Texas Tidbits: Confederate Heroes Day

Confederate Battle Flag

January 19 is a State Holiday in Texas. It is Confederate Heroes Day. I know this post will piss off a bunch of Yankees and Liberals, but they don't like Texans or Southerners much anyway. Don't get your panties all in a wad, I am not talking about ALL Yankees and Liberals, but a significant number of them, perhaps even a majority. I say this as a Native Texan who is married to a woman from Maine. She is so much like many Southern women that the only way I can tell that she isn't from the South is her accent. So, lighten up, Francis, I am not here to condemn Yankees or Liberals whole cloth, although it would be fun to do so, I am here to talk about heroes. These heroes just happen to be Southern. I'll certainly include my opinion throughout this post, but the bulk of what you read will have been written by a black man and a black woman. If anybody should have a beef with the South, it is these folks whose ancestors were slaves in the Antebellum South. Before I excerpt from the two folks I mentioned, I want to throw out a few thoughts on slavery. What is not in dispute is the fact that the enslavement of any human being is an abomination to God. That's all that needs to be said in that regard. The Civil War was not a war all about slavery! One of its major causes of the war was the ever-growing and more-powerful-by-the-day Federal Government intruding into peoples' lives and usurping their freedoms as laid out by the US Constitution. Does that sound familiar? It should. It's happening as we speak. But, I digress. The city in the United States that imported more slaves than any other was Charleston, South Carolina. Care to venture a guess which city imported the second most slaves in the country at the time? Atlanta? Nope. Somewhere in North Carolina? Guess again. No, nowhere in Virginia either. The city in the US that imported the second most slaves into this country was....New York City! Oh, wait. NYC is a Northern city, so that little fact doesn't count. My bad. Maybe you can tell me who was selling these poor people into slavery. You can't? I can.  Their own damn people in Africa! Oh, wait again. The slave sellers were black guys, so that doesn't count either. I am so sorry to insert actual facts into this debate. I hope you Yankees and Liberals will forgive me my transgressions.Did you know that it was the SOUTH that wanted to count slaves as wage earners and tax them accordingly, just like white people? I didn't think so. One more quick question. Who said, "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil. I think it is a greater evil to the white than to the black race." Abe Lincoln? Not this time. It's a direct quote from that evil raaaaacist bastard Son of the South General Robert E. Lee.

What I have written so far is something for you to chew on until I get to the next part of our report on Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. I'll have the thoughts of the two black folks I mentioned early on concerning the Confederate Heroes Day observation in a little while. Chew on what I just wrote for a little bit and I'm sure that I can make many non-Southerners and an equal number of Liberals foam at the mouth with what I'll post later this morning. Grab your popcorn, this is gonna be fun to watch.

Texas History: The Civil War and Beyond

The Lone Star

The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the darkest chapters in the history of the United States. The war's effect on Texas was quite different than its effects on other states in the Confederacy and the Union. While 70,000 Texans served in the Confederate Army and participated in just about every major battle in the conflict, no major battles were fought on Texas soil. The main role of Texas at this time was as a supply state to the Confederacy. Other than manpower, beef, ammo and cotton were the most vital contributions made by the state during the war. When Union troops blockaded Galveston and other Texas ports, cotton was traded with European countries and Mexico for supplies to aid the Confederate Army in its war effort.

While the overwhelming majority of Texans supported secession from the Union, there was significant opposition to such a move, spearheaded by none other than Sam Houston his own self. From Wikipeadia , "Houston was probably the premier "Unionist" in Texas. Like most of the same in the South, he strongly believed in the doctrine of states rights, and even assured his fellow Texans he would personally lead the state out of the Union should matters justify such. However, he thought secession at the moment in time was "rash action," and certain to lead to a conflict sure to favor– in the long run– the industrial and populated North. He predicted: "Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. The North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery impulsive people as we are...but once they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum of a mighty avalanche, and what I fear is that they will overwhelm the South with ignoble defeat." Houston was clairvoyant with his words.

Texas, of course, rejoined the Union.However, her rise to prominence on the national stage lay ahead of her. She had survived a war for independence, a stint as her own country, Civil War and Yankee Carpetbaggers during Reconstruction, but she would rise to meteoric heights in the future with the same dogged determination and courage her people had displayed during the toughest of times. She is, after all, "the damnedest lady you ever saw". She is Texas. Long may she live!

Texas Tidbits : The Six Flags of Texas

The Lone Star flag of Texas is instantly recognized by people all over the world as the defining symbol of our state. However, the same people probably don't know that the flags of six sovereign nations have flown over Texas, dating back to the 1500's. I would imagine that that is true for the vast majority of non-Texans. If you were to mention "six flags" and "Texas" in the same breath, non-Texans would say something like: "I've been there and I rode the roller coaster eight times!", thinking of the amusement park, Six Flags Over Texas, not the history of the state. Even if ignorant of our history, non-Texans (or "foreginers" a I call them :D) know the state flag. Here's a quick primer for our non-Texan friends. Study up and soon you can impress even Native Texans with your knowledge of the rich history of Texas.                                                                                                                                                                                     Spain was the first European country to claim Texas as their own, way back in 1519 by Hernando Cortez. The Spanish flag flew over Texas until 1685 when the land was claimed by the French. The French had control of Texas for only five years, when in 1690, the Spanish took over Texas again, this time until 1821 when Mexico declared independence from Spain.

From 1685 to 1690, the nation of France took over Texas from the Spaniards. But, the French ruled over Texas for only five years, then, as what has come to be expected of the Frogs, they tucked tail and ran, allowing Spain to once again call Texas theirs.

The Spanish rule of Texas this go 'round lasted until 1821 when Mexico declared its independence from the Mother Country, and Texas became a state of Mexico. The citizens of Texas didn't cotton to the iron-fisted rule of Santa Ana and on March 2, 1836, told him to shove it up his sombrero.

From 1836 to 1845, Texas was an independent nation and in 1839 the Lone Star Flag as we know it, became the official flag of the Republic of Texas. Texas gained statehood on December 29, 1845 and became a part of the United States.

With the advent of the Civil War in 1861, Texas seceded from the Union and was a member of the Confederate States of America for four years. After the War of Northern Aggression ended in 1865, Texas was eventually re-admitted to the United States.

And the rest , as they say, is history.