64 comments

  1. Too many Confederate Soldiers ended up in unmarked or mass burial graves.

    1. That happened to my great uncle in North Georgia. Family never knew where.

    2. Unfortunately for those that had relatives that fought in that War that’s more common than uncommon.

  2. Hopefully Gov. Ivey will restore the Flags to the Memorial to the War dead in Montgomery.

  3. Colin Nelson – This is a great page for Alabama history.

  4. Never have heard of this till now …

  5. That was so interesting….a reminder of the hardships Southerners endured after THE war!

  6. They were traitors. Did we bury Japanese, Viet Cong, Isis casualties with honor?

    1. That was a very ignorant statement to make

    2. Not really. The fought against the United States of America.

    3. As the Constitution instructed.

    4. What constitution? Point me to the part that says this.

    5. States voluntarily joined the union, and it was every state’s right to secede. Lincoln and his minions, drunk with rich tax revenues from the Southern states, had no problem forfeiting the lives of over 600,000 human beings to satiate his greed. These Lincoln worshippers, of whom you are so proud, were murderers, and even the Supreme Court would not vindicate them. You, my pitiful David Elder, believe “might makes right”, and are most pathetic! On one thing we agree, I have no need for the federal government to bury nor honor my Confederate ancestors. Honorable men & women venerate the Southern dead. You and the Lincolnists are devoid of any honor to bestow!

    6. What century do you live in? The Civil War was fought to maintain slavery for the landed aristocracy not honor. Where is it written that States have the right to secede. The flag of the Confederacy is not only a symbol for traitors to the US but for racists. The South fired first if you remember

    7. David Elder you better keep quiet. The more you talk the more you prove how ignorant you are. Read the bill of rights.

    8. I have. You suffer from cognitive dissonance, the denial of facts because they disprove your false beliefs. I am not ignorant. You have no facts to support what you say so you sink to name-calling, the last resort of the uneducated.

    9. I don’t see where they say states may secede

      Amendment I

      Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

      Amendment II

      A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

      Amendment III

      No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

      Amendment IV

      The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

      Amendment V

      No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

      Amendment VI

      In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

      Amendment VII

      In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

      Amendment VIII

      Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

      Amendment IX

      The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

      Amendment X

      The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    10. It is not name-calling if it is factual. Show me what is not factual in my comments.

    11. David Elder back to your statement that Confederate soldiers were traitors. I refer you to the Congressional Appropriations act of 1901 that had money set aside for 128 Confederate soldiers to be reburied in Arlington national cemetery and headstones be placed for them and 138 Confederates already buried there. Also Congressional act of 9 March 1906 that authorized federal headstones be granted Confederate soldiers as US veterans. To call a Confederate veteran a traitor is as ignorant and racist as you can get. I had 16 relatives fight for the Confederacy and NONE of them owned slaves. Most of these were from the great state of Alabama and they were protecting their homes and families from invading armies and could care less one way or another about slaves or slavery. So you need to go display your bigotry some where else

    12. These actions for burial were long after the war ended. Lincoln, whom you malign, chose not to punish these traitors as an act of reconciliation. Many northerners wanted to hang Jefferson Davis and other prominent leaders of the south. I know that the majority of the southern soldiers were not slave holders but, as is often the case, bought into the lies of the rich elite, and that has not changed even today. Others were coerced by force or theat of death or imprisonment. But even if they fought without coersion they committed treason by definition. Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them Aid and Comfort has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given.

      How am I a racist? I believe in the Declaration of Independence which states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Every human on earth is descended fom someone who came from Africa. I voted for Obama twice. I am a white veteran who was born in East Tennessee. If my daughter married a black man and had children I would give her my blessing and love my grandchildren. No, your ancesters supported slavery by their particpation in upholding it. I am not saying they weren’t brave but they were still traitors.

      To deny that the war was for anything but slavery is simply not true. Most southern states wrote declarations of reasons for secession, and near the beginning of each document, sometimes the first sentence, declares the negro is inferior and they have a right to own and to enslave him.

      The beginning of Mississippi’s declaration:

      A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union

      In the momentous step, which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.

      Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery – the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product, which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.

      South Carolina:

      On Dec. 24, 1860, delegates at South Carolina’s secession convention adopted a “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.” It noted “an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery” and protested that Northern states had failed to “fulfill their constitutional obligations” by interfering with the return of fugitive slaves to bondage. Slavery, not states’ rights, birthed the Civil War.

    13. Furthermore, to call me a “dumbass” is not accurate. If you mean I am not educated, that is not true. If you mean I am stupid, that is not true. For example, I don’t think you are stupid, just uneducated. If you mean I can’t speak or that I am a non-speaking donkey, that is not true. If you mean I have non-speaking buttocks, that is true if you exclude flatulence.

    14. I politely say, Go to hell David Elder.

    15. That proves my point. Goodbye

      1. David- You are miseducated The Confederate Soldier was NOT a Traitor. He was simply defending his home land. The South or The Confederacy never waged war against the Union. We only wanted to go in peace, I will give you a direct quote from Abraham Lincoln. He was ask “Mr. Lincoln, why don’t you just let the South go?” His response “Then who would pay for all of my government programs?” Question: If the South was wrong, then why are so many U.S. Army Bases named after Confederate Generals? Remember U.S. Grant was a drunk (consumed up to a quart of liquior a day) He also along with the Lincoln family owned Slaves until June 1865, almost three months after the War was over, when the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment prohibited ownership. General Robert E. Lee freed his Slaves in 1858, three years prior to the begining of the War Between the States. William T. Sherman was a War Criminal. He brought his wrath down upon the Women and Children of the South. Raping, Robing and pillaging on his march to the sea. So go study true and accurate history.

    16. I had many an ancestor who fought in the Civil War for the south. That is an insult to my family name. My great great grandfather was elected Representative for the state of Georgia when we seceded from the Union. Most folks, such as yourself, think the war was fought to free the slaves. No true. Lincoln did not sign the bill adding the freeing of the slaves until after the war had started. The war was over the taxes added to the cost of cotton.

  7. A lady and her friends here in Spring Hill , TN in 1866 went and moved 39 Confederate soldiers from battlefield graves and had them reburied in the old city cemetery. She published the names and units of these men in the Nashville paper. We found this article and were able to mark these graves with proper markers. Our SCV camp raised funds and put VA markers on the graves. There were soldiers from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. We honor these and all 66 other Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery with a Confederate Memorial Day service every June.

    1. David- Which S.C.V. Camp do you belong to? My original Camp, which I am Camp Commander is #2086 “The Dixie Defenders” . We are based in Dixie County, Fl. I am also the Central Region Lieutenant Commander of the Florida Division. If I can ever be of assistance, please advise. You may visit us on the web at: http://www.dixiedefenders2086.com. Deo Vindice.

  8. Very interesting article.

  9. […] April 16, 1866, a committee was formed to retrieve the Confederate dead after the Civil War […]

  10. Since when are losing traitors buried by those against whom they rise up?

    1. Frank Pore the union were the traitor’s to the Constitution and morality

    2. Frank Pore, and Confederate soldiers are just as good as Union soldiers being buried in a national CEMETARY!!

    3. 154 years have proven you incorrect.

    4. I believe the colonials were considered traitors too and Thank God they were or you wouldn’t be here living in the greatest country on earth!

    5. Yet they WON, not LOST… Dubious statement, too, that this is “the greatest country on earth [sic].”

    6. Frank Pore Confederates were not a foreign power. They were citizens of this land with a political disagreement.

    7. Ergo, traitors in the end…

    8. Kim Williams damn straight

    9. Frank Pore, your opinion only.

    10. The nation’s opinion, methinks (esp. based on this article which indicates the nation didn’t care about the Confederate traitors’ deaths)…

    11. Frank Pore , well let’s put it this way. That’s not everyone’s perspective.

    12. Perhaps you should report this post to the administrator as spam, then (since this it agrees with my replies).

    13. Frank Pore, maybe I could but I won’t since I think everyone has a right to their opinion even if it is wrong.

    14. That’s the true American way, Kim. We finally find a concept with which we both agree.

    15. ^^^You obviously don’t know sh|t about me, honey. Shut up and step back into oblivion, traitor.

    16. Frank Pore
      We know enough to know that you’re an idiot.

    17. Don’t argue with Frank Pore.

    18. Frank Pore I do find the fact that confederates wanted to be honored like Americans odd. These folks wanted to leave the Union. It was Alabama’s choice and Alabama’s efforts that lead to their failed secession. It was a failed war- with thousand of tragedies in the North and South. Who’s to blame- those who fought for a policy to keep human beings enslaved as part of their economy, or those who were opposed to it?

    19. Michie Dems And they’re still enslaved by the dem party…

    20. Frank Pore 154 years had proven me correct. This perverted, antichristian family, war mongering, tax slavery, zionist terrorist supporting government we have proves me completely right. The bad people won the civil war. The Yankees were the actual lowlife racists. Not the Confederacy.

    21. Max Jolley exactly…ppl need to realize he’s a strife stirrer. Look at his profile pic. A upside down American flag. Another troll without a life.

    22. Leslie Shirah Ellis that’s ok though. As long as we can be civil as we discuss things like this. We can all learn something. Or at least reaffirm our understanding.

    23. Leslie Shirah Ellis my father told me you can’t win an argument with an idiot so don’t argue with one.

    24. They were no more traitors then the founding fathers

  11. Jesus knows where they lay…

    1. Jesus doesn’t give a sh|t (and, for that matter, doesn’t even exist).

    2. Frank Pore Criminal Felon

    3. Sure glad the law of this land doesn’t make me either a criminal or a felon for not believing in Christian mythology…

    4. Anti-God,and anti-American ^^^

  12. Would I be too far off base to think this was intended to help the nation heal?

    1. CL Lassiter
      If so, it didn’t work. The carpet baggers came in and made things worse.

    2. Jerry Harris I said “intended.”

  13. Looks like Shelby Springs