Monuments - Why more Rebs that Feds?

[whitworth]

Read some time ago, a small book on Georgia Civil War monuments. I recall most of the funds for the memorial statues, were raised by women, and not by the veterans.
Many of these counties were not quite the same again in the lifetime of those that witnessed the Civil War.
Perhaps even moreso than the north, the future was their past. So many deaths and lifetime wounds would always alter the lives of those who knew these soldiers and their families, before the war.

[ole]

With few exceptions, all good responses.
Ole

[gary]

Virtually every town in New England that I've been to has a monument of a soldier leaning on his musket.

[unionblue]

gary,

I'm with you on this one. Seems to me in every small town in New England and Ohio, you can find a Union/Yankee memorial or statue, commerating the boys in blue.

Go to any graveyard here in Ohio and you can immediately tell who the Civil War veterans were by the shape and placement of the gravestones.

Nope, I don't think the rebs have more, but maybe they are a bit more serious in honoring their ancestors than we up here in the North are.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[scone]

Originally Posted by Ozark Iron John

I had a boy from Wisconsin come down here to attend a wedding one time. We was hostin' a reception at a little place just outside of Stone's River National Battlefield.

He says, "You know what we call all them monuments in Wisconsin?"

I say, "I don't know!"

He say's "Second Place Trophies!" and laughs.

I've gotta admit, I was taken aback. For a second, I didn't know what to say to him. Then it come to me.

I pointed over towards the cemetery and said "Thar's 30,000 Yankee boys buried over thar, ONE more won't make no difference!" and drew my finger across my throat from ear to ear.

That shut him up good. I don't think I heard him say two words the rest of the night.

Lol thats great

[larry_cockerham]

Originally Posted by unionblue

gary,

Nope, I don't think the rebs have more, but maybe they are a bit more serious in honoring their ancestors than we up here in the North are.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

Interesting statement, Neil.

Actually after forty plus years of research I've discovered that many of the ancestors of present-day Southerners came south from places like Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. "We have met the enemy and they is us".

I suspect the loss of life affected a few more folks in the South because of the simple fact they were fighting on local soil, not to mention the occasional contribution of a cow or barn to the effort. We also have a little more room? for monuments perhaps. Many of our fine southern monuments bear the names of northern states. The presence of soldiers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana is still felt and honored with monuments at Shiloh and Franklin and I suspect a Chickamauga. We have been pleased to live beside their descendants for a few decades, so a monument or two won't hurt.

[memphis]

Anybody ever read Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horowitz? It was a great read. Assuming that the premise is true (More Confederate than Union monuments) I believe there was a statement in the book that bares that out. Horowitz said that 2 out of every 100 New York city residents had a relative who fought in the Civil War, 2 out of 10 residents in the North proper had relatives who fought in the war. In the South 6 out of 10 had relatives who fought in the war. Therefore, the War means more to them. Its a part of a greater number of families histories. It follows then that there would be greater activity in the South to memorialize southern soldiers than Northern soldiers. Its just a guess, but It seems to make sense to me.

BD