How Dare They?         

 by Larry L. Beane II (beanefonda@mindspring.com)

 [Permission granted to reprint without edits (unless approved by author). -  LB]

       One by one, the names were read.  It took an entire weekend to get through them all.  Solemnly, each known soldier from South Carolina was honored by having his name and rank read aloud, followed by the tolling of a bell.

      The record of the known dead of South Carolina's military personnel who gave their lives for their state and nation in the War of 1861-1865 contains more than 18,000 names.  This does not include the approximately 8,000 fallen veterans from the Palmetto State who are yet unknown.

      On the weekend of 7-8 January 2000, on the steps of the Capitol, this labor of love was carried on by volunteers.  Some were descendants of these very men who gave all when their country called.  Half-hour shifts of readers and bell-ringers chanted this somber litany throughout the night.

     Neither cold, nor isolation, nor darkness, nor the profane gestures and heckling of the hateful deterred the volunteers from ensuring that each and every soldier, sailor, and marine whose name is known was remembered and honored - if only for one second.

      One second of recognition is precious little in exchange for a life.  Every chime of the bell represented a uniformed serviceman whose earthly existence was snuffed out all too soon - either in raging battle or in a lonely POW camp.  Each one of these men served honorably and gave all to South Carolina.  They died of musket shots, saber wounds, cannon fire, and bayonet injuries.  They suffered, struggled for life, some suffocated on their own blood, and many had arms and legs hacked off with saws in desperate attempts to preserve their lives.  In the haze of their anguish, these men cried out for their wives, children, mothers, and fathers. They proclaimed their love of God, of hearth and home, state and country, and of their families - even as their lifeblood flowed out of them, and as they drew their last labored breaths.

      Some died not on battlefields, but in prisons.  Some, after suffering cold, heat, disease, filth, brutality of captors, and starvation for months in places like Elmira, Point Lookout, Camp Douglas, Fort Delaware, and many, many others - thousands of these men succumbed to death - even when those deaths were preventable.  These men were truly extraordinary, as they could have left the brutal concentration camps upon merely taking an oath to the government of their enemies.  Very few took this traitorous step – even to preserve their own lives.  None of the men whose names were read that January weekend opted for life over honor.

      In alphabetical order, the seemingly endless mortal census rolled on.  General officers and private soldiers - and every rank in between - were recognized for their ultimate sacrifices.  Some came from well-known wealthy families, and others were poor and middle class South Carolinians.  The names were read from a lectern only feet removed from a statue of George Washington - a statue still bearing the scars of the vandalism of the invading Union troops.  The readers and bell-ringers looked down the steps of the State Capitol facing Main Street - which was completely engulfed in flames the night of 17 February 1865.  During that phase of the war against the women and children of South Carolina, homes, hospitals, churches, and convents were burned to the ground.  Helpless patients, orphans, and old people struggled to escape the flames - while Sherman's merciless troops cut the fire hoses.  The names being read from the Capitol did not include the civilians who were murdered by the United States troops that horrific night.

      Between the street and the Capitol - standing like a marble sentinel listening silently to the constant drone of names and chimes - is an imposing monument.  It was erected in 1879 - only three years after the twelve-year military occupation of South Carolina had ended.  This memorial was completely financed by the ladies of South Carolina.  It depicts a Confederate soldier looking over the destruction of Main Street.  Inscriptions on two sides of the base serve as a time capsule, written by a generation of proud, but weary, Americans - conquered in war, yet unconquered in spirit.  A message from that generation which witnessed nearly one-fourth of its manhood killed in defense of liberty is engraved - addressed to us, in the year 2000: a generation that has never known want, war, or a defense of our homes and families against an aggressive foreign country.  The message is for us: the affluent, the ignorant, the complacent - those who have come to take freedom for granted, those who have forgotten the sacrifices of our ancestors to preserve our liberty.  The message should be pondered every day by people who value their freedom and need to be reminded of the great cost at which constitutional liberty was purchased.  We also need to be reminded of what happens to people when that freedom is infringed by those with no regard for constitutional liberty, the rights of man, the integrity of the states, nor even the sanctity of homes peopled by peaceful and defenseless women and children.

   The inscription reads:

       This monument perpetuates the memory of those who true to the instincts of their birth, faithful to the teachings of their fathers, constant in their love of their State, died in the performance of their duty: who have glorified a fallen cause by the simple manhood of their lives.  The patient endurance of suffering, and the heroism of death, and who in the dark hours of imprisonment, in the hopelessness of the hospital, in the short sharp agony of the field, found support and consolation in the belief that at home they would not be forgotten.

       Let the stranger who may in future times read this inscription recognize that these were men whom power could not corrupt, whom death could not terrify, whom defeat could not dishonor, and let their virtues plead for just judgment of the course in which they perished.  Let the South Carolinian of another generation remember that the State taught them how to live and how to die, and from her broken fortunes she has preserved for her children the priceless treasures of their memories, teaching all who may claim the same birthright.

       In light of such valor, how dare anyone attack the monuments to those who sacrificed all?  How dare the NAACP - whose leaders fly first class, drive luxury cars, take expensive vacations, and pay themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars - claim the monuments to these fallen soldiers  "offends" them?  How dare they claim to be "oppressed" in this land of plenty and opportunity?  Where is the "oppression" when their leaders make more money than the president of the United States?  Where is the  "oppression" in light of their criminal financial scandals and political intrigue?  Instead of focusing on social problems plaguing black Americans - which are largely self-inflicted - the NAACP has declared war on all Confederate monuments - including the monument whose inscription is cited above, as well as its companion - the Memorial Confederate Flag that flies over the capitol dome in silent, dignified honor of the veterans and civilians who gave all.  While Confederate soldiers perished in battle or survived to a life of poverty and reconstruction, members of the modern-day NAACP sniff that they will take their vast economic empire (being  "oppressed" as they are) and spend it on vacations and tourism in other states.  Are they completely ignorant of the profound irony of this situation?

      And how dare biased newspaper reporters and editors - who likewise live in unprecedented luxury and wealth - declare war on the symbols of these heroes?  Journalists who sit in comfortable, climate-controlled, multi-million dollar offices, safely tapping away their lockstep message of hatred from behind a computer screen are a far cry from the cold, hungry, wounded veteran of 140 years ago scribbling what may be his last letter to his wife on a scrap of recycled paper, praying not only that he might survive the next charge, but that his wife and children have not been raped or captured by the enemy, that his home and farm have not been burned, that  his letter may get through enemy lines to give hope and comfort to his  desperate family.  How dare these "journalists" side with those who would rewrite history - all to sell a few papers.  Big Journalism lies, they deceive, they distort, and they claim to be "objective."  These prostitutes of propaganda are unworthy of the standard of honor set for them by their betters of 140 years ago!

      How dare modern conservatives like George Will write columns which call for the removal of Confederate flags, justified by "economics"?  As if our ancestors’ mortal remains and memories are for sale to the highest bidder, as if real estate deals, advertising, and tourism dollars count more than the sacrifices of a generation willing to die for liberty, the George Wills of the world would have us desecrate our own mothers' graves if the price is right.

      How dare conservative presidential candidate John McCain - himself a veteran and former prisoner of war - call for the removal of a Confederate memorial?  How dare this man redeem the memories of the valor of thousands of brave soldiers like a ten-cent coupon in his quest to become president?

 And how dare other conservative politicians ride the fence, waffle, and avoid the issue?  Are black votes so dear as to warrant turning one's back upon fallen American veterans?  Is there no honor left in a man when he seeks high office in a major political party?

      How dare modern liberals join whole-heartedly in this war against historical truth?  While Al Gore - who has convinced himself he invented the Internet - can hardly be expected to be honorable about anything, one would hope that a man who has so long served in Congress and in the vice presidency would at least have some appreciation for those who sacrificed their very lives in patriotic public service.  How dare liberals in the South Carolina legislature be so quick to rip down a war memorial so as to appease a small minority of malcontents.  Is there nothing to which these people will not stoop in order to hold on to power?

      How dare universities beat the drum to remove the Confederate flag - citing a desire not to upset the applecart in recruiting blacks to play football?  While the universities no longer educate their students in American history - turning instead to politically-correct mythology and relativist philosophy - they are concerned about the welfare of precious  (and highly lucrative) sports programs.  Should we be surprised?  Half a century ago, the Citadel (of all places) bulldozed headstones of dead veterans (as well as that of a child), let the unmarked graves remain, and erected football stadium on the site of this desecration.  Honoring the war dead doesn't bring home the bacon these days - cheering football fans do. College football has not only replaced honor in much of Dixie - it has become the New Religion of the New South - a religion that promotes victory over honor and money over principle.  How dare they?

      And how dare modern South Carolinian (and American) men shrug indifferently in the face of this attack on historical truth, honor, patriotism, and devotion to duty?  How dare modern men spend thousands upon thousands of dollars in entertaining themselves - while donating not a penny to the memories of the men and women who died so as to bequeath the liberty which has made modern prosperity possible for them?  How dare modern men spend thousands of hours watching brain-numbing television, banal movies, mindless sporting events, and likewise squandering their liberties, yet are  "too busy" to attend a rally, a meeting of a heritage group, or even read a single book to educate themselves about the past?  Why are today's fathers not teaching their sons how to be men, taking them to visit war memorials, and setting the example in their own family lives?

      How dare the women's movement of today - in complete contrast to the ladies all across the South after the war - refuse to take part in the effort to preserve memorials to our fallen war dead?  With few exceptions, most of the well-publicized and well-heeled women's organizations today spend millions of dollars convincing women that infanticide is their right, that perversity is a virtue, and that family is a low priority in the lives of women.  While modern women may believe they are "freer" than the ladies that raised the funds to build the Capitol monument to the South Carolina war dead, they are, in fact, slaves to the notion of "modernity" - being told what to think and how to act by a smug and hateful group of manipulators.  These modern organizations are devoted to enriching themselves at the expense of truth, while the honorable ladies of the 19th century devoted themselves to truth even at the expense of their own  "convenience" and "choice."  Our modest grandmothers had more dignity and honor in their humble bake-sales to pay for war memorials than all the high-profile power-moms hurrying around in BMWs, calling the nanny on the cell phone, seeking only to glorify themselves and their whims.  Is this what life and liberty boil down to?

      The blood of our ancestors cries out to us - from unfound, unmarked, unknown graves in Pennsylvania, to battlefield cemeteries in Florida.  From the hills of Virginia to the plains of Texas.  From Indian Territory in Oklahoma, to the disputed bluegrass of Kentucky, these men lie buried.  As a  result, all Americans have a legacy of resistence to the very same federal  tyranny that squeezes us today.  That unique generation of Americans  demonstrated that honor is not for sale, that the deaths of even hundreds of  thousands of people is preferable to apathy in the face of subjugation, that  freedom is not free, and that constitutional liberty is worth dying for.  These Americans also demonstrated to us that honoring our past is a duty - and that to shirk that duty makes us unworthy of not only our heritage, but of liberty itself.

      No more names are being read, the bell is silent now, and General Washington’s statue once again stands alone.  For the time being, the Confederate monument remains at the base of the Capitol, and the Memorial Confederate battle flag still honors the veterans, beneath Old Glory and the Palmetto flag of the State of South Carolina.  Now other bells must ring at the Capitol - the bells of the telephones of the representatives charged with running the state government.  Today's politicians must be told in no uncertain terms that these veterans are not - and will never be - forgotten.

      Honor is not for sale.  Freedom is not free.  But they cost some generations more than others.  We are not being asked to charge breastworks in the face of cannon fire, nor to rot away in a filthy prison camp.  Our duty today is to write our local newspapers, phone, fax, and e-mail our representatives, educate the public about our gallant American history as well as the political whoremongering which goes on in the name of civil rights today.  Most of all, we have the duty to never forget what our ancestors were willing to do to secure liberty for us and for our descendants.

      How dare we do anything less?

===