CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX: ENOUGH WITH THE CONFEDERATE FLAG ALREADY!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX: ENOUGH WITH THE CONFEDERATE FLAG ALREADY!

Just when I thought it was time for a “fluffy” Blog, I read the inscriptions on the stones at the Confederate soldier monument in Point Lookout Park, Md. I was planning to delete these photos, but something made me read them before I pressed “Delete”. Boy, what a surprise! The War Between the States is still alive and well in Maryland, at least at this Confederate hot spot.  Here are some of the “fighting words” engraved in stone at this monument:

To explain the need for the private monument, the Point Lookout Prisoners of War Descendents [sic] Association writes:

“Point Lookout Prisoner of War Descendents Organization (PLPOW) was founded to honor the sacrifices of their ancestors as well as to bring to the public the true story of the inhumane treatment of prisoners at Point Lookout.”

“In 2002, the Maryland State Park Service and U.S. Veterans Administration began to require all speeches and re-enactments to be submitted for censoring as well as other discriminatory actions directed at only Southern heritage organizations. The most unacceptable directive for descendents to accept was prohibiting the display of the Confederate Flag over the mass grave of the thousands of men that fought and died under the Confederate banner.”

“In 2003, PLPOW purchased this land to erect a memorial plaza that would be free of government interference and restrictions. This memorial will list the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of additional documented names of those that died that are not listed on the monument of the adjacent Federal Cemetery.”

The writers apparently ARE descendants; they just don’t know how to spell “descendants.” About their beloved Confederate flag, they write:

“Confederate Flags are honorable and legitimate symbols of our American history. We recognize that to some people Flags of the South represent nothing more than icons of hatred. To those individuals we extend a friendly hand of sympathy and understanding. Their lack of understanding is not so much a reflection upon themselves as an indictment of those institutions entrusted with the serious task of education, higher education and news dissemination.”

“Many historic symbols have been misused by various groups. Whether the Federal Flag, the Christian Cross or the Saint Andrew’s Cross of Dixie, the symbol is not at fault. These symbols have a deeper meaning that transcends their use by ignorant folk. Understand that the Flags of the Confederacy were legitimate banners of a Nation and culture that struggled for individual liberty, the sanctity of local government and the sovereignty of state government as intended by our founders in 1776 and guaranteed by our original Constitution in 1787 and Bill of Rights in 1789”.

“The Declaration of Independence, the action of the Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776 states, “To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it….””

All righty then, to recap: “The Southern States were struggling for individual liberty.” Oh really? Tell that to the African Americans who were enslaved by them. What the heck is the Saint Andrew’s Cross of Dixie? Ferris Bueller? Anyone? Apparently, our “original Constitution” and the first ten Amendments (Bill of Rights) are acceptable, but the PLPOW has no love for the rest of the Constitutional Amendments, like Amendment 13 abolishing slavery, Amendment 14 guaranteeing every man life and liberty under due process of law, and Amendment 15, giving African American men the right to vote. You can also forget about the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote – it wasn’t in the “original Constitution”. It’s out. But really, why pay any attention to any of the Federal Constitution, original or not, given that state governments have sovereignty in the PLPOW world. If that’s the case, why can’t the State of California or the State of Illinois, or even Washington, D.C., pass a law banning firearms? If these states are sovereign, why should the Federal Government be trying to impose the Second Amendment (in a twisted interpretation) upon them? And finally, YOU LOST THE WAR! YOUR FLAG HAS NO LEGITIMACY! And since it was the symbol of slave-holding states that wanted to remain slave-holding states, it should have no legitimacy. Get it? If our educational institutions are teaching that Confederate flags are NOT honorable and legitimate, then “Bravo!” for them.

War is hell. And prisoner of war “camps”, or prisons, are in the lowest circle of that hell. There is little doubt that the prisoners of war at the Point Lookout Camp were treated badly. To quote from another inscription: “The camp was built to hold 10,000 prisoners; at times it held more than double that amount of military and civilians. Due to inhumane conditions as well as active persecution, thousands of prisoners died (the record is incomplete and is still being compiled). Even though there were funds to house and feed the prisoners adequately, they died of exposure to the elements, disease, starvation and indiscriminate shootings. Col. William Hoffman, Commissary General of Union Prisons, saved over two million dollars allotted for the care of Confederate prisoners by denying prisoners enough food to prevent starvation.” So what is the lesson we learn from this horrible experience? Do not go to war – work out a peaceful solution. Abolish slavery. Agree to a federal system of government. Agree to liberty and justice for all – men and women of all races.

One of the strangest anomalies of this memorial is the detailed description of the “Negroes” who fought for the Confederacy and who “were manifestly an integral portion of the Confederate Army.” We’re told that Black Confederate soldiers were imprisoned at Point Lookout – you can bet that they were not housed with the white confederate soldiers. This participation by African Americans in the Confederate Army is noted with a certain pride by the writer. But really, what were their options? They were slaves – if their masters went to war, they went to war. Were they going to say “No”, when their masters told them to come along and fight for the Confederacy? Just remember how many fled across Union lines to get their freedom – and for that, they were dealt with as “contraband of war”, the legal term constructed to justify not returning them to their Southern masters. Sorry, members of PLPOW, you don’t make yourselves look noble because your ancestors forced their slaves to take up arms for the Confederacy. That does not legitimize slavery – no way, no how.

And for your information, PLPOW members, the War Between the States is OVER. The Union won. We are a union of states governed by a central, federal government. You can’t ignore that. You are free to fly the Stars and Stripes proudly and to espouse liberty for all and equality for all races. You are also free to fly the Confederate flag on your private property. Just try to remember what it stood for when the 13 states that seceded organized an army under this flag. It did not stand for individual liberty – ever. Shame on you for disseminating that false propaganda. And why don’t you try to understand why many people, not just African Americans, are disgusted by your clinging to this flag which only ever flew over slave-holding states? If you renounce slavery, then please renounce this flag as its symbol. Thank you.