J.D.R. Hawkins

One bullet can make a man a hero… or a casualty.

Archive for the tag “Oklahoma”

11 Feb 2016

Kansas’ Connection to the Confederacy

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As in most states, soldiers fought for both sides of the Civil War. This was especially apparent in the border states of Kansas, Missouri, Maryland, and Kentucky, as well as the Indian territories of New Mexico and Oklahoma. It seems unfathomable that these states are now debating the relevance of the Confederacy. For Kansas, one particular Confederate soldier stands out.

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General Richard Montgomery Gano was a devout Christian who served as a pastor, congressman, medical doctor, and brigadier general for the Confederate Army. Kirby Smith, the commander of the Army of Trans-Mississippi, said that Gano was “the most brilliant and effective” general in the Western Theatre. After the war ended, Gano planted churches in Kansas and Texas. He also preached throughout the U.S. and baptized nearly 5,000 converts.

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General Gano’s grandson was Howard Hughes, the eccentric business tycoon, investor, aviator, filmmaker and philanthropist. It’s no surprise that Gano’s former ranch and home became the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. Ironically, the Forth Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is inappropriately banning the display of the Confederate battle flag. Is it because Texas doesn’t know it’s history? Or merely because certain activities planners are trying to jump on the politically correct bandwagon? If more of these states would take pride and understand their Confederate heritage, this controversy wouldn’t exist.

 

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09 Feb 2016
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 KANSAS SCHOOL CONTINUES TO BATTLE OVER FLAG

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Recently, a high school student in Kansas who was banned from flying the Confederate battle flag on his pickup truck. An AP report shows the battle has gotten hotter. When the student removed his flag, the administration was going to drop the matter, but his fellow students turned on him. They are calling on the school to impose an actual punishment.
The student body president was quoted as saying, “It’s kind of at the point where we have to start doing things on our own to see the change.”
He is one of four students leading a petition drive. He and the other petition organizers – another white student and two black students – have gathered hundreds of signatures. The student council had a closed-to-the-public meeting focusing on matters of race and the battle flag.

One student council member told reporters: “I understand in other places that (the Confederate flag) is culture, but it’s not an example of Kansas culture.”

Apparently, they do not do a very good job of teaching state history in Kansas’ public schools because the Confederate Battle Flag is very much a part of Kansas’ culture. After the War Between the States, the border of Kansas was moved. During and before the war some 1/3 or more of what is now Kansas was actually Oklahoma Indian Territory and part of the Confederacy. After the war, the border of Kansas and Oklahoma was moved, taking away land from the Indians who had fought for the Southern side in the recently ended conflict. So the Confederate Battle Flag is very much a part of the culture of Kansas.

(Courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter, 2-5-2016 ed.)
Posted in Confederate Battle Flag, History and tagged , , , , , , ,

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