Friday letters: Our ancestors were Confederates; we’re Americans

Three of my great grandfathers served with the Confederate army. One was a surgeon; two rode with Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Many of their descendants (including me) have served in the U.S. Army in every war since then. Gen. Forrest was born in my hometown of Chapel Hill, Tenn. I graduated from Forrest High School. We were certainly aware of the Confederate flag.

However, we served under Old Glory, not the Confederate battle flag. We place small United States of America flags on my ancestors’ grave sites. This includes the graves of those who fought in the Civil War.

All of us have accepted the fact that the South lost that war against our beloved United States of America.

Chapin

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 7:37 PM.