Remembering Blue and Gray from Black and White

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Tony Horwitz takes a journey through the South to find out why people are still obsessed with the Civil War. On his adventure, he met a wide variety of people and he learned that each person has their own opinion of the war and remembers it in their own way. The Civil War was fought by Americans, on each side, and they all should remember it the same way, but as Horwitz found out on his quest, they are drastically different and still very controversial. Horwitz described different concurrences that undoubtedly show race plays a role in how the Civil War is remembered. The first stop of Horwitz’s journey was in Salisbury, North Carolina. Here, he met Sue and Ed Curtis who introduced him to the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. These two groups consisted of people from different backgrounds: a doctor, factory worker, gun-shop owner, etc. The only thing these people had in common was their ancestry; they all had blood ties to someone who fought in the Civil War. Their ancestors fought in the war to preserve their honor and they were fighting for what they believed in, which was state sovereignty. Horwitz was invited to attend a Sons of Confederate Veteran’s meeting they had to celebrate Lee and Jackson’s birthdays. The main event of the meeting was a Lee-Jackson trivia quiz. Though it is a captivating game where one can learn facts about these two distinguishing men of the Civil War, it is just a game. It has no relevance for remembering the Civil War for what it truly was. The members are remembering certain Confederate men of the war, not the whole war entirely. At this meeting, Horwitz met several different men and had questions for them. Horwitz went see the owner of the gun shop to get h... ... middle of paper ... ...hose to sacrifice to stand up for what they believed in, whether it was right or wrong. Hodge also admits to Horwitz that reenacting was a way for him to escape from the twentieth century and all the complicating matters life brings (H-209-281). Horwitz does not believe that racism is an omnipresent characteristic in the different ways the Civil War is remembered, but he does recognize that it plays a very crucial role in the memory of the Civil War. He meets several different people (Connor, Wells, and Hodge) that show great respect and recognize the importance of the war. In his work, Horwtiz shows that some individuals and activities are more racist than others. These activities are usually performed by people who lack the knowledge of the true reason the Civil War occurred. These unfortunate people show great stupidity and thoughtlessness in their actions.

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