Dr Edward C Smith, There has been a lot of discussion on various groups I am on about these two statements. Do you know of a way to contact Ed Bearss to see if his statement might have been taken out of context, or what he meant to say? We would also like to see if we can find out how Scott Williams meant to define his terms in saying that there were over 65,000 Southern blacks in the Confederate ranks, and that over 13,000 of them "Saw the Elephant." I have communicated with Mr Williams in the past, but do not currently have an email address for him. Arleigh http://www.american.edu/cas/prog_am_studies.cfm [Black Confederates Why haven't we heard more about them? National Park Service historian, Ed Bearrs, stated, "I don't want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, but it was definitely a tendency that began around 1910" Historian, Erwin L. Jordan, Jr., calls it a "cover-up" which started back in 1865.] [It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, "saw the elephant" also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war. But in the ranks it was a different story.] Arleigh Birchler, MDiv, BSN c/o Helaina Hinson Burton 69 Gray Ghost Lane Benson NC 27504 (919) 934-6323 (Ali Sengaree - Allah'ka cli here chaya) Musick/Porter Fan Club Pleasure, Pain, Power, and Love