My great-great grandfather was active in the South Carolina State Militia and served for a time as the Brigadier General of the Ninth South Carolina Cavalry Brigade. He was referred to as General until the Civil War when Captain and later Major became his ranks in the Confederate Army.
A copy of his Civil War Log/Diary was obtained among my mother's personal papers following her death in 2002. It's a family treasure.
After the war, he gathered his notes and records and both reported and reflected upon his experiences. The original collection was in surprisingly good condition. About five years ago on Memorial Day, I set about to transcribe (translate) the writings onto a Word document so that it could be preserved in modern form.
This is to share an excerpt from his diary providing a glmpse into our nation's heritage - below the fold...
A few weeks after the Decmber 13th Battle in Fredericksburg in 1862 is this entry:
"Both Armies were in camp at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Yankee Army in command by General Hooker on the east side of Rappahannock River and General Lee’s on the west side near Morees Hights. The two bands, both Northern and Southern, played. One played "Dixie" and the other played "Yankee Doodle." Then they both joined and played "Home Sweet Home" together. They all wept like good men should have done."
To me, this excerpt stands in sharp contrast to all the rancor over our nation's recent use of torture. What this country sorely needs (imho) is a history lesson and a dialogue of who we were, who we are, and who we want to be.
How can we possibly move towards creating "a more perfect union" without examining and understanding how things got so wrong? The "War on Terror" morphed into a "War of Terror."
My hope is that as we remember and commemorate our past and present patriots on this Memorial Day that we also hold dear the principles upon which our nation was formed.
Feel free to share an anecdote or story on this subject.