My colleague Bill Turnier reminded me that today there is a new monument to African Americans who served the Confederate cause coming to Monroe, North Carolina (in Union County). WUNC, the local NPR station, ran a short story on this this morning -- apparently the monument will list the names of 10 African American youths, nine of whom were slaves, who served the Confederate army. According to the story this is the first monument to African Americans in Union County. I'm sorry that I couldn't attend this -- just too much work to be done here to get away for it.
Though NPR spun this as honoring African Americans, I think this has a lot more to do with neo-Confederate history about loyal slaves who fought for (or in this case worked as servants to) the Confederacy. Thus, I'd classify this more as a modern day faithful slave monument than as a monument to the achievements of African Americans.
One other thing: the story I linked to above from the Charlotte Observer mentions that many years later those people received small state pensions as Civil War veterans. I've been meaning to look systematically at the southern state pensions to African Americans. The last time I started investigating this, I focused on South Carolina -- and as I recall the state started giving pensions to African American "veterans" substantially later than it gave them to white veterans.
I guess I need to add this to the list of war monuments that classify Americans based on race.
The image is of the North Carolina monument at Appomattox.
Update: Here is the Charlotte Observer story about the dedication ceremony. As I predicted, the slaves are being used to promote Confederate heritgage. But what I found of particular interest is that one of the people there is the daughter -- yes, daughter, not remote descendant -- of one of the slaves. She was born in the 1920s, when her father was elderly.
Hi Al,
"I'd classify this more as a modern day faithful slave monument than as a monument to the achievements of African Americans."
Yes.
On the issue of Confederate pensions for African-American veterans, I'm interested as well, but I can say for a fact that such was not provided for in the 1885 Pension Act in N.C. (I'd have to look at the subsequent bills to see where, if ever, such pensions were provided). But the fact that several N.C. pension bills had been passed between 1865 and 1885 suggests that your sense that they were a relatively long time coming for African-American veterans is right on.
Posted by: Daniel S. Goldberg | December 08, 2012 at 02:17 PM
I see the Union County monument as just another effort at revisionist history of the worst sort. In the NPR story it was noted that all were teenagers and all but one were slaves. we are seeing more stories downplaying the role of slavery in the Civil War and portraying it as a dispute over political theories of relatively modest difference. I guess it is good psychological therapy for those whose ancestors fought for the "lost cause" and feel a sense of inherited guilt. I basically feel sorry for those who feel responsible for the sins of their ancestors. It is an impossible and illogical burden to assume. None of us is worth more or less for the virtues or failings of our fore bearers. We are accountable for ourselves and our actions and somedays that even seems to be too burdensome.
If Union County wanted to build a monument to African Americans honoring their achievements and contributions to growth of the county, it would have been far more appropriate to have built a monument to the countless slaves who lived lives in exploitation building life in the county.
Posted by: Bill Turnier | December 11, 2012 at 09:52 AM