Southern Discomfort: U.S. Army seeks removal of Lee, ‘Stonewall’ Jackson honors
Revisionist history would remove portraits of Confederate legends
ILLUSTRATION Confederate Gen. Thomas Jonathan ‘Stonewall’ Jackson (L) and Confederate Gen. Robert E. LeeSTORY TOPICS
The U.S. Army
War College, which molds future field generals, has begun discussing whether it should remove the portraits of Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
War College, which molds future field generals, has begun discussing whether it should remove the portraits of Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
The college, nestled in rural Pennsylvania on the 500-acre Carlisle Barracks, is doing an inventory of all its paintings and photographs with an eye toward rehanging them in historical themes to tell a particular Army stories.
During the inventory, an unnamed official — not the commandant, Maj. Gen. Anthony A. Cucolo III — asked the administration why the college is honoring two generals who fought against the United States, according to college spokeswoman Carol Kerr.
"I do know at least one person has questioned why we would honor individuals who were enemies of the United States Army," Ms. Kerr said. "There will be a dialogue when we develop the idea of what do we want the hallway to represent."
She said one faculty member took down the portraits of Gen. Lee and Gen. Jackson, and put them on the floor as part of the inventory process. That gave rise to rumors that the paintings had been removed.
"This person was struck by the fact we have quite a few Confederate images," she said, adding that the pictures were put back on a 3rd floor hallway.
"He [Gen. Lee] was certainly not good for the nation. This is the guy we faced on the battlefield whose entire purpose in life was to destroy the nation as it was then conceived...This is all part of an informed discussion."
It is the kind of historical cleansing that could spark a debate Army-wide. Gen. Lee's portrait adorns the walls of other military installations and government buildings.
installations and government buildings.
Two portraits of Gen. Lee are on display at West Point. In the Cadet Mess Hall, there is a painting of Capt. Lee as superintendent. There is also a portrait of Gen. Lee in full Confederate regalia on the second floor of Jefferson Hall, the campus library.
Opened in 1901 to study the lessons of war, the war college is both a history class and modern warfare symposium for Army lieutenant colonels and colonels who know a War College diploma helps their chances with the next promotion board. The college graduates over 300 U.S. officers, foreign students and civilians in two classes each year.
over 300 U.S. officers, foreign students and civilians in two classes each year.
Gen. Lee's life story is full of personal conflict.
He graduated from the Army's premiere undergraduate school, West Point, and returned as its superintendent. Yet, he broke with the Union and agreed to lead the Army of Northern Virginia. Gen. Jackson is also a West Point graduate.
In 1975, Congress enacted a joint resolution reinstating Gen. Lee's U.S. citizenship in what could be seen as a final act to heal Civil War wounds. The resolution praised Gen. Lee's character and his work to reunify the nation. It noted that six months after surrendering to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Gen Lee sworn allegiance to the Constitution and to the Union.
"This entire nation has long recognized the outstanding virtues of courage, patriotism and selfless devotion to duty of General R. E. Lee," the resolution stated.
President Gerald R. Ford traveled to Arlington House, Gen. Lee's former Virginia home, to signed the resolution into law on Aug. 5, 1975.
Mr. Ford quoted from a letter Gen. Lee wrote to a former Confederate soldier:
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"This war, being at an end, the Southern States having laid down their arms, and the questions at issue between them and the Northern States having been decided, I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony."
Mr. Ford said, "As a soldier, Gen. Lee left his mark on military strategy. As a man, he stood as the symbol of valor and of duty. As an educator, he appealed to reason and learning to achieve understanding and to build a stronger nation. The course he chose after the war became a symbol to all those who had marched with him in the bitter years towards Appomattox."
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Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/17/robert-e-lee-and-stonewall-jackson-tributes-face-a/#ixzz2nlIgUKxb
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