HONOR RESTORED

Your reviewer did not realize how much this book was needed until he read it. Its continuity gives it an impact greater than that of individual stories.

The Confederate Congress authorized an award of a badge or medal for outstanding gallantry and heroism, with recipients to be chosen by vote of troops after signal victories. Robert E. Lee was one of many who did not care for the idea. It was his opinion that the South had a whole army of brave men and that awarding such medals would honor a few and leave equally deserving men unnoticed. Although some units refused to participate, others eagerly embraced the idea. For instance after only one battle (Murfreesboro) the Army of Tennessee submitted approximately 20% of the 2,000 eventually nominated. When wartime exigencies prevented the actual preparation of medals, a Roll of Honor was authorized to contain the names of the candidates.

After the War the medals appeared a dead issue. With the Confederate government long gone it would seem that honoring the heroes would never take place. However, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, composed of descendants of Confederates, felt an obligation to see that the Confederate Congressional intent was fulfilled. The organization assumed the responsibility for finally issuing Confederate Medals of Honor.

Knowing that 2,000 medals would reduce the meaning of the award, the SCV adopted the stringent 1917 requirements of the United States Congressional Medal of Honor and set up a committee to accept and review nominations. An award of the Medal of Honor would be made only after a soldier was nominated with proof to substantiate award of the Medal . Descendants of the 2,000 men on the Roll of Honor would not receive a medal but would be presented a Certificate of Honor. Use of these standards has resulted in the award of only 42 Medals, all necessarily posthumous.

Gregg Clemmer has investigated, developed, and written the story of each recipient, fleshing out the application and citation with a narrative of the justifying action and picture of the individual. As the reader will see, there is a wide range of justifications for selection as recipients of the Confederate Medal of Honor. While many of the recipients are well known, others are comparatively little known and their inclusion here gives belated recognition to their great service to their country. Over a centruy after their stories drifted off into the mists of history, the resurrected accounts of these brave heroes will still stir your blood.

Several were executed when they refused to betray their fellows, or, in the case of Henry Wirz, when he refused to lie and implicate President Davis in Lincoln's death. Fiendish Yankee captors viciously tortured one man to death. A priest was decapitated while giving the last rites on the battlefield. Some were killed holding their flags to give spirit to the regiments. Some single-handedly performed outstanding deeds, defending positions or even capturing enemy positions.

A nurse, Juliet Opie Hopkins, tended wounded troops under fire even after she herself was wounded. One young man voluntarily took a deadly bullet to save a friend. Another led an attack on the far northern St. Albans, Vermont. Several crewed the submersible CSS Hunley in its attack on the US fleet blockading Charleston. A naval doctor stayed on the sinking CSS Alabama, although he could not swim.

A general successfully fought hand-to-hand combat to save a wounded infantryman. Private William Guehrs continued servicing his gun, working on his knees after receiving fatal wounds. Generals who could have stayed less exposed gave their lives leading their men into battle, even staying mounted so their men could more easily see them. Under constant fire Private Christopher Bland raised the Confederate flag over Fort Fisher, then climbed the pole to restore it when it was shot loose.

This well-written contribution to Confederate history is rounded out by one appendix describing and picturing other Confederate medals, and another listing the names on the Roll of Honor.

In writing this book, Clemmer's guiding principle was to recognize the merits of individuals rather than glorify combat. He called on a recipient of the US Congressional Medal of Honor to write the foreword and that foreword reinforces that principle. These stories pay tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice for a cause and to the devotion of men to their fellows. They also point up the terrific waste of humanity brought about by war. The histories of these heroes should be widely disseminated so that the values by which they lived could serve as ideals for today. They also demonstrate why Southerners must stand up for the heritage these people so strongly defended.

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