When General George Edward Pickett (1825-1875) 
led his doomed division in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1865 on the last day of this famous battle famously known as Pickett’s Charge, mounted majestically on his horse, he hollered…
Up men to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from old Virginia…
before the bulk of them were systemically slaughtered by the union army…like ducks in a barrel, one northern soldier allegedly said.
The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a watershed in our history. Brother to brother, armed against the other for what they all believed to be true.
When the south took up arms against the north, they truly felt they were in the right, protecting their way of life as they’ve lived and known it, slavery being a huge part of that way. It was certainly wrong, but all they knew.
Their forefathers, George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson who lived, died and is buried in their very own town of Charlottesville, all had slaves.
When the south surrendered to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, it was only because their noble leader, General Robert E. Lee, who already lost half his army to starvation and disease, couldn’t bear to see the remainder of it suffer any longer…these brave, young men who loved the verdant lands of Virginia, with a passion only a vintage southerner would understand.
When Abraham Lincoln offered Lee, to head the entire Union Army, Lee humbly said no, because he could never take up arms against his beloved state.
Jefferson Davis from Mississippi, left Congress to be the leader of The Confederacy, because he too couldn’t turn his back on the land he so loved.
The protest in Virginia that’s left one person dead, is all about southern pride. The statues of southern Civil War icons being arbitrarily pulled down…Davis’s in Texas, Lee’s, in New Orleans, in my humble opinion, should have been left alone.
Davis, Lee, even Jackson, were heroes of their time only doing what they believed to be right.
We have, as a country, so many more important matters on our table, statues of men that, whether right or wrong, and who’s to judge anyway, that still inspire, should be left standing.
What do they inspire?
Courage, love of country, because that’s how the south felt about their old Virginia, it was much more than just a state…standing up for one’s beliefs, passing it on to their children.
What is wrong with us?
Where’s the compassion?
We need to read our history, it’s all there, because as they say…
history repeats itself. 
SB
So the pulling down of statues is justification enough for driving cars into crowds and killing people?
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No, I never said that. I just feel they should have been left alone. We have bigger fish to fry there Donald.
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You have a marvelous grasp of history, Suzannah. It seems to me we are on dangerous ground when we begin to rewrite history. I remember Americans were aghast when other countries did it years ago. Tearing down statues and erasing history lessons were blasted. Do we no longer have any common sense?
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I feel it’s such an unnecessary affront that has done nothing but cause such upset and now, true violence all because of some marble effigies standing for years, bothering no one. Their removal represents where we are across the board. It’s their history, and one has to remember they were superb men…they all went to West Point, all knew one another on both sides. It was such a heartbreaking war, choosing who you’d fight for.
I don’t know Anne, we should be building, not knocking things down. Thanks for writing.
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From someone who grew up in the old South, I say everyone should have good manners. Wouldn’t that solve lots of problems? No more hurling epithets and insults! Work together to solve problems the good old American way.
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The American Way is in trouble. Like it’s in rehab. 🙂
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I am thinking the American Way is more like a patient running out the back door, still in a hospital gown. Too much of what should be private is exposed.
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Great image. Sadly apt. Sigh. I’m sighing a lot with this post. Someone just wrote, David Dukes would be happy. I deleted it. It was too insulting to let stand. It was about history and respect. Not anything else. Sigh
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It’s a sigh(n) of the times, perhaps???
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Perhaps. Sigh
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I try hard to stay out of a lot of this. It won’t fall because of my single efforts and it won’t stand for same. It’s not that I don’t care, but, as you say, “What is wrong with us?” I wonder that constantly. I wonder as people scream and honk just because, 5 cars up, someone did not gun it into the intersection. I listen to mothers yelling at their daughters and sons, little ones who are, usually, only trying for attention or acting like the parent anyway. And, I get angry when I see people who can’t agree on something minor, so they both take up strong arms and behave like…idiots. We are all thinking the word, I will use it.
Anyway, I have already spoken my piece on our President, on past Presidents, and on people who tried to be President. However, that is not always the person(s) who are causing the problems. Common man is just as liable as the politicians, though not always as noticeable.
I don’t have a link, but FB had one to a response written by a man whose wife had been arrested for “stealing” a case of water from the store by “hiding” it under her cart. Questioned for over an hour in the matter and having told them she forgot to show it and offered to pay the $5, she was released and given the same case of water as an apology, but told not to return, thereby removing about $30K in revenue yearly from said store! What are we coming to?
Scott
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There’s a lot of ire tooling around, that’s for sure. You should come to New York. It’s like a war zone. Saw two professional panhandlers fighting over a street corner. It was amazing to me. It’s at the subway entrance which I guess is prime real estate. I too see parents berating little kids. Always tempted to ask, why did you have any? I can go on and on. We’ll just have to, like Gandhi said, be the example, of course look what happened to him. Sigh
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My very thoughts…
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This is a courageous and timely blog. Indeed, it is all there. Thank you.
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It’s about preserving history, nothing more. I feel sad that they were all taken down and the poor woman, killed, because of such passion, just leaves me speechless. The New York Tines has a heartbreaking photo on its front page. Made me weep.
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Susannah, I abhor all that the white supremists stand for, but I also abhor erasing history. The removal of southern leaders is as stupid as it gets.
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Agreed!!!
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Nice piece, Susannah. This is a difficult situation and while I can see both sides of it, I think it’s probably for the best to take down the statues, not because the men they depict were bad but because of what they’ve come to symbolize. It is unfortunate that they have become shrines and rallying points for racists and white supremacists. Hopefully this country can heal its wounds before too long, whatever happens.
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We can agree to disagree David, and a suggestion was made that rather than destroy them totally they could be placed in a museum. I hope they do that.
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You’re right, we don’t get to cherry-pick our history. These symbols are reminders for us to keep our shit in check. Now, to those extremists who didn’t get that memo on American history, it’s up to us to provide a polite cliff note version, not brush the facts under a rug in hopes that it will all go away.
Peace out!
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You should write about this. It’s right up your alley Top. I got so many nasty comments I deleted. It truly amazed me…they could have wallpapered hell.
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Damn! There is a huge point being missed, and I get it now that we’re living in this “us & them” society.
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Blessed are the peacemakers.
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