"Precious, it's time to plan our trip for the USS Yorktown Survivor's Reunion in May. After the reunion, is there any place you want to go?"
"The meeting will be in Young Harris, up in northern Georgia." Carol responded. "As long as we are that far, I want to go on to Washington D.C. to see the new Bible Museum."
"Then, as long as we are in D.C., let's go north to see Niagara Falls," I interjected. "And Gettysburg is on the way to the Falls, so let's go see the Battlefield."
We have never been to Niagara, but had visited the Gettysburg Battlefield in 1996, almost 133 years after President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address. He started out with, "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
It sends chills down my back to say those words. Only 79 years earlier, the American colonists concluded an eight-year war for independence against the mightiest nation in the world. But in 1863, the Southern States were fighting again -- for independence? They thought so. "No Federal diplomat will tell us what to do. Our own state leaders will govern us."
Today, the word "state" is not viewed with the same understanding as it was in 1861. When Colonel Lee (not a general yet) was asked to assume leadership of the country's army, he said he would wait to see which way his country would go, and side with it. The word "state" and "country" were synonymous. Lee was in a dilemma.
President Washington, a Virginian, in his farewell address called on all Americans to "treasure and defend their union as the primary achievement of their struggle of independence." In 1833 when South Carolina was threatening to break away, President Madison, a Virginian, said there was "no legal or moral basis for secession."
Lee, a Virginian, identified with Washington and Madison, and was loyal to the United States (viewed as United Countries) of America. A graduate of West Point, he had fought for this nation. But his historical roots went deeper into the country/state of Virginia.
Virginia, by a narrow margin, voted to secede, and Colonel Lee kept true to his word. In fact, many of the states' votes to break away were by a narrow margin. But once the decision was made, and some individuals sold their homes and moved north, the southern states locked arms and became a formidable foe to President Lincoln.
The disdain, or fear, of Lincoln's federalism sunk deep to the Confederate core. When southern President Jefferson Davis proposed to federalize the southern government in an effort to become more efficient, the southern senators cried, "If you federalize us, we will fight you!"
Many in the South didn't see the problem as over slavery -- but about the freedom of each state/country to make its own decisions without federal interference. The primary factor dividing America was economics -- yes, that definitely included slavery.
Many in the North also had divided opinions. While many saw the fight as over slavery, many others saw it as protecting the United States against dissolution.
But I think President Lincoln finally settled on two principles: The Union must be preserved! And all men are created equal in the sight of God!
When South Carolina pulled away, "Treason!" was the cry of the North. When President Lincoln sent troops to bolster Fort Sumter, "Northern Aggression!" was the cry of the South.
But I believe God led Lincoln in his decisions to preserve the Union.
That war became known by many names. Several are: The Civil War, The American Civil War, the War Between the States, The War of Northern Aggression, The War of Rebellion, The War of Virginia, Robert E. Lee's War, The Great Rebellion, Freedom War, and The War for Southern Independence. In Europe it was called the War of Secession. In Asia: Battle Between North and South Sides of the United States.
When I was discussing this war with a friend in Georgia, he said, "There was nothing civil about it."
He was correct. On June 19, 1879, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman spoke at the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy. He said, "War is hell!" He's right!
Well, I didn't talk about Gettysburg. But don't go away: with this as a background, we'll hit it next week.
-- Gene Linzey is a speaker, author, mentor and president of the Siloam Springs Writers Guild. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 03/07/2018