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You would think we would have learned before now, that there will never be enough!
Then should they be eligible for burial at any National Cemetery??
The Confederate soldiers that died during the war didn't die U.S. citizens. They didn't receive U.S. citizenship until Congress authorized in 1958. But since this war was a civil war, it received unique attention, giving attention to the "enemy" deaths that occurred because
No Confederate soldier was alive when Congress restored their U.S. citizenship. They, therefore, were not buried in a National Cemetery.That's why they are all buried in city cemeteries and private cemeteries.
They should, absolutely.
Tom - yes, I am aware of that - my comment was meant to be ironic, in referral to Yankee Brookes post # 5.
Of course that generalization is largely true but there are many, many exceptions for various reasons. One such exception is the very large section of Confederates buried in the Fort Smith, Arkansas National Cemetery above; Fort Smith had a Confederate garrison for the first two years of the war, so naturally any fatalities during that period were buried there in the old post cemetery, dating from around 1817. Other examples include those who died as prisoners of war; even Gettysburg has at least a couple of Confederate burials!
Perhaps some CS service men can be eligible based on their prior (or some rare cases post-war) service in the US armed forces. But the object of service in the CS army was for the propose of protecting their new nation; wholly independent from the US. Do we bury Americans who served exclusively in foreign militaries in US military cemeteries?
There's a Confederate soldier buried in Andersonville National Cemtery, but he's a modern reinterment and never actually served at the prison.
Why did the Confederacy exist? That is a good question. By the mid 19th century, the north and south had effectively become two separate nations. The South was an agricultural society that depended on slave labor that exported cash crops. It had little liquid capital, minimal manufacturing, opposed high tariffs and direct taxation. On the other hand, the North was an industrial economy that favored protective tariffs, direct taxation and had an elaborate financial system, and wanted to expand into the West through homesteading and railroads. Things came to a head after Lincoln was elected President in the fall of 1860 as a candidate of the new Republican Party. The Democratic and Republican parties had fundamentally different economic policies. The Republicans and the North wanted economic expansion which consisted of free land, free labor, a free market, a high protective tariff for manufacturers and a central bank. The South opposed all of these policies and they saw Lincoln and the Republicans as making continuation of their way of life impossible in the future. Therefore, the South decided to secede from the Union to form the Confederacy.
Except the Confederacy was never recognized as a sovereign state, therefore they were still Americans, serving in an American army.(one of the few things lost causers get right)
Great explanation!
I've mentioned this before and unfortunately have no photos, but in addition to a fairly large Confederate section in another National Cemetery located at or near Decatur, Illinois containing the graves consisting mainly of members of the 24th and 25th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) who died while serving as prisoners-of-war following the surrender of Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post in January 1863, just across the path from them lie a row of about seven Germans from both World Wars, a couple of Italians, and a solitary North Korean!
Bringing the