I was going to take some students in my Civil War America course to Gettysburg this weekend. They were excited about going to the cemetery and reading the Gettysburg Address on November 19, the day it was delivered by Lincoln in 1863. Sadly the busyness of the semester intervened so we had to change the date. And then it rained on our new date. We will try to get to the battlefield next semester.
When I asked my park ranger friend about November 19 he told me that it would be quite busy that day at the park–Remembrance Day.
And that is enough context for historian Kevin Levin’s recent piece at his Substack. Here is a taste:
Every year Confederate reenactors are invited to march alongside United States soldiers in Gettyburg’s Remembrance Day Parade, which commemorates Lincoln’s famous address.
That’s right. On the same day that the community gathers to reflect on Lincoln’s words, Confederate flags are marched through the streets.
Over the past few years, Gettysburg College historian Scott Hancock has taken the initiative to remind his neighbors of their complicity in this sad spectacle.
Few people know that Lee’s army included thousands of enslaved men and that it functioned as a slave catching army throughout the war.
Remembrance Day commemorations began in 1957 and within a few years Confederate reenactors were invited to take part in the parade. Their inclusion dovetailed with the beginning of the Civil War Centennial and its emphasis on the theme of reunion that was embraced by most white Americans, before calls for civil rights reminded the nation of its “unfinished work.”
Throughout this time, according to historian Jill Titus, Black Gettysburgians experienced discrimination and segregation on a daily basis. African Americans in Gettysburg and on a national stage called out the hypocrisy of the centennial celebrations as a betrayal of what the nation fought for and the role that Black soldiers played in helping to save the nation and end slavery.
This history’s absence from our collective memory of the war is compounded by the culture of the town. There is no shortage of Confederate flags and other Lost Cause-inspired gifts in the shops that line Steinwehr Avenue and the Baltimore Pike.
A first-time visitor to Gettysburg with no knowledge of the Civil War might be excused for not knowing who won the battle or the war for that matter.
Read the entire piece here.
And if you want to know more about the work of Gettysburg professors Scott Hancock and Jill Titus please listen to our interviews with them at The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. We discussed America’s history of systemic racism with Hancock in Episode 70. And we talked to Titus about her book on Gettysburg and civil rights in Episode 94.
I also encourage you to watch Hancock deal with states rights advocates at the Robert E. Lee monument:
I attended the Dedication/Remembrance Day program at the cemetery. Dr Alan Guelzo’s speech was great and Jon Meacham presented the Gettysburg Address – though he could not help but give a quick talk as well. See the link below to hear the speeches.
Afterwards I walked through town in search of food and I was transported back to 1863. This was my first time and I knew a parade was scheduled, but I had no idea it was to be a parade of reenactors. I was enjoying all the different color uniforms and styles on the streets and then I did see a group in brown and I knew these were CSA soldiers. At first, I was taken aback – after all, November 19, 1863 had no Confederate visitors – except for the only good Confederate (that is a dead Confederate!)
I applaud Dr Hancock and his courage during the parade and in the video posted above. I understand and think he is right. And I loved Dr Titus’ book. I live near Gettysburg and have been a million times in my, almost 50 years here, but Dr Titus’ book has caused many recent trips with a fine eye on the monuments, especially southern state monuments, and the messages they convey. But I have trouble in how to deal with reenacting. They are going to come. Gettysburg is also about money, taking tourists’ money, and a reconciliationist message makes the most money and keeps the peace. I think the story being told by the Park is a good direction, but how to properly shame those who were in the wrong and lost? Larger Dr Hancock protests? In the summer of 2020 militia types converged on Gettysburg due to social media talk of Antifa coming to deface the Confederate monuments. Raising the temperature will cause conflict. I saw a vehicle in the parking lot with a “Back the Blue” and a “3 Percenter” bumper sticker. So, folks I would radically disagree with were on the field. As time goes by will Confederate reenactors just die out? I saw the US Colored Troops reenactors in the parade. What would a dialogue between the two groups sound like? I am perplexed as to what to do. We have come a long way. When I was in high school Darius Rucker was still singing about the Confederate flag flying in Columbia, SC – it has finally been removed. Again, I think dialogue is needed. I see reenactors and their love for history, but I think we all need to stop and look at the issue through Dr Hancock’s eyes. But, in the end, decisions have to be made one way or the other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkTc2X3Nems
Great comment. I did not know Guelzo and Meacham were there. I will check out the video. I hope you had a chance to listen to my podcast interviews with Scott Hancock and Jill Titus–both friends.
I have listened to the Scott Hancock and Jill Titus interviews. The Titus interview had me ordering her book soon thereafter. I have slept on my original comment and do struggle over what to think/do about the main point here – Confederate reenactors. Scott Hancock brings the historical interpretive sign needed to accompany them. Unfortunately, Mr Hancock has a full-time job and cannot be there every time a man in gray is in Gettysburg. I do find it telling that in the early years of remembrance the Confederates were not buried in National cemeteries and having Confederate reenactors at Gettysburg would have been a great offense to the Union soldiers who fought there. Yet, time is supposed to heal all wounds. Over 150 years later the wounds are not healed and in our culture those who display the Confederate flag are not usually doing so for historic reasons – or so it seems to me.
I do hate to leave another comment and work out my thoughts as comments – Yet- I can’t help but thinking radical change is sometimes needed. I can applaud Scott Hancock all day, but change requires action. At times it will be said the people living in the Civil War era were products of their time. A funny paraphrase from Gary Gallagher is that you can throw a small rock in this time period and you will hit a racist. By our standards, most people were racist. True, but you can’t just dismiss justice for mercy as there were clear seeing people walking about then. Along with the Confederate memorials in Gettysburg you will also find a statue to Thaddeus Stevens – a true American Hero. The Thaddeus Stevens Society is based in Gettysburg -https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/. Action? Look up Scott Hancock and join him? Write a letter? Say something to your crazy uncle this Thanksgiving.
Thanks for these reflections. I think Scott is doing great work, but he is not superman. I know he is always teaching–getting his students to call this stuff out. As for change–no argument here. We all have our callings. Scott has his. We are CURRENT have ours. I just wish more people would see the need to fund some of these smaller efforts so it doesn’t always feel like we are all tilting at windmills.