I think the very end of Horwitz’s, Cats of the Confederacy, sums up the question of how we, along with Southerners should commemorate the Civil War in the South. Horwitz writes:
“The way I see it,” King said, “your great-grandfather fought and died because he believed my great-grandfather should stay a slave. I’m supposed to feel all warm inside about that?”
I asked King if there was any way for white Southerners to honor their forebears without insulting his. He pondered this for a moment. “Remember your ancestors,” he said, “but remember what they fought for too, and recognize it was wrong. Then maybe you can invite me to your Lee and Jackson birthday party. That’s the deal.”(44)
I do not believe there is anything wrong with commemorating the South’s war efforts and honoring one’s ancestors, but you need to be conscious of other people’s feelings and acknowledge that slavery was wrong. Michael King was a young African-American preacher who lived in Salisbury his whole life and he clearly had some strong convictions on how he felt about white people remembering the Civil War. King argues that white people should acknowledge what their ancestors were fighting for. King wants them to recognize that and understand that it was wrong. Regardless of how people in the South choose to remember the Civil War, there will always be offense taken by some people.
One thing we have learned is that people have personal views on history that have deep roots and will never change. That is evident in the writing of Horwitz; some of the people mentioned in Salisbury define their life by the Confederacy. Even the children were taught these deep-rooted values. A four-year-old boy named Warren prayed over their food, “Lord, we thank thee for this meal and especially for the great and wonderful Confederacy.”(38) Later on in the meal, the boy’s mother asked “Warren, tell this nice man from Virginia, is there anything you hate more than Yankees?” The boy replied, “No sir! Nothing!”(39) The issue here is that certain people in the South like the folks from Salisbury do not consider the feelings of black people because they still hold the views of the Antebellum South.
Another thing we have learned and we must acknowledge is the Civil War was about slavery. Reading Manning, Kornblith, and other selections has made that very clear, thus it is obvious why African-Americans take offense to certain forms of Civil War commemorations. With that being said, any form of Civil War commemoration should honor the fallen soldiers who fought on both sides, but it should also acknowledge the four million slaves that were oppressed by the South. Just like Michael King said, “Remember your ancestors, but remember what they fought for too, and recognize it was wrong.”(44)