Vicksburg Civil War Museum

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

George Washington founded the nation. Abraham Lincoln helped redefine it.

Lincoln was the first president to lead the nation toward a future where chattel slavery would no longer be legal.

The Civil War and its aftermath forced America to answer questions it had avoided since its founding: Who belongs? Who is free? Who is a citizen? The answers helped shape the nation we know today.

It is a privilege to honor our ancestors. But it is a solemn duty to pass on an accurate history to future generations.

We can arm our children with myths and half-truths and leave them to fight the same battles for truth that we are fighting now. Or we can accept the hard truths today—pleasant or not—and give future generations a solid foundation to build on.

Honoring the past should never require hiding the truth.

The question is not whether history makes us comfortable. The question is whether we are comfortable enough to tell it.

Our ancestors left us a history to inherit. We are leaving one for our descendants. Let us be as honest with them as we wish our ancestors had been with us, so they inherit history—not mythology.

06/02/2026

Happy 250th, let’s not stop trying to make this a “more perfect union”.

History cannot be honest about America’s history from 1776 to 1865 while remaining silent about slavery and racism.

That would be like trying to tell the story of the Civil War without mentioning secession, or the story of Vicksburg without mentioning the siege.

Some facts are so central to a story that removing them does not create neutrality. It creates distortion.

Slavery and racism were not side stories in the American experience between 1776 and 1865. They influenced the nation’s politics, laws, economy, territorial expansion, constitutional debates, and ultimately the bloodiest war in American history.

You do not make history more objective by removing these subjects. You make it less honest.

The person who brings these facts to light is not creating division. The division already existed. They are simply refusing to hide it.

The greater danger to history is not the person who uncovers uncomfortable facts. It is the person who insists those facts be ignored.

To leave slavery and racism out of America’s history is not telling less history. It is telling a different history.

06/02/2026

IT’S ALL THE HERITAGE, NOT HATE:

A few friends have told me that I should be more concerned about making people comfortable when discussing slavery and the United States Colored Troops.

I understand the concern. These subjects touch family histories, regional pride, and deeply held beliefs. They can be emotional topics.

But history is not about making people comfortable or uncomfortable. History should be about truth and accuracy, regardless of the emotional impact.

For generations, Black Southerners were expected to visit parks, monuments, ceremonies, and history sites that largely celebrated Confederate memory while often excluding the stories of their own ancestors. Rarely was the question asked whether Black Southerners felt comfortable with that imbalance.

If we are now telling a more complete story—one that includes slavery, emancipation, and the service of the USCT—that is not an attack on Southern heritage. It is an expansion of it.

The descendants of Confederate soldiers deserve to see their ancestors remembered. The descendants of the enslaved and the USCT deserve the same.

History is not therapy. It is not designed to make us feel good about ourselves. It is designed to help us understand what happened.

The question is not whether the truth makes us comfortable. The question is whether we are honest enough to face it.