A Few More Black Confederate References

Unfortunately, I had to postpone my documentary interview on black Confederates until mid-August.  In lieu of that I thought I might pass on a few more little gems in this department.  I know some of you are probably sick of hearing about this, but keep in mind that I am collecting various sources for the upcoming book project as I bring my Crater manuscript to a close.

The first example comes from a recent Confederate Day celebration in Dixie County, Florida, which was hosted by the SCV Dixie Defender Camp 2086.  The speaker is Al Mccray, who hosts a radio/talk show in the Tampa Bay area.  This is a wonderful example of why the black Confederate argument has proven to be attractive to a certain number of African Americans.  Listen to Mccray’s understanding of Lincoln’s emancipation policy.  Behind the vague references to his position on colonization and his famous response to Horace Greeley in the spring of 1862 there is disillusionment with the mythology attached to the mythology/narrative of the “Great Emancipator.”  It’s that same narrative that drove Lerone Bennett to write his famous essay for Ebony magazine and later, Forced Into Glory.  The problem, of course, is that Mccray substitutes an incredibly vague account for this mythology.

More interesting, however, is the way in which this argument morphs into commentary about what Mccray and the SCV perceive as our present political situation.  Mccray bounces back between history and politics with ease.  In referring to slavery, Mccray suggests that “pretty soon we all will be slaves to the Washington administration” and later notes that the “Army of the Potomac is still around.”  Finally, Mccray argues that we are losing more and more rights at the hands of a corrupt government.  I suspect that both H.K. Edgerton and the economist, Walter Williams, also fit into this camp.  All of them operate on the flawed assumption that while the Civil War led to a larger and more intrusive government in Washington, D.C. the Confederate government preserved a stricter state sovereignty and states rights.  This is simply not true.  In fact, most slaveowners viewed the continued attempt by the Confederate government to impress and later recruit slaves for military purposes as a violation of their sovereignty.

From Florida we travel to of all places, “30 Rock.”  That’s right, thanks to one of my readers I learned that there is a reference to black Confederates in the episode “Fireworks” [season 1, episode 18].  The plot, involving Tracy Morgan, runs as follows:

“Tracy is served with paternity papers and insists that the child is not his. After the DNA test, Tracy learns that the child is not his but that he is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson. The news angers Tracy and he talks to Toofer and Frank about it. Toofer learns that he is a direct descendant of Tobias Spurlock, a black Confederate soldier. Tracy and Toofer are upset about the news until Tracy has a dream in which Thomas Jefferson (portrayed by Jack Donaghy) appears to him on The Maury Povich Show. In the dream, Jefferson takes credit for “inventing” America and tells Tracy to forget his past. Tracy decides that he wants Toofer to write a movie about their experiences and Thomas Jefferson’s life. Tracy intends to play all of the parts in the movie, except he intends for the film to be a drama.”

Toofer is terribly distraught to learn that his ancestor Tobias Spurlock was a Black Confederate officer who is known by Civil War scholars as the “Confederate Monster”, who harbored the fugitive John Wilkes Booth following his assassination of Lincoln, and who personally knew Robert E. Lee, rather than a Union officer who knew Ulysses S. Grant as Toofer had always believed.

Unfortunately, I can’t find a clip of this particular segment.  This is the first reference to black Confederates that I’ve seen in mainstream culture.

Civil War Memory has moved to Substack! Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe below.

3 comments… add one
  • Vicki Betts Aug 18, 2010 @ 18:07

    I just found an UNwilling black Confederate in Footnote.com. He was Adam Anderson, and you can find him in the Confederate Misc. Military Records. He was living in Clinton, Louisiana, in late August, 1864, as a “free man of color” when he was drafted. He protested that he was not eligible for the draft and evidently presented a petition signed by men who knew him. His appeal was “disproved.” Two days later he “deserted” and came within federal lines, leaving his family with a friend. I would assume that he was probably light skinned or else it would have never even been a question.

    Just thought you might find this interesting.

    Vicki Betts

    • Kevin Levin Aug 19, 2010 @ 2:00

      Vicki,

      Thanks for passing this along. I am definitely going to follow up on it.

  • Nat Turners Son Jul 9, 2010 @ 17:03

    I believe in the end Truth will be stranger than fiction. Tracy is funny!

Leave a Reply to Nat Turners SonCancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *