There was no greater mind in the 19th century than the British philosopher and historian, Lord Acton. Acton, famous for the quote, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” was not only a great mind, but a great spirit. He rejected tyranny however “patriotic” and refused the spoils of war however enticing. Acton watched closely as the crisis built up between the old Union and the states of the South in America. He was aware of the various economic, political and moral issues—including slavery—but nonetheless, cast his lot with the South. After the war, he wrote the following to General Robert E. Lee:

“I saw in States’ rights the only availing check upon the absolutism of the sovereign will, and secession filled me with hope, not as the destruction but as the redemption of Democracy…Therefore I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization, and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.”

Acton saw in the South’s struggle for independence, not an attempt to save slavery or even an effort to throw off the economic yoke of the North with its American System of crony capitalism which has become so familiar to us today. Rather, he saw an effort to hold fast to the Founding Principles upon which the original Union was established and which had long since been abandoned by the ever increasing statism and centralization embraced by the North. Acton saw States’ rights as “the only availing check” on that statism and centralization. Today see the ultimate victory of the Union in the overwhelming power of Washington, D. C. Acton believed that the Confederacy was fighting for more than its own liberty, progress and civilization; it was fighting for all mankind. Indeed, in another place, he states that had the Confederacy been victorious, it would have “blessed all the races of mankind by establishing true freedom…” As Lord Acton was contemporary to the struggle, it would be ludicrous to suggest the he had been duped, elevating the cause of the South into something greater than it was.

Yet, today no such vision of that struggle or definition of that cause is even permitted to be entertained. We are told that the South fought for slavery and tyranny and that her heroes were wicked or corrupt or lacking in sufficient wit to understand the nature of the cause for which they fought. The Grand Bargain—which for so many years allowed Americans on both sides to embrace the heroes in Blue and Gray—has been repudiated and now, all things Confederate are held in contempt. Southern heritage and history including her symbols, monuments and heroes are pronounced as unfit for anything but the ash heap of history. Yet, one of the greatest minds of the time, Lord Acton, clearly thought otherwise. Furthermore, most of what people are told about the South and its cause are myths, mistakes, half-truths and outright lies. Efforts to disseminate the truth and well documented facts are shouted down by the politically correct revisionists of academia, government and the media. No attempt is made to disprove the facts. Rather the truth is simply kept from the people. A great mind of the 18th century, the Scottish poet Robert Burns, had this to say about those who feared to advance the truth:

Here’s freedom to him who would speak,
Here’s freedom to him who would write,
For there’s none ever feared that the truth should be heard,
Except he who the truth would indict.

For those who would reject the right of Southerners to celebrate their great and noble heritage, I say that you are among those whom the poet rightly condemns. You fear that the truth would be heard because it is you and your position that the truth would indict.

We have added a collection of reprints in PDF format that will be helpful to anyone wanting to learn history from those who were there. Following is a list of the documents that are now in the Confederate Colonel Resources collection:

A true vindication of the South.pdf
Abraham Lincoln – A History.pdf
Abraham Lincoln was he a Christian.pdf
Abraham Lincolns religion.pdf
An anthology of the epigrams and sayings of Abraham Lincoln.pdf
Black Republican Ideas.pdf
Class struggles in America.pdf
Constitutional problems under Lincoln.pdf
Crimes of the civil war.pdf
Democracy in America 1.pdf
Democracy in America 2.pdf
Emancipation.pdf
Facts and falsehoods concerning the war on the South.pdf
Frauds and falsehoods of the Republican party.pdf
History of an attempt to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln.pdf
Is Davis a Traitor.pdf
Karl Marx his life and work.pdf
Lincoln – Mott.pdf
Lincoln addresses and letters.pdf
Lincoln and prohibition.pdf
Lincoln the Freethinker.pdf
Lives and speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin.pdf
No Treason 1.pdf
No Treason 2.pdf
No Treason 3.pdf
Northern rebellion and southern secession.pdf
Political debates between Lincoln and Douglas.pdf
Political fallacies.pdf
Rebellion in the North.pdf
Richardsons defense of the South.pdf
Speeches arguments addresses and letters of Clement L. Vallandigham.pdf
The 15th Amendment.pdf
The Abraham Lincoln myth.pdf
The Britannica answered and the South vindicated.pdf
The Confederate Struggle and Recognition.pdf
The Negro problem.pdf
The Real Lincoln.pdf
The South vindicated from the charge of treason and rebellion.pdf
The Washington despotism.pdf
The four acts of despotism.pdf
The life of Abraham Lincoln.pdf
The life of William H. Seward2.pdf
The murder of Abraham Lincoln planned and executed by Jesuit priests.pdf
The real Lincoln from the testimony of his contemporaries.pdf
The soul of Abraham Lincoln.pdf
The truth about socialism.pdf
The_Medical_world.pdf
The_Negro-The_Southerners_Problem.pdf
The_Religion_of_Abraham_Lincoln.pdf
Truth of the war conspiracy of 1861-1.pdf
Truth of the war conspiracy of 1861-2.pdf
Unconstitutional Acts of the Present Govt.pdf
Union–disunion–reunion.pdf
Was Abraham Lincoln an infidel1.pdf
Was Abraham Lincoln an infidel2.pdf
Was Lincoln a Christian.pdf
Was Lincoln an Agnostic.pdf
Will Canada be Lost.pdf

These reprints are available on the Resources page or by going to the Reprints section of Confederate Colonel. The source for these files is archive.org . We will be adding more as we find other useful documents. If you have other titles to suggest that report from a Southern viewpoint (there is no shortage of the “Northern viewpoint” already), please do so.

Is the repudiation of the Confederate flag reason enough to reject a candidate for something as important and all-encompassing as the presidency? On its face – no, it is not; while it is important to many of us, given the problems that this nation is facing, the Confederate flag is pretty low on the priority list even for those of us who actively support The South. It is, however, grounds for crossing a candidate off the list if things like honor and dependability and reliability have any meaning. If he is willing to throw the heritage of Southerners under the bus in order to try to win additional support from the Left (and that is extremely doubtful), then what else is he willing to do? Will he stand up for what is right when faced with vocal opposition? If his flip-flop on the Confederate flag is any indication, he will not. That kind of political pandering to Cultural Marxism is clearly a deal-breaker for me as it should be for anyone who considers the character of a man to be more important than the details of his position on a particular issue. Even those who despise the Confederate flag would do well to consider the full ramifications of what Rick Perry has done. Their cause might be next.

I believe that we greatly oversimplify what went on during the war and the years leading up to it for a very good reason – fully understanding all the factors involved is simply beyond human comprehension. There is so much involved that there is just no way that we can fully understand it, so we read and learn through the prism of our own background and experience. Those who consider themselves historians and academics do exactly the same thing, only they pretend to be so intellectually superior that they really do understand it all.

Those who see The South as the evil villain that was vanquished by the great and noble union forces can come up with plenty of evidence to support their belief – and can do so with a pretty fair degree of honesty. Those of us who take the opposite view – that The South was right and represented all that is good and noble – can do exactly the same thing with the same degree of honesty. There are ample facts and anecdotes to support either position. What does not exist is the human capacity to look at the entire situation, digest it all, and come to a full understanding that can be communicated to others. We simply can’t do it, and only the most arrogant of self-proclaimed academics would claim otherwise.

Paradoxically, that is why there can be no middle ground on this. We can read about the exact same period of history and come away with facts that support one side or the other. It ultimately comes down to our core beliefs and experiences. We Southerners have a very strong connection with the land – a sense of place that is largely missing in Northern culture. We generally have stronger family ties and those family ties extend back to those who fought for their country – the Confederate States of America. Southerners are generally more socially conservative than those in the North, and that causes us to see the struggle of the Confederate States as one of withdrawing from a tyrannical government that had drifted far from the America of 1776. The Northern view, with its social liberalism, sees the government as the enforcer of their social ideals rather than letting individuals and social structures sort it out.

So, what does this mean to those of us who take the Southern view? It means that we need to just get used to the idea that, no matter how many facts we know and present, those who take the Northern view are not going to be convinced – just as they aren’t going to convince us. We are both operating from facts – there are just so many facts covering so many different things that there is no clear-cut “Side A = good guys and Side B = bad guys.” If it was that clear-cut, then there is a good chance that the War for Southern Independence never would have happened.

Does this mean that we should simply end our efforts at educating people about that period of history and the role that our Southern ancestors had in it? No. There are new generations, both Northern and Southern, who have not yet been thoroughly indoctrinated in political correctness. We must continue to make a strong effort to present the Southern view of history. Give them the freedom to make up their own minds by having both views of history to select from. Remember – history is complex; both sides have facts to back up their position. The Northern side has the advantage of the full power of the government and the public schools to present their side as the only side.

We should also get used to the idea that the Southern view does not fit into the modern political mold and we will continue to be modern-day pariahs.

Take a look at the title of the original Declaration of Independence shown in the image at the top of this post. You will see that the Founding Fathers used a lower case “u” in united – and even made the letters much smaller than “States”. This is because we were declaring our independence as 13 individual sovereign states, not as a monolithic new country. We were commonly referred to as “these united States” until Lincoln made his case that we were not a union of sovereign states, but a single sovereign nation (“United”). That was the backbone of Lincoln’s argument that secession was illegal, and it was at the very core of the Southern Cause. It wasn’t until about the 1860’s that “The United States” (“The” instead of “these”, and “U” instead of “u”) became the accepted way to refer to this country.

Here is another example of the correct usage:

This is from the University of Indiana School of Law (note that even though they are using modern typesetting, they also recognize that the lower case “u” is the proper usage).

Those who claim that our ancestors were “rebels” and criminals and traitors, try to make the case that using a lower case “u” is being disrespectful. In fact, by using the original form, we show respect to the country that the Founding Fathers gave us. Abraham Lincoln’s version of the way things are has been wrongly accepted because that is how the history books now show it (remember the words of Winston Churchill – “History is written by the victors”). It is our duty to point to things like this to demonstrate that truth is easily covered up and is waiting for us to uncover it. Seemingly insignificant things like the typographic case of a single letter can help educate people about why The South was right and why honoring the nation of the Founding Fathers is more respectful than fraudulently changing the name to agree with Lincoln’s arguments for making war on our ancestors.

If we don't respect our Flag, then how can we expect others to?

This photo is said to be from the 2011 Reunion, South Carolina Division, SCV. Now, I understand that there is some historical precedent for writing on a Confederate flag, and I am certain that this was done from a lack of knowledge and not from malice. That being said, we should know better than to treat our flag this way – but we don’t because we have not been taught.

The Confederate flag is not just a piece of cloth that one would write on to commemorate something. That is just a short step away from graffiti. The Confederate flag is not a cheap table cloth that one would set a Styrofoam coffee cup on.

When I say that this was done not with malice, but from a lack of knowledge, we really have only ourselves to blame. Without a set of rules and guidelines, we cannot expect people to know what is and is not acceptable use of the Confederate flag. There no widely-accepted code of etiquette for the Confederate flag as there is for the united States flag. The key phrase here is “widely-accepted”. There IS such a code, but it is largely unknown.

The Code of Confederate Flag Etiquette was a project of the Confederate Colonel forum in 2008. Confederate Colonel has since changed from a web forum to the current blog format, but at that time, we had a large pool of dedicated Southrons who took this on as a group project. I started by writing the basic document based on several existing flag codes. That was published on the forum, and members added their comments; we finally ended up with something we felt would give our flag the respect it deserves. It has been amended based on suggestions from reenactors, and I am confident that it will continue to be updated as we learn more.

We started with the basic idea that the Confederate flag is not merely an historical relic, but the flag of a nation. Not a nation that used to exist over a century ago and was defeated, but a real nation that, while defeated militarily, never formally surrendered or dissolved as a governmental or (more importantly) a social entity. Some may argue against that point, and we acknowledge that there are reasonable arguments against it; however, we decided that given the choice, we would err on the side of respect for a people and the flag that represents them. The Confederate flag still represents the Southern People.

In the previous post, A Southern Nation, I presented the case that The South is a nation. As such, the symbols of that nation are due the same level of respect as the symbols of any other nation. With that as a basic premise, we began with the regulations concerning the flag of the united States of America. Part of that basic premise includes the idea that the Confederate flag is of equal stature with the flags of other nations when displayed within the borders of the united States. When displayed at the same time and place as the united States flag, the Confederate flag should be treated in the same manner as the flag of other nations such as England or Canada or Australia. I will point out that, in the interest of not causing undue controversy, I never display both at the same time. That is my own personal decision though.

The Code of Confederate Flag Etiquette is a resource that I hope will be used to prevent the unintentional dishonoring of the flag of the Southern people – the flag that our ancestors fought and died under, and the flag that the Southern people live under. It deserves to be treated with respect.

The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum, which is being refurbished. Take a look at the facial expression. Care to guess how The South will be portrayed?

An article in the New York Times talks about the upcoming sesquicentennial events regarding the War for Southern Independence (of course, they incorrectly called it “the Civil War”). As if the demonization of Southern Whites since the election of Obama was not enough, we can count on even more of the same in the coming years commemorating the 150th anniversary of the War for Southern Independence.

Those who hate The South and all it stands for have but one weapon – the subject of slavery. They have none other. We have made a good faith effort to clearly and calmly explain the facts – both the good and the bad – about slavery, but it has made little or no difference. The South is still made into the whipping boy for all the racial problems in America.

It has long been my belief that we should simply refuse to engage in discussions about the topic of slavery with those who try to destroy Southern heritage. I have found that there is simply no way to make any progress in such discussions.  The typical belief is that The South is synonymous with slavery, and everything else hinges on that idea. Any attempt to get them to step outside their little box results in charges of “racist”. OK, enough is enough. I refuse to allow myself to be affected by that now-meaningless word. The Left has used that as their magic talisman to instantly silence their critics and claim moral superiority. They get away with it because we let them.

Our path is clear – we must continue to uphold the high standards of the Southern gentleman and treat everyone with respect and dignity – including our Southern ancestors and the heritage and culture that they represent. For far too long, we have mistakenly looked at treating “others” with respect and dignity as a one-way street and applied it only to those who mock and demonize us. Those “others” include our fellow Southerners, our families, our culture, our heritage, and our kinship.

We hold to The Definition of a Gentleman by Robert E. Lee:

“The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly — the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light. The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.”
Robert E. Lee

Treating everyone in the manner of a Southern gentleman does not mean closing our eyes to reality. It does not mean obsequious deference to those who mock all that we stand for. It simply means treating all others with respect and dignity. How they respond may determine the tone of future interaction, but the assumption is always that the other person is due a full measure of respect and dignity.

Following the posting of a series of videos produced by the Georgia Division of the SCV, some of those who have a deep-seated hatred of The South decided to make these videos their mugging victim of the day, and, to a lesser extent, me along with them. Here is a quote from one of these folks – it’s a quote that I have learned from, so to “Badgervan”, I say “thank you”.

“When these Civil War revisionists around the web use a term such as “Confederate Colonel” to name their personal blogs, it is for a very serious reason; it goes to the heart of this topic being “discussed” around the blogosphere that many contemporary southern CW bloggers, and many southerners in general (this I personally experienced) are fighting their own war to somehow change history and make the South the good guys – they are still fighting that Civil War, only this time they see themselves as colonels, generals, etc. in their efforts to revise history. If you’re going to call your blog “The Confederate Colonel”, please don’t try and snow us by saying it has nothing to do with seeing yourself as said colonel. that’s not even grade school lever word parsing. These revisionists are out to change history by any means necessary, and honesty and proven fact(s) have nothing to do with it. The Confederate Colonel really does see himself as a high ranking officer in the modern day army to change what our kids learn about that war, what goes into books and articles about that subject, and a total dismissal of slavery as the primary cause of that war. And to that commentor on the colonel’s site: the South WERE the bad guys – that is settled and provern history, no matter how many sons and daughters of the confederacy insist otherwise.” Badgervan ¹

I have written several times in the past that we need to think of ourselves as “Ambassadors for The South” and always act and be seen in a positive light as representing The South. Perhaps “Ambassadors” is a bit too passive. Perhaps we should heed “Badgervan’s” advice and think of ourselves as “colonels, generals, etc.” in our efforts to undo generations of anti-Southern propaganda.

“The Confederate Colonel really does see himself as a high ranking officer in the modern day army to change what our kids learn about that war, what goes into books and articles about that subject, and a total dismissal of slavery as the primary cause of that war.” I could not have said it better myself, although (despite his claim to know my thoughts) I had not looked at what I do in those terms until now.

Should we need any further motivation, he sums up the South-hater view quite nicely: “the South WERE the bad guys – that is settled and provern history.” It is only “settled and provern history” when the victor gets to write the history books and little minds eagerly swallow the lies. Unfortunately for the South-haters, there is still enough original source material available for us to clearly show that in the War for Southern Independence, the good guys lost and tyranny triumphed.

What effect does this have on the Confederate Colonel project? None, really. Our objective remains the same – to focus on the heritage and culture of the Old South and promote the code of the Southern gentleman as a pattern for living. To do that though, it is not enough to deal only with the past and the present. We must secure a future for coming generations of Southerners. They must be raised in homes where traditional Southern culture is the norm. They must be taught that while our ancestors had their faults and sins – just as all men do – they fought to preserve the free nation that was formed by our Founding Fathers and opposed the tyranny of The North. They fought for the right to be left alone and determine their own destiny – the same principles that are under assault by the leftists of today.

We must teach our children that in this life, the good guys don’t always win. That is why The Bible says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” ²

In fact, we are all ambassadors for what we identify with. Just as Christians are ambassadors for Christ (both good and bad), Southerners are ambassadors for The South. To that end, I consider it my duty to portray Southerners in a positive light. I try to always dress a bit better than the occasion calls for, be clean shaved and a fresh haircut, maintain good posture, remember and use good manners, and all the other things that would leave someone with a favorable impression. We represent not only ourselves, but that which we identify ourselves with – in this case, The South.