Posted on 12/08/2007 10:54:00 PM PST by stainlessbanner
Yes. He had a choice not to stay with his master, he has a choice not to go to reunions, he had a choice to turn down the pension. Yes, he had a choice.
He was a slave. He did what his masters forced him to do. Frank Pringle didn’t give him his freedom. The Union Army and the Federal government did.
As William Sherman said, "War is the remedy our enemies have chosen." Having chosen war to further their aims the South cannot blame anyone but themselves that it didn't turn out the way that they wanted.
And the difference is?
Someone should tell these people. They don't make any reference to Hendson's Scouts being a BLACK MISSISSIPPI Confederate Unit...
Neat trick, considering the Canadian Constitution wasn't written until 98 years after he died. If you're thinking of the British North America Act of 1867 then Benjamin had nothing to do with that. At the time he was merely a London barrister and not associated with the government.
I’m not sure I see a difference. He was most definitely Ike’s owner.
In many cases they did. Look at Pickett's actions in North Carolina.
Which brings up an interesting question. When the rebellion broke out a lot of Southern officers and enlisted left to join the rebel side. Enlisted men at the time signed up for a term of service, same as they do now. Recent West Point grads were obligated to serve for a set period of time, same as now. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the Union could have charged any former enlisted men and any officers who were still under obligation with desertion? And executed them?
Except for that 1/3rd of the population that y'all held title to.
...but I think it was more accurately named “The war of Northern aggression”
The most accurate name was the original one, War of Southern Rebellion.
Actually in many ways they were one and the same. The Davis government refused to accept the Native Guard into confederate service because, well, because they were blacks for God's sake. Who did they think they were?
Anyway, the the Union liberated New Orleans, Butler organized the Native Guard as a Union regiment. Quite a few of those blacks who the South turned down joined the new regiment.
I might have driven thru or near, years ago....family is in Butler, Alabama and Meridian is the closest "big" town. I had my first commercial jet ride out of there, heading back to Los Angeles.
It's an interesting story.
Search is you friend. Benjamin was never "merely a London barrister". He was a famous barrister, a QC, and the author of a legal textbook which is still in use today. He represented Canada in several important cases, then became a key adviser both to the privy council and to the judicial committee on the House of Lords. Benjamin argued that the Canadian central government was formed only for the purpose of protecting Canada from the United States, and that all other powers rightfully resided in the provinces. To this day the Canadian government is more of a true federation than our government and this is largely the legacy Benjamin's legacy.
No the most accurate title is the one that describes how it started: The War of Lincoln's Rebellion.
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I ran into this web site whle researching my own family members who wore the uniform of the CSA. Very interesting.
It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, “saw the elephant” also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war. But in the ranks it was a different story. Many Confederate officers did not obey the mandates of politicians, they frequently enlisted blacks with the simple criteria, “Will you fight?” Historian Ervin Jordan, explains that “biracial units” were frequently organized “by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids”. Dr. Leonard Haynes, an African-American professor at Southern University, stated, “When you eliminate the black Confederate soldier, you’ve eliminated the history of the South.”
excerpt
http://www.37thtexas.org/html/BlkHist.html
I'm far from expert on OrBats of the War for Yankee Dominance, but wasn't there also a New Orleans artillery battalion of Free Men of Colour?
OK, I did. Among other things it pulled up a 1970 article from the Toronto Law Review by Jonathan Robinson that shows Benjamin played no part in the creation of the British North America Act. Link. You need JSTOR access to read the whole paper.
In 1867, when the North America Act was written, he was merely a London barrister. His influence over the Act has been widely stated by the Southron contingent, and disproven by scholars. Oh there is no disputing that Benjamin did go on to a distinguished legal career, or that he took silk in 1872 or that he published his book on property law in 1868. But he didn't play a part in the creation of the Canadian constitution.
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