Thank you, Kevin, for the stark reminder of the underpinnings of the Confederate cause, including the heinous kidnapping of free peoples north of the Mason-Dixon line during the Gettysburg campaign. In my early childhood in the 1950's, I lived in Houston. What I saw in terms of segregation(e.g., "colored" water fountains, etc) remains indelibly in my mind. The racism endured military defeat and seeks to re-emerge whenever it is convenient - like Gettysburg's welcoming, inclusive Remembrance Day Parade.
Douglass's insistance that we not confound right with wrong feels particuarly relevant when watching Confderate reenactors march in commemoration of Lincoln's address. The fact that Lee's army actively kidnapped free Black Pennsylvanians adds a layer that many visitors probably never consider when they watch these parades.
Just wondering, to what extent were enslaved people part of, or used to support, the state militia and forces in the South during the American Revolution?
My understanding is there was fairly limited use, with significant differences between VA and the Deep South (SC and GA). A defining moment of the Revolution (for those focused on freedom expansion) occurs when John Laurens, the son of the former owner of the largest company trading in enslaved persons in North America, succeeds in getting Congress to approve of a proposal to arm 3k enslaved men in SC and GA. The measure is deferred to the states, however.
Despite Lauren’s best efforts - in partnership with his brother-in-law Dr David Ramsay, a Benjamin Rush protege - their attempts to get the SC legislature to adopt the measure fall completely flat in three separate legislative sessions.
I am glad you posted this and a little surprised you have not had any comments. I have never been to a Remembrance Day event, but your descriptions and the video provide a good perspective. I do not understand from, my perspective as an American historian, why the organizers permit Confederate reenactors to participate. They lost! They certainly are not there to honor Lincoln or his speech. No self-respecting modern Confederate would do that. The guy who said their only legitimate role would be if United States reenactors marched them through the city disarmed and under guard is right.
I was surprised to see so few comments under the post about the books of 2025.
But I don't find it very surprising that even in Gettysburg, there's still life in the obtuse, not to say grotesque, belief in Civil War both-sidesism. After all, most of the country has at best only a vague awareness that slavery escapees were far more than passive, feckless bystanders in emancipation's Civil War political evolution. And when the Arlington anti-reconciliation Confederate monument was being removed, hundreds of online commenters at the WSJ protested vehemently. Still, I hope I'm just surmising from incomplete data.
Right. No one should be surprised that Gettysburg hosts parades that honor Confederates given its use as a site of reunion going back to the late nineteenth century.
Confederate reenactors were not always included. The Sons of Union Veterans host the parade, and when they first started doing it, there were only Union reenactors. But it was actually the SUV who invited them to take part; can’t recall rt now what year that was but could check
Thank you, Kevin, for the stark reminder of the underpinnings of the Confederate cause, including the heinous kidnapping of free peoples north of the Mason-Dixon line during the Gettysburg campaign. In my early childhood in the 1950's, I lived in Houston. What I saw in terms of segregation(e.g., "colored" water fountains, etc) remains indelibly in my mind. The racism endured military defeat and seeks to re-emerge whenever it is convenient - like Gettysburg's welcoming, inclusive Remembrance Day Parade.
Douglass's insistance that we not confound right with wrong feels particuarly relevant when watching Confderate reenactors march in commemoration of Lincoln's address. The fact that Lee's army actively kidnapped free Black Pennsylvanians adds a layer that many visitors probably never consider when they watch these parades.
I am quite sure the don't consider it. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment.
Just wondering, to what extent were enslaved people part of, or used to support, the state militia and forces in the South during the American Revolution?
My understanding is there was fairly limited use, with significant differences between VA and the Deep South (SC and GA). A defining moment of the Revolution (for those focused on freedom expansion) occurs when John Laurens, the son of the former owner of the largest company trading in enslaved persons in North America, succeeds in getting Congress to approve of a proposal to arm 3k enslaved men in SC and GA. The measure is deferred to the states, however.
Despite Lauren’s best efforts - in partnership with his brother-in-law Dr David Ramsay, a Benjamin Rush protege - their attempts to get the SC legislature to adopt the measure fall completely flat in three separate legislative sessions.
Can't say offhand, but I wonder if we will learn something about it in the new Ken Burns documentary.
I am glad you posted this and a little surprised you have not had any comments. I have never been to a Remembrance Day event, but your descriptions and the video provide a good perspective. I do not understand from, my perspective as an American historian, why the organizers permit Confederate reenactors to participate. They lost! They certainly are not there to honor Lincoln or his speech. No self-respecting modern Confederate would do that. The guy who said their only legitimate role would be if United States reenactors marched them through the city disarmed and under guard is right.
I was surprised to see so few comments under the post about the books of 2025.
But I don't find it very surprising that even in Gettysburg, there's still life in the obtuse, not to say grotesque, belief in Civil War both-sidesism. After all, most of the country has at best only a vague awareness that slavery escapees were far more than passive, feckless bystanders in emancipation's Civil War political evolution. And when the Arlington anti-reconciliation Confederate monument was being removed, hundreds of online commenters at the WSJ protested vehemently. Still, I hope I'm just surmising from incomplete data.
Right. No one should be surprised that Gettysburg hosts parades that honor Confederates given its use as a site of reunion going back to the late nineteenth century.
Thanks, Michael. I would love to learn a bit more about the origins of this event. Were Confederate reenactors always included? etc.
Confederate reenactors were not always included. The Sons of Union Veterans host the parade, and when they first started doing it, there were only Union reenactors. But it was actually the SUV who invited them to take part; can’t recall rt now what year that was but could check
Thanks for the information, Patricia.