December 22, 1864: Christmas Comes Early

This Christmas … Remember the Red Shirts

This Christmas, remember to decorate your favorite tree with ornaments celebrating the South Carolina Red Shirts, who were a paramilitary white supremacist terrorist group during Reconstruction who claimed credit for the “redemption” of the state under Wade Hampton in 1877.

And you might want to visit this museum as well. Enjoy this slideshow.

After all, we’ve seen this sort of White Christmas spirit before …

Notable Moments in Confederate Heritage, 2014: Part Five

We are now down to the final four. Today focuses on two people, once of whom spoke at the other’s memorial service.

Number 4: Mattie Clyburn Rice, Rest in Peace

The passing of Mattie Clyburn Rice in October 2014 provided some people yet another chance to revive the story of her father, Weary Clyburn, specifically the nature of his connection to the Confederate military. For years Weary Clyburn has been celebrated by some as a “black Confederate,” although more discerning research revealed a more interesting story. For years Ms. Rice pursued the story, as one might expect, but what she found did little to clarify her father’s status. She was not alone in her confusion: researchers repeatedly fumbled the question of his status, sometimes in excited rants.  Among the befuddled was South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who, engaged in a battle for reelection, thought it would be a good idea to cuddle up with the Confederate heritage crowd while remaining stone silent about the service of South Carolina’s blacks in blue. Confederate heritage advocates went after anyone who tried to remind us of the facts behinds the claims about Clyburn’s service.

I chose not to get involved in that discussion. It seemed good enough to allow Ms. Rice to rest in peace. However, as one might expect, others could not wait to take advantage of her passing to sound anew the usual claptrap about Clyburn’s service. Her memorial service witnessed a veritable cast of characters from Confederate heritage circles, with the typically ample photographic record to mark their presence. Who can forget this particularly nattily-dressed fellow?