Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
"Edgerton, who is now president of a group called Southern Heritage 411, said he wants to bring attention to the place of honor and dignity that black people earned under the Confederate emblem."
Come hear Former NAACP Officer turned Black Southern Heritage Activist H.K. Edgerton speak on Black Soldiers in the Confederacy on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 3pm at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village in \" The Gallery \" building. H.K. Edgerton\'s speech is part of the Chautauqua Learning Series hosted by the Grady McWhiney Foundation and Chief Clinton Camp #366, Sons of Confederate Veterans. The cost is $10.00 for adults and children and all proceeds go to maintaining the Buffalo Gap Historic Village.For directions go to the above listed website. POC is Chief Clinton Camp Commander Bobby Morris 325-370-3428 or 325-548-2770.
He ticked off the contributions of blacks who fought alongside whites and spoke of what he called the "bond of love and affection" between the two races leading up to and during the war.
Edgerton, however, said that the earlier incarnation of the KKK played a pivotal role in reestablishing and constructing the South, as well as helping black families.
"If it hadn't been for the Ku Klux Klan a lot of those families wouldn't be here today," he said.
and
Edgerton said. "I want to say this unequivocally, there are a lot of black folks around here in Tennessee whose families would not be alive today if it had not been for general Nathan Bedford Forrest's slave trade." Edgerton even commented on how many Southern blacks believe that Forrest was the first Civil Rights leader.
"For me, as a black man, knowing full well, and understanding, General Nathan Bedford Forrest was considered the first Civil Rights leader among black folks, not only among Tennessee but across the South America," Edgerton said.
"the victor of the greatest conflict that ever faced this nation chose not to heal the wounds that led to our separation, but to develop a plan that would pit a people who had come together to fight him , against each other. That plan would see it's fruition take place with the establishment of the public school system, and the so called Freedman's Bureau , as our children began to have inculcated in their thinking process that they who are Black should hate this terrible man from the South, because after all it was he acting alone who had incarcerated the African people, whipped and worked him merciless all day with no compensation for the misery he caused , and that the young White babies of the South should only remember their ancestors with shame for their part not only in the aforementioned, but also for being outright traitors for their action of succession, and that the only reason for that separation was to maintain the economic institution of slavery." -- H. K. Edgerton
Thanks Cash.
How can anyone take H. K. Edgerton seriously when he sells fake history? I cannot believe he is unaware of the photo's origin! Those USCT depicted in the photo and the several hundred thousand African American Union troops who fought for this country are all being degraded by those who are using that photo to promote the Confederate cause.
__________________ "Those who forget to remember the past are condemned to repeat it", George Santayana.
Thanks Cash.
How can anyone take H. K. Edgerton seriously when he sells fake history? I cannot believe he is unaware of the photo's origin! Those USCT depicted in the photo and the several hundred thousand African American Union troops who fought for this country are all being degraded by those who are using that photo to promote the Confederate cause.
I don't know if H. K. is aware that the photo is a fraud or not. Frankly, I don't think he cares if it is or isn't. I look at his website and see that he can't be taken seriously when I read the silliness posted there that's put forward as if it were fact.
Who was it who said "confederate legends" is on the T-shirt. My eyes don't generally get into that detail. But if it is presented as a legend, I have no more objection.
I'd be even more amenable if it said "lost cause fraud," but I'll settle for legend.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I don't know if H. K. is aware that the photo is a fraud or not. Frankly, I don't think he cares if it is or isn't. I look at his website and see that he can't be taken seriously when I read the silliness posted there that's put forward as if it were fact.
Regards,
Cash
I'm loving this discussion.... to a point.
Thanks, Cash for taking the more or less scholarly approach in your responses, many of which are on target. Others perhaps a bit fuzzy. I have some slightly southern biased (I WAS born in North Carolina and now live in Tennessee) views in this regard, but I like to think I'm as open-minded as possible. There are at least three sides to every story. Sometimes one of them is the truth.
Obviously H.K. is occasionally infected with the black version of blarney. He can't help that. He stretches his numbers speaking from atop his old whitened head, without script, though I still believe he is sincere. Have you seen folks on this forum, including myself, who have their history a little warped, but write or speak from emotion and also a lack of scholarly research induced knowledge? My theory is that H.K. is in that number.
I've studied Forrest long enough to believe strongly that much of what H.K tries to express with regard to the General is true, at least mostly, if not completely. Forrest gained "religion" sometime during the war, much to the credit of Mary Montgomery Forrest who had taken him as a personal challenge from the beginning. The public record shows that Forrest and his brothers were slave dealers in wholesale numbers. There were no cars to be sold, remember. The sale of folks for labor was the law of the land, not just in Memphis. That doesn't condone it, just puts it in perspective and opens the door to the fact that Forrest was no where near as evil as others might believe, given the opportunity. Four years of fighting from the saddle and behind dead horses should have made him far more angry after the war. Instead, he did in fact cooperate with the early clan out of a sense of necessity. I have no doubt of that. He had nothing else to gain and had stated his opposition to the war many times as well as his desire to spend the rest of his life as a responsible citizen. He urged his men to do the same.
Along comes H.K. in the last part of the 20th century wearing a Confederate uniform and waving a battle flag as he marches down the main street of hometown USA. Sure, his script needs more rehearsal most times, but his impact on young folks who otherwise have NO exposure to southern history is obvious. H.K. was head of an NAACP group in North Carolina where he reportedly met with some old fashioned southern predujdice with respect to a family burial. That's when his quest begain.
I've seen many an adult male glaring at H.K. asking his intent in very unpolite terms, only to be calmed by a man who exhudes self confidence in a friendly manner. Many SCV members have jumped on his case while others have embraced him. We all have our own drummers.
H.K.'s drummer, his brother Terry, is a fine man who does his part to help the kids he works with deal with life. These are not militant men, just civil war buffs, much like ourselves.
Historians, perhaps not. I've been accused of that as well. I miss Shelby Foote, a neighbor of the General.
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
Last edited by larry_cockerham; 01-06-2008 at 05:09 PM.
Obviously H.K. is occasionally infected with the black version of blarney.
Ya think?
HK regurgitates the lost cause myth word-for-word. I don't know what's in his heart so I don't know if he's completely sincere or if he's shining folks on. I suspect it may be a bit of both. But I find very little of what he says to be accurate.
I don't know if H. K. is aware that the photo is a fraud or not. Frankly, I don't think he cares if it is or isn't. I look at his website and see that he can't be taken seriously when I read the silliness posted there that's put forward as if it were fact.
Regards,
Cash
He does now because I sent him a comment to his site that the photo was of Union African American soldiers and not Louisiana Home Guards. You are probably right about whether he cares.
__________________ "Those who forget to remember the past are condemned to repeat it", George Santayana.
HK regurgitates the lost cause myth word-for-word. I don't know what's in his heart so I don't know if he's completely sincere or if he's shining folks on. I suspect it may be a bit of both. But I find very little of what he says to be accurate.
Regards,
Cash
Sincerity and accuracy; two different things.
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
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