I had the great good fortune yesterday, Saturday, October 8th, 2005, to preside over a Grave Marker Dedication program for Revolutionary War Hero who was killed at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, S.C., on September 8th, 1781.
As a member of the "Sons of Confederate Veterans", I attend many Grave Marker Dedications for Confederate Veterans and usually have some part to play in those ceremonies. But yesterday was my first for a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
As I was speaking to those in attendance at the joyous, yet solemn occasion, it occurred to me that there was, in fact, a distinct link between the Revolutionary War heroes and the Confederate heroes we celebrate so often. It is, simply put, a grandfather/grandson thing. In other words: the grandsons of the Revolutionary war heroes fought the American Civil War… on both sides.
As the Boy Scouts presented the colors, there was Old Glory, beside her was the Betsy Ross flag, beside that one was the NC flag, and yes, there was the Confederate Battle Flag.
Tears flowed, openly, as we sang the National Anthem of the US, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and we celebrated this family’s history. They are able to boast, as so many families from America’s Southland, ancestors who fought in every war America has been involved in. That family has paid their dues to this country… and then some. I recognized a young male family member who has just returned from Iraq where he served with the US Marines. He will be returning shortly. He was given a round of applause and on behalf of his family, and Americans everywhere, I thanked him for his service.
Now, I don’t know where you are in the world when you read this, but I ask you to understand that, here in the American South, we live, and breath, our history. The Civil War was just yesterday to us. The Revolutionary was, well, day before yesterday. Memories are precious to us. We celebrate those memories and we celebrate our families.
Southerners are often misunderstood. Our pride is on open display for the world to see. Our soft-spoken manner is something we adopted over a couple of centuries. It is deliberate. It marks us as Southerners. It is a badge we wear proudly. As many have said, just because we speak slowly, do not assume we think slowly. Our military men, and women, are the cream of our southern society. Here we honor the decision by a young man, or young woman, to serve his, or her, country in the US Military. At the same time, when taking the oath upon swearing in, we will whisper under our breath, “and for the South”.
We have not forgotten that once, for a short while, we had our very own country. Even though we love the US, the echoes of our Ancestors Independence rebound through our very souls.
When the war, which really created the UNITED States, was ended at Appomattox Courthouse, in Virginia, in April of 1865, a new nation was created. There was a melding of the best and brightest of both sections of this country. We became, from that moment, a world superpower. Much of the world did not know it at that moment, but history would prove that that was the moment of the birth of the greatest nation in the history of the world.
But, we Southerners have precious memories. Memories we refuse to give up. That was what we celebrated this past weekend at that Grave Marker Dedication.
A few days ago, I heard a news commentator say when describing Texans, “they feel they are Texans first, then Americans”. He was right. That is true of so much of the American South. When America needs us… we will be there, but we remember… always, our allegiance to our God and our family comes first… in that order.
This past weekend, once again, I had the privilege to share that family’s pride and love of family. Theirs is truly a story of a Southern family. It is not unique in the South. But it is THEIR story.
Winston Churchill once said: “The farther back we can see, the farther forward we can see.” This past weekend, we looked back, and in doing so, we looked ahead… at a future assured by the sacrifices this family made to this country.
“Longstreet”
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