Nelson Winbush, SCV

[Battalion]

"Nelson Winbush rotates a miniature flag holder he keeps on his mantel, imagining how the banners would appear in a Civil War battle.

The Stars and Bars, he explains, looked too much like the Union flag to prevent friendly fire. The Confederacy responded by fashioning the distinctive Southern Cross -- better known as the rebel flag.

Winbush, 78, is a retired assistant principal with a master's degree, a thoughtful man whose world view developed from listening to his grandfather's stories about serving the South in the "War Between the States."

His grandfather's casket was draped with a Confederate flag. His mother pounded out her Confederate heritage on a typewriter. He wears a rebel flag pinned to the collar of his polo shirt.

Winbush is also black.

"You've never seen nothing like me, have you?..."

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/07/State/In_defense_of_his_Con.shtml

~~~


The article was recently featured on Kevin Levin's "Civil War Memory"...
...apparently he didn't bother to read it very closely-

Levin:

"...There is a fascinating story in all of this; unfortunately, Winbush doesn't have a sophisticated enough background to understand it..."

Winbush is a retired teacher & assistant principal with a master's degree.

"...The story of his grandfather is a story shaped by white Americans, which evolved as a means to satisfy both political and racial agendas...."

The story was passed down from generation to generation within his own family.

 

[larry_cockerham]

Actually I have many times met a man like Winbush. His name is H.K. Edgerton and he is still going strong.

 

[ole]

The story was passed down from generation to generation within his own family.

The worst kind of "history" is the family legend. It may well be accurate to the last dotted "i," but such oral histories are normally subject to the teller's mood at the time.

ole