In the Minority?

[Pat Answer]

Question : When individuals study this bloody conflict and tour the related sites, do you gravitate towards the Union side or the Confederate side?

* I can honestly say that I gravitate towards both sides as I study this war and tour the sites.

Growing up in the Greater Cincinnati Area, I was taught in grade school that the blue coat soldiers and sailors were the good guys and the gray (butternut) coat soldiers and sailors were the bad guys. I carried this viewpoint into my adulthood and all the way up to my first visit to the Gettysburg National Military Park. After visiting this Hallowed Ground in the state of Pennsylvania, my viewpoint started to change. I stopped looking at this war as a "Good Guy vs. Bad Guy" conflict. I started to look at this conflict as Americans slaughtering fellow Americans........

As I study this war, I do not find myself rooting for one side or another side as I would root for my favorite football, baseball or basketball teams. I try to place my feet into the shoes of Union and Confederate soldiers and sailors. I do this because both sides were Americans......

In my opinion, there were heroes and villains on both sides.

I do feel like I am in the minority........

Semper Fi,

Bill

Insofar as my interest in this period is almost purely military-historical I don't root for a side either. But I'm also just too darn cynical to look at history in 'good-guy/bad-guy' terms. (Taking down the WW2 Axis is the only exception that comes to mind...)

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

WOW! Fantastic!!! Great post and replies!!! Not one comment could I not disagree with. A tragedy, through and through, but as stated earlier, made us a better country. Both sides had great soldiers, and bad. Both sides had great leaders, and bad. I lean to the south, texas roots maybe. But I do detest slavery, just as I detest human trafficking. It's a sad thing that so many 'Muricans were killed by fellow 'Muricans. The best photo ever is the two old fellas siting there shaking hands.
Semper Fidelis
The Thorn

 

[brass napoleon]

...Rather as one "likes" the Cavaliers (no, not Cleveland)...

Yes, Cleveland!!!

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Thank you guys and gals for your replies!

I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one residing on this island.

Bill

 

[frankconrad]

Both sides had some big men and some little men. the two biggest met at Appomattox. Looking at history there are very few times when as Lincoln wanted( Let them up easy )is the terms of the victor.
With 6 of the eight CW ancestors in Iowa units, The state with the highest percentage of soldiers in the Union I am prejudiced to Iowa, and no draft, but ready to accept most of the soldiers. There are a few North and South that in my opinion were a disgrace to there country.
States Rights was one of the CS bigger problems, they would not pull together for the common good.

 

[diane]

I tend to gravitate toward the South although I believe, with Grant, they fought for one of the worst causes ever. I haven't found any Union on my dad's side yet, and most of the Choctaw/Chickasaw/Cherokee ones were with Forrest. They were slave owners and definitely wanted to keep that business going but there was more to it than that. Forrest was defending land they had just vacated, without wanting to, so it was like fighting for your hearth and home. Even if you're removed from the land of your people, your heart somehow stays there. There's some parts of the country I'm homesick for - and I've never been there! Some one of my ancestors, I suppose.

 

[Patrick H]

Bill, you expressed your thoughts perfectly. In addition, it looks as though a host of other people have been inspired to chime in and express similar feelings. You have launched a wonderful thread here.

(Oh.... count me among those who honors the soldiers on both sides).
Pat

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Bill, you expressed your thoughts perfectly. In addition, it looks as though a host of other people have been inspired to chime in and express similar feelings. You have launched a wonderful thread here.

(Oh.... count me among those who honors the soldiers on both sides).
Pat

Thanks, Pat!

I have been chewing on this topic for the past week.

I felt it was time to share with individuals which share my same passion.

 

[Nathanb1]

William, I think a lot of us feel that way. We just get drowned out by those other guys.

 

[OldGreyMare]

I tend to side with the Union because slavery is a horrible institution, but the South has always had a charisma to it -- that would be foolish to deny. The war itself holds a lot of fascination in that regard; truly some interesting and dashing people on both sides.
Now that I'm older all I feel is sadness -- what a waste of human life; it would have been so much better if the horrid institution had been given up willingly.

 

[huskerblitz]

I don't think I side with either even though most of my prior readings have dealt with the Union side. I have no issue with the Southern states attempting to leave the Union and established their own nation. It's been done throughout history. Their reason for wanting to is problematic. Rebelling over slavery is even worse than rebelling over taxes!

So I don't subscribe to the neo-Confederate viewpoint but nor do I subscribe to the neo-Unionist side. Most of my readings the past couple of years have been more connected with the story of my ancestors who fought for the Union.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

And the trees are all kept equal......

By hatchet, ax and saw.

~ Neil Peart

* Union graves at the Winchester National Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia.

* Confederate graves at the Mount Hebron Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia.

* Photos courtesy of William Bechmann (2014)

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Ironically, the Winchester National Cemetery is north of the Mount Hebron Cemetery.

The Mount Hebron Cemetery is south of the Winchester National Cemetery.

The Woodstock Lane separates the two cemeteries..........

 

[TinCan]

I liked Bill's OP very much. When I tramped around Vicksburg I was overcome by the thought that the ground I was walking over was stained by the blood of Americans. It didn't matter which side they were on. To me, it seemed more important to imagine them as someone's son, who they raised and nurtured, someone's brother, who they played with growing up, someone's husband, who they loved and looked to for support, someone's father, who they would never know. These things were much more important than the color of their uniforms.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

As a native Pennsylvanian who has lived more than half his 54 years in Ohio, I tend to gravitate toward the Union perspective. That's not to say that I ignore the Confederate perspective--my body of work belies that idea--but my natural affinity as a native northerner causes me to focus more on the Union than on the Confederate.

 

[LittleGuy1864]

Bill, you're definitely not alone in your thinking. I don't gravitate towards one side or the other. My first foray in the ACW was almost 4 years ago, on my first trip to Gettysburg. For me, the most telling moment during the day wasn't about who won or lost the battle, but the sacrifices made by both sides. That's when the the story of the ACW really hit me and I haven't looked back since in terms of studying it.

Even today, when I go and visit battlefields, I don't concentrate on one side or another, even after reading about the ACW for a few years now. I still want to hear the story from both sides. Not having any known ancestors that fought in the war also contributes to my neutral stance as well. Heck, I was born and grew up in Wisconsin and I want to retire in a few years in Virginia. Being in the military helps in keeping my north vs. south emotions in check, since I've (and a bunch on these forums) had the chance to serve with many great individuals from all 50 states, and lived in the south for the first 11 years of my career. That's part of what makes this country so great, having the freedom to, and being able to appreciate everyone and their sacrifices, no matter where they call home.

Rebecca

 

[DixieRifles]

I always gravitate toward my ancestors (almost entirely south)

I gravitate towards the Mississippi side.

The ACW is a very broad topic. My focus on Mississippi units has helped me understand more details of specific units and the interconnection of men, commanders and communities during the war. It has paid off in recent years when I found more ancestors who served in Mississippi units.

 

[MRB1863]

I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one residing on this island.

I share your viewpoint and was also taught in school about the good wearing blue and the bad guys gray. Most of the Civil War history I learned in school was a generic glazing over a study that can easily consume several lifetimes. It seems that the more the Civil War is studied, the more that remains to be learned. Often when looking for information to substantiate something I've been researching or reading leads to many more questions than answers. I don't think a truly complete history will ever be known. As to the island...you are not alone as we share the island. Have you seen Ginger, Mary Ann, the Howell's or the Professor?

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Outstanding replies.....

You guys and gals are the best!

Thanks again for sharing.

It is a darn shame this war (surrounding era) is not studied in depth throughout our school system.

Darn shame......

 

[63rdOVI]

Growing up the youngest in my family I sided with the South.......kind of felt kinship with the Lost Cause in my situation.

But as I grew up into adulthood and studied the issues I realized the North was right. Then I discovered my closest ancestors during that time were all Union vets. I did have relatives on the Southern side also. I look at things nowadays as the North being the good side and the South being misguided but worthy of being respected.

This very thing for me, too.

I was raised in southern West Virginia on the idea, loudly voiced by my mother's mother, that we were "rebels" and that Stonewall Jackson (also from what is now West Virginia) and Robert E. Lee were the truest American heroes. My father's family never spoke of the war, so my understanding was that we weren't Yankees. Until I researched and found out otherwise.

After considering myself and my heritage absolutely Confederate, to find that most of my direct ancestors on BOTH SIDES of my family were Union soldiers--and there were a lot of them--stunned me into an acceptance of knowing that I'll never know all there is to know about the war, and that I must question those long-held maxims about why and who. I realized that it was only possible to continue learning, to accept that there were both brave and bad people on both sides of the war and to accept the bad things as I would the good things; and that they were not my fault nor my issues, but they are my heritage. I must face them and own them, and learn from the mistakes made and try to ensure that we try to learn the truth of the war. And I honor the soldiers from both sides, regardless of the issues for which they fought, because they were Americans and they are my people.