The Political Reintegration of Prominent Confederate Generals in the US During Reconstruction (1865-1877)
Abstract
Confederate statues across the South selectively honor white supremacist generals at the exclusion of those Confederates who endorsed Reconstruction. Further blurring the history of postwar Confederate loyalties, historical literature has not adequately addressed Confederate generals according to their beliefs and actions during the Reconstruction Era. Through the examination of three case studies (Generals James Longstreet, Joseph Wheeler, and Wade Hampton III), this paper identifies three unique groupings of Confederate generals. Some had a change of heart defending freedmen as Republicans, others waited patiently to join Congress as a Democrat, and a vocal majority actively rejected national politics during Reconstruction. These categories suggest the variety among Confederate generals in political participation during Reconstruction. Statues should no longer uphold the outdated ideals of the Lost Cause at the expense of those generals who successfully reintegrated into US politics during Reconstruction.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. David Kilroy
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Shermany Library
Start Date
4-5-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
4-5-2019 5:00 PM
The Political Reintegration of Prominent Confederate Generals in the US During Reconstruction (1865-1877)
Alvin Shermany Library
Confederate statues across the South selectively honor white supremacist generals at the exclusion of those Confederates who endorsed Reconstruction. Further blurring the history of postwar Confederate loyalties, historical literature has not adequately addressed Confederate generals according to their beliefs and actions during the Reconstruction Era. Through the examination of three case studies (Generals James Longstreet, Joseph Wheeler, and Wade Hampton III), this paper identifies three unique groupings of Confederate generals. Some had a change of heart defending freedmen as Republicans, others waited patiently to join Congress as a Democrat, and a vocal majority actively rejected national politics during Reconstruction. These categories suggest the variety among Confederate generals in political participation during Reconstruction. Statues should no longer uphold the outdated ideals of the Lost Cause at the expense of those generals who successfully reintegrated into US politics during Reconstruction.
