Hundreds of thousands of southerners, black, white, and Native American, risked their lives for Liberty and Union during the American Civil War. Their stories are largely forgotten. They deserve public memorials. We urge congress and our state legislatures to erect monuments to brave men and women whose stories have been suppressed for 150 years.
Why is this important?
A third or more of the southerners who fought in the Civil War did so for the Union, but their stories are forgotten. Remembering those stories and honoring those men will show people that southern heritage is more than just hostility to the rest of the nation, and that minority groups not only deserve a place at the table, but have earned it by shedding blood to save the Republic. We can help heal the nation by reminding future generations that we were never as sharply divided as some would have us believe. Honoring southern Union veterans does justice to our forbearers and service to those who will come after us.
