor does he appear to have any understanding of the history of this particular monument or the broader subject of Civil War memory.
I hope I didn’t imply that I felt he was a historian nor that his reflection of this monument had grounding in historicity. If I did, that’s on me being inartful.
Not at all. I was basically agreeing with you. Thanks for the comment, Joe.
Just to make clear, the main part of the monument itself is to remain for fear its removal will disturb graves. The Army is considering what to do with the frieze with the figures such as the loyal slave "mammy."
It's not entirely clear what will remain, but the friezes will certainly be removed. Perhaps just an empty base will be left.