re: Confederate flags everywhere

When slaves escaped from the south and were then protected by abolitionists that were a minority portion of the northern population, the myth is that the north welcomed them with open arms. The reality was that the blacks were hated in the north more than the south. No manufacturing companies would hire blacks. The real tale of reality comes from a visit made to Charleston by a Northern Representative two years before the war. He was shocked at what he saw. The entire city was run by the black population. Shops, delivery, construction all done with no white interference or supervision that could be seen.

The shooting war didn't start to end slavery. The shooting war started because Lincoln's Military Advisors were the most stupid Military Minds from the Military Academies.

It must have been a hell of a start to a chaotic end that day. Pack the buggy with wine and a picnic lunch. Load the Wife and In Laws, cross the river and camp out to watch the south get their butts kicked in battle. Instead, it was a hell of a race back across the river to beat the retreat of the northern collapse, in hopes that the south ended their pursuit at the river. Washington could have very easily been occupied that afternoon. The south wasn't interested in a shooting war ...just leave them alone. Handled differently ... 600,000 dead would have never happened.

You can study with the goal to become a snake oil salesman about the period of can reality. Lee and the other Generals of the South didn't see a future for slavery, but their loyalty was to the state of birth and not so much the American Government.