A few weeks ago when I was traveling back to Maine from North Carolina I had a two hour lay over in New York. I had been wearing my Confederate infantry coat during most of the journey and didn't receive any comment about it until a few minutes before I was to leave New York.
A gentleman with a thick "Neeeu Yok" accent asked me where I was originally from and I told him I was from the South. After asking why Confederates wore gray and what the I on my buttons stood for he got bold and said, "I don't understand why you guys in the South don't forget the Civil War. It over. We won, get over it."
I told him, "Imagine if an invading army marched along the Hudson River or the Delaware. Imagine if an invading army burned down Chicago, New York, or Boston. I don't believe generations of Northerners would forget that too easily. The South won't forget that it was invaded and that some of its cities were burned by an invading force. How did the citizens of New York feel when they saw their buildings burned to the ground on 9/11. It was much how the citizens of Columbia felt when Sherman put the torch to their buildings."
I hoped that those weren't fighting words, since 9/11 is a sensitive subject especially for New Yorkers. But to my pleasant surprise he smiled and said, "Ya, I guess I understand." It was one of few unique and special times when all your life's research and passion actually means something for a moment in time.
And I said to this yankee...
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We Won...
...Get over it.
Wearing a Confederate uniform in a major metropolitan (read liberal) area is inviting comments and opinions from others, be prepared for some of it to be negative, perhaps even violently so.
I wouldn't be sporting a Federal uniform in the Atlanta airport, it's just asking for trouble. You may want to consider this.
Bob Firth
Late of the 25th Mass
Naw, friend. I will wear
Naw, friend. I will wear that coat wherever I please. Have never had any problems. Those people who would be really offended by my heritage would not know what the coat meant if they saw it.
If you wore your union coat in Atlanta you'd probably get a medal. That place is as northern filled as New York.
Pride is great....
.... but prudence has it's place as well.
While you "COULD" and are totally free to wear full Rebel gear at an NAACP meeting I wouldn't suggest it as a wise fashion choice.
Kind of like wearing a Morning Coat after noontime...
Zac you have a twin in Augusta.... Annie and I saw a guy sitting on the Steps of a church... We drove by 3 times to make sure!
"Hawks and Eagles fly like Doves"
2nd Lt Eric R. Reeder
United States Army
Corps of Topographic Engineers
2nd Lt Eric R. Reeder United States Army Corps of Topographic Engineers "Hawks and Eagles fly like Doves"
The coat is fine
I don't see a problem with wearing the coat in public. Yes, there are times when it may not be the best situation but it is a matter of choice. I wore mine for years even as a winter jacket.
Yes the South was defeated and the glorious blood thirty North won. I think most everyone has gotten over the fact, being that there are only a few who have a close connection to that era.(At least one more widow and several dozen children of CW veterans left) Now it is a matter of remebrance. Anyone who wears the period uniform is guilty of this and I don't see it as inproper or wrong. It is rather noble to remember the people of that era but we shouldn't lose sight of the heros that have come since. Just because time passes doesn't mean that we should condone the injustices and crimes committed. To this day, the US government still hides facts about the war and denies knowledge.
Am I radical, no just open minded. Unlike the wearing of the Nazi uniform which offends so many because of the mass murders, the Confederate uniform did not offend anyone...short of survivors who lost love ones and friends in that war; but no less than the Federal Blue uniforms with the Southerner and Native Americans. The Confederate uniform was never seen as a representing hate or racism until a century later by liberal propaganda and the NAACP. So wear my uniform in a NAACP meeting? Damn straight I would and I would wear it proudly knowing that it has nothing to with racism. Am I insensitive, No! Am I insane? Probably!
Will
Don't get me wrong....
I never would even suggest you NOT wear it anytime... just that in some situations you'll have to deal with ignorant folks... That's just a fact of life.
"Hawks and Eagles fly like Doves"
2nd Lt Eric R. Reeder
United States Army
Corps of Topographic Engineers
2nd Lt Eric R. Reeder United States Army Corps of Topographic Engineers "Hawks and Eagles fly like Doves"
Wouldn't be Prudent...
...not at this juncture, no sir.
If you want to make a political or social statement, go ahead and wear whatever you want regardless of the setting. But like I said, don't be offended when others take issue with it.
Bob Firth
Late of the 25th Mass