Today IS April 2, and that chirping would be the sound of crickets in the absence of a proclamation, as yet, by Governor Bob McDonnell.
Yet, despite the proposed redirection toward a “Civil War in Virginia Month” (formerly known as Confederate History Month/CHM), the CHM recognition continues by many who are inclined to continue in that sort of pursuit. Don’t get me wrong… sure, we need to recognize that one aspect of Virginia and Virginians in that war… to include all the darker ins and outs of what that meant, at the time, to every Virginia resident… including those who didn’t feel so inclined to support the Confederacy, but, I was really hoping to see McDonnell be a little more on the ball… after all, it is the Sesquicentennial.
This being said, the other day, I received an e-mail (as part of a larger mass e-mailing) from a SCV camp representative out of the Harrisonburg area, asking for support for its full-page ad that is to go in Harrisonburg’s Daily News Record. It started off with…
Fellow Southerners and Southerners at Heart…
Of course, I couldn’t resist. My response was…
So, what you’re really saying is “Fellow Confederates-at-heart”, because there were more than a fair share of Southerners who were quite “Southern at heart” during the Civil War, and yet weren’t Confederate… nor did many of these, and other “Southrons”, necessarily feel inclined to support the Confederacy.
Here’s to a month of recognizing diversity in sentiment among Southerners, in the Civil War era South.
Since others seem to want to continue down the “Southern = Confederate” road, rest assured… I feel even more encouraged to continue to show the other angles of what it meant to be a Civil War era Southerner, and a Virginian, here.
Cenantua's Blog 
Craig Swain
April 3, 2011
My response – meh.
Why does it matter?
Robert Moore
April 3, 2011
I think it would be nice to know that those in government in the South can actually move beyond the standard Confederate-issued stuff, and say, “yes, there were all sorts of folks here, who saw the war from many angles, and even with sentiments that reveal that the state citizens were sometimes even at odds with each other.”
That said, I doubt it will be made that clear, but a step outside the “Confederate box” would be a start.
Robert Moore
April 3, 2011
But then, your “meh” doesn’t go unappreciated. I have little to no confidence that much of anything done these days, is really done in the best interest of history. There are usually other agendas at play… and in some cases, flat-out historical ignorance.