As some of you know I use the Dixie Outfitters website to give students in my Civil War courses a sense of the continued hold of the Lost Cause on our culture. In addition to examining the page devoted to their preferred view of the Civil War we do a quick survey of some of the t-shirts. This year one particular shirt caught the eye of my students, which gave me a chance to discuss the history and myth of black Confederates. We examined the t-shirt which depicts the Chandler Boys, which contains the following caption:
Black Confederate Silas Chandler carried his wounded boyhood friend, Andrew Chandler, several miles on his back before loading him on a box car headed for an Atlanta hospital. After the war, they returned to their homes in Palo Alto, Mississippi where they remained close friends till death. Silas Chandler received a Confederate veteran’s pension and today lies in a grave decorated with a Confederate Iron Cross placed by the Mississippi Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Well, you can imagine my surprise when one of my students presented me with my very own Chandler Boys t-shirt. You may also be surprised to see that the student in question is African American. The story is pretty funny. Apparently, the store owner was very surprised to see a young black woman in his store asking for this particular t-shirt. The owner was pleased, however, to see that she was aware of the rich history of black Confederates and encouraged here to share this story with her friends. Needless to say, I was relieved that my student resisted getting into a debate about this subject as I am sure the store owner would have been defenseless against this student’s vast knowledge.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Kevin, now if you could just get Mort Kunstler to paint your picture wearing the t-shirt, standing in front of Arlington Mansion as your wife bids you farewell so you can go fill the minds of America's youth with anti-Southern beliefs, your life would be complete.
Best
Rob
Can I have some children positioned around me in prayer?
Let no one accuse you of being too serious.
Will you actually wear it or will you frame it for posterity? Perhaps, it will make a good top for your Halloween ensemble.
I don't know what I am going to do about it. It will definitely make for a nice show-and-tell piece for my memory course.
I discovered your blog tonight. As I am unfamiliar with your personal stand on the Civil War, I would like to know what significance you found in the “Chandler Boys” t-shirt. Thanks,
Thanks for the comment. The shirt's significance is in the way it reflects the continued popularity of Lost Cause mythology about the Civil War. The idea of black Confederates must be understood within the broader context of interpretations that have tried to minimize the brutality of slavery and the importance of slavery to the Confederacy. I highly recommend Bruce Levine's _Black Emancipation _ (Oxford University Press) if you are interested in learning more about the debate over arming slaves in the Confederacy and the evolution of the myth of black Confederates which took hold by the beginning of the twentieth century.