Combat in the Civil War may have ended in 1865, but the passions the war evoked still flare.

Witness the story some days back about a Richmond group encouraging display of the Confederate battle flag on private property.

I dont claim to be an expert on the Civil War, but its the subject I have most read about for more than 60 years.

To many thousands of Virginians, the flag is a salute to the armies in gray. To thousands of others, it honors a kinsman who fought in that war.

But at issue here is the fact that to thousands of Virginians, that flag is deeply offensive because it symbolizes slavery.

When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, he made cotton the basis of the Souths economy. Growing cotton is labor-intensive, and slave labor became an important part of the industry.

As the 1800s passed, the culture of the North became industrial and the culture of the South became agricultural. That created an economic and emotional gulf.

Meanwhile, slavery became more and more of a flint, creating sparks of opposition and defense. The sparks finally burst into flame with the election of Abraham Lincoln and the attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston. Over the years, there had been compromises to satisfy both the Souths economic desire for the institution of slavery and the Norths opposition to it. Why then, did war break out?

It was a matter of states rights, Southerners said. For some it was a revolt against an oppressive government as the American Revolution had been. Fact: the sole issue, the ultimate cause, the touchpoint that made the Civil War necessary, was slavery. It was beyond compromise and only combat could solve it.

Lincolns first objective in going to war was not to free the slaves but to save the union. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation because he saw that there needed to be a moral basis for the war. Anti-black prejudice was strong in both the North and South, so there were countless numbers of Union soldiers who served only to defend the concept of the Union.

And this was an era when long travel was rare, so your strongest allegiance might well be to your state rather than that concept of Union.

Many, many men who were not slave-holders only fought to defend their southern home turf. That motivation was potent in the South.

When Robert E. Lee resigned from the Army at the onset of the war, he said he would never again draw his sword save in defense of his native state.

Yes, during the war, the Confederate battle flag was flown over brave and dedicated men. But in the 1960s, its aura was trampled to the ground by people seeking only to rebuff the civil rights of African Americans.

Rally round the flag! was a famous command in the 1860s. In the 1960s, those who rallied were too often expressing their hatred.

So where are we? Here and now, to many, many Virginians, the Confederate flag symbolizes a cruel and hateful past.

In a setting like a battle reenactment, a museum or an exhibit, the battle flag has its historical place. Beyond that, it becomes a symbol of harsh oppression and its flaunting becomes a lingering slap in the face.

Read the rest here:

Where I stand on the Confederate flag controversy - Virginian-Pilot