Confederate Textbook Error To Be Fixed By Publisher

RICHMOND, Va. — The publisher of a Virginia textbook is printing revised editions to correct a passage that wrongly claims thousands of black troops fought for the Confederacy.

Five Ponds Press says it will begin printing the new edition for fourth-graders early next year.

The new version of "Our Virginia: Past and Present" will correct a sentence that inaccurately claims that black troops fought under Stonewall Jackson, an assertion historians overwhelmingly say is unproven. It also will replace a photo of a brown bear that is not native to Virginia.

Until the new version is printed, the Daily Press reports that the publisher is offering white stickers to cover the inaccurate sentence.

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Information from: Daily Press, http://www.dailypress.com

Comments

[DrBadTrain]

08:09 PM on 10/29/2010

Richmond's Monument Avenue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuWRh-lZicg

[Mike169]

10:41 AM on 10/28/2010

What!!! No brown bears in Virginia!!

[Supersteel]

05:59 PM on 10/27/2010

I'm sure some did. It was the only life many of them ever knew. They grew up with the white kids of their masters, and i'm sure they didn't exactly get unbiased information about the war and the north.

In other words, it wouldn't shock me. It is only implausible looking from our perspective.

But the war didn't have as its goal the abolition of slavery at first.

that said, it's something i never really heard about until i started working with some people from the South. who have quite a different view of the war, lincoln, etc, than anything i ever learned ;)

[Skyhawk]

04:37 PM on 10/27/2010

Why should Texas have all the fun?

[Cranmer1549]

02:50 PM on 10/27/2010

Get used to this alternative (i.e., fantasy) version of history as more and more TPers get onto school and educational boards.

[glockman]

08:19 AM on 10/27/2010

While it may be questionable that they served under Jackson, many slaves did "serve" the confederacy during the civil war. They "served" as slaves, of course, in non-combat roles.

Some blacks did see combat duty, though I doubt this was done so willingly.

[RedDogBear]

05:05 PM on 10/27/2010

"Some blacks did see combat duty, though I doubt this was done so willingly."

And only toward the end of the war when the South was really desperate. The South was actually quite frightened of a slave revolt and the idea that they would arm huge contingents of black men is ridiculous.

[Mike169]

10:42 AM on 10/28/2010

If it wasn't forced then they were fighting to keep themselves enslaved.

[O K Ali]

06:45 AM on 10/27/2010

While it may not have been thousands, there were many Blacks that fought on behalf of the Confederate.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/blackcs.htm

Dismissing their actions is tantamount to forgetting that Japanese soldiers fought for the United States, or that innocent Muslims also died on 9/11.

[AntonioVTorres]

03:53 AM on 10/27/2010

I wouldn't be surprised if Blacks did fight for the confederacy (lower caps intended). Look at the current state of Blacks today. While most of us would have fought for the north, you still have guys like Michael Steele, Alan Keyes, Clarence Thomas, etc etc etc. The same corrupt ideological sentiment that caused some of them to protect their masters past has been maintained causing some Blacks protect their masters now - indoctrinated slave minds. Some of us still seek true freedom by burning down master's house and very few look for freedom by making sure master's house doesn't burn down. Go figure.

[O K Ali]

06:40 AM on 10/27/2010

Be better than to be thought of a fool, than speak and remove all doubt. Give it a rest.

[argh38]

02:15 AM on 10/27/2010

Why do the stickers have to be white?

[BothofUs]

09:52 AM on 10/27/2010

hah.

[Gronkie]

11:36 PM on 10/26/2010

Attention class, next we'll have science and discuss Creationism, then we'll have Social Studies and show how the First Amendment has been distorted to include the "separation of church and state."

[ChelleAgain]

10:36 PM on 10/26/2010

The textbook equivalent of "I can't be racist -- I have black friends."

[benjycompson]

05:44 PM on 10/26/2010

Davis did contemplate the drafting of slaves by the end of the war, and I remember reading that if the war went on it would have happened. Plus, in many places, slaves did the manual labor for the Confederacy. Also, many owners claimed that slaves fought for them and their home, along with many slaves claiming they fought the Union and fought to protect the master. That said, there were obvious reasons why the slave owners didn't want to arm their slaves. Seems like a great opportunity was missed to further the discourse.

[Seaborn75]

07:45 PM on 10/26/2010

" in many places, slaves did the manual labor for the Confederacy"-- Ummmm....duh.

[benjycompson]

01:33 PM on 10/27/2010

Actually, if you look in a history textbook, there (used) to be no mention of the fact that slaves built the ramparts, the trenches, did cooking and cleaning, etc for the CONFEDERACY, meaning the army and the government. However, I'm glad you got your zinger in, I hope you got a good laugh and feel better.

[Reyeshawk13]

12:45 PM on 10/27/2010

Yes, he did. But earlier in the war Patrick Cleburne was almost run out of the army for suggesting they arm slaves and promise them their freedom if they fought for the south. By the very end, the Confederacy was desperate enough that they were beginning to train Black units. I don't know if any actually saw action.

[goijra]

04:57 PM on 10/26/2010

White stickers? How about a refund and an explanation of how this was passed through, or were all the fact checkers out-sourced?

[BebeLush]

04:21 PM on 10/26/2010

Re-writing history won't change it. Wonder when this will finally sink in?

[MNTom]

02:54 PM on 10/26/2010

The Dumbing down has worked.