Another Civilian Death: James W. Jackson

James W. Jackson

       James W. Jackson was 38 years old when the Civil War arrived at his front door. James lived in Alexandria, Virginia just across the river from Washington, D.C. He was the owner and operator of the Marshall House Inn. Before Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and his 11th New York "Fire Zouaves" arrived at his inn, he was already semi-famous. James flew the Confederate (1st National) Flag atop his hotel which was clearly visible from Abraham Lincoln's office in the White House. 

James Jackson's Marshall House

       Lincoln and his cabinet had observed the large Confederate flag flying across the Potomac River and discussed it. James Jackson had been quoted as saying they would take down his flag over his dead body. When Virginia voted to secede from the union, the following day, Federal troops occupied Alexandria. Ellsworth immediately entered the Marshall House and asked a boarder about the flag. The boarder had no knowledge of the flag. Ellsworth then climbed the stairs and removed the flag from the flagpole. While making his way down the stairs, Ellsworth met James Jackson carrying a double-barreled shotgun. Jackson shot Ellsworth in the chest at close range killing him instantly. He missed with the second barrel as he shot at a Private Brownell. Brownell shot Jackson in the face and then repeatedly bayonetted his body before throwing him down the stairs. 

Private Francis Brownell (above left) and Colonel Elmer Ellsworth

       Both sides considered each man a martyr and hero. No one seemed to question the legality of soldier's employed by the Federal government trespassing and removing private property. James Jackson left behind a wife and three children ranging from ages six and twelve years old. He rests today in the city cemetery, Fairfax, Virginia. Elmer Ellsworth was 24 years old and had never married. His only brother Charley had died the year before of smallpox at age 18. Both rest today in Hudson View Cemetery, Mechanicsville, New York. 

 

How the Confederate Battle Flag Became Racist

The Confederate Battle Flag

St. Andrew's Cross Flag

       I've already written a blog on the Confederate Battle Flag being based on the Christian flag of St. Andrew, one of Jesus's Apostles and the younger brother of Peter. I won't repeat what I've already stated as you can go back and read those blogs if you're interested. I'm going in a different direction with this blog. Legend has it that Andrew was crucified on an "X" shaped cross different from the type that Christ was placed upon. The St. Andrew's Cross flag was derived from this legend. The flag has Christian origins. So the question arises, "How did a Christian flag come to be viewed as racist?"

       I've already told the story of the flag used by the KKK in the early 1900's. Below is a photograph of the 1928 Klan march on our nation's capital. You won't notice any Confederate Battle Flags in the photograph, but the U.S. National Flag. I've already asked why we don't consider that flag racist, but have yet to receive an answer from people that worship that flag while calling for the abandonment of the Confederate Battle Flag. 

1928 Klan march on Washington, D.C.

       I recently listened to a talk given by a friend of mine who happened to serve on the grand jury hearings for the case of the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 in which four young black girls were killed. I won't mention my friends name here because I have not received prior permission from him. I will explain what he learned from being on the grand jury. 

       First off, he learned why the Klan began to use the Confederate Battle Flag as its official symbol and turns out, it's the same reason other people use the flag. It has nothing to do with the Confederacy being a slave holding nation at all. When the protests began in earnest across the South to stop segregation, the Klan at that time was a peaceful organization or at least most of it's members attempted to be peaceful. Some of the younger members decided it was time for more radical action and appealed to the older Klan members for violence. The older members naturally didn't agree with this approach. The younger members fed up with what they considered the inaction of the older members did what they thought was right. They naturally raised the Confederate Battle Flag in defiance (that flag is the international symbol of defiance of course) in protest of the old leadership. Why else would the Confederate Battle Flag be displayed in Crimea during it's secession from Ukraine? There are almost no blacks there, so obviously, they aren't attempting to downgrade that race. It's become the international symbol of defiance to an overreaching authority. 

        Another thing that I learned from my friend on the grand jury trial that I'd never heard before was the fact that no one was supposed to be killed in the bombing at the church. The bomb was placed the night before and supposed to explode during the night. These Klan members didn't know how to correctly build a timer on their bomb. By the next morning when the bomb was supposed to have already exploded, none of these guys had the courage to walk up and see why it hadn't gone off yet. Unfortunately, for all involved, the bomb went off at the worst possible moment. 

A Russian lady protesting with a non-Russian flag

       Now let's move on to the ignorance our nation teaches. Because most of our nations lawmakers are unfortunately lawyers and they just want to "kiss ass" for a vote, none of them have the backbone to stand up for what is right. They jump on the bandwagon of "political correctness" and sing along. So, here are a few observations that should shake the politically correct to the core. 

       In an attempt to do away with the Confederate Battle Flag on Georgia's state flag, the politically correct raised enough protest to have the flag changed. The flag was changed from a battle flag that never flew over a slave holding nation to one that looks almost identical to the Confederate First National flag and a nation that did hold slaves. 

The Confederate 1st National Flag or "Stars and Bars"

The modern day Georgia state flag is not considered racist, but can you see any resemblence?

        Even funnier for me is the fact that none of the people that protest these things are smart enough to figure any of it out for themselves. Let's take a look at the march President Obama led across the Edmund Winston Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 2015. Below you can see a photograph of him on the bridge, but behind him is the obvious name of the bridge. 

Obama and others on Edmund Winston Pettus Bridge in Selma

      Why do I think the above photograph is comical? For starters, the bridge is named after Brigadier General Edmund Winston Pettus, a Confederate Brigadier General, and later a member of the original Ku Klux Klan. Now it's not funny that he is standing in front of a name associated with the Klan, because anyone one that care's to learn the true history of our nation will readily admit that the original Klan was meant to drive out the carpet bagger's from up North. They were not a racist group at all. The funny thing to me is the fact that no one in America realized who the bridge was named after until days after the photograph was taken. No one on Obama's staff even knew who General Pettus was. General Pettus was a great man, not a racist person at all. He loved the South and fought hard against the Central Government of Lincoln. He joined the Klan because he lived in a land where Southern white males had no representation in the government. He is buried beneath a flat marker (nothing fancy at all) because he was an extremely humble person. Now we learn that the politically correct want to rename the bridge after having been told who the bridge was named after. This I find extremely funny. 

        Reminds me of a quote attributed to one of the South's arch enemies, Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Maybe he should of been alive today to see how "dumbed down" we've become. 

        So what is the best way to take this flag back from the Klan and the skinheads? There is a simple solution. The black race needs to stop protesting this flag and embrace it. After all, as Frederick Douglass once stated, the black race is the stomach of the rebellion. Whether or not you believe blacks fought for the South, you must admit the South couldn't have survived without the help of the black race just as Frederick Douglass understood. Why then should the black race hate that flag? 

The Right to be Offended by John Crisp

English Professor John Crisp

       Well, I've picked up a newspaper where another English professor is attempting to rewrite our history books yet again. Why should we have history professor's if the English professor's know more about history than everyone else. The name of Mr. Crisp's column is The Right to be Offended in the US and of course it was all about slavery. In Mr. Crisp's column you'll find out that the Sons of Confederate Veterans are in the wrong for teaching what the war was truly over. Let's look at a few things he mentions in his column and see how intelligent Mr. Crisp truly is on Civil War history.

The 1st National Flag of the Confederacy otherwise known as the "Stars and Bars"

The Confederate Battle Flag on the Texas S.C.V. tag

       In Mr. Crisp's column, he is offended by the "notorious Stars and Bars battle flag." These are his words, not mine. Now there never was a "Stars and Bars battle flag. The Confederate 1st National Flag that actually flew over a country was called the Stars and Bars. The Confederate battle flag flew over an army and never flew in any official manner over the government of the Confederate States. I guess actually knowing your history doesn't matter when you write a column as an English professor. 

       Now this idiot goes on to say that because he had an ancestor who owned slaves, it makes him the expert on whether blacks should be offended by the flag. But, he does say that his slave holding ancestors are too removed from him to give him feelings of guilt. Now, it sounds a lot like hypocrisy to me. 

       Now, I've been told that the reason the flag offends is because Ku Klux Klan used the flag in the 1940's. Fair enough, now look at the photograph below and tell me should this flag also offend since the Klan used it before the 1940's. 

This flag offends me because it was used by the Ku Klux Klan

       I'm currently reading Bevin Alexander's new book Such Troops As These. He gives a few reasons that caused the Civil War. Among them is the disagreement on slavery. Is that the only reason? Mr. Alexander explains that the dispute came down to money. This is a direct quote from Bevin Alexander's book:

       "Northern industrialists wanted to create a closed American economy in which only their products would be available. And these products would cost more than British products because American industry was newer and less efficient than British industry. The South was being asked to pay to strengthen Northern industry...and this conflict played an important role in the division of North and South."

      The most shocking thing of all is that Bevin Alexander is a historian, not an English professor. I've said it in blogs before about English professors. They should stick with teaching English, Grammar, etc. and let the historians teach history. 

Confederate flag and religion

What does this flag have to do with religion?

       I recently recieved a paper from a friend that talked about the Confederate Battle Flag and Saint Andrew's Cross. So I wanted to study Saint Andrew and try and understand why his cross was picked for the Confederate Battle Flag.

       Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter. Both were fishermen and when Jesus approached the two men, he told them to follow him and he would make them ‘fishers of men’. We know that Andrew preached the gospel of Christ in Romania and parts of Russia.

       Andrew was crucified in Greece at a very old age, some say he was ninety years old. Like his brother, Andrew didn’t feel that he deserved to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus. Peter asked to be crucified upside down. Andrew asked to be crucified on an ‘X shaped’ cross. His wish was granted.

        In 1964, the pope sent back all the parts of Andrew to be kept by the Greek Orthodox Church in the city where he was crucified. These parts included a part of his skull, a small finger and parts of his cross. The rest of Andrew’s remains are in a tomb in Italy.

       According to legend, in 832 when the Scots were going into battle against the Angles, the Scottish leader said a prayer and stated in that prayer that he would appoint Saint Andrew the Patron Saint of Scotland if his army was victorious. Just before entering the battle, white clouds were observed making a Saint Andrew’s Cross in the blue sky. The Scots saw it as a sign of victory from God. Although badly outnumbered, the Scots won the battle.

Flag of Scotland

       The present day flag of Scotland has a blue background with a white ‘X’ on top. The background represents the sky and the ‘X’ represents the clouds.

Spanish Military Flag

       Spain also used a flag based on Saint Andrew’s Cross a couple of centuries ago. They also still use that emblem on many of their military patches. The Soviet Union still uses the cross on many of their military flags because Andrew preached there.

Naval Ensign of Russia

       It wasn’t by accident that the Confederate government used the same cross in it’s battle flag. Over 75% of the people in the South had a Celtic background and Saint Andrew’s Cross was a religious symbol for those people. Because of this, the Confederate battle flag, though hated widely by people who misunderstand its meaning has come to be called the Southern Cross by the people who respect it. The following are more Confederate Flags with religious symbols attached to them.

3rd Kentucky Infantry Flag

Major General Dabney Maury's Headquarters Flag

Missouri State Battle Flag

Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk's Headquarters Flag

Dept. of East Tennessee Flag and Scottish Flag

Alabama State Flag and Saint Andrew's Flag

(Ironically this flag has been protested as looking too much like the Confederate Battle Flag)

Florida State Flag

(Florida claims the Confederate Flag has nothing to do with this, it's Spanish in origin)

The Confederate Flag: Part 2

The First Confederate National Flag

       Another lie reported by the Montgomery reporter stated that there were more marchers than spectators because no one cared for the event. I guess it would have been too much trouble to check around and ask why. The men in charge of the parade decided it would be a nice gesture if they would invite the spectators present to march with the reenactors. My wife and children were among this group. It amazes me how the media twists stories to suit what they want. 

       You may wonder why newspaper reporters resort to stirring up controversy in their papers and I have the answer. This is a quote from an actual historian about present day reporters: "Newspapers are a thing of the past and they will stir up any controversy in order to sell a newspaper and save their jobs."

       These men understand what the flag stands for

       An African American friend of mine on Facebook understands what the flag meant. He was the president of the NAACP in Asheville, North Carolina and was forced out of office because he refused to declare the Confederate Flag as a racist symbol among other things. He supports the flag today and the following is a quote of what he believes: "The Civil War had almost nothing to do with the issue of slavery. Abraham Lincoln supported an amendment that would create permanent slavery, and five Northern states kept slavery until they were forced to abandon the institution, due to the 13th amendment. Even then, Delaware, a Northern loyalist state, refused to ratify the amendment. He believes that the South had a constitutional right of secession, arguing that not only was southern secession legal, it was justified. Outrageous tariffs drove the south into extreme poverty, and many unconstitutional actions of Abraham Lincoln lead to the secession of the Confederate States of America. H.K. Edgerton blames the North for the onslaught of racism in the twentieth century, pointing out that post-civil war poverty in the south, that lasted until post World War II lead to feelings of resentment, and resulted in the violent racism of the civil rights era. He points out that if the South had been allowed to go peacefully, both the United States and the Confederate States would have abandoned racism long before the 1900s, while keeping a booming trade alive between the industrial North, and Agricultural South."

       We can figure out which flag should be hated for flying over slavery very easily by going through the history of slavery in this country. It is estimated that around 645,000 African's were shipped to the United States as slaves. The idea of slavery began with something called 'indentured service' which meant a person worked for another person until a certain amount of time. This was used for both races, black and white. In 1769, Spain abolished the use of American Indian slaves in its territories. 

       In 1789, slavery had been legalized in New York, Ohio, Connecticutt, New Jersey, and Deleware among states in the south. By 1821 all the northern states except Deleware had abolished slavery. Ironically, Deleware would not abolish slavery until the 13th Amendment was ratified by congress after the Civil War. 

       The United States outlawed the importation of slaves into the country in 1808. Anyone found guilty would be tried for piracy and sentenced to death. Only one man was ever executed in the United States for importing slaves. That man was Nathaniel Gordon of Maine. Since the practice of importing slaves into America was outlawed in 1808, guess which flag was flying at the time. The Confederate Battle Flag wasn't invented until the 1860's. That leaves only one flag.

The only flag in this country that ever allowed slaves to be imported

       That is also the same flag that waged war on Native Americans and attempted to exterminate the race. I don't see that flag being denounced as racist. It seems that the political correct community decides it will rewrite history to suit their agenda. In the next couple of weeks I will write a blog on the true Abraham Lincoln and not the myth that school teachers and politically correct people try to cram down our throats today. I also plan on writing a few blogs to show that African Americans fought for the Confederate States during the war. Again, I hope I haven't offended anyone.