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Callaloo 24.1 (2001) 168



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Some Notes on the Confederate Flag

Elizabeth Spencer


The Confederate States of America became a separate and sovereign nation when they declared independence from the United States of America in 1861, continuing as such a separate nation until 1865. When invaded by federal forces of the United States, Southerners fought to repel the invasion. Most of the soldiers of the Confederacy did not own slaves and most thought they were fighting in an honorable cause to defend their native land. I strongly believe that the Confederate battle flag should be exhibited in those places where the history of those four years makes its relevance clear.

I do not believe this flag should ever be exhibited to show defiance of racial integration or support for those who believe in white supremacy or any other similar purpose. Let it be kept, but kept in those historical contexts where it belongs.





Elizabeth Spencer is a Mississippi native and author of nine novels, the first one, Fire in the Morning, appearing in 1948, and the latest, The Night Travelers, in 1991. The Light in the Piazza and Other Italian Tales and Jack of Diamonds and Other Stories are among her six short story collections. Her memoir is entitled Landscapes of the Heart. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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