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Soon after the formation of the Confederate States of America, the new government chose a national seal and motto: Deo Vindice: “God Will Vindicate”

The seal features George Washington on horseback, pictured in his uniform of the Revolution securing American independence. Washington is surrounded with a wreath, made of some of the main agricultural products of the Confederacy: wheat, corn, tobacco, cotton, rice and sugarcane. In the top margin of the seal are the words “The Confederate States of America: 22 February 1862”. This date on the seal commemorates the establishment of the new Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia with the inauguration of President Jefferson Davis – and it is also Washington’s birthday.But why George Washington?  

It’s easy to see. Washington was chosen as the model for the Confederacy because of his importance in founding a new nation. He was man of great personal character, a military leader who secured independence, and a new nation’s political leader.

Both North and South would claim Washington as their patron of democracy. No public figure stood higher in the public esteem. He was beloved by Northerners and Southerners alike. By 1861 he had come to symbolize everything virtuous and heroic about the American Revolution.

Historian Joseph J. Ellis wrote,

‘If there was a Mount Olympus in the new American republic, all the lesser gods were gathered farther down the slope from Washington.”

Since the Southerners claimed Washington as their guiding spirit, a member of the Georgia delegation to the 1861 Confederate constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama, proposed to name the new Southern nation ‘‘Republic of Washington.”

Jefferson Davis. In his inaugural address said,

“On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the permanent government of the Confederate States.”

The Confederacy, he continued, would

“perpetuate the principles of our Revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated….We are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty.”

Although neither Jefferson Davis nor Confederate General Robert E. Lee ever claimed the title for themselves, they were often called “Second Washingtons.”

Had he lived to see it, many say that George Washington would not have supported the Confederacy because of his stated commitment to one nation, indivisible.

But that didn’t prevent Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, and other leading Southerners from declaring that Washington  was a citizen of his state first, and of the United States second.

Maybe he would have been a Confederate, too, or maybe not. Who knows? It’s fun to think about it.  In any case, George Washington was definitely a hero and model of the Confederacy.

Confederate currency with Deo Vindice seal including George Washington

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More Americans died in The Civil War than any other conflict. In fact, it took half of all Americans lost in all our wars.  Most of it was fought on Confederate territory.   It was a brutal conflict, yet many a man fought from beginning to end. Soldiers had little tolerance for the opinions of those not in the fray. One man wrote about them as

“men who have not spunk enough to leave their mammy…setting on their asses by warm fires and enjoying all the comforts of home, running down men who are enduring hardships all the time and risking their lives…” Soldiers fought with great courage. A chaplain wrote,

“Our battle-worn veterans go into danger when ordered, remain as a stern duty so long as directed, and leave as honor and duty allow.”

One captain explained,

“I am a soldier and a good one,” though he admitted he might complain and “growl” after a fight. But when “an order came to storm a battery, nary a squeal would I make.”   Men were pushed to the breaking point, but kept going. They knew they could trust the fellows next to them, men who had stood up to certain death before, and would do it again.

One Southern private explained, “We were defeated because bravery and human endurance were unequal to the undertaking.” Honoring those lost was particularly sacred in the South. Local women established memorial associations to create cemeteries. The departed that never returned were remembered in many ways, and still are to this day.

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Private Sam Watkins of Company H, 1st Tennessee Regiment chronicled his experiences in his writings “Co. Aytch.” It is considered to be one of the greatest memoirs ever written by a soldier of the field. He captures the experience of the common private soldier, from the hardships of camp life and battlefields, the camaraderie of a unit, and the Confederate pride felt by all.  Here is the story about his first battle.It seems they were marching along in the summer of 1861,

“when bang, debang, debang, bang, and a volley of buck and ball came hurling right through the two advance companies of the regiment—companies H and K.”  They had  marched right into an ambush.Sam wrote,

“…no one seemed equal to the emergency. We did not know whether to run or stand, when Captain Field gave the command to fire and charge the bushes. We charged the bushes and saw the Yankees running through them…”After the fighting, Sam said the

“corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, all had torn all the fine lace off their clothing.”

He asked several of them why, and they always answered,

“Humph, you think that I was going to be a target for the Yankees to shoot at?”

“You see, this was our first battle, and the officers had not found out that minnie as well as cannon balls were blind; that they had no eyes and could not see. They thought that the balls would hunt for them and not hurt the privates. I always shot at privates. It was they that did the shooting and killing…when we got down to close quarters I always tried to kill those that were trying to kill me.”

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The Confederate Army had a number of soldiers who were Scottish or had Scottish ancestry.  Some of the Scottish units formed included the “Scotch Guards” from Alabama, the “Scotch Tigers” of North Carolina and the “Montgomery Highlanders” of Virginia. We will cover more about the Scots and their contribution to the Confederate cause in a separate article. 

The Civil War caused not only political divisions, but divisions within individual families. A story of note is about two Scottish born brothers, James and Alexander Campbell, who had come in the 1850’s to build new lives in America. When the Civil War broke out, they found themselves fighting against each other in their new homeland. They are the perfect example of a Brother against Brother conflict that happened more often than we like to think about during the Civil War.

James Campbell had settled in South Carolina, and became a member of the Charleston Battalion. Brother Charles, now from New York, became a member of the Union 79th New York Highlanders. They would ultimately face each other from opposite sides at the Battle of Secessionville in 1862.

The brothers corresponded with each other as the war carried on. They found themselves serving near Secessionville in 1862. When Federal Brother Alex learned of Confederate James’ location, he wrote to his wife on June 10:

“We are not far from each other now . . . this was a war that there never was the like of before Brother against Brother.“

Neither knew it at the time, but they fought each other at the Battle of Secessionville. At Fort Lamar, Federal brother Alexander, a Color Sergeant in the 79th, planted the U. S. flag before the parapet and kept it there until ordered to withdraw. When Confederate resistance started to buckle, Confederate brother James, a Lieutenant, mounted the parapet unarmed, rolled a log down into the mass of advancing federal troops, seized a Federal musket, and continued fighting.

The Charleston Mercury later reported:

“The foe, it is true, displayed admirable courage, the famous Highland regiment, the 79th New York, occupied the prominent place in the picture, but their desperate onslaughts were of no avail against the stubborn resolve and lofty valor of our brave boys.”

The Charleston Courier editorialized on the two brothers, saying:

“another illustration of the deplorable consequences of this fratricidal war.”

It stated Alexander Campbell, “fought gallantly in the late action” and “displayed … a heroism worthy of his regiment and a better cause” while James Campbell “was conspicuous and has been honorable mentioned on our side.”

Afterwards Confederate James wrote his Federal Brother:

“I was astonished to hear from the prisoners that you was color Bearer of the Regmt that assaulted the Battery at this point the other day.” James continued, “I was in the Brest work during the whole engagement doing my Best to Beat you.”

He continued:

“…but I hope you and I will never again meet face to face bitter enemies on the Battlefield. But if such should be the case You have but to discharge your duty for your cause for I can assure you I will strive to discharge my duty to my country and my cause.”

Shortly after the battle, Confederate James, tried to visit his federal brother by going to the Union lines, but  Federal troops would not allow James to cross the lines nor allow Alex to be brought out for a meeting of the two brothers.

Alexander wrote his wife in New York:

I hope to God that he and I will get safe through it all and he will have his story to tell about his side and I will have my story to tell about my side.”

After the war, they went their own separate ways, but kept in touch with each other. James went to Charleston, and Alexander went to Connecticut. They forever remained on good terms with each other.. Both had been soldiers, heroes for their own cause, who had fought against each other. But nothing, not even that great war of division, could break their bond of brotherhood.

Winbush said his grandfather believed he was defending his home state of Tennessee from “Yankee” invaders, not fighting to preserve slavery. His final wish, Winbush said, was that he be buried in his Confederate uniform.

This pride has been embraced by Winbush, who joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans nearly three decades ago. In one of the videos he has appeared in for the group, he speaks of black soldiers serving alongside white soldiers as equals in the Confederate Army. At one point, he holds up an application his grandfather filed with the federal government in 1920 for a federal pension. The document shows the application was accepted.

His grandfather was a slave. Now he’s a champion for Confederate monuments.

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The Southern Confederate soldier was a tough character, and one of the finest warriors to ever take the field of battle in any army, in any war. The cause for which he fought and died has been harshly judged. But from the Confederate point of view, the harsh conditions and suffering were as noble as that of the Revolutionary War forefathers 100 years before them.

The Southern Soldier typically came from families who were not Plantation masters, but pioneers of the Southland who fully believed that their cause was to fight against a Northern Revolution hellbent on tearing apart the very fabric of their history and freedom.

That soldier knew that success depended on courage, endurance and devotion. He also knew that defeat came not just in wounded men on the battlefield, but also in the form of sickness, starvation, and death.

We can get a glimpse of the conditions of a soldier’s life from the the personal written accounts of Private Carlton McCarthy, Army of Northern Virginia:Carlton tells us:

“…tents were rarely seen,” explaining that the men would put an oilcloth on the ground, covering themselves with blankets and another oilcloth on top. This protected them “through rain, snow or hail…”The soldiers generally did without money: “The men did not expect, did not care for, or get often any pay, and they were not willing to deprive the old folks at home of their little supply.”    The men learned to travel light:

“No soldiers ever marched with less to encumber them, and none marched faster or held out longer. The courage and devotion of the men rose equal to every hardship and privation, and the very intensity of their sufferings became a source of merriment.”

“Instead of growling and deserting, they laughed at their own bare feet, ragged clothes and pinched faces, and weak, hungry, cold, wet, worried with vermin and itch, dirty, with no hope of reward or rest, but each fighting on his own personal account, needing not the voice of any to urge them on, marched cheerfully to meet the well fed and warmly clad hosts of the enemy.”

The Southern Soldier was one real tough cookie.  He fought and died for what he believed in. If he didn’t, would our country be the same?

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Why would an innocent and  good looking, blond haired, blue eyed, 21 year old Confederate man, weighing barely 100 pounds, be called “the most dangerous man in Arkansas?”  

The exploits of Howell A. “Doc” Rayburn are a legacy of fact and legend. Doc was a Civil War guerrilla chieftain who operated in the area between West Point (White County) and Des Arc (Prairie County). He enlisted in the Confederate Army in October 1861, joining Company C, Twelfth Texas Cavalry.

Rayburn’s delicate physique belied his real strength and cunning.

From the small northern Arkansas town of Des Arc, Doc recruited dozens of local youth into a guerrilla band that became known as the Phantom Unit. They gained a reputation for their daring exploits and ability to appear out of nowhere to pounce on unsuspecting Yankees. For two years Rayburn and his band proved to be quite a nuisance to Union military authorities with his attacks.  

In one such such attack near West Point, Rayburn’s boys put on Union uniforms and took their enemy by surprise. During General Sterling Price’s 1864 Missouri Raid, Rayburn’s command served as Colonel Thomas H. McCray’s bodyguard.

His guerrilla attacks on Union outposts and expeditions tied up countless Federal assets that could have been used elsewhere. The Yankees tried several times to capture Rayburn, but were unsuccessful.

The most famous story of Rayburn’s exploits centers around activities at DeVall’s Bluff (Prairie County) in December 1864. He told his men that if he could make it through a Union picket line that evening, he would be their Santa Claus.

With his diminutive stature, long blond hair and blue eyes, he knew he could pass himself off as a female. Borrowing a lady’s clothing, Rayburn made it through the picket line to a Christmas dance hosted by Federals. 

After an evening of dancing with Yankee officers, he carefully made his way to the corral. He jumped on the best horse in the corral, and caused a stampede. That year, he and every man in his command received a horse for Christmas!

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Martin Van Buren Bates was a normal baby born to normal parents in Letcher County, Kentucky, in 1837. But he was not destined to be “normal” for long. At the age seven he started a tremendous growth spurt. By the time he was thirteen, he had grown to a height of over 6 feet, and weighed in 300 pounds.

His parents were so astonished by his amazing growth that they would not let him do any chores, fearing that his body would be too fragile to handle the activity. And he kept on growing. It is said that he reached the height 7 feet 11 inches  and weighed over 470 pounds.

He wrote later in an autobiography,

“My growth was gradual and it is probable, that owing to that fact each portion of my body developed equal and symmetrically… When I was fifteen I stood six feet in height and was to all appearances a man. At that time the war between the States was commenced.”

When the Civil War began in 1861, Bates left his school teaching position and joined the Confederate Army as a private in the 5th Kentucky Infantry. His imposing size and ferocity in battle earned him a promotion to rank of Captain very quickly. His incredibly large size made him a legend among Union soldiers. They told tales of a “Confederate giant who’s as big as five men and fights like 50.”

He was severely wounded in a battle around the Cumberland Gap area and also captured, but he later managed to escape.

After the War, he did not return to Kentucky because of violent feuding going on between the Union supporters and Confederate supporters. He said,

“I’ve seen enough bloodshed; I didn’t want any more.”

Instead, he traveled to Ohio, and joined the circus, exhibiting his enormous stature to curious onlookers in the “cabinet of curiosities.”  People said his boots were so so large “it took a bushel of corn to fill one boot.”

While on tour in Canada, he met Anna Swan, who stood 7 feet and 5 and a half inches tall.

The curious couple later married in London and became the “The Tallest Man and Wife That Ever Existed.” Thousands of people were drawn to them, not only by their uncommon size, but also by their exceedingly good and charming nature. Queen Victoria herself gave them two extra-large diamond-studded gold watches as wedding presents.

Martin and Anna Bates

Martin and Anna eventually returned to Ohio, settling into a life of farming in Seville, and were lovingly known at “the Giants of Seville.’

Bates is one of the most famous Kentuckians to have ever lived. His struggles and triumphs, during the Civil War and civilian life demonstrate to us the pursuit of a passionate life well-lived – even as a “Giant.”

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