April is Confederate History & Heritage Month in Texas (Smiley: homes, schools)

[CptnRn]

April is Confederate History & Heritage Month in Texas

Interesting video clip here.


YouTube - confederate 4209


This Resolution was adopted by the Texas Senate on March 30, 1999.

April - Texas Confederate History and Heritage Month

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 526

WHEREAS, April is the month in which the Confederate States of America began and ended a four-year struggle for states' rights, individual freedom, and local government control; and

WHEREAS, The State of Texas declared herself to be a free and independent state and subsequently joined the Confederate States of America of which it was a member state from 1861 until 1865; and

WHEREAS, The battlefields, monuments, museums, and other historical sites to be found in Texas allow our citizens and visitors to remember, study, and appreciate the men and women of that unique time in the history of Texas and the nation; and

WHEREAS, The flag of the State of Texas was carried by Texas Confederate soldiers in every major battle of the War Between the States and the state contributed over 115,000 soldiers and sailors to the service of the Confederate States of America; and

WHEREAS, During the period of reconciliation, Texas Confederate veterans became instrumental in the continued development of our state and local governments and our institutions of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, We honor our past and draw from it the courage, strength, and wisdom to go forward into the future together as Texans and Americans; and

WHEREAS, The State of Texas has long recognized her Confederate history and the leaders who made sacrifices on behalf of the Confederate cause; and

WHEREAS, The Texans who served in the War Between the States are memorialized in almost every county in the state, and many cities and counties in the State of Texas bear the name of Confederate veterans; and

WHEREAS, It is important for all Texans to reflect upon our state's past and to respect the devotion of her Confederate leaders, soldiers, and citizens to the cause of Southern liberty; and

WHEREAS, In years since the war, the morally abhorrent practice of slavery has in the minds of many Texans become the prime motivation of Southern soldiers, despite the fact that 98 percent of Texas Confederate soldiers never owned a slave and never fought to defend slavery; and

WHEREAS, Politically correct revisionists would have Texas children believe that their Confederate ancestors fought for slavery when in fact most Texans joined the Confederate armed forces to defend their homes, their families, and their proud heritage as Texans; and

WHEREAS, Confederate Memorial Day in April is a time for all Texans to honor those men and women who died for Texas, and also all the Texans who came afterward and benefitted from their legacy of honor and devotion to our state; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 76th Legislature, hereby recognize April as Confederate History and Heritage Month in the State of Texas and encourage all Texas schools and citizens to join in efforts to become more knowledgeable of the role of the Confederate States of America in the history of our country.

The above Resolution was adopted by the Texas Senate on March 30, 1999.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

April is Confederate History & Heritage Month in Texas

Thanks for posting this, CapR. Unfortunately, because Texas was so far removed from the physical part of the War, a lot of people do not know that this part of our history played an intrinsic role in the development of the state.

Continuing, as relates to an earlier topic, is that all too many (even a lot of Southerners) have no clue as to the vexiological history of the Confederate flag. The one that is most common nowadays and thought of as the "Confederate Flag" (and sadly appropriated by hate groups) was actually not particularly in wide-spread use during the actual War era.

As it really was, there were more "Battle Flags" than can be counted. Here are a few which are in Texas history museums:

Texas Treasures - Historic Flags - Texas State Library

[L210]

I still don't quite understand this. Texas clearly seceded because of slavery, and whether or not these soldiers owned slaves, they fought to protect the interests of slave owners. So the only reason they had to defend their homes is because their slave owning representatives decided to secede.

If someone could make some sense out of that, I would greatly appreciate it. I know this idea may offend some, but I wonder how many Civil War veterans took part in terrorizing blacks after the war.

Another thing I hear in revisionist history from the other side is that the slaves were happy.

[TexasHorseLady]

There's going to be a lot of newcomers to the state that have had a very limited education in the actual history of the war and its complicated causes that are going to be shocked and astounded by this. Poor things.

[numbskull]

No matter what the reasons were for this war...it was useless none the less. A lot of folks died, were maimed, and such for nothing. Debate all you wish, but the Souths' decision to secede and go to war with the North, was short sighted and a bit conceited. For if this house(U.S.) had been divided, history may have dictated, a far different future for all of us. I have family who fought for the Confederacy in both Texas and Louisiana, so I do know the myriad of points that led to the war, yet I just find it difficult to justify them.

[L210]

I've been here my whole life (technically, since I was a baby), have heard the other side for years, studied the Civil War in college and on my own time, and I still don't understand the justification.

[TexasHorseLady]

How about, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it"? Shoving our history under the bed won't make it go away, and there was a great deal to honor in those who fought a defensive war against what was, in essence, an invader. Most of them were not slave owners, by the way, nor were they fighting to preserve slavery, but were fighting to defend their homes against an invading army, nonetheless. If you can't see the honor in that, I'm sorry for you.

I don't consider Texas to be primarily a Southern state, unlike TexasReb, but I do agree with him that this is a part of our history that should be recognized.

[numbskull]

There's no reason to feel sorry for folks. Learning from history and celebrating what that said history was trying to accomplish, are too different horses. I'll ride the one about educating, but the celebrating one, not so much. The invading army thing seems a little played out. The Confederacy's political machine new the truth and the severity of a war with the Union, yet went ahead and allowed young men to die and kill for a fruitless cause. My people were poor farmers before the war and were poor farmers when the war was finished. Nobody stole their land, but a few had their blood shed, and for what? The atrocities implemented by the North, were only done so, because the South put up a stand. Had they just conceded and saw the bigger picture, we'd be sitting where we are today, without mass grave sites, filled with the decomposed bodies of some of this country's finest.

[TexasHorseLady]

I take it that you do not approve of the 4th of July, then. After all, the odds were overwhelmingly against the Revolutionary Army, and yet they did it anyway, risking lives in the process for a cause that could have been equally fruitless. And for what? So that they could live their lives as they pleased, without being under the rule of the king. Should have just accepted the way things were.

I'm sorry, I got over being politically correct a long time ago.

[numbskull]

The whole point of this is that the monarchy in England was taxing all her citizens unfairly, making them belong to the Church, and so forth; while the Union was more about taxing the cotton producers and didn't really have much to do with the average poor southern farmer. The rich plantation owners are the ones who got the South into the war and they strung along the poor folks to do the dirty work. They(plantation owners) manufactured consent, by lying, to the regular everyday southerners, by telling them the big, bad North was invading them.