x-sender: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com x-receiver: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com Received: from mail pickup service by IQ12 with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Fri, 10 Jul 2015 09:15:35 -0400 thread-index: AdC7EoG+gN3VgYKuQHGJWzMz2Hlq7A== Thread-Topic: From a Confederate Historian: A Battle Flag is the Wrong Flag to Honor Confederate Dead From: To: Subject: From a Confederate Historian: A Battle Flag is the Wrong Flag to Honor Confederate Dead Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 09:15:35 -0400 Message-ID: <10ED6C033FF44B23BE24844C663E898C@IQ12> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 10 Jul 2015 13:15:35.0507 (UTC) FILETIME=[81CA5230:01D0BB12] CUSTOM Mr. Alan K Sumrall Sumrall 394 Black Cap Run Buda TX 78610 alsumrall2001@yahoo.com 5129178902 5129178902 COMM From a Confederate Historian: A Battle Flag is the Wrong Flag to Honor Confederate Dead I am a published Confederate flag historian (Battle Flags of Texans in the Confederacy, Eakin Press, Austin, 1995) and I can say with great confidence that the carefully designed historically correct regimental battle flag flow at the statehouse is still NOT appropriate as a memorial to Confederate War dead. The only appropriate memorial is a Confederate National Flag (most preferably the first national which insults no one). My ancestors were Confederates all and although none were Southern aristocracy they were not idiots, they knew what they were fighting for. The cause of the Confederacy was the survival of a the old south, the 225 year old Colonial and Antebellum south in which the institution of slavery was considered morally right and legally protected and needed for the maintenance of the Southern economy. It was what it was. It did not create slavery, but it did fight to maintain a venerated and increasingly obsolescent system that was in danger of being destroyed with nothing to replace it. Confederate War dead are worthy of memorization in the South as they are uniquely Southern and fought for what they thought was right. However, they cannot and should not be separated for their cause, which was a cause represented by their national flags, not individual regimental battle flags. many South Carolinian's fought under the first national flags and state flags as these sometimes were also used for battle flags. My suggestion is to amend the statute to allow for a Confederate National flag. If I read the statute correctly it can be amended without a two thirds vote. While a modest Confederate display, a display clearly for South Carolina's part and it's solders, is appropriate on the state house grounds, but not one of several regimental battle flags, no matter how historically correct the particular flag. Even if you had to get a 2/3 vote, proposing a 1st national flag is going to force a lot of flag proponents into a corner as well as those who want to use the battle flag as a controversy generating symbol. I hope someone is taking care of the 6 Pounder gun on display on the State House grounds. It is one of the two forward on deck anti-torpedo bow guns that were lost on the USS Maine when the forward part of the ship was blown up and twisted upside down. They were not recovered until the Maine was raised and all wreckage was removed. Both guns, yours and the one in White Plains New York, show damage from this tragic explosion that triggered a war. I am also an author regarding the period of the Spanish American war" "Old Hoodoo" The Battleship Texas, America's First Battleship (1895-1911). An outstanding website (which I help sponsor along with other historians can be found at www.confederate-flags.org. It covers in detail all the flags flown by the Confederate States of America, the national flags and their use (including military use), the different types of battle flags actually used by Confederate forces, the flags of the Confederate Navy, and of course the many state flags that were often used in battle by Confederates. Al Sumrall alsumrall2001@yahoo.com