Tag: american-history

Confederate Soldiers Defend - Battle of the Crater

CSA: A Western Theatre Southern “Private” and “General” Discuss Slavery and the Negro Soldiers of the North! (3.6.2025)

Many American Civil War historical narratives give the (false) impression that the Confederacy lost at Gettysburg in 1863 – staggered on with a futile resistance for two-more years – and then surrendered at Appomattox. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tens of thousands of men bravely fought, died and were wounded on both sides between 1863-1865 – with the Confederacy  winning a number of notable victories after Gettysburg. Private Daniel Kelly quoted above, fought in the Confederate Army in the Western Theatre of the Confederacy – as opposed to the far more famous Eastern Theatre (where Gettysburg was situated). Furthermore, Black, Chinese and Native American men fought in the Confederate Army – but their presence is more or less “erased” from history because such a presence tends to lead to inconvenient and even embarrassing questions.

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Library of Congress“Dead Horse of Confederate Colonel; both killed at Battle of Antietam,” by Alexander Gardner

CSA: Piles of Thread-Bare Confederates at Antietam [Sharpsburg] – Notes on Their Sacrifice! (31.1.2025)

The Union Army paid the farmer $1 per dead Confederate body and the farmer made $60 out of the deal. He dug a new well in a different place for the cost of $2 – making a wartime profit of $58. No one knows the names of these Confederate soldiers – and if it was not for a report being made by the Union soldiers concerned – no one would know about these men today. Of course, there was great bravery on both sides – but the spin placed on the war by the winners has skewed how the Confederacy is viewed today. These Confederate men (and boys) advanced into the Union fire with the utmost discipline and determination. They believed 100% in their cause – which was for the freedom of their individual countries (termed “States”). At the time, this war was not only about slavery – but has been made ONLY about slavery since 1865. Many believed the federalisation of the United States was a betrayal of the 1776 War of Independence – and nothing short of a great evil!

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Southern Men Arise!

How Great Britain Assisted the Formation of the Confederate Post Office [1861-1863]! (8.1.2025)

The internationally-known London, England printing firm of “Thomas De La Rue & Co.”, prepared plates and stamps for the CSA until a Southern firm was found to take over the work. That firm, Archer & Daly, began producing stamps in 1863. The US blockade of as many Confederate ports as possible often meant that British ships carrying supplies from London, the UK, or the British Empire to the Confederacy – were often intercepted via acts of piracy on the high seas by the US Navy – with the goods confiscated and/or destroyed. The US government was continuously irritated by the continuous (undeclared) British support for the Confederacy – which for at least two-years extended into the realms of Post Office support! Of course, many of the best weapons the Confederate Army possessed were supplied by the UK. The Postmaster General of the Confederate Post Office Department (POD) – John Reagan (whilst traveling with President Jefferson Davis) – was arrested on the 8th May 1865, and imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. Reagan was pardoned and released from prison almost two years later. Jefferson Davis “refused” a Pardon (on the grounds that he had done nothing wrong) – and was subsequently released anyway.

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CSA Navy Department

Confederate States of America [1861-1865] – Evolution of Flags! (24.11.2024)

Flags, or “Banners” – have been used for thousands of years – in one form or another, to distinguish one group of humans from another. Each such entity conveys “difference” of intent and identity. Each flag is designed to gather together those who “belong” – and “push-away” those who do not. Like the tribal body-markings of the Celts and Picts, each piece of material containing pictures and coloured sections serve as an identifier of “sameness” and a marker of “difference”. As the “Confederate” States of America (CSA) viewed itself as the “true” and “genuine” conveyor of the authentic 1776 “Revolution” – the flags chosen to represent this reality were similar to – but different from – the “Stars and Stripes” as carried by the “United States” of America (USA). There were many “unofficial” flags flown by the citizens and military of the Confederacy – due to the democratic (free) nature of its society and culture. These popular flags were flown alongside (and parallel to) the “official” flags designed and adopted by the government of the CSA. Indeed, these “local” flags lasted throughout the entire war and influenced all the official designs.

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Private Thomas J Higgins - Union Flag-Bearer - Vicksburg (1863)

Email: Vicksburg – The Bravery of Private Thomas J Higgins (1831-1917) – Union Flag-Bearer! (22.10.2024)

This immense fire-power (in a confined space) made a killing field of the redoubt. Those Union attackers that managed to survive the attack across open-ground had to climb a 18-foot breastwork (including trench) before even getting to grips with the defenders – who simply stuck the muskets out of fire-holes and opened-fire at point-blank range! On top of this, Confederate “Grenadiers” lobbed cannon-balls with five-second fuses into the mass of attacking enemy troops. Needless to say, bravery has its limit, and many Union soldiers broke-off the attack and retreated back to their lines – usually minus copious numbers of their friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, Confederate casualties were minimal.

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