A new contribution to Southern literature from one or both of the Kennedy brothers, authors of the classic
The South Was Right! and other good books, is always a cause for celebration. The latest,
Uncle Seth Fought the Yankees
by James Ronald Kennedy, does not disappoint. Uncle Seth, a Confederate
veteran, in about 100 easy lessons, gently educates the young people of
his kin and neighbourhood about the War for Southern Independence. By
facts and realistic experiences he corrects the false ideas that
post-bellum young people may have picked up from the bad textbooks and
clueless teachers that have crept into the South. This book ought to
become a text for homeschooling and for any parents wanting to educate
today’s young. And themselves as well. (Pelican)
The new book category includes another classic Southern writer —Michael Grissom, author of
Southern By the Grace of God and other fine works. It could not be more timely:
American Terrorists: Lincoln’s Armies in the South.
Grissom has put together the most hard-hitting collection of
documentation of the U.S. government’s murderous war against the women
and children of the South that I have ever encountered. We can never
have too much of this, because it is a truth that the American national
consciousness still refuses to face.
On the same subject, Paul C. Graham has edited
When The Yankees Come: Former South Carolina Slaves Remember Sherman’s Invasion. This is the fifth and most recent production of newly-founded
Shotwell Publishing.
The black folk of South Carolina speak for themselves about their real
encounters with the “liberators” in blue, another part of history erased
from the national memory. In most cases the encounter was far from
pleasant. Quite often it was brutal and exploitive. Similar collections
for other States will follow.
The literature of Southern defense and celebration is really quite
vast. It is not as well known to most Southerners and not made use of
nearly as often as it should be. A great under-used resource is the
extensive annotated bibliography established by the
Society of Independent Southern Historians. Howard Ray White, author of
Bloodstains and co-founder of the society, has made available a large and wonderful series of discussions and interviews called
“True American History”.
