Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Friday, 26 July 2013
Charlotte's Lem Roberts Takes Issue With Being Profiled.
In response to The Miami Herald's Leonard Pitts Op-Ed which ran Wednesday in the Charlotte Observer "I am Trayvon Martin" (which is here) Lem Roberts says he too is the victim of racist and arrogant George Zimmermans living here in Charlotte.
Racism is alive and well, I just experienced it in Sedgefield
I am a 40 year old African-American male. I pay taxes, have a good job with the public school system and hold a bachelor’s degree.
None of that mattered Wednesday as I took my evening walk through Sedgefield, where I’ve lived for the past year and a half.
I was two blocks from home when I was stopped by police because they received a phone call that a suspicious black man was walking through the neighborhood – my neighborhood.
Even after I showed the officer my license, with my address, he decided to run my information and asked if I had ever been arrested. Eventually, he let me go.
I just wanted to thank the Sedgefield community for refusing to let the Floridians one-up us. We can be just as racist and arrogant as the best of them.
Lem Roberts
Cedar did a little poking around over a cup of coffee and a keyboard and found 17 CMS Employees named Roberts on the payroll none of them are named Lem or anything close. (Lem is a nick name for Lemuel great name if your born of a Jewish family).
A search of property owners in the Sedgefield neighborhood fails to turn up any recent new home owners named Roberts.
Hard to say if Lem Roberts is for real or if the recent events happened as "Lem" has portrayed them. Hard to tell if Lem is unhappy with the Officers or his neighbors, or both.
Cedar's Take:
What Cedar knows first hand is that Sedgefield is a neighborhood that has been under attack by thugs and thieves and the residents have a very strong awareness effort going on. Call it Neighborhood Watch or call it Racism, being Black in a neighborhood tying to regain its predominantly white middle class status in the "evening" is asking for trouble.
I'm not saying it isn't wrong that someone called the cops on Lem for "walking while black", but until the crime in Sedgefield goes away, (no time soon) or Lem gets to know his neighbors better he needs to carry some id.
I'm also not saying Lem needs to stay at home, in fact just the opposite. Lem needs to get out more, walk often, wear the same hoodie every night and soon people will think "oh that's just Lem".
And so it goes....
New Yorker Pamela Held handed her cell over after a NYPD traffic stop and apparently the NYPD Officers helped themselves to some interesting video and photos.
Cedar is not sure if the resulting media interest is what Ms. Held had in mind but the following video depiction of the events and photos are pretty comical.
In response to The Miami Herald's Leonard Pitts Op-Ed which ran Wednesday in the Charlotte Observer "I am Trayvon Martin" (which is here) Lem Roberts says he too is the victim of racist and arrogant George Zimmermans living here in Charlotte.
Racism is alive and well, I just experienced it in Sedgefield
I am a 40 year old African-American male. I pay taxes, have a good job with the public school system and hold a bachelor’s degree.
None of that mattered Wednesday as I took my evening walk through Sedgefield, where I’ve lived for the past year and a half.
I was two blocks from home when I was stopped by police because they received a phone call that a suspicious black man was walking through the neighborhood – my neighborhood.
Even after I showed the officer my license, with my address, he decided to run my information and asked if I had ever been arrested. Eventually, he let me go.
I just wanted to thank the Sedgefield community for refusing to let the Floridians one-up us. We can be just as racist and arrogant as the best of them.
Lem Roberts
Cedar did a little poking around over a cup of coffee and a keyboard and found 17 CMS Employees named Roberts on the payroll none of them are named Lem or anything close. (Lem is a nick name for Lemuel great name if your born of a Jewish family).
A search of property owners in the Sedgefield neighborhood fails to turn up any recent new home owners named Roberts.
Hard to say if Lem Roberts is for real or if the recent events happened as "Lem" has portrayed them. Hard to tell if Lem is unhappy with the Officers or his neighbors, or both.
Cedar's Take:
What Cedar knows first hand is that Sedgefield is a neighborhood that has been under attack by thugs and thieves and the residents have a very strong awareness effort going on. Call it Neighborhood Watch or call it Racism, being Black in a neighborhood tying to regain its predominantly white middle class status in the "evening" is asking for trouble.
I'm not saying it isn't wrong that someone called the cops on Lem for "walking while black", but until the crime in Sedgefield goes away, (no time soon) or Lem gets to know his neighbors better he needs to carry some id.
I'm also not saying Lem needs to stay at home, in fact just the opposite. Lem needs to get out more, walk often, wear the same hoodie every night and soon people will think "oh that's just Lem".
And so it goes....
New Yorker Pamela Held handed her cell over after a NYPD traffic stop and apparently the NYPD Officers helped themselves to some interesting video and photos.
Cedar is not sure if the resulting media interest is what Ms. Held had in mind but the following video depiction of the events and photos are pretty comical.
Anthony Weiner
He really should change his name.
Speaking of Name Changes Josh "Tank" Watts apparently has a new name and job.
According to a comment posted on CP's story about the infamous wood head's attack on a wheel chair bound Marine, Watts has changed his name to Ben Pittman and is working at the Harris Teeter Distribution Center.
The prior CP story is here.
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Monday, 22 July 2013
While many were surprised, some even shocked that George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin yet few were surprised that the not guilty verdict was met with shouts of "No Justice - No Peace".
No one was surprised that the Reverend Al Sharpton took his message of hate to the ever willing press corps.
Everyone is speaking out about the Zimmerman verdict. The under educated masses who have been fired up by the sicko media types like Nancy Grace who fake broken heart routine with Martin's parents should earn her an academy award.
The President himself stepped into the fray saying "Trayvon Martin could have been me" and recalled his pre-political life and the uncomfortable feeling he had hearing car doors lock as he walked down the street.
Cedar's Take: The President might want to consider just how uncomfortable the white woman walking alone to her car after work and being approached by a black man wearing a hoodie, feels.
The President might want to consider what it feels like to be on a family vacation to Washington DC and finding themselves on the wrong part of Pennsylvania Avenue on a Saturday night. Surrounded by hundreds on African Americans just out in the streets on a hot summer night.
The President might want to consider what it feels like to see your parents robbed at gun point by two black teenagers in a shopping center parking lot.
Or what is feels like to be Cedar's 80 year old aunt who suddenly has a black teenager jump of a park bench and land directly in front of her.
The President failed, in fact the media, and the nation failed to call out Trayvon Martin for his reported "creepy cracker" racial profiling of George Zimmerman.
Mr. President race relations is a two way street.
Then there is Charles Barkley who in case you missed it, told CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and the world know what he thought of the Zimmerman verdict.
“Well I agree with the verdict,” Barkley said. “I feel sorry that young kid got killed, but they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. Something clearly went wrong that night — clearly something went wrong — and I feel bad for anybody who loses a kid, but if you looked at the case and you don’t make it — there was some racial profiling, no question about it — but something happened that changed the dynamic of that night.”
“And let me say, Mr. Zimmerman was wrong — he was racial profiling. I think Trayvon Martin — God rest his soul — I think he did flip the switch and start beating the hell out of Mr. Zimmerman. But it was just a bad situation. And like I said, the main thing I feel bad for, it gives every white person and black person who is racist a platform to vent their ignorance.
“I just feel bad because I don’t like when race gets out in the media ‘cuz I don’t think the media has a ‘pure heart,’ as I call it,”
Barkley continued. “There are very few people who have a pure heart when it comes to race. Racism is wrong in any shape [or] form — there are a lot of black people who are racist, too. I think sometimes when people talk about race, they act like only white people are racist. There are a lot of black people who are racist. And I don’t like when it gets out there in the media because I don’t think the media has clean hands.”
Cedar's Take: Chuck is dead on.
Finally Tavis Smiley, who criticized The President's comments on Trayvon Martin's death and the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial.
(corrected Travis to Tavis, is this really his name?)
The PBS host says: "I appreciate and applaud the fact that the president did finally show up. But this town has been spinning a story that's not altogether true.
He did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation; he was pushed to that podium. A week of protest outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House pushed him to that podium. So I'm glad he finally arrived.
But when he left the podium, he still had not answered the most important question, that Keynesian question, where do we go from here?
That question this morning remains unanswered, at least from the perspective of the president. And the bottom line is this is not Libya, this is America. On this issue, you cannot lead from behind."
Cedar's Final Word:
Trayvon Martin is dead because his parents failed to prepare him for life, and because African Americans are viewed as potential threats by other races, police and society in general.
Trayvon Martin is dead because rather than walk straight to the home where is father was staying was wandering around the streets, and because he was angry and because he thought Zimmerman was a good way to take out his frustration.
Trayvon Martin is dead because he decided to confront and attack the creepy cracker following him.
Trayvon Martin is dead because African Americans have a sense that they are "owed" something by whites and this thinking is learned behavior.
Trayvon Martin is dead because George Zimmerman refused to be a another victim of an attack by a African American thug.
I personally know dozens of people who happen to be black, they are my friends, employees, clients and neighbors. They are not thugs, but they are victims of their own race, of their own color and they are helpless to change the fact that they are often perceived as criminals and threats.
But they are smart enough to throw off the stereotype, they act different, they dress different, they are different. They often go to extremes to present an image that is anti thug, that is anti ghetto rat, and that is law abiding. They have managed to lift themselves above the stereotype.
Are they racially profiled? Every day, by everyone.
Trayvon Martin had a chance to disprove George Zimmerman's assumption of another thug looking to break in to someone's home. But he decided to confirm for eternity that he indeed was a thug.
No one was surprised that the Reverend Al Sharpton took his message of hate to the ever willing press corps.
Everyone is speaking out about the Zimmerman verdict. The under educated masses who have been fired up by the sicko media types like Nancy Grace who fake broken heart routine with Martin's parents should earn her an academy award.
The President himself stepped into the fray saying "Trayvon Martin could have been me" and recalled his pre-political life and the uncomfortable feeling he had hearing car doors lock as he walked down the street.
Cedar's Take: The President might want to consider just how uncomfortable the white woman walking alone to her car after work and being approached by a black man wearing a hoodie, feels.
The President might want to consider what it feels like to be on a family vacation to Washington DC and finding themselves on the wrong part of Pennsylvania Avenue on a Saturday night. Surrounded by hundreds on African Americans just out in the streets on a hot summer night.
The President might want to consider what it feels like to see your parents robbed at gun point by two black teenagers in a shopping center parking lot.
Or what is feels like to be Cedar's 80 year old aunt who suddenly has a black teenager jump of a park bench and land directly in front of her.
The President failed, in fact the media, and the nation failed to call out Trayvon Martin for his reported "creepy cracker" racial profiling of George Zimmerman.
Mr. President race relations is a two way street.
Then there is Charles Barkley who in case you missed it, told CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and the world know what he thought of the Zimmerman verdict.
“Well I agree with the verdict,” Barkley said. “I feel sorry that young kid got killed, but they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. Something clearly went wrong that night — clearly something went wrong — and I feel bad for anybody who loses a kid, but if you looked at the case and you don’t make it — there was some racial profiling, no question about it — but something happened that changed the dynamic of that night.”
“And let me say, Mr. Zimmerman was wrong — he was racial profiling. I think Trayvon Martin — God rest his soul — I think he did flip the switch and start beating the hell out of Mr. Zimmerman. But it was just a bad situation. And like I said, the main thing I feel bad for, it gives every white person and black person who is racist a platform to vent their ignorance.
“I just feel bad because I don’t like when race gets out in the media ‘cuz I don’t think the media has a ‘pure heart,’ as I call it,”
Barkley continued. “There are very few people who have a pure heart when it comes to race. Racism is wrong in any shape [or] form — there are a lot of black people who are racist, too. I think sometimes when people talk about race, they act like only white people are racist. There are a lot of black people who are racist. And I don’t like when it gets out there in the media because I don’t think the media has clean hands.”
Cedar's Take: Chuck is dead on.
Finally Tavis Smiley, who criticized The President's comments on Trayvon Martin's death and the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial.
(corrected Travis to Tavis, is this really his name?)
The PBS host says: "I appreciate and applaud the fact that the president did finally show up. But this town has been spinning a story that's not altogether true.
He did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation; he was pushed to that podium. A week of protest outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House pushed him to that podium. So I'm glad he finally arrived.
But when he left the podium, he still had not answered the most important question, that Keynesian question, where do we go from here?
That question this morning remains unanswered, at least from the perspective of the president. And the bottom line is this is not Libya, this is America. On this issue, you cannot lead from behind."
Cedar's Final Word:
Trayvon Martin is dead because his parents failed to prepare him for life, and because African Americans are viewed as potential threats by other races, police and society in general.
Trayvon Martin is dead because rather than walk straight to the home where is father was staying was wandering around the streets, and because he was angry and because he thought Zimmerman was a good way to take out his frustration.
Trayvon Martin is dead because he decided to confront and attack the creepy cracker following him.
Trayvon Martin is dead because African Americans have a sense that they are "owed" something by whites and this thinking is learned behavior.
Trayvon Martin is dead because George Zimmerman refused to be a another victim of an attack by a African American thug.
I personally know dozens of people who happen to be black, they are my friends, employees, clients and neighbors. They are not thugs, but they are victims of their own race, of their own color and they are helpless to change the fact that they are often perceived as criminals and threats.
But they are smart enough to throw off the stereotype, they act different, they dress different, they are different. They often go to extremes to present an image that is anti thug, that is anti ghetto rat, and that is law abiding. They have managed to lift themselves above the stereotype.
Are they racially profiled? Every day, by everyone.
Trayvon Martin had a chance to disprove George Zimmerman's assumption of another thug looking to break in to someone's home. But he decided to confirm for eternity that he indeed was a thug.
Monday, 15 July 2013
Friday, 5 July 2013
Just days before being sworn in as Winston Salem's new Chief of Police, Barry Rountree tried to shoot an aggressive acting boxer mix after responding to a man with a gun 911 call.
CMPD's Deputy Chief Keer Putney was a runner up for the position.
According to local news reports: "The shooting happened after Winston-Salem police received a 911 call that a man armed with a double-barreled gun was standing on a porch at 124 N. Jackson Ave. and pointing the gun at someone, police said.
Officer Mohammed Khan arrived on the scene, and Rountree responded to assist him, police said. Khan and Rountree then took cover behind Khan's vehicle.
Before they could search for the man, a medium-sized boxer or boxer-mix dog ran from behind a house at 114 N. Jackson Ave. toward Rountree and Khan.
As the dog charged Rountree, he fired his service weapon at the dog. The bullet apparently hit the dog, then struck the driveway's pavement and ricocheted. Bullet fragments struck the homeowner, Tamara Whitt, in her upper left leg. Whitt is also the dog's owner.
The dog ran away after the shooting, but animal control officers found the dog nearby with a gunshot wound to his leg.
The dog acted aggressively toward the officers, who sedated him and put the dog in an animal control vehicle, said Tim Jennings, the director of Forsyth County Animal Control.
A veterinarian treated the dog with antibiotics and a painkiller for his wound, Jennings said. The dog is being held at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter.
Cedar's Take: Shooting a dog is never a good idea, Officers always get a bad rap for doing so or even death threats as in the case with the recent California shooting of a man's dog that jumped out of his SUV's window.
But the fault often falls to the owner. Let's face it people who own pit bulls, rotties, and even boxers, like their aggressive nature, often encouraging them with "git em" "good boy".
CMPD's Deputy Chief Keer Putney was a runner up for the position.
According to local news reports: "The shooting happened after Winston-Salem police received a 911 call that a man armed with a double-barreled gun was standing on a porch at 124 N. Jackson Ave. and pointing the gun at someone, police said.
Officer Mohammed Khan arrived on the scene, and Rountree responded to assist him, police said. Khan and Rountree then took cover behind Khan's vehicle.
Before they could search for the man, a medium-sized boxer or boxer-mix dog ran from behind a house at 114 N. Jackson Ave. toward Rountree and Khan.
As the dog charged Rountree, he fired his service weapon at the dog. The bullet apparently hit the dog, then struck the driveway's pavement and ricocheted. Bullet fragments struck the homeowner, Tamara Whitt, in her upper left leg. Whitt is also the dog's owner.
The dog ran away after the shooting, but animal control officers found the dog nearby with a gunshot wound to his leg.
The dog acted aggressively toward the officers, who sedated him and put the dog in an animal control vehicle, said Tim Jennings, the director of Forsyth County Animal Control.
A veterinarian treated the dog with antibiotics and a painkiller for his wound, Jennings said. The dog is being held at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter.
Cedar's Take: Shooting a dog is never a good idea, Officers always get a bad rap for doing so or even death threats as in the case with the recent California shooting of a man's dog that jumped out of his SUV's window.
But the fault often falls to the owner. Let's face it people who own pit bulls, rotties, and even boxers, like their aggressive nature, often encouraging them with "git em" "good boy".
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
150 years ago today Cedar’s Great Grandfather John Edmonds was “lost” (captured) during the battle of Gettysburg.
The connection to Gettysburg, the history, and the fact that he was captured as well as the 150 years of revisionist history that has occurred since, is certainly interesting.
That he fought for states’ rights is not surprising, but what I find most amazing is that John Edmonds and his fellow Southerners grabbed their muskets, signed up with the "Dixie Boys" of Company "A" of the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment in Tuscumbia and then for the next 21 months walked to Gettysburg, and along the way they marched across our country and fought in the some of the most famous Civil War battles. Names like; Yorktown, Richmond, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Marven Hill, Boonesboro, Antietam (Sharpsburg), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and finally, Gettysburg.
At the time General Lee remarked about the unit: "The 26th Alabama regiment was always in the battle front and won imperishable renown."
The inscription of the above marker reads:
July 1. Soon after arriving at this position three regiments attacked the Union flank, the 5th Regiment being ordered to guard the wide interval between the Brigade and Doles's Brigade in the valley on the left and the 3rd Regiment joining Daniel's and afterwards Ramseur's Brigade. The three regiments were repulsed with heavy loss but the entire Brigade took part in the general attack soon made by the Confederates which finally dislodged the Union forces from Seminary Ridge.
July 2. The Brigade in position all day in or near the town but not engaged.
July 3. The 5th Regiment lay in the southern borders of the town firing upon the Union artillery with their long range rifles. The other regiments moved to Culp's Hill to reinforce Johnson's Division.
July 4. Moved to Seminary Ridge. At night began the march to Hagerstown.
On July 3rd the dawn came damp and humid and the smoke hung in the air thick and heavy, the smell of battle was of heighten senses, for all visual clues of the battle field were noticeably absent. The early morning artillery of the Union forces fell silent soon after the dawn, as if they had expended all their powder.
On General Pickett’s command his troops moved forward towards the Union lines and silent guns.
The Gods were not in favor for when Pickett’s men where only half way to the angle the smoke cleared and sun broke through the given cloud cover. There on the low ground crossing a small creek the confederate troops could clearly see more than 100 Union Cannons at the ready. There was no escape, no turning back.
The field became a slaughter ground.
From the perspective of Rodes’s Division just south of Gettysburg the men of the 26th Alabama held in reserve, had a perfect vantage point to watch the carnage unfold.
John Edmonds was born the son of a farmer in Laurens, in the upstate of South Carolina. He raised sheep and cattle on land too poor to grow cotton with too little water to grow rice. They had no reason to own slaves, rather his father had relied on 11 sons and 3 daughters.
Yet when the call to arms went out he joined the cause without a second thought.
The abolitionists in 1861 found that slavery was a hot button in the North and used it as the rally cry to end a practice that was only 30 years from becoming out dated and inefficient as mechanized farming began to sweep across the nation.
Now 150 years later revisionists continue to create a war that was nothing more than an epic battle to free the black man from the abusive plantation owners. A battle where in the end good triumphed over evil.
As the line between fiction and fact continue to erode, there are those among us who are left to remind those less knowledgeable and more gullible that the war was not about slavery. In fact now to suggest that the war was about anything but slavery is considered politically incorrect. The fact is the war of "northern aggression" came about because the Southern States no longer wanted to be a part of the Union. The reason for their departure was the erosion of states’ rights.
By standing up to the inherently corrupt Northern Bullies the South threatened to upset the Union's balance of trade with Europe. Southerners simply saw a federal government that had overstepped the bounds of sensibility and had infringed on state's rights and the right of self-governance for far too long.
At the end of the war, out of 1,111 known members of the 26th Alabama; 360 are known to have been killed, 93 finished the war in prison or on furlough after being released, 2 escaped from a prisoner of war camp, 10 joined the Union Army, 146 are known to have been discharged or resigned, 39 are known to have deserted and 387 have some partial records.
John Edmonds was one of the ten who were offered enlistment in the Union Army, and given the deplorable conditions at Fort Delaware and later Point Lookout, I would imagine it wasn’t a hard choice.
In October of 1863 he joined Captain George W. Alh's Independent Battery, Delaware Heavy Artillery and was later mustered out of service on July 25, 1865.
In the years after the war he returned to Natural Bridge Alabama where he married the widow of a follow soldier killed in action while a member of 1st Alabama Calvary.
There he raised a family and often “flagged” his monthly Union Army pension check, making a point to ride his horse by the homes of his brothers waiving his $6.00 a month check and reminding all who would listen that they fought for the wrong side.
John Edmonds died on July 31, 1918 and is buried at Concord Baptist Church Cemetery in Natural Bridge.
Oddly enough my great grandfather and I share the same birthday.
The connection to Gettysburg, the history, and the fact that he was captured as well as the 150 years of revisionist history that has occurred since, is certainly interesting.
That he fought for states’ rights is not surprising, but what I find most amazing is that John Edmonds and his fellow Southerners grabbed their muskets, signed up with the "Dixie Boys" of Company "A" of the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment in Tuscumbia and then for the next 21 months walked to Gettysburg, and along the way they marched across our country and fought in the some of the most famous Civil War battles. Names like; Yorktown, Richmond, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Marven Hill, Boonesboro, Antietam (Sharpsburg), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and finally, Gettysburg.
At the time General Lee remarked about the unit: "The 26th Alabama regiment was always in the battle front and won imperishable renown."
 |
| Marker just to the south of Gettysburg. |
Army of Northern Virginia
Ewell's Corps Rodes's Division
O'Neal's Brigade
3rd, 5th, 6th, 12th and 26th Alabama Infantry
July 1. Soon after arriving at this position three regiments attacked the Union flank, the 5th Regiment being ordered to guard the wide interval between the Brigade and Doles's Brigade in the valley on the left and the 3rd Regiment joining Daniel's and afterwards Ramseur's Brigade. The three regiments were repulsed with heavy loss but the entire Brigade took part in the general attack soon made by the Confederates which finally dislodged the Union forces from Seminary Ridge.
 |
| July 1st 1863 General Lee's Army takes Seminary Ridge O'Neal's 26th Alabama attacked the left flank. |
July 2. The Brigade in position all day in or near the town but not engaged.
July 3. The 5th Regiment lay in the southern borders of the town firing upon the Union artillery with their long range rifles. The other regiments moved to Culp's Hill to reinforce Johnson's Division.
July 4. Moved to Seminary Ridge. At night began the march to Hagerstown.
Present 1794 Killed 73 Wounded 430 Missing 193 Total 696
On July 3rd the dawn came damp and humid and the smoke hung in the air thick and heavy, the smell of battle was of heighten senses, for all visual clues of the battle field were noticeably absent. The early morning artillery of the Union forces fell silent soon after the dawn, as if they had expended all their powder.
 |
| July 3, 1863 Rodes's Divison and the 26 Alabama held in reserve. |
The Gods were not in favor for when Pickett’s men where only half way to the angle the smoke cleared and sun broke through the given cloud cover. There on the low ground crossing a small creek the confederate troops could clearly see more than 100 Union Cannons at the ready. There was no escape, no turning back.
The field became a slaughter ground.
From the perspective of Rodes’s Division just south of Gettysburg the men of the 26th Alabama held in reserve, had a perfect vantage point to watch the carnage unfold.
John Edmonds was born the son of a farmer in Laurens, in the upstate of South Carolina. He raised sheep and cattle on land too poor to grow cotton with too little water to grow rice. They had no reason to own slaves, rather his father had relied on 11 sons and 3 daughters.
Yet when the call to arms went out he joined the cause without a second thought.
The abolitionists in 1861 found that slavery was a hot button in the North and used it as the rally cry to end a practice that was only 30 years from becoming out dated and inefficient as mechanized farming began to sweep across the nation.
Now 150 years later revisionists continue to create a war that was nothing more than an epic battle to free the black man from the abusive plantation owners. A battle where in the end good triumphed over evil.
As the line between fiction and fact continue to erode, there are those among us who are left to remind those less knowledgeable and more gullible that the war was not about slavery. In fact now to suggest that the war was about anything but slavery is considered politically incorrect. The fact is the war of "northern aggression" came about because the Southern States no longer wanted to be a part of the Union. The reason for their departure was the erosion of states’ rights.
By standing up to the inherently corrupt Northern Bullies the South threatened to upset the Union's balance of trade with Europe. Southerners simply saw a federal government that had overstepped the bounds of sensibility and had infringed on state's rights and the right of self-governance for far too long.
At the end of the war, out of 1,111 known members of the 26th Alabama; 360 are known to have been killed, 93 finished the war in prison or on furlough after being released, 2 escaped from a prisoner of war camp, 10 joined the Union Army, 146 are known to have been discharged or resigned, 39 are known to have deserted and 387 have some partial records.
John Edmonds was one of the ten who were offered enlistment in the Union Army, and given the deplorable conditions at Fort Delaware and later Point Lookout, I would imagine it wasn’t a hard choice.
In October of 1863 he joined Captain George W. Alh's Independent Battery, Delaware Heavy Artillery and was later mustered out of service on July 25, 1865.
In the years after the war he returned to Natural Bridge Alabama where he married the widow of a follow soldier killed in action while a member of 1st Alabama Calvary.
 |
| O'Neal's 26th Alabama Old Soldiers Re-union Circa 1900 |
John Edmonds died on July 31, 1918 and is buried at Concord Baptist Church Cemetery in Natural Bridge.
Oddly enough my great grandfather and I share the same birthday.
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