ivan salis said:
why is that people say the civil war was about "freeing the slaves" --- if so since the war started in 1861 why was it almost 2 years before the "slaves" were declared free?-- why does no one speak of when president lincoln on may 22nd of 1862 recinded union gen david hunters --general order #11 which was issued on by hunter on may 8th of 1862 which "freed" all the slaves in --south carolina, georgia and florida * forever more --the 3 states were under gen hunters military command at the time --
Ivan, As a true Southerner, born and raised in the South, with my great, great, grandfather a Confederate Solider, the civil war is called
"The War of Northern Aggression".
"Reasons for risking life and limb varied, but they usually came down to four fundamentals: uphold state sovereignty, regional duty, group solidarity and protection of home and family.
The notion that the average Confederate waged war to preserve slavery is a tenuous one at best. Only 6 percent of Southerners owned slaves, and 3 percent of those owned the majority. Recruits themselves referred to the war as "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."
"Just as most Northerners did not fight to end slavery, most Southerners did not fight to preserve it," wrote James I. Robertson, Jr. in Tenting Tonight:The Soldier's Life.
"By and large, owning slaves was the privilege of the well-to-do. The rank and file of the Southern armies was composed of farmers and laborers who volunteered to protect home and everything dear from Northern invaders, to keep their traditions and be left alone."
To preserve those traditions, the South paid a severe price: Confederate soldiers suffered up to 12 percent killed versus 5 percent of the Union Army. Killed in action totalled 74,542 plus another 59,297 dead from disease (this figure is generally considered underestimated). Of the 214,000 Confederates imprisoned in the North, 26,000 (12 percent) died."....
Thin Gray Line
http://vaudc.org/confed_vets.html