Tag: CSA

CSA Oliver Hardy - Confederate Army

CSA: Oliver Hardy’s “Confederate” History! (5.4.2025)

The comedy duo – “Laurel and Hardy” (Stan Laurel being from the UK) still make millions of people laugh all the time. It would seem that like many people living in the Southern States, the family of Oliver Hardy were originally from England. I find the Confederacy to be a complex period of US history – often misrepresented by prevailing narratives. It is as if the dominant narrative-writers want to hide something that was present in the South between 1861-1865 – but which is inconvenient to know today. My own view is that there was Revolutionary dialectics in operation that could have led the US in an entirely different direction. I find that this observation is just as unpopular with neo-Confederates as it is with the Federal government in Washington DC!

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Dead Confederate sharpshooters of Hood's Division among the rocks in Devil's Den in front of Little Round Top.

CSA: Remembering the Bravery of “Irish” Company “K” – 15th Alabama – Little Round-Top [2.7.1863] – Gettysburg! (3.4.2025)

The weather was hot – and the Confederates had to advance over open ground before storming an inclined slope (in the form of a steep hill) – with the intention of sweeping the Federals off its top and consolidating the victory. The previous day had seen the Confederates sweep the Federals out of West and Central Gettysburg – and into the hills to its East. Washington was just 80 miles to the South – and legend has it that Lincoln was packing his belongings to flee! I have audio-typed part of a chapter from Stephen Sears’ book – carefully reproducing the text from an Audible edition (in my native British English). This provides a general background to the battle – but does not mention the Irish specifically – other than one or two fighting for the Union. For the story of “Company K” of the 15th Alabama Regiment of the Confederate States of America (CSA) – we must turn to the excellent work of Phillip Thomas Tucker – who has produced an excellent book examining the contribution to the Confederate cause made by the Irish!

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General George Pickett - CSA

CSA: BBC Antiques Roadshow “Experts” Convicted of Fraud After Appearing on Show! (1.4.2025)

Although a small number of the Confederate soldiers managed to reach the Union lines and engage in hand-to-hand combat, they were ultimately overwhelmed. The charge ended in a disastrous defeat for the Confederates, with more than half of the men involved either killed, wounded, or captured. Meanwhile, on a different part of the battlefield, the Union scored yet another decisive victory at Vicksburg on July 4th, 1863, the day after the defeat at Gettysburg (a conflict had been raging at Vicksburg since the beginning of the war – with the defending Confederates scoring a number of victories – but nothing decisive). Nevertheless, despite these heavy-blows, General Lee managed to muster what was left of his Army and retreat in good order back to the South – and continue the war for another two-years.

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Stephen Spencer West Co. I “the Granville Stars” 23rd NC Infantry CSA. He was born in Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina in 1837. He was killed in action during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863

CSA: Remembering the [1863] Bravery of the 23rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment [and Other Carolina Men] – at Gettysburg! (27.3.2025)

Jefferson had to draw from a limited pool of men (compared to the North – which possessed an endless supply of recruits – as every newly arrived migrant was enrolled into the US Army) – Jefferson managed to assemble around 80,000 (aged 12-60) – gave every man a uniform, hat and pair of boots, and ensured all were armed and fed. The idea was to Punish the Lincoln Administration that had tried on numerous occasions to militarily invade and subjugate the South. It was General Lee who suggested to Jefferson Davis that an invasion into the North – and a decisive military victory near Washington – might force Lincoln to sue for peace. Lincoln, however, had other ideas, and refused any such compromise, stating that he strove for the utter destruction of the South.

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Possibly a a Photograph of the "Philadelphia Greys"

CSA: General Robert E Lee Sues for “Peace” [1863] – Pennsylvanian “Minutemen” Non-Existent! (17.3.2025)

This reflected a remarkable situation. A Confederate Army was riding rampant through the Pennsylvanian countryside – the State within which Washington DC is situated – and yet “no one” amongst the young, elderly, disabled or wounded men (considered medically “unfit” to join the Regular Army due to ill-health or age) were prepared to defend the Union. Within the city of Philadelphia, 8,000 men of the already existing “Philadelphia Greys” bravely volunteered to march to the front in defence of the Union. Due to the general lack of volunteers from the ordinary population – the city of New York sent 12,000 of its own existing Militiamen to supplement the regular Union Army. How brave these men were! Militiamen are often called “Sunday Soldiers” – as they are working men, fathers and patriarchs who live in society, work and look after their families. They come together once a week, once a month, or just a few times a year to compare notes, fire their weapons, and discuss homestead self-defence. They are not frontline soldiers. Of course, Confederate citizens showed the same extent of bravery when the time came. 

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Battle of Chancellorsville

CSA: Would a Confederate Victory Have Led to a Socialist Revolution? (28.2.2025)

However, the Southern ideas of honour and their so-called aristocratic thinking were overblown and these ideas actually sometimes played to the South’s benefit, as the men in the South followed natural leaders and often times appointed them on their own (via popular vote). All too often, in the North, Officers were often political appointees – desk-bound Officers who hadn’t seen a battlefield in years – or ever. Or men who simply bought their way into a General’s uniform. One of the more stereotypical views of the South was the aforementioned backward, backwoodsman. Think about that for a moment. Yes – a significant portion of the Confederate Army was poor, uneducated, and illiterate. Some left-leaning historians have said  – with some accuracy – that the poor Whites of the South had more in common with the slaves – than they did with the leading families who owned most of the land and the fabulous estates like the fictional “Tara” in Gone With the Wind.

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