We've actually come a long way. Isn't there now a statue of Abraham Lincoln
with his son Tad somewhere in Richmond? Maybe on the 250th anniversary of
his death, the Virginia legislature will agree to honor him.
Meanwhile, we should just remember that Virginia is the mother colony, not
just for the South but also for the nation. My own maternal ancestors, of
Virginia stock but residing in Pittsburgh, took up the rifle in the USCT and
helped terminate the war and occupy Richmond in 1865. They would have
readily admitted that their grandparents were born in Virginia (as, indeed,
were Abraham Lincoln's if I remember correctly). One is buried in a
military cemetery near Cold Harbor where he fell. But they, like Lincoln
himself, Frederick Douglass originally of MD (and slavery), Farragut, George
H. Thomas, and many others of varying ranks, would claim to be Americans
first.
The war was fought in the South because southern armies were not strong
enough to wage it effectively in the North. Robert E. Lee, the best general
on either side, tried twice but failed. Indeed, without Virginia, the CSA
would have died at birth. Virginia's huge population, its industries (think
Tredegar), and its export crops made a Confederacy militarily and
economically possible. Yet, in the end it was not enough.
The CSA was totally defeated. General Lee asked all for reconciliation and
lived that model for his remaining five years of life. It seems that Lee's
example has not reached all Virginians.
Harold S. Forsythe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Pemberton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: Long memories
> Henry,
>
> Apparently, some people do not perceive the need to "get over it", they
> just inflict that flippancy to those they disrespect.
>
> Never mind that Virginians "laid waste " to the lives, homes, and lands of
> the Native Americans. That was OK. But for Lincoln to respond to the
> attack of the southern terrorists, was certainly indecent of him. He
> should have just let those terrorists have their way, as they did in the
> countryside of Pennsylvania.
>
> Anne
>
> Anne Pemberton
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.erols.com/stevepem
> http://www.erols.com/apembert
> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Henry Wiencek" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 4:02 PM
> Subject: Long memories
>
>
> This just in on the AP wire:
>
> RICHMOND, Va.
>
> Virginia lawmakers killed legislation today that would have made Virginia
> part of the national commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.
>
> . . . Robert Lamb of Richmond, a member of the Sons of Confederate
> Veterans, told the committee that Lincoln ... quote ... "sent armies into
> Virginia to lay waste to our land."
>
> ***
>
> I guess "with malice toward none" doesn't cut it any longer. Do I hear
> anyone saying "Get over it"?
>
> Henry Wiencek
> Charlottesville
>
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