11 Comments

And those 'final thoughts' by R. Michael Gibbons of the SCV at 51:19 was just insane about the 'fight against the invasion of their homelands'. How the 'invasion' was not about "stopping a labor system". And how his ancestors (white) and your ancestors (black) worked and fought side by side. And how Jefferson Davis stated that it would be the end of slavery, and "it was welcomed by most in the south both black and white".

Expand full comment

I watched quite a bit of the video. I have to admit it was disturbing to me, tbh. In recent years I have read the research on the UDC's raising of Confederate statues and memorials in the 20's and 60's and stories in the media about the SCV. Until I watched the video, I just assumed that these groups were active at one time, but only little antiquated remnants remained today supporting the house museums and reenactments. To see so many officers of so many organizations across multiple states was eye opening. Not just UDC and SCV, but the Order of the Confederate Rose, the Order of the Black Rose, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and so many others. And why on earth is a representative of the "Army of Northern Virginia" a guest speaker? And all those members of the children's groups really got me, raising a new generation of Lost Causers.

Expand full comment
author

It's impossible to keep track of all of them, but keep in mind that these are not large groups. Even the SCV and UDC have been in decline in recent years and their political influence is minimal at best. It's one of the reasons they engage in spectacles like this. They are guaranteed media attention.

Expand full comment
Nov 15, 2022·edited Nov 15, 2022

He wrote it in a book so it must be true

Expand full comment

What’s ironic to me is that this museum is in east Tennessee, which on the whole had little use for the confederacy and actively worked towards ridding itself of the rebels.

Expand full comment

31,000 Tennesseans fought for the Union and most were from East Tennessee. This county is likely to have had far fewer Confederate soldiers than American ones.

Expand full comment
author

Right. Historian William Freehling does a great job in his book, *The South v. The South,* of emphasizing just how important these numbers in the Upper and Border South were to the balance of military power.

Expand full comment

Henry Wirz too. Classy.

Expand full comment
author

Of course.

Expand full comment

Reminds me of the time I went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky thinking it would be funny. I left deeply depressed.

Expand full comment
author

I've heard the very same thing from other people. LOL

Expand full comment