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As a country we no longer respect the
dead. We no longer respect history. As the
Native Americans learned long ago, federal promises mean
nothing.
Congressional Act of 9 March 1906
We Honor Our Fallen Ancestors
(P.L. 38, 59th Congress, Chap. 631-34 Stat. 56)
Authorized the furnishing of headstones for the graves
of Confederates who died, primarily in Union prison
camps and were buried in Federal cemeteries.
Remarks: This act formally reaffirmed Confederate
soldiers as military combatants with legal standing. It
granted recognition to deceased Confederate soldiers
commensurate with the status of deceased Union soldiers.
U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by 17th Congress 26
February 1929
(45 Stat 1307 – Currently on the books as 38 U.S. Code,
Sec. 2306)
This law, passed by the U.S. Congress, authorized the
“Secretary of War to erect headstones over the graves of
soldiers who served in the Confederate Army and to
direct him to preserve in the records of the War
Department the names and places of burial of all
soldiers for whom such headstones shall have been
erected.”
Remarks: This act broadened the scope of recognition
further for all Confederate soldiers to receive burial
benefits equivalent to Union soldiers. It authorized the
use of U.S. government (public) funds to mark
Confederate graves and record their locations.
U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958
Confederate Iron Cross
(US Statutes at Large Volume 72, Part 1, Page 133-134)
The Administrator shall pay to each person who served in
the military or naval forces of the Confederate States
of America during the Civil War a monthly pension in the
same amounts and subject to the same conditions as would
have been applicable to such person under the laws in
effect on December 31, 1957, if his service in such
forces had been service in the military or naval forces
of the United States.
General Robert E. Lee Remarks: While this was only a
gesture since the last Confederate veteran died in 1958,
it is meaningful in that only forty-five years ago (from
2003), the Congress of the United States saw fit to
consider Confederate soldiers as equivalent to U.S.
soldiers for service benefits. This final act of
reconciliation was made almost one hundred years after
the beginning of the war and was meant as symbolism more
than substantive reward.
Additional Note by the Critical History: Under current
U.S. Federal Code, Confederate Veterans are equivalent
to Union Veterans.
Researched by: Tim Renick, Combined Arms Library Staff,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. |
