Top military officer labels Confederacy as treasonous as Pentagon takes ‘hard look’ at rebel ties

[Smokin Joe]

A traitor to what, exactly?  Certainly not traitors to the Constitution.  The chief grievance of Southern States was that the Federal government was violating its own Constitution.  If anyone should be considered a traitor here, it should be the ones holding federal power who willfully allowed the Constitution to be ignored at the expense of Southern States.

As for Lincoln, he was handed an extremely bad hand.  Buchanan is the one who set the stage, not Lincoln.  But that did not make Lincoln's actions any more lawful.

Correct. My ancestors swore a written oath to the Sovereign State of Maryland after the Revolution. There is where their loyalty resided. It was the same for the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, those from the Carolinas, each citizens of their respective States, and owing their allegiance to them. The Federal government was not a National Government, nor considered thus until after the War of Northern Aggression forced the South into the "union" at gunpoint.
The Pledge of Allegiance we said as kids in school wasn't written until after 1890.

[Absalom]

Many of the founders of the Republican Party were what historians refer to as 48ers (Leaders of failed Marxist revolutions in Europe in and around 1848 who had escaped their home countries a half step ahead of the hangman and came to this country)  Many of those people later served as high ranking officers in Mr. Lincolns Army and cabinet.
Joseph Weydemeyer
August Willich
There are many others as well.
Edit to add: I know that posting things like this makes me very unpopular with some here but historical facts are historical facts and we should not ever deny them.

----------------------------
@Bigun, on the mark per usual.
Those who resent being corrected/informed, have a romantic attachment to their prejudices, no matter how absurd.
You're doing them a large favor by referencing history, Man's greatest teacher, as the likes of Plato understood very well.
"Those who forget/ignore history are condemned to repeat it"/the wisdom of both Burke and Santayana.

[Slide Rule]

It looks like West Point and other military academies require some monitoring of
instruction. Certainly a thank you for your service and get the hell out letters.
Certainly touchy feely issues do not serve the purpose of developing the best
minds for fighting America's conflicts.

A review of anyone new in the past decade. And an emphasis on military issues,
our countries history, and a not political stance by members of the military.
A focus on actual economics may be required. Ask Hillsdale College for their
recommendations.

[Smokin Joe]

It looks like West Point and other military academies require some monitoring of
instruction. Certainly a thank you for your service and get the hell out letters.
Certainly touchy feely issues do not serve the purpose of developing the best
minds for fighting America's conflicts.

A review of anyone new in the past decade. And an emphasis on military issues,
our countries history, and a not political stance by members of the military.
A focus on actual economics may be required. Ask Hillsdale College for their
recommendations.

How are we to train the warriors of the future if we quail at the mention of our opponents of the past, even honoring in the past them for their abilities. Even those who were eventually defeated are worthy of study if they were victorious. 'Shock and Awe' was modeled on the Blitzkrieg, for instance.

[EdinVA]

Terrible war.... brother against brother, father against son, uncle against nephew...
The families intentionally put members on opposite sides because no one knew who would win, if there would be any attempt a reconciliation or one side would become slaves to the other....
A lot of the soldiers never really knew what they were fighting for, they were scooped up walking down the road and found themselves on one side of the war or the other and were just trying to stay alive...

[txradioguy]

How are we to train the warriors of the future if we quail at the mention of our opponents of the past, even honoring in the past them for their abilities. Even those who were eventually defeated are worthy of study if they were victorious. 'Shock and Awe' was modeled on the Blitzkrieg, for instance.

We won't be able to train them.  But then that's exactly what the left wants.

[Smokin Joe]

We won't be able to train them.  But then that's exactly what the left wants.

It dawns on me that as unpalatable as many found Pinochet, he served his purpose, and eventually gave up power for elections. Doubtless the marxists have reason to badmouth him, not undeserved from their viewpoint.