charlestonsky

Random thoughts while running to Fort Lamar

I got some new running shoes this past weekend. So, I decided to do some running this afternoon.

I wanted to run to Fort Lamar Historic Site on James Island. Google maps said that it would be about a 3.5 mile run each way. I should have checked the mileage before I left, but I didn't think to check it until I got back home after dark.

I ran along Secessionville Rd, then turned on Fort Lamar Road until I reached the park. I'm still not sure what's there, because it was getting dark as I arrived, so I immediately turned around and ran back to my starting spot. I miss Daylight savings time.

I have a love/hate relationship with running. I never look forward to it, but I always feel better afterwards.

While putting one foot in front of the other, I started thinking about the civil war.

I don't know very much about the Civil War, but it still intrigues me. I often wonder why nobody had made significant advances in technology between the Revolutionary war and the civil war--everybody was still packing gunpowder and lead into poles with triggers on one end.

I also wonder what gives the right of one people to demand that another people remain joined as one nation? I don't think it deserved a war, but I'd hope that with cooler heads, a simple vote could have settled the matter.

Although I'm very pleased that slavery was abolished quite some time ago, I remain sympathetic to the cause of the Southern states. When I read articles, hear stories, or watch movies, I'm always rooting for the guys in gray.

Fort Lamar
was the site one of the few Confederate victories in South Carolina.

There aren't really any Civil War movies that I like to watch more than half way through because I know how they're going to end, and there aren't very many that make champions on the southern states.

I've always wondered, "Why do I like the gray side better than the blue?" Maybe it's because I like to root for the underdogs, even I if know they're going to loose. Maybe it's because I like they way they talked.

Or more likely, maybe it's because I hope General Lee's troops will win because my home was their home. My ocean was theirs. These rivers, hills, swamps, and forests were theirs too at one time.

One that same note, major general William T Sherman was a tyrant of the worst sort. After scorching much of Georgia, he methodically cut through South Carolina, and burned, attacked, and raped everything he saw as best he could. I don't even think I'd approve of his great-grandchildren if I knew them. Frankly, I'd be tempted to spit at them.

While some may argue that his scorched-earth tactics may have saved lives and shortened the war, particularly those of Union soldiers, I remain convinced that he was a sick dude. And the land he raped more than a hundred years ago is my home.

I'm sure that Native Americans love the story of Colonel Custer's defeat almost as much as they hate the story of the Trail of Tears. Surely they don't waste time celebrating Columbus Day. I certainly don't.

And I'll be celebrating Sherman's life about the same time that the grandchildren of Hiroshima throw a party for the crew of the Enola Gay.

 

posted by Josh M on 6:48 PM under

3 comments:

KStewDawg said...

The war of northern aggression doesn't sit well with me either. I am grateful that slavery has long been abolished in the US, and would like to see it abolished in other parts of the war. But I don't think that the war was fought over slavery. It has more to do with individual rights. We started out as the united STATES of america. Each state was given the opportunity to govern itself and the federal government was there to handle interstate trade and international business. A great model. However, after the war between the states, we became more of a 'state', not a collection of states. The federal government now dictates things at a local level. That bothers me. I long for the day when each state could set it's own rules and deal with their own problems.

I sympathize with the boys in grey because I know they are fighting for freedom. They were fighting for the freedom to live in the state of their choice and be governed by their peers, not some baby-killing whack job from California (and there goes any hope of my ever holding public office!). I'm thankful that slavery was abolished. More needs to be done to ensure equality in the United States today, especially with the negative feelings brought up with illegal immigration.

I miss the days of state's having rights.

Josh M said...

I was concerned that this post might appear um... well, I was just concerned. I nearly pulled it from the blog, but my editor gave it the OK.

Philip said...

Wow, Josh. My grandmother would LOVE you! My dad, on the other hand, might disagree on a point or two. Of course, he is from California.
Jaime

Search