Category: Confederate Flags Heritage

The photo you see above is Robert E. Lee with his son, in 1845. Someone asked me whether Lee ever regretted fighting for the South.

General Long worked alongside Lee. He wrote Lee said the following, a day or two before surrender at Appomattox:

“…I have never believed we could…make good in the long run our independence unless foreign powers should assist us…. But such considerations really made with me no difference. We had…sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavour.”

Lee wrote to his sister after he resigned his commission in the United States Army:

“I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.”

Today we talk of the great social issues of the Civil War – and they were grave!

But for the individuals it often came down to protecting the lives and homes of family and friends, or siding with those who might attack them.

Americans had much strong ties to their home states. There were still people alive who had been citizens of an American Colony, when each Colony had been independent of the others.

In a letter to a friend, Lee wrote:

“If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for revolution), then I will follow my native State with my sword, and, if need be, with my life.”

To quote from Winston Churchill:

“He was opposed to slavery and thought that, ‘secession would do no good,’ but he had been taught from childhood that his first allegiance was to the state of Virginia.”

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We know how George Armstrong Custer met his end. But did you know he fought in the Civil war from the first major battle all the way to Appomattox?We have copies of his correspondence with several friends that were then fighting for the South. That’s Custer on the right above. And by the way, the Rebel prisoner next to him was a buddy of his. He had decent success for two years, but in 1863 his fortune rocketed.  J.E.B. Stuart’s brilliant Rebel horsemen were making short work of two Union brigades. Their Colonels were trying to rally the men, to no avail.Lieutenant Custer spurred his horse past the colonels. Wearing his broad-brimmed white hat, Custer faced the troops and drew his saber. Pointing to the enemy, he went into a gallop. Moments later the colonels raced forward, followed by the rest of the Union Cavalry. That charge saved their bacon.Two weeks later, Lt. Custer became Brigadier General Custer. He went on to be a very successful commander of cavalry in the Civil War.Custer’s military future didn’t always bright. He was last in his class at West Point, and had a lot of discipline problems.  A Cadet would be expelled if he accumulated 100 demerits over six months. Custer typically piled up over 90, and then buckle down until the next semester. Here are some examples:Dec 19th, 1857 – Calling “Corporal” in a loud & boisterous voice – 3 demeritsApril 3, 1858 – Hair out of uniform at guard meeting – 2 demeritsJan 27, 1859 – Late to supper – 1 demeritFeb 17, 1859 – Throwing snowballs on barrack steps – 3 demeritsIn his last semester before graduation, Custer got 97 demerits. And then got a court martial for not stopping a fight while on guard duty. If it had not been for the war, Custer would have been out on his ear.Just goes to show, sometimes it takes a rebel to win.

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We often hear why the Civil War was fought. Professors and reporters and “very important” folks tell us.And with great conviction they tell us!But you rarely hear from these scholars about why the man in uniform was fighting. Seems the soldier is simply forgotten.I usually write about a person. Sometimes about an event, but I try hard to brush in one or more real people.So let’s hear from one.David Johnston was 16 when he went into uniform. He was a Private, a Rebel. He fought four years, but lived and went on to become a Congressman and a respected judge.

Johnston wrote a book after the war, telling of his experiences. Near the end he wrote, regarding his praise of Confederate soldiers he had known:“I do not for one moment mean or intend to detract from the laurels won by the heroic Union soldier, who stood in the firing line, faithfully discharging his duty; for he, as well as we, was contending for principles regarded sacred and for which we had risked our lives…. All were American soldiers, and the glory and honor won by each is the common heritage of the American people, not to be obscured or clouded by the questions about which we differed. Each struggled to maintain the right as God gave him to see the right.”“We often talked along the skirmish lines with Union soldiers…. In opposition to our claim that we were fighting for independence—separate government—they insisted that they were fighting for the Union, a common, undivided country; did not want to see the country broken up by division; and I feel fairly safe in stating that this feeling and sentiment largely dominated the great majority of the Union soldiers.”It rings true, regardless of interests of the politicians and the vast economic interests of the day.There were virtues on both sides, and people today should and do remember them.

Johnston also writes:

“The character of the men… and their deeds of valor and heroism, will ever live, and in the hearts of our people will be enshrined the names of the gallant dead as well as of the living, as the champions of constitutional liberty. They will be held in grateful remembrance by their own countrymen, appreciated and recognized by all people of all lands, who admire brave deeds, true courage, and devotion of American soldiers to cause and country.”

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Many know Confederate cavalrymen like J.E.B. Stuart, or the fierce Nathan Bedford Forrest. But Robert E. Lee believed that Confederate General Wheeler (who later served as a Major General in the U.S. Army) was one of his two best Cavalry officers.Wheeler graduated from West Point (ironically, his lowest marks were in Cavalry Tactics). His nickname there was “Point.” (He was a small man, you see.)After graduation, “Point” served in the Wild West. There he earned another nickname: “Fightin’ Joe.”When his home state of Georgia seceded, Wheeler volunteered his services to the South.Fightin’ Joe was brave. One of his men said after the war, he “warn’t afraid of nuthin’ or nobody.” Wheeler also had a powerful sense of honor. If he thought something was his duty, no threat or obstacle mattered: 16 horses were killed under him, he survived an artillery blast and other wounds, and never quit. (He was even still riding after Appomattox.) Cavalry often had duties to harass or delay the enemy. Wheeler’s tree-felling tactics as part of those duties resulted in another nickname, “Lumberjack Cavalry.”It was not the last one. When they destroyed a Union gunboat, four transports and took 400 prisoners, they also became the “Horse Marines.”Wheeler led men in over a thousand conflicts from 1861 to 1865. In 1864, he handed the Union Cavalry its worst defeat of the war.

Wheeler’s force of 5,000 cavalry whipped Sherman’s cavalry of 9,000. During the battle, the Rebels captured Union Major General Stoneman, the highest ranking Federal nabbed in the war. Wheeler cared nothing for personal glory. Late in the war he was put under the orders of another Cavalry officer for the first time, General Hampton. When Hampton told Wheeler of the change, it is reported that his response was simply, “Certainly, General, I will receive your orders with pleasure.” Wheeler earned the respect and affection of his men. One of them tells about an inspection. Wheeler accompanied the inspector. One trooper did not unbutton his coat.The inspector disapproved. Wheeler at once knew the problem and whispered to him. After inspection, the general sent the trooper his only other shirt.

After the war, Wheeler found himself traveling on a prison boat to Fort Delaware. One of the prisoners was Jefferson Davis, accompanied by his wife and baby. During the voyage, Jeff Davis and his wife Virginia were under a lot of stress, so Wheeler spent “many an hour walking the deck with little baby Winnie.”Wheeler became  a U.S. Congressman for Alabama. When the Spanish-American War broke out, the President put him in command of a Cavalry Division. He fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders were under his command.

Fightin’ Joe is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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General Dwight Eisenhower retired with five stars on his shoulders. He was the Supreme Allied Commander of World War II. Later, he became the President of the United States.

In 1960, Leon Scott wrote Eisenhower a letter. It began:

Dear Mr. President: 

At the Republication Convention I heard you mention that you have the pictures of four (4) great Americans in your office, and that included in these is a picture of Robert E. Lee. 

I am going to skip the next couple of paragraphs, but let’s just say that Leon was not a fan of R.E. Lee.

He finished with a question to the President:

Will you please tell me just why you hold him in such high esteem?

Eisenhower did not personally answer every letter he received, but he answered that one. Here is some of what he had to say:

General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation…. he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his faith in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history. 

From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained. 

Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great American on my office wall. 

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower 

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That photo is of David Eammons Johnston, only 17 when he joined up with Company D of the Virginia Seventh Regiment.

After the war, Johnston wrote a book. He explains:

“The chief motive which inspires this undertaking is to give some meager idea of the Confederate soldier in the ranks, and of his individual deeds of heroism, particularly of that patriotic, self-sacrificing, brave company of men with whose fortunes and destiny my own were linked for four long years of blood and carnage, and to whom during that period I was bound by ties stronger than hooks of steel; whose confidence and friendship I fully shared, and as fully reciprocated”

In future posts I will write of some of those “deeds of heroism.” Today, though, here is one that may amuse you.

“Again we were on picket, Crawford on outpost, with instructions to keep a sharp lookout, as the enemy was near, but not to shoot without calling “halt” the usual three times, and if no halt made, to shoot.

“Shortly after Crawford took post, his cries of “Halt! Halt! Halt!” were heard, and bang! went his gun.

“The corporal ran to see what was the matter: he found Crawford standing quietly at his post as if nothing had happened.”

Well, it seems as if a “stray fat hog had wandered to the post and had not halted at Crawford’s command.”

Crawford explained to the Corporal:  “I obeyed orders.”

There was nothing for it except to roast the hog and have a feast. So they did.

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December, 1863, near Dalton, Georgia. The Rebels are on top of Rocky Face Ridge, taking fire from cannons below.

“Hold on, boys,” says a sharpshooter, “I’ll stop that racket.”

His rifle cracks. Sure enough, things get quiet.

But not for long. Soon, “the valley below is full of blue coats.”

Private Sam Watkins’ Company H is ordered to fire.

“We take deliberate aim and fire a solid volley of minnie balls into their midst. We see a terrible consplutterment among them.”

But these are seasoned Yankees soldiers.

“They seem to get mad at our audacity, and ten pieces of cannon are brought up, and pointed right toward us. We see the smoke boil up, and a moment afterwards the shell is roaring and bursting right among us”

But the boys of the First Tennessee Infantry have seen worse. Sam writes:

“Ha! ha! ha! that’s funny— we love the noise of battle…. Our Enfields crack, keen and sharp; and ha, ha, ha, look yonder! The Yankees are running away from their cannon.”

Sam then sees “a dash of our cavalry. They are charging right up in the midst of the Yankee line. Three men are far in advance.”  Too far, in fact.

“Look out, boys!”

The three men try to turn back. The Yankees open fire.

“One man’s horse is seen to blunder and fall, one man reels in his saddle, and falls a corpse, and the other is seen to surrender.

“But, look yonder! the man’s horse that blundered and fell is up again; he mounts his horse in fifty yards of the whole Yankee line, is seen to lie down on his neck, and is spurring him right on toward the solid line of blue coats.

“Look how he rides, and the ranks of the blue coats open.

Our cavalry are falling back, and the three men are cut off. They will be captured, sure. They turn to get back to our lines. We can see the smoke boil up, and hear the discharge of musketry from the Yankee lines. One man’s horse is seen to blunder and fall, one man reels in his saddle, and falls a corpse, and the other is seen to surrender. But, look yonder! the man’s horse that blundered and fell is up again; he mounts his horse in fifty yards of the whole Yankee line, is seen to lie down on his neck, and is spurring him right on toward the solid line of blue coats. Look how he rides, and the ranks of the blue coats open. Hurrah for the brave rebel boy! He has passed and is seen to regain his regiment

“Hurrah for the brave rebel boy!”

Yes, every soldier there, blue or grey, knows courage when he sees it. Sam writes:

“You could have heard the cheers from both sides, it seemed, for miles.”

The rider is seen to get back to his own regiment. It is only later that Sam learns that the boy was his own brother, David Watkins, only sixteen at the time.

Dave was under the command of General Wheeler’s cavalry division, and both he and Sam would survive the war.

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We hear a lot about how George Armstrong Custer met his end. But did you know he fought in the Civil war from the first major battle all the way to Appomattox? (He managed to take possession of the table on which Grant wrote the Terms of Surrender.)

Custer had decent success for two years, but in 1863 his fortune rocketed.  Seems that J.E.B. Stuart’s brilliant rebel horsemen were making short work of two Union brigades. Their colonels were trying to rally the men, to no avail.

Lieutenant Custer spurred his horse past the colonels. Wearing his broad-brimmed hat, Custer faced the troops and drew his saber. Pointing to the enemy, he went into a gallop. Moments later the colonels raced forward, followed by the rest of the Union Cavalry. That charge saved their bacon.

Two weeks later, Lieutenant Custer became Brigadier General Custer. He went on to be a very successful commander of cavalry in the Civil War.

Custer’s military future wasn’t always bright. Last in his class at West Point, he had a lot of discipline problems.

A Cadet would be expelled if he accumulated 100 demerits over six months. Custer typically piled up over 90, and then buckle down until the next semester. Here are some examples:

Dec 19th, 1857 – Calling “Corporal” in a loud & boisterous voice – 3 demeritsApril 3, 1858 – Hair out of uniform at guard meeting – 2 demeritsJan 27, 1859 – Late to supper – 1 demeritFeb 17, 1859 – Throwing snowballs on barrack steps – 3 demerits

In his last semester before graduation, Custer got 97 demerits. And then got a court martial for not stopping a fight while on guard duty. If it had not been for the war, Custer would have been out on his ear.

Just goes to show, sometimes it takes a rebel to win.

And by the way, that’s him in the top photo. The Confederate prisoner next to him was a buddy of his.

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Have you ever wondered whether folks outside the United States ask us for Confederate flags? In fact, we do get a lot of requests for them.

Canada is probably the top destination outside the States, but you might be surprised how many we ship to Scandinavia, Switzerland, Japan and Australia.

Some of our customers send us photos. Here is one from Pia and Juha in Finland.

The Finns have had to fight pretty hard at times to defend their own borders. Tough characters, the Finns, so no wonder they like this flag.

Down in Australia, Barry has used some good old Rebel flags to decorate his pickup. He even has the Battle Flag on his license plate.

He restored a 1927 FEDERAL truck, and it sparked his interest:

“It’s the flag and the whole story of the civil war that interests me… I have a soft spot for the Confederates, just having the #%$*@ enough to break away from the Union and stand on their own.”

Barry says the truck was built in Detroit and shipped to Australia.

“It started life as a log truck in the Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales, very very steep country, it originally only had a 4 cylinder engine with a 3 speed gearbox and only rear mechanical brakes, ( would be a very brave or foolhardy man with strong underpants to drive down a very steep hill with a large log on the back and only rear mechanical brakes and no power steering).”

Barry found it in 2001: “It was in a very sad state of repair, but being one of only a hand full left I embarked on a massive restoration project.”

It was sure worth it, as you can see in the photos.

 

Thanks, Barry!

We will be sending more photos and stories like this. We’d love to hear from you about your flag.

 

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Time for another tale of Private Sam Watkins.

General Bragg ordered Sam’s First Tennessee Regiment to rearguard duty.  It was not much fun:

“You don’t move more than ten feet at furthest before you have to halt…. You haven’t time to sit down a moment before you are ordered to move on again.  And the Yankees dash up every now and then, and fire a volley into your rear.”

The next day things got a lot worse:

“Bang, bang, siz, siz.  We are ordered to load and fire promptly and to hold our position.  Yonder they come, a whole division.  Our regiment is the only regiment in the action.”

You see, two or more regiments make a brigade, and two or more brigades make a division.  Sam was in a heck of a pickle!

“…our poor little handful of men are being killed and wounded by scores. There is General George Maney badly wounded and being carried to the rear… A minnie ball passes through my Bible in my side pocket.”

Then Sam hears an order to move aside.

“Here comes one piece of artillery from a Mississippi battery, bouncing ten feet high, over brush and logs.”

The Rebels get the cannon set and “load, fire – boom, boom.”  And men fire their rifles, “making music like the kettle and bass drum combined.”

It was just in time.  The Yankees fall back, darkness falls.  The Tennessee boys “strip and wade the Chickamauga river.  It was up to our armpits, and was as cold as charity.”

Sam tells us he fell asleep by a fire, “it being the fourth night that I had not slept a wink.”

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There were many Confederate officers who went on to serve in the U.S. Army after the Civil War. One such officer was Thomas Rosser, a very successful cavalry commander.Thomas Rosser and George Custer had been roommates at West Point. Custer called Rosser “Tex,” and Custer was “Fanny.”  (Custer’s long, blond hair also earned him the nickname “Cinnamon” because he liked to perfume his hair with cinnamon oil.)Custer went on to fight for the Union, while Rosser served as a Confederate.  They actually fought each other in several battles. Once, when Custer attacked Rosser’s camp, Rosser left a message: “You have disturbed me at my breakfast. You owe me one and I will get even with you.” Later, Rosser led his men into Custer’s camp while the Federals were brewing their coffee, scattering them all over.At the Battle of Trevilian Station, Rosser’s brigade defeated the Union boys and captured some of Custer’s personal supplies.Four months later, they met again. Before this clash, Custer rode out in front of his men, took off his hat, and bowed.At this fight, Rosser had to withdraw, and Custer captured Rosser’s personal wagon.Rosser sent Custer a message:“Dear Fanny,You may have made me take a few steps back today, but I will be even with you tomorrow.Please accept my good wishes and this little gift—a pair of your drawers captured at Trevillian Station.Tex” Custer then shipped Rosser’s gold-laced Confederate grey coat to his wife with a reply.“Dear friendThanks for setting me up in so many new things, but would you please direct your tailor to make the coat tails of your next uniform a trifle shorter.Best regards G.A.C.” Both survived the war. Custer later fought in the Wild West, and Rosser went back into uniform as a general to train cavalry for the Spanish-American War.

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In school we learned about the Monitor and the Merrimac. But the Merrimac was not its name when it battled the Monitor. It was actually Confederate Ship Virginia, and was never defeated in battle. Its Union nickname was “Rebel Monster.”Virginia did start her life as the wood-hulled Merrimak (yes, with a k, historians misspelled it).  A week after Ft. Sumter, the state of Virginia took possession of her – burned and sunk by the Union.The Rebels rebuilt her as an ironclad, with 2-inch steel plate. She was tough.  Admiral Buchanan was in command during her first battle. As a U.S. Navy officer, Buchanan had helped create the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Now he was in command of Virginia’s navy, steaming toward the Union blockade. Thousands lined the river as Virginia closed on the Federal ships. When she reached the bay leading into the Atlantic, the USS Congress, opened fire. The volley bounced off her armor. The two ships exchanged broadsides. A Union officer wrote that shots “bounced off the ironclad like rubber balls.”On fire, Congress ran aground. Virginia continued toward the next Union ship.As she approached, Virginia received simultaneous hits from Union shore batteries and USS Cumberland. Shots ricocheted off the Virginia, causing little damage. Virginia blasted the Cumberland and prepared to ram her.“Hang on!” bellowed Admiral Buchanan, as Virginia pierced the Cumberland. Buchanan backed his ship, then rammed again. The Cumberland was a wreck, and her crew abandoned ship.Virginia advanced and fired on two more Union ships, damaging one before darkness closed in. At this point, Virginia looked like the most powerful ship in the world.The battle continued the next day, in the now-famous slug-out with the USS Monitor. The “Rebel Monster” seemed invincible on the first day of that battle in 1862.On March 8th, the 12-gun ironclad CSS Virginia destroyed the 24-gun USS Congress, the 44-gun USS Cumberland, and was hard at work on more when darkness fell.

The fight was not without cost. As Virginia was bringing on board sailors from Congress, a Union sharpshooter on shore put a minnie ball into her captain’s leg. He would not be fighting today.As the sun rose on March 9th, sitting low in the water was the Union ironclad Monitor. It had arrived after yesterday’s battle. The 263-foot Virginia steamed out to meet her.As Union and Confederate crowds watched from opposite shores, the world’s first battle between iron ships began. The “floating barn roof” Virginia and the 172-foot “cheese box on a raft” blasted away at each other.Monitor could fire once every eight minutes or so, but was faster. Virginia had steamed that day without her cast iron solid shot shells, loading shells most effective against wooden ships. She had not expected a Yankee ironclad.Thick armor was protecting both ships from vital damage. A sailor on the Virginia said he could “do as much damage by snapping my finger at her.”  Virginia was hit 20 times, Monitor 23. If they had been wooden, both would have been smoking wrecks. The battle ended in a draw.

But the Rebels had taken the Federals by complete surprise the first day. The U.S. Navy would not suffer as bad a defeat in battle until World War II.Both of these ships had shown the world that the day of wooden navies was indeed over.

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