Who was Howell Cobb(1815-1868)of Georgia? He was one of the founders of the Confederacy, the speaker of the Georgia House, and later governor of Georgia in the early 1850's. In 1862, the second year of the Civil War, Cobb was a Brigadier General for the rebel Confederate(South) forces in northern Virginia. And, later that year, Cobb was promoted to the rank of Major General for the district of Georgia and Florida. But, some feel that Cobb's notoriety
came more from his 1863 statement that challenged the thinking of southern whites to their core.
Some background:
During the latter phases of the Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy, considered allowing blacks to fight. Both sides had suffered massive troop loses, and a Union victory was not a certainty. Consequently, In 1863 the Union(North) recruited, enlisted, trained, and deployed over 200,000 United States Colored Troops(USCT), and over 12,000 Latino soldiers.
As for the Confederacy, Gen. Robert E. Lee proposed enlisting southern slaves into the rebel army. His proposal was met with strong resistance, from many, including, Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb. Lee got his way. Ultimately, over 65,000 blacks joined the Confederate rebel forces to fight against the Union.
In his fruitless opposition to Lee's plan, Cobb infamously proclaimed,
"You cannot make slaves soldiers or soldiers slaves. The day you make a soldier of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution. And, if slaves make good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong".
Howell was an extremely hated figure of the Confederacy.
So much so, that, during his Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea) Union General William "Tecumseh" Sherman ordered his troops to "level" Cobb's plantation. Cobb surrendered at Macon, Ga in 1865, and died three years later.
At the war's end, in 1865, President Lincoln stated, "Without the military help of the black freedmen, the war against the south could not have been won".
Cobb's words need to be taken at face value on three counts:
-Blacks did make good soldiers( just as their father's did in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain in the 1700's)
-Blacks entering the war was the beginning of the end of the secessionist revolt of the Confederacy
-The defenders of the Confederacy, and their supports, were wrong in their "whole theory" about slavery
For more info on the contribution of blacks in the Civil War go to:
afroamcivilwar.org
came more from his 1863 statement that challenged the thinking of southern whites to their core.
Some background:
During the latter phases of the Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy, considered allowing blacks to fight. Both sides had suffered massive troop loses, and a Union victory was not a certainty. Consequently, In 1863 the Union(North) recruited, enlisted, trained, and deployed over 200,000 United States Colored Troops(USCT), and over 12,000 Latino soldiers.
As for the Confederacy, Gen. Robert E. Lee proposed enlisting southern slaves into the rebel army. His proposal was met with strong resistance, from many, including, Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb. Lee got his way. Ultimately, over 65,000 blacks joined the Confederate rebel forces to fight against the Union.
In his fruitless opposition to Lee's plan, Cobb infamously proclaimed,
"You cannot make slaves soldiers or soldiers slaves. The day you make a soldier of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution. And, if slaves make good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong".
Howell was an extremely hated figure of the Confederacy.
So much so, that, during his Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea) Union General William "Tecumseh" Sherman ordered his troops to "level" Cobb's plantation. Cobb surrendered at Macon, Ga in 1865, and died three years later.
At the war's end, in 1865, President Lincoln stated, "Without the military help of the black freedmen, the war against the south could not have been won".
Cobb's words need to be taken at face value on three counts:
-Blacks did make good soldiers( just as their father's did in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain in the 1700's)
-Blacks entering the war was the beginning of the end of the secessionist revolt of the Confederacy
-The defenders of the Confederacy, and their supports, were wrong in their "whole theory" about slavery
For more info on the contribution of blacks in the Civil War go to:
afroamcivilwar.org
No comments:
Post a Comment