A
LOST CAUSE, BUT AN HONORABLE ONE
The
controversy over the Confederate battle flag and what it
symbolizes
continues
to rage. But it is rarely if ever explained why many decent
people of
good will
are so proud of their Confederate ancestry. Basically,
it
is because our ancestors
showed amazing courage, honor, and valor, enduring incredible
hardships,
against overwhelming and often hopeless odds, in fighting,
for their homeland -- not
for
slavery, as is so often said, but for
their families, homes, and country.
Near
the end of the War Between the States, my great grandfather,
Andrew
Jackson
Moses, who ran away from school to become a Confederate scout,
at 16
rode out
to defend his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina, as part of a
hastily-formed
local militia. Approaching rapidly was a unit of
Along
with a few other teenagers, old men, invalids, and wounded from
the
local
hospital,
Meanwhile,
Jack's
eldest brother, Lt.
Joshua Lazarus Moses, who was wounded in the War’s first real
battle,
First
The fifth
bother, Isaac Harby Moses, having
served with distinction in combat in Wade Hampton's cavalry, rode home from
The
Moses brothers’ distinguished uncle, Major Raphael J.
Moses,
from
Interestingly,
he
ended up carrying out
the last order of the Confederacy, which was to deliver the last
of the
Confederate treasury, $40,000 in gold & silver bullion, to
help
feed and
supply the defeated Confederate soldiers straggling home after
the War
-- weary, hungry, often sick,
shoeless and
in
tattered uniforms. With the help of a small group of determined
armed
guards,
Moses successfully carried out the order from President
Jefferson
Davis, despite
repeated attempts by mobs to forcibly take the bullion.
Major
Moses'
three sons also served the
Confederacy, one of whom, Albert
Moses
Luria, was killed in 1862 at 19 after courageously
throwing a live Union artillery shell out of
his fortification before it exploded, thereby saving the lives
of many
of his
compatriots. He was the first Jewish Confederate killed in the
War; his
cousin
Josh, the last.
One
cannot help but respect the dignity
and
gentlemanly policies of Lee and Moses, and the courage of the
greatly
outnumbered, out-supplied but rarely outfought Confederate
soldiers. In
stark
contrast, Union generals Sherman, Grant, and Sheridan and their
troops
burned
and looted homes, farms, courthouses, libraries, businesses and
entire
cities
full of only civilians (including Atlanta), as part of official
Union
policy to
not only defeat but utterly destroy the South, in violation of the
then-prevailing rules of warfare.
And
before,
during, and after the War,
this same Union army (led by many
of the
same generals, including Sherman, Grant, and George Custer) used
similar
tactics, and worse, to massacre and nearly wipe out the Native
Americans, in
what we euphemistically call "The Indian Wars." So the Union
army was
hardly the forerunner of the civil rights movement, as many
would have
us
believe.
There
are countless stories of valor by
soldiers on both sides of this tragic conflict, and their
descendants
can take
justifiable pride in this heritage. This
is
especially true of the brave and beleaguered Confederates who
risked
all and
sacrificed much in the service of their country, against a
formidable,
implacable, and often cruel foe. A Lost Cause, yes, but an
honorable
one, which
should not be forgotten.
Lewis Regenstein, a
Native Atlantan, with Sumter roots, is a writer and author.
regenstein@mindspring.com
The data included on the web pages created by Cynthia Ridgeway Parker may be freely used to further one's knowledge and understanding of family origins. The information included on this page is from the personal research of Lewis Regenstein. This information is posted here with his consent. The contents of this web page may not be published or distributed in any form without the written permission of the author. You are welcome to print a copy for your own personal use or for donation to your local genealogical society or library. All printed copies must retain this disclaimer. Please feel free to link to and share this url. (The reasoning behind the restrictions is the hope to deter those who would attempt to sell what we give freely.)