LITTLE ROCK — April has been declared in many jurisdictions as Confederate Heritage Month.
The Civil War began in April 1861 and ended in the same month of 1865. Over 600,000 Americans lost their lives in battle or from disease during this wretched controversy.
While the official observance of Confederate Heritage Month has provoked sharp words, there are plenty of good reasons to remember the so called lost cause. Even somebody a little left of center can appreciate the opportunity to reflect on a pivotal chapter of American history.
For me, this is a little bit personal. My great-grandfather, Jeremiah Sullivan Lynch, was an officer in the 24th Alabama Infantry. He was wounded in the battle of Atlanta and was a prisoner at Fort Delaware. He is buried at Catholic Cemetery in Mobile, Ala., within sight of Adm. Raphael Semmes and Abram Ryan, the poet-priest of the Confederacy.
These are actual human beings whose lives were forever changed in this tragic bloodbath. The suffering they endured is almost beyond description. The soldiers often did not have enough food or proper clothing. Medical care, especially in the South, was inadequate.
For the South, there was no “back home.” Farmlands and towns were the battlefields. The civilian population lived in continuous anxiety. This war was fought in back yards. This painful memory, repeated from one generation to the next, lives on to the present time.
All of this matters because it helps us make a distinction between the causes of conflict and the reasons men went off to battle. The former is an academic discussion about economics and politics. The latter involves a more important consideration of human nature.
The economic factors seem to hover above all great military conflicts. For the Southern states, the society operated on an agricultural footing, of which slavery was an essential element.
For those who had not seen battle, the approaching war looked like a good time to cut loose and have an adventure. Probably some of the more ambitious young fellows saw it as an opportunity for networking and personal advancement.
There is something else at work here and it is an aspect of the human experience not often seriously encountered by modern people. Many of the soldiers in this great conflict were there because of a sense of duty. The various virtues get a lot of favorable discussion these days, especially when the alleged lack of a particular positive quality might make your enemy look bad. In other words, virtue is a high standard to which others are held strictly accountable.
Actually living out some abstract notion, like duty, means that a healthy young man with his entire life ahead of him might get shot in battle and loaded up on a prison train bound to frosty, foreboding Fort Delaware. That is some kind of devotion. Most people today want what they want, and they want it now. Anything that gets in the way of personal achievement or self-gratification is evil. Suffering must always be avoided. Inconvenience is unacceptable.
By contrast, living a virtuous life means accepting the possibility of harm and hurt, and it imposes absolute limitations. Selfishness is pretty much out the window. All of the virtues presume a larger view of goodness.
William Bennett edited a popular volume called “The Book of Virtues.” It was published in 1993 and highlighted self-discipline, compassion,responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty and faith.
These particular concepts, for the most part, deal with relationships. They also suggest the possibility of enduring expense and discomfort on behalf of a higher value.
For the Civil War soldier, the higher value is probably expressed more as duty to home and family than allegiance to a political viewpoint. One can appreciate the beneficial aspects of loyalty and faithfulness and still not agree with the supposed underlying cause.
Confederate Heritage Month should teach us to be more charitable and patient when we do not entirely understand the motivations of other people. Those are a couple of virtues that might cost something if they were faithfully practiced.
It is most proper to recall at this time of year that the horrible conflict did finally come to an absolute conclusion. There is a resonant satisfaction surrounding the finality of Appomattox. While the dispute is not entirely settled and resentments will linger for decades, the terrible carnage and bloodshed are halted.
There are plenty of unflattering things that might be said about Confederate heritage, and that viewpoint has a rightful place. Nonetheless, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant made peace. Jeremiah Lynch came home, found a job and started a family.
Even though the cost is high, we have a solemn duty to keep working on this nation, and that often involves dealing with people we do not entirely understand. As President Abraham Lincoln proposed, it should be done “with malice toward none and charity for all.” -
Free-lance columnist Pat Lynch has been a radio broadcaster in Central Arkansas for more than 20 years.
Editorial, Pages 13 on 04/26/2010