Dixie Days
by Ross Catrow
Every year the Cold Harbor Guards of Mechanicsville, VA put on a festival in Hanover County called Dixie Days. Dixie Days offers “300 Acres of living history: period encampments, infantry & artillery demonstrations, civil war battle reenactment, and period music & games.” As you can see this is a Recent Unpleasantness War of Northern Aggression Second American Revolution War Between the States Civil War related festival.
As is typical these days someone worries about offending people. In particular “Jamelle Wilson, a member of an advisory panel” worries the term “Dixie” might just be too offensive for a private group of citizens to use for their private event held on public property. Suggested alternate names: “‘Blue and Gray Days,’ ‘Civil War Days’ or ‘Battle of Bethesda Church.’” Astounding.
Y’all probably know my affinity for federalism and Southern things in general, so you can probably guess this kind of stuff ticks me off. I guess for a lot of people South = Racism. Why can’t I celebrate the history and culture of the South while at the same time condemn slavery and racism? I mean I do it all the time and my brain doesn’t implode. I don’t want to get into that whole thing but here is a point of view I can agree with:
‘Dixie Days’ is an example of the wounds that are still very sensitive to ancestors of the Confederate war, which we can also call the great unpleasantness,” Mr. Ernst says. “Many black families in the county see that as a celebration of the institution of slavery and see that as degrading to them and it opens old wounds.”
Both sides have valid points. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate racism and what it does to my city. They would also know that I hate the watering down of history and the mostly unnecessary demonizing of the South. Haha whoa, I just sounded like a nutbar.
Finally there is this quote:
County Supervisor Aubrey M. Stanley Jr. is one county official who doesn’t want to change the name.
“I have no problem with it being called ‘Dixie Days,’?” he said. “What, we can’t call Indians ‘Indians,’ right?”
Ummm yes? We can’t call Indians Indians any more. Awhaaa?
No Van, this is not a good date idea. Go with Ross.
Next year in May, I will totally go with anyone!?
I think it’s weird to celebrate the South via reenactment. I mean, if you want to celebrate the culture of the South, that’s cool, but I don’t think that one can argue that slavery wasn’t a major component/the primary component of the Civil War. A part of me feels like when there’s these big reenactments that everyone gets really into, it’s kind of like saying ‘oh man, if only we’d won.’
Actually I am reading a book just now that does in fact argue that slavery was not the primary component or even a major component of the civil war.
I’ll give you one gue$$ a$ to what wa$?
Also, I am not saying it wasn’t *a* component. Just that it wasn’t *the* component.
meh, I’ve heard the ‘slavery played no real part in the Civil War’ arguments and I’m just not convinced. I’m not saying I couldn’t be convinced in the future. I’m just not at present.
maybe it’s not about what the war was fought for at the time or what the war began over, but what resulted from the war. ie, the north wins, end of slavery, the south wins, more widespread slavery than ever.? so, to some (most?) people raising their confederate flag doesn’t represent what the war was started over, but the result you wished for, slavery… and sweet tea sipped from jars.
i’m not saying i agree or that they are right, i’m just trying to explain (to myself even) why people get so upset over things like this.
i think for most, it’s a time to reflect and remember how their ancestry fought and died and what they went through, and not so much agreeing with what they may or may not have been fighting for. and then there are those who, if they could do it all over again, would have the south win and would love slavery and all that comes with it- they are the ones that ruin it for the rest of us.
Yeah, I agree with you a lot. If midas was not on vay-kay he would post the quote he always does when we talk about this — which basically says what you said but was said by someone famous. And you are totally right. Because post-civil war the confederate flag didn’t mean the same thing it does now. Once the KKK started using it as *their* symbol, it got a bad name. Unfortunate for Suotherners but not much you can do about it.
I think the thing for me is there *is* a southern culture — whatever it may be. I think it is foolish to lose hundreds of years of culture over political correctness.
Maybe some day I will write an insane article about why perhaps Slavery was not *the* cause of the civil war.
Good call Wolf.
What caused the invasion of Iraq? WMDs? Regime change and taking Saddam out of power? Oppression of the Kurds? Democracy and freedom in the middle east? A connection to Bin Laden? Oil?
It seems like it has changed over the course of the war, whether you’re pro or anti war in Iraq.
Pretty much the same thing happened with the Civil War afaik. When it started, most northerners couldn’t care less about slavery. They HAD slavery in parts of the north. By the end, the elimination of slavery was a huge huge thing for northerners.
In fact one of Licoln’s planks of his platfrom was he wouldn’t impune the South’s whole slavery thing.
But like RMS said, over the course of the war that changed. I mean good right? If you are going to have a Civil War, at least we got rid of slavery
and strong, indpendent state governments.stupid states thinking they should have the right to govern their people.
Events like Dixie Days are crucial to keeping concepts like “individual honor” and “Christian nation” alive. I’ve written a history book about Appalachia (“Appalachian Genesis” Overmountain Press, 2001) and had no trouble getting it reviewed. But I also wrote an historically accurate book based on a real Confederate soldier’s diary — and guess what? Not a single Civil War or any other kind of publication will review it, even though it is endorsed by author NORMAN MAILER and Ron Casteel, C. of Sf. of “Sons of Confederate Veterans”. Get this – not even the SCV’s magazine “Confederate Magazine” has reviewed it, though one of their top men endorsed it for accuracy! Now why is, do you suppose? Could it be that the diary I used told the truth about the old South and it’s belief in honor, integrity and Christian values in government? Someone said “no” at “Confederate Veteran” — why did they ignore it? Why has it been ignored everywhere, though I am a published historian endorsed by Norman Mailer and even the SCV’s C. of S? This is why we need public celebrations like Dixie Days to keep the values and historical truths about the Old South alive. There is a Politically Correct movement to erase our history. Just take a look at and tell me why this book is censored by the popular publications?
long live the confederacy!
C-S-A! C-S-A!