The Man Responsible For Racism in America

 

Edward V. Valentine

       I've been doing quite a bit of research to learn who is most responsible for the trouble that has been caused in this country in the past few years. The man responsible was one I knew very little about. All it takes is serious research to uncover the truth and I have accomplished that.

       I learned that the man most responsible was a man born in Richmond, Virginia in 1838. His name was Edward Virginius Valentine. He was old enough to fight in the war, but missed the entire conflict because he spent the war years studying sculpting in Europe. There isn't a lot of information out there on Edward Valentine, but trust me, the man is to blame for all American racism. If you don't believe me, just ask Washington Post Reporter Gregory Schneider. 

       According to Schneider, Valentine's monuments brought "racist mythology to life." Basically, Schneider goes on to explain how those monuments were the main reason that George Floyd was killed by white Minnesota police officers. I'm not sure those cops had ever seen a Confederate monument in their life, but it's easier for the extreme leftists to blame inanimate objects for their problems than real life people. 

One of the dangerous monuments that caused George Floyd's death

       I've been to several of Edward Valentine's monuments myself and yet to have killed anyone or felt any reason to be racist, but I have an IQ above my shoe size unlike most people today. I can see why anyone without much intelligence could feel threatened by a statue today. I also love the way those with a low IQ attempt to teach the rest of us that we are the ones that are wrong. 

       One of my favorite arguments is where they tell me these monuments didn't appear until Jim Crow laws started coming into affect. Do these people do any real research before making such statements? Why were there no monuments to Confederate heroes erected right after the war? Could it have been because it was illegal to raise such monuments? It was even illegal to wear a Confederate uniform in public after the war. It wasn't because Confederate's felt guilty or like they had done anything wrong I can assure you. After all, they were just doing what we celebrate every July 4th and that was the right to secede from an overbearing government. 

       I have a few questions these genius people need to answer for me. Since they are so set on the war being over slavery, surely they have the answers I need. When the slave trade was open and the Northern states were making quite a bit of money off selling slaves to the South, why were there no large groups of abolitionists? When it no longer made them money, then they became concerned about the morality of the institution. This also goes for England. Great Britain made tons of money off the slave trade, yet by the time of the war, they had become concerned with the morality of slavery (they weren't making money off it anymore). Do you see how things have always worked in the world? Just follow the money and the answer will lie there. 

       I pray to God that he will forgive Edward Valentine for creating such monstrous statues that caused so many innocent deaths. If only he had known how dumb we would become. 

Southern born Federal Generals in the Civil War

Virginia Born Winfield Scott

       Recently, on facebook, I noticed a couple of guys on my friends list discussing who had more generals from the other country, North or South. One young man guessed the North had more Southern born generals than the South had Northern born generals. He was quickly corrected by another friend who informed him that there were more Northern born generals who fought for the South. Initially, I believed him until I researched the situation myself. 

       After finding the answer, I realized that it should have been obvious to me all along. There were 33 Northern born Confederate Generals. There were 35 Southern born Federal generals that served during the Civil War. There were 583 generals commissioned during the Civil War on the Federal side and 425 Confederate generals commissioned during the war. Percentage wise, that puts the Confederacy in the lead, but number wise, it places the Federal army in the lead. Here is a complete list of the Southern born Federal generals and why they served the North.

       

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs

       There were nine Federal generals born in the South who grew up on Northern soil before the war. They were Montgomery C. Meigs (Georgia, grew up in Pennsylvania), Jacob Ammen (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), David B. Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), William Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), James W. Denver (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), Benjamin M. Prentiss (Virginia, grew up in Illinois), William T. Ward (Virginia, grew up in Kentucky), Louis D. Watkins (Florida, grew up in Washington, D.C.), and Joseph R. West (Louisiana, grew up in Pennsylvania). 

        

George Henry Thomas

       There were 11 Southern born Federal generals that were in the old army before the war began and refused to leave the army in which they had served their entire adult lives. These officers were Philip St. George Cooke (Virginia, father of Confederate General John R. Cooke and father-in-law of Confederate General Jeb Stuart), John W. Davidson (Virginia), Alexander B. Dyer (Virginia), Alvan C. Gillem (Tennessee), Andrew J. Hamilton (Alabama), William S. Harney (Tennessee), John Newton (Virginia), George D. Ramsey (Virginia), Winfield Scott (Virginia, the hero of the Mexican War), William R. Terrill (Virginia, his brother James B. Terrill became a general in the Confederate Army), and George Henry Thomas (Virginia, possibly the best Federal general of the entire war).

U.S. President Andrew Johnson

       Eight Federal Generals fought for the North because they opposed secession and remained loyal to the Union. They were William B. Campbell (Tennessee), Samuel P. Carter (Tennessee), Edmund J. Davis (Florida), Lawrence P. Graham (Virginia), Isham N. Haynie (Tennessee), William Hays (Virginia), Andrew Johnson (Tennessee, became president of the United States, Lincoln assigned him military governor of Tennessee with the rank of brigadier general), and James G. Spears (Tennessee).

John C. Fremont

       There were five Southern born Union generals that moved North when they reached adulthood and remained loyal when the war began. They were Thomas T. Crittenden (Alabama, moved to Indiana), John C. Fremont (Georgia, moved to Missouri), Stephen A. Hurlbut (South Carolina, moved to Illinois), Solomon Meredith (North Carolina, moved to Indiana and commanded the famed Iron Brigade), and John D. Stevenson (Virginia, moved to Missouri). 

       There was one more Federal general who had been born in the South, but was loyal to the Union because he served in the Federal Navy before the war. He was John B. McIntosh (Florida,  made New Jersey his home, he was the brother of Confederate General James M. McIntosh). 

       I will be the first to admit that I was shocked by the numbers. I knew George Thomas was born in Virginia and fought for the Union. I also knew about Winfield Scott. I'd heard about William R. Terrill and Stephen A. Hurlburt, but was truly surprised to learn that Andrew Johnson was commissioned a general by Abraham Lincoln. It just goes to show that a historian can always learn something new when he digs deep enough.