Confederate Generals

On a recent trip to Philadelphia, I visted the new(ish) Constitution Center. It's located opposite Independence Hall and near the Liberty Bell. A nice museum really and worth the trip if you're in town. In the gift shop they sold small busts of some foudning fathers and Presidents of great repute. Mixed in this lot were some busts of Robert E. Lee. This offended me as an American, that the leader of the largest armed rebellion against the US would be honored in such a way. I placed a Ben Franklin head in front of one and turned the other around. It has always puzzled and upset me when Confederate heroes are treated as American heroes. Some Southerners may like what they did for this reason or that reason, but they did no favors for the United States.

So it was some satisfaction that I read this column by Michael Gene Sullivan.

Money quote:

Here's the thing about Confederate generals: They may be the heroes of a failed nation, but they are not now, nor ever were, heroes of the United States. In fact, they were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of loyal soldiers of the United States. Quoting one of these traitors in support of U.S. troops is not only ridiculous, it is an insult to the sacrifice of all our soldiers who died protecting this country.