Were Confederate Soldiers Terrorists?

According to CNN political analyst Roland S. Martin's blog, they were definitely domestic terrorists. He evidently received lots of comments concerning his denunciation of Virginia Governor McDonnell for leaving the word slavery out of his declaration of April as being Confederate Heritage Month.

Most of the people commenting against Martin used the excuse that Confederate soldiers were defending their homeland. Mr. Martin says that is exactly what Muslim extremists say in regards to their terrorist activities.

"Just as radical Muslims have a warped sense of religion, Confederate supporters have a delusional view of what is honorable." He further says he will never "cast Confederates as heroic figures who should be honored and revered. No, they were and forever will be domestic terrorists."

Mr. Martin, by the way, is a black man, which makes his remarks understandable. Very few blacks have much respect for Confederates and rightfully so. Part of the reason they were fighting was to preserve slavery. That can not be denied.

But, there had to be other reasons why the Confederate soldier fought. With just 25% of southerners holding slaves, and of that, only 5% in the "Gone With the Wind" category owning the huge plantations with hundreds of slaves, there just have to be other reasons.

My idea of a terrorist is someone who kills people with no warning to create terror. What Timothy McVeigh did 15 years ago to innocent people in Oklahoma City is an example of terrorism. The person who straps a bomb on themselves and goes out to a crowded area and blows himself up is an example of a terrorist.

I doubt that very many Confederate soldiers did that to slaves. However, I am sure atrocities were committed in instances where Confederates captured black Union soldiers like at Fort Pillow

I would appreciate it if Mr. Martin could come up with examples of terrorism committed by Confederates on slaves.

Lastly, if he is so offended by Confederate Heritage Month, he should do what I do when some governmental body proclaims a month for a group I don't like. Ignore it.

And, Of Course, We Have the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War Coming Up Soon. This Shouldn't Be All About Slavery Although definitely a Part of the Observation. --Old B-Runner