Tom said, “When you ask them prisoners, they never talk about slavery. But, Lawrence, how do you explain that? What else is the war about?”
Chamberlain shook his head.
‘If it weren’t for the slaves, there’d never have been no war, now would there?”
“No,” Chamberlain said.
”Well then, I don’t care how much political fast-talking you hear, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what them fellers died for, And I tell you, Lawrence, I don’t understand it at all.”
The Killer Angels
This year is the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1-3, 1863. In that battle alone, the Union side lost around 23,000 soldiers, and on the Confederate side, an estimated 28,000.
I always found it appropriate that such a defining moment in the Civil War coincided with Independence Day. The battle itself was just one of the militarily significant battles in the whole war but is the most studied, known, and reflective of what the war was about.
The reason, of course, is President Lincoln’s address dedicating the hallowed ground upon which many gave their lives so that others may live in freedom. The battle fell six months after he had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and at this juncture, everyone knew the war was about slavery, as noted in the passage above and elsewhere in The Killer Angels.
On the Union side, over 325,000 died in the Civil War, and another 275,000 were wounded. The Confederate casualties are estimated at 94,000 dead and 164,000 wounded.
Our nation went through hell to keep the Union together and free the slaves.
That’s why the rhetoric from the Leftists surrounding the trilogy of Supreme Court decisions out this week is appalling AND nonsensical. In each of the decisions, important constitutional tenants were affirmed. All are created equal. The Executive Branch cannot overreach into legislative areas.
Religious liberty is protected.
