Appomattox Wasn't Really the End (Especially for the North)!

by Al Benson Jr.

On April 6th I read an article by a thoroughly politically correct gentleman named Charles J. Dean on the website www.al.com dealing with the so-called "end" of the "Civil War." I don't know where Mr. Dean learned his history, but Lenin could not have taught him any better.

Mr. Dean noted in his article: "On April 9, 1865  General Robert E. Lee surrendered his sword and his Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. Ulysses Simpson Grant marking the end of the Civil War." Mr. Dean has swallowed the fiction most of us were programmed with in government schools--namely that Appomattox was the end of the War and that was it.

Actually, all General Lee surrendered at Appomattox was the Army of Northern Virginia and no more. He could have surrendered all the Southern armies in the field but he did not do that. And there were other Confederate armies in the field. Joe Johnston in North Carolina did not surrender until April 26th and there were others after that. And the Confederate Government never did officially surrender. Jeff Davis and his cabinet fled Richmond and continued to try to govern on the road. Some were eventually captured and some were not. But no official surrender. And I think the last battle of the War, officially, was fought at Palmito Ranch in Texas in either late May or sometime in June, I can't recall which right now.

But Mr. Dean, in his verbal assault on the South says: "But all these many years later I sometimes wonder if that bloody war for some of you has ever ended. Or if some of you have ever accepted the defeat the South was dealt." He then went on to write about how the Confederate Flag was "racist" from its inception and how the South fought to maintain slavery. You've seen and heard it all before. Most of it can best be described as the usual Cultural Genocide perpetrated by Yankee/Marxist propagandists since the end of the War--and the fact that it is still being propagated shows that, for the Yankees, the War never really ended. Oh, the shooting part ended alright, but the Cultural part has continued for 150 years now, thanks to Northern vitriol--and shows no signs of diminishing.

Thankfully, quite a number of folks contacted Mr. Dean to disabuse him of the Yankee/Marxist propaganda he was pushing and I guess, from his comments, some of them were rather less than polite. Although from reading his comments, I don't think it would have made any difference if all the replies had been the epitome of politeness and correctness. They would not have been able to confuse him with the facts.

I've told this story before, but it bears repeating. I know a preacher who is also a historian and one time he talked with someone that told him, quite bluntly "You lost the War, get over it." To which he replied that the South could accept having lost the War but what they couldn't accept was the fact that the North tried to destroy their culture (and is still trying). That's what they could not accept. In regard to the South and her culture, Cultural Genocide (Cultural Marxism) has reigned in this country almost since the War ended. "Reconstruction" and Yankee public schools were the start of it and it has gone on, to one degree or another, for decades now. It still continues. The present-day "reconstruction" crowd is bound and determined to remove any and all memories of Southern culture--flags, statues, place names, street and park names, all of it. It must all be annihilated--except for the memory of slavery (which the North also had, but that fact has been conveniently swept under the rug). The memory of slavery will, they hope, produced "white guilt" in the South and maybe from that the reparations crowd can accrue a little of the long green from the guilt-ridden. In other words, much of it is a scam.

And they have made lots of Southern folks feel guilty when the should not have. And as far as "racism" there was every bit as much of that in the North (still is) as there was in the South. It just doesn't get talked about because the real agenda is to prostrate the old, Christian South. That's what it's all about. So, in reality, the North has been fighting a culture war against the South since Appomattox--and before. Southern folks should quit buying into the guilt trip, start doing some homework and pointing out the sins of the North--and there are many to be pointed out.

I speak as someone who was born in the North, but I've lived in the South for over twelve years now, and I've watch how Northern Marxists play this Alinskyite  game against the South and most Southern folks seem too polite to resist. Folks, start resisting! Do the homework, find out where your accusers are really coming from (the hard left) and start exposing them as the Scripture commands in Ephesians 5:11.

It's All Cultural Genocide

by Al Benson Jr.

This may not seem to some folks to have much to do with Southern heritage and the Cultural Genocide agenda that is being perpetrated on the South but actually, the two situations run in tandem with one another.

A friend in the Confederate Society of America sent me this. The title of it is: "Black Student Union Wants Campus Building Renamed After Most-Wanted Cop Killer." And this happened, where else, but the University of California at Berkeley, the Marxist Mecca of the West (left) Coast. The commentary I received continues: "UC Berkeley, the pinnacle of activist colleges, allows for a Black student union--a problem in itself, (can you imagine the fuss is someone wanted a white student union). This so-called 'union' is pressing to rename a campus building after a cop-killing black female, who murdered a New Jersey State Trooper in 1973 and then fled to Cuba.  Assata Shakur, formerly known as Joanne Chesimard, is a former black panther and the first woman on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' terrorists. I'm sure she's quite worthy of such a distinction at such a liberal/progressive college as UC Berkeley."

My friend noted that, for about 25 years, similar groups across the country, most especially in the South,  have been pressing, usually with success, to rename buildings, bridges, streets, parks and all manner of other things that have anything to do with the Confederacy or Confederate Veterans. Groups have been recently involved in removing Confederate flags in Lexington, Virginia at Washington and Lee University which, if some had their way, would probably be renamed Marx and Lenin University! Lee/Jackson Day will soon be only a fond memory in Charlottesville, Virginia, thanks to the efforts of some "community organizers" in that fair city. "Community organizers!" Where have you heard that term before?

A few valiant Confederate heritage groups have protested much of this, but they are small and don't get much help or support from other patriotic groups. Years ago, I recall a flap over Confederate flags in a cemetery where Confederate soldiers were buried and the Sons of Union Veterans spoke up and supported the Confederates. Not much of that going on today. Now there is even a move to remove US flags at certain "progressive" campuses around the country and veterans groups are all up in arms over it. But they weren't too keen on supporting the Confederate groups in a similar situation. I wonder if they expect support now from the Confederate groups in the name of "patriotism."

Years ago, probably about 20 now, some of us said that when these Marxist (and they are Marxist) groups had finished mangling the Confederate flag they would proceed to go after the US flag. Nobody wanted to hear it. Well, folks, the day has arrived and most are still clueless. My friend stated: "This is because too many 'good people' are clueless as to Marxist methodology and therefore are clueless as to how to prosecute a war to stop their aggression/takeover. Eventually, they will show up at your front door."

This is all the result of a century of propaganda against the South first, and then all of America next, by "progressive" (socialist) politicians, college professors, and even some "useful idiot" preachers. This kind of thing is NOT happening by accident and these events are not "coincidental." There is an agenda behind it all and until Southern folks begin to wake up and realize that and to realize they have to help each other combat this sort of thing, it will continue--until all your parks, streets, schools, and whatever else, have undergone name changes and are now named after Marxists and socialists who have been responsible for tearing down the country, beginning with the South.

About now some good Christian folks will speak up and say--"Hey, don't worry about this, the Lord  is in control" and He is, no doubt of that. But maybe, just maybe, He might want to use YOU to exercise some of that control in these situations and you ain't having any. Think about that.

Mr. Lincoln and Emancipation--Deportation

by Al Benson Jr.

As I have noted in past articles, Abraham Lincoln continues to be portrayed by the media and accompanying Lincoln cultists as the great benefactor of the black people in this country. The fact that he was a racialist is usually shunted aside, but if it does chance to come up, Lincoln's choir will loudly chant the old familiar tune "Once a racist but now a black lover" and they will go on in great detail to explain how his views on race, as openly portrayed in The Lincoln Douglas Debates had "mellowed" or "matured" since the Debate days. After all, didn't he issue the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the slaves? Well, no, actually he didn't.

His proclamation, in reality, freed no slaves because it only applied to the Confederate States, which was a separate country at the time. Lincoln had no authority to free the slaves in another country. However, he might have had the authority to free the slaves in Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and Delaware--all slave states which remained firmly in the Union--through one device or another, but his famous Proclamation did not apply to them. Nor did it apply to parts of the Confederate States that had been occupied by the Union.

In other words, Lincoln freed slaves where he had no authority to do so and he left in bondage those he might have had the authority to loose. You have to conclude that the Emancipation Proclamation was more about wartime propaganda than it was about freeing slaves.

Early on in his presidential tenure Lincoln had been in favor of freeing the slaves and then deporting them to some other country, preferably further South. However, Lincoln's hagiographers have assured us he grew out of that latent childhood notion and his views about blacks then morphed into a full-blown appreciation of their dignity and worth. And I'll bet, as they continue to write books about this, they laugh all the way to the bank.

But did it really happen in the Pollyanna way they tell it? Not quite. There was an article in the London Telegraph back on February 11, 2011, written by Jon Swaine that talks about a new (at that time) book,written by two men, Phillip Magness and Sebastian Page and called Colonisation After Emancipation. Turns out they found documents in the National Archives in both England and this country that would "significantly alter his legacy."

According to Mr. Swaine: They found an order from Lincoln in June 1863 authorising a British colonial agent, John Hodge, to recruit freed slaves to be sent to colonies in what are now the countries of Guyana and Belize. Hodge reported back to a British minister that Lincoln said it was his 'honest desire' that this immigration went ahead," said Mr. Page, who is a historian at Oxford University. And Mr. Swaine continued: "The plan came despite an earlier test shipment of about 450 freed slaves to Haiti resulting in disaster.  The former slaves were struck by smallpox and starvation, and survivors had to be rescued. Mr. Lincoln also considered sending freed slaves to what is now Panama, to construct a canal--decades before work began on the modern canal in 1904. The colonisation plan collapsed by 1864. The British were fearful the confederate states of the American south may win the civil war, reverse emancipation, and regard British agents as thieves.  Congress also voted to remove funding."

Yet, even as late as the Fall of that year the Attorney General sent Lincoln a letter which showed he was still actively exploring whether the plan could be carried through or not. The letter said: "...further to your question, yes, I think you can still pursue this policy of colonisation even though the money has been taken away." Dr. Magness said he thought the book would change people's opinion and view of Lincoln. Sorry to say, it does not seem to have made all that much of a dent in his halo.

Lincoln is still revered as the "great unifier" by many politicians, including our current president. Of course Lincoln was influenced by the Marxists in his own government and armies (see Lincoln's Marxists Pelican Publishing Co.) and our current president is a Marxist, so you can see why he harks back to Lincoln.

Despite the many books that have recently been written by authors that have really done the homework on Mr. Lincoln, his "Amen Corner" refuses to be confused with the facts.

Thoughts On Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee's Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans

by Al Benson Jr.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I have no Confederate ancestors of which I am aware.  The closest I can come is being a member of the Friends of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which group I joined a couple years back when I was finally able to get information about it.

Those who know me also know that my sympathies are and have been with the South and the Old Confederacy. If that makes me a "racist" (a Trotskyite term) in the eyes of some folks, well, I guess that's tough. "Those people" have a right to be offended by my views just as much as I have a right to be offended by theirs, which I am.

Any student of history realizes that the Old South was not perfect (which its detractors seem to think it should have been) anymore than the Old North was. But I have noticed over the decades that the defenders of the North rather seem to gloss over their own sins (which in many cases were the same as those of the South) while denigrating the South for what they, themselves, have also done. Let's be honest and admit that all men, North, South, or anywhere else, are sinners, in need of the grace of Jesus Christ to make us forgiven sinners. Many in the South recognize this, while many in the North seem intent upon dethroning God and replacing Him with themselves. Just for the record, I was born in the North, so I am not referring to all Northern folks when I say this. There are lots of good Northern folks in the country who detest the direction we have gone in and are still going in just like Southerners, in fact, some have the same mindset as Southerners--and, unfortunately, I have run across some Southerners who are ashamed of being Southerners and try to wrap themselves in Abe Lincoln and his bloodstained banner.

Where we live there are several SCV camps in the area. My wife and I have gone to meetings at several of them and I have even been invited to speak at some of them. I can tell them things about Lincoln and his Marxist buddies they never learned in public school, nor will their kids ever learn there.

I have read Stephen Dill Lee's Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and some things have sort of jumped out at me. Lt. General Lee started off with: To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the Cause for which we fought.  There are other worthwhile goals mentioned, but it seems to me that this is one of the most important. The SCV (as should all Southerners, along with some of us Copperheads) is to vindicate the Cause for which their fathers fought. That cause is under attack today as never before. The Marxist originators of Cultural Genocide and Political Correctness have worked overtime for decades now to convince Southerners that their cause is tainted by the stain of slavery and that's really all they seceded for and sought to preserve. It hardly needs to be said that such Political Correctness is a crock full of some excremental material I will not mention. All you have to do regarding the slavery question is to read Donnie Kennedy's book Myths of American Slavery to find out how involved the North was in the slave trade. Check out how many of the original 13 colonies had slavery at some point. That's not what your average Southerner fought for, and even some Yankees had to admit that they fought for what they considered to be "preserving the Union" and they had no interest in slavery one way or the other. Little did they realize that their leaders were destroying the Union they thought they were preserving--and using them to do it.

I've noted some things the SCV has done over the years, preserving and marking the graves of Confederate soldiers and putting flags on them in commemoration. That's a good thing--but it's not enough--and that seems to be all that some are willing to do. It seems to me that a lot more needs to be done to vindicate the Cause for which the Confederates fought. Some SCV camps do try to do more. From what I have heard, some don't. Decorating Confederate graves, important as that is, doesn't seem to me to be enough of a vindication.

I've gone to SCV meetings where the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag is recited during the meeting. I don't doubt for a minute the sincerity of these folks, and maybe it's just my Copperhead sentiments, but I have a hard time with the Pledge of Allegiance. I have not said it for years at any meeting of any kind that I go to where they recite it. Given that this Pledge was written by a Northern Socialist who was asked to leave the church he preached in because of his overt socialism, and who doted on the "one nation indivisible" bit, I don't think this Pledge  really belongs in an SCV meeting. I've even gone to churches where it was recited as part of the service, and I don't think it belongs there either. If you want to offer some kind of salute to the Christian flag that's fine. But the Christian flag and the US flag are antithetical  one to the other.

It just seems to me, and this is only my opinion, for the SCV to vindicate the cause for which Confederate soldiers fought, there needs to be some sort of educational agenda or process at work by the SCV noting those ideas and values for which the South fought, and taking note of what they fought against. In some places such is true and SCV camps do try to educate people, beginning with their own, as to what the War was really fought over. It seems to me that this educational effort needs to be a part of the SCV's overall program. It may be so and I am just not aware, but having some sort of brief lesson plan for new members as to what the War was fought over might be helpful.

The last sentence of the Charge is just as important as the first. It says: Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations.  I wonder how many Southerners, even in the SCV, realize how terribly important that is. The true history of the South is almost never presented anymore, especially not in most schools, and, at the university level--forget it! Many colleges today are way too busy teaching their students how to feel guilty over being white, or for having Southern accents. Real, accurate Southern history only gets in the way of the Marxist agenda. A question we might ask, and I have asked, is "why do you still send your kids to these schools?" I have yet to get a satisfactory answer.

From all that I can discern, Lt. General Lee's Charge is, or should be, extremely important, not only to the SCV, but to all concerned Southern folks. It's important to me and I wasn't born here, but I live here now and the South is home.  If we don't take the time to vindicate the Cause for which the South fought and make sure the kids here get the right history instead of the Marxist propaganda that's out there, then our Cause (it's mine, too) will be lost and it may be centuries before it is retrieved.