I know that one of my paternal great granddads was a 6 foot 3 inch tall red headed giant of a man from Indiana with a good sense of humor, and a strong religious faith.  He was a Union soldier in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) and fought to destroy the institution of slavery. 

   

One of my maIron_Brigadeternal great granddads fought with the famous Wisconsin Iron Brigade (which included units from Michigan and Indiana) for the same reason.  The Iron Brigade won honors for valor and the respect of their Confederate adversaries early in the war when things were not going too well for Lincoln’s Union forces.    

  

The Iron Brigade was among the first to engage the Confederates at Gettysburg Pennsylvania as the rebel troops advanced along the Chambersburg Pike.  The Confederates were expecting light resistance from local militia, and when they spotted the unique hats worn by the soldiers of the Iron Brigade they knew they were in for a real fight with those “Black Hat Devils of the Army of the Potomac” .

   

The Iron Brigade held the much greater numbers of Confedrates at bay giving the Union forces critical time to occupy Seminary Ridge, and bring up enough forces to hold Cemetery Ridge, one of many very close calls that could have brought the battle of Gettysburg to a much different conclusion.  

         

The Iron Brigade captured hundreds of Confederates at the unfinished railroad cut, but was decimated by their heroic stand in the first hours of the battle.  The Iron Brigade was disbanded after the battle and the survivors distributed to other units because of the terrible losses.   

  

There were thousands of Americans ground up in that battle and that war to destroy the institution of slavery.  While the war had economic and states rights dimensions, those issues all funneled down to slavery in the final analysis, and when the Union Army handed Lincoln his first decisive major victory at Gettysburg, he finally had the moment he had been waiting for to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.    

  

I would ask Dr. Truth and others who harbor anger over slavery and racism to take into consideration that there were very very many Caucasian (white) Americans who harbored anger over slavery, and put their lives on the line when the time came to strike it dead. 

  

That was their fight.  Our fight is to treat each other with human dignity, and every American with respect as a valued citizen and fellow countryman.  That is our battle.  We owe the effort to our forefathers who suffered as slaves and suffered as soldiers to destroy the abomination of slavery.  We owe the effort to ourselves to do ourselves proud.  We owe it to our children, and a bright human destiny.  

  

Strength with Honor my Friends.