The section of US 29 near my family's home in Virginia is named the "29th Infantry Division Highway." Virginia National Guard troops from that famous "Blue and Grey" division helped lead the assault on Omaha Beach. I got to thinking about that when I read W. Thomas Smith's ode to the crew of the CSS Hunley, whose bodies were recovered from that early submarine and recently buried after a heroes' funeral:
Politics aside, those Confederate submariners who perished in the cramped hold of their submarine will always be part of America's military history. They were indeed American heroes, every bit as much as the courageous federal sailors and Marines they attacked.
Sorry, but I don't buy it. If the crew of the Hunley and their fellow Confederate soldiers and sailors had prevailed, would the Blue and Gray division have been on Omaha beach when the world needed them?
In my book, the Hunley's crew were traitors and rebels who tried very hard to rend asunder the nation Lincoln called "the last best, hope of earth," and all to defend the incredibly cruel and unjust system of chattel slavery. When I think of the dire consequences a Confederate victory would have had not just for Americans but for the whole world, I cannot regard those who perished on the Hunley as heroes.
Update: It gets worse. It turns out that some Confederate diehards actually wanted to ban the US flag from the Hunley funeral:
A Texas activist has posted a petition on the Internet asking the Hunley Commission to bar the U.S. flag from all ceremonies relating to the interment of the sub's final crew. So far, more than 1,600 people have signed the petition, which calls the Stars and Stripes the "eternal enemy" of the Hunley crewmen.
The chairman of the Hunley funeral project quite properly rejected that petition, although he did permit use of Confederate flags, apparently including the particularly noxious battle flag:
"Let me be absolutely clear. The Hunley submarine is a national treasure. As such, the flag of the United States of America and the "Star Spangled Banner" as well as the Confederate flags and "Dixie" will all be together at this funeral. We will celebrate in the spirit of the veterans of both sides as they did at their post-war reunions on the former battlefields. As far as I am concerned, the issue is closed."
I come from a military family with southern connections, but I really don't understand the enduring sentimental attachment of so many southerners to treason and rebellion. Confederate flags belong in history museums where people are educated about slavery and treason.
Update: W. Thomas Smith, whose NRO piece on the Hunley I criticized, wrote Jeff Quinton (but not me) as follows:
This is great stuff... even if Bainbridge DOES refuse to read my piece in its entirety in order to grasp my premise. I'm talking about the honor and courage of the individual soldier for pete's sake. It's NOT about the POLITICS of the Confederacy. It's about the NOBILITY in the willing, obedient response to the call to arms.
If we were to follow the logic of the good professor, everyone who believes Bush was wrong for going into Iraq would also have to condemn every single soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine operating under Central Command.
This is so specious that it is difficult to know where to begin, but here goes. I did understand Smith's premise. Unlike him, however, I see no nobility - zero, zilch, nada - in a willing and obedient response to a call to arms when that call is issued by traitors and rebels. (What about the American revolutionaries, you ask? Setting aside the merits of the respective causes, the American revolutionaries did have this going for them: Treason never prospers, for if treason prospers none dare call it treason. And, moreover, I don't think you can set aside the merits of the cause. After all, by Smith's logic, Rommel was noble for responding willingly to Hitler's call to arms.) Hence, my logic does not extend to criticizing the soldiers in Iraq. Whatever the merits of the Iraq war, nobody except a few loonies thinks that Bush committed treason when he issued that call to arms. If Smith can't see that difference, he is beyond my ability to educate him.
