Dear Mr. Vanderburg, Thanks for taking the time to read yesterday’s post and for your comments. As I stated in my response this is a subject that I’ve written and lectured on extensively over the past five years.  The popularity of the black Confederate narrative highlights both the extent to which history has become democratized Read more

One of the reasons why it is important for serious historians to publish in peer-reviewed journals is that it provides the community with stable reference points.  Scholarly publications are intended to add to our knowledge of the past by providing rich interpretation along with supporting documents that can be verified.  In this setting interpretation can Read more

I finally got my hands on a copy of Weary Clyburn’s pension application from the North Carolina Department of Archives and History in Raleigh.  You may remember that over the summer I did a series of posts on this Confederate slave who was to be honored by a local SCV chapter for his “service” to Read more

If interested, you can read this brief article which covers yesterday’s ceremony for the SCV’s new favorite son, Weary Clyburn.  There is nothing in it that hasn’t been discussed already over the course of the past few days.  Earl ljames is cited as an “expert” on the subject of black Confederates; he isn’t .  The Read more

Here is another news item concerning the commemoration of Weary Clyburn which will be held today in Monroe, North Carolina.  I am not going to comment extensively as the story is well known to my readers, but here are a few highlights. Earl L. ljames, who is a curator at the North Carolina Museum of Read more

Like many of you I am also troubled by the pervasiveness of stories about black Confederates and the irresponsibility and ignorance of those who perpetuate these myths.  This morning I received an email from someone familiar with the North Carolina Department of Archives and History who took the initiative to pull Weary Clyburn’s pension application.  Read more

Below is video coverage of the memorial service for Ms. Mattie Clyburn Rice and her father, Weary Clyburn, which took place this past weekend. The opening speaker references Clyburn as a soldier in the 12th South Carolina Infantry, which is patently false given the evidence. The next speaker uses Lincoln’s Second Inaugural to suggest that Read more