They Will Never Conquer Us!

                        They May Defeat Us....but They Will Never Conquer Us

                                                By: Vickie Carpenter

                             Founder of: Southern Heritage of the Carolinas

I feel it an honor to be able to speak to y'all . I am the founder and President of Southern Heritage of the Carolinas. The purpose of Southern Heritage of the Carolinas is to protect, preserve and celebrate our Southern heritage and culture and to honor the memory and tradition of all those who acted in accordance with there beliefs by defending their sovereignty the armed forces of the Confederacy. We do battleground tours and tours that have anything to do with the South and the Confederacy. We will do whatever it takes to promote and see to it that our Southern heritage and culture are never taken from us or forgotten.
My message to you is titled.

They May Defeat Us....but they will never conquer us.

They may defeat us but they will never conquer us are the words take from letters written by Dabney Cosby Jr. My husbands ancestor who was in Co.A of the 53rd Va Regiment. Dabney wrote these words in a letter to his sister. When he was at Fort Grafton, near Yorktown Va. Feb 21, 1862. He continues to write I feel as much as ever afraid of our independence. If a just God rules the nation I do not, I cannot believe that he will yield us to the monsterous and inquistous disception of the north.

I want you to listen to these words again and keep them forever in you mind....let them be the words to live by. They may defeat us but they will never conquer us. Let's define these two word....to defeat, it means to win victory over, beat...to conquer means to gain by force of arms, to get the better of, subdue, overthrow, vanquish. They may defeat us but they will never conquer us. We need to use these word today in our fight for our Southern heritage and culture.

I am sure that if I were to live to be a 100 years old I would never know or feel the pain, agony or frustrations of our ancestors down through time. If we were to go back even to the 1200's we would find our ancestors in such turmoil. As I sit and watch the movie Braveheart, which tells of the life of William Wallace it is as if history has repeated itself over and over for 100's of years. The Scot's wanted to be left alone to live and rule their land. The English wanted to destroy the Scottish culture. Through all means possible they tried to do this. So many times they did defeat them but they never conquered them or their will to be who they were and they never lost the will to fight for their freedom. Even as William Wallace had been betrayed and men whom he thought would stand up with him turned their backs on him and he was captured he never would give up his will to fight for freedom of his Scotland. After his capture because he wouldn't swear allegiance to the king and England he was tortured....he was hung in a noose and stretched, half living they cut his genitals off and his bowels torn out of him and burned....and then and not until then his head was cut off. Folks do you hear what I am saying here....before he would swear allegiance to the king and England and turn his back on his country....Scotland.... he would rather face a horrible death....The Scottish didn't give up and they finally won their freedom in the year 1314. That was in the 1200's. All through history we are shown why it is that we as Southerners are as we are. Our people have always wanted freedom and a desire for liberty. William's passion and love of liberty became the basis for his glorious career. This love and passion remained with him until the day he died.

Passion and love of liberty.....FREEDOM. Countless others have echoed the same words the same feelings. Listen to Patrick Henry

"It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. The gentlemen may cry, Peace, peace! But there is no peace. The war has actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! Is this not the same cry in the 1700's as we just heard in the 1200's? "

I love all these times of history but no other time in our history are any of our ancestors so wrongly thought of and accused of things that just aren't so. These are our Confederate ancestors. What wonderful people they were. I feel very close to my ancestors and have a personal relationship with them and I feel things of them. Out of all our ancestors we need to know and understand who our Confederate ancestors were. We need to know why Dabney said to his sister...they may defeat us but they will never destroy us. Once we do this it will make us stronger fighters, it will make us understand the things they did for their Southland and it will also make us understand why they fought, suffered, bleed and died for their Constitutional Liberty, for their Southland....for you and I. I feel it is very important for us to find them, visit them in the cemeteries and walk the battlefields they gave their all fighting on. This past summer I went to Gettysburg and walked the woods where my David Wyont a private in Co I of the 11th NC would have been on the first day at Gettysburg. As I walked into the woods there that they call Reynolds woods I tried to imagine what he felt. I can't begin to tell you of the feelings I had as I walked those woods. My David was wounded there on the first day. Have any of you walked the path our men did on Pickett's Charge? I will never forget the feelings of doing this. On the same day at the same time we started across the field. The heat index was 115 that day. Carrying the NC flag I walked. I walked the same field that would have been drenched with the blood of our Confederate men. As I climbed the first fence my mind was so full of thoughts of how did they do this? The men in front marching into sure death...the ranks of men who continued to come knowing they wold surely die. By the time I reached the wall the tears were streaming. I stopped and looked back...MY GOD....how did these men have the strength to this. I will tell you how. They would rather fight and die than to give up their Constitutional Freedom their rights and live under the rule of a tyrannical government.

We now see how these words written by Dabney are being exemplified. They may defeat us...but they will never conquer us.

That was then and this is now. Now how are we going to put these words into our battle today for the fight we are in for our Southern Heritage and culture?

Our Ancestors came back after 4 years of pure hell fighting for their Constitutional Liberty, and South. They fought to stop the illegal invasion of their nation....The Confederate States of America. Sherman's goal was to totally wipe out our Southern people. Let me quote some of the words of Sherman on November 15th when he started his march to the sea.

"I purpose to demonstrate the vulnerability of the South, and make its inhabitants feel that war and individual ruin are synonymous terms. We are not only fighting hostile armies but a hostile people and must make old and young, rich and poor feel the hard hand of war."

Sherman wanted to break the will of our people. He wanted to conquer them...not defeat them. Another quote "smashing of their property, houses buildings and even their livelihood would cause a strong message. Beyond denying the Confederacy's armies food and supplies it would defeat the people mentally. Even without a battle the results operating upon the minds of sensible men would produce fruits. I will shorten war by terrorizing Southern civilians he firmly contended." You see Sherman's concept meant that the war, his war would be waged for domination and bringing trauma to the Confederate families not just to the soldiers. He thought that perhaps the best way to damage a soldier's will power was to strike at this family. Our people during this time faced total destruction of their homes, pillaging, rape and murder. The north wanted them totally done away with but because of the courage and strong will of the southern people to survive and keep alive their wonderful heritage and culture they were defeated and how could they not have been... fighting against the unbelievable odds they were up against. However, they were not conquered. Our Southern heritage and culture has survived.

But let me ask you aren't we facing the same thing today? Do they not want to totally destroy us. Wipe everything about our heritage and culture away? Yes....but today we are facing the naacp, the government and our own people who won't stand up for our heritage and culture because they don't have the backbone to do so. We live in a country where our children are being taught how wrong their Southern ancestors were, where our Confederate Flag is supposedly a symbol of hate, oppression and slavery. We live in a time when our Confederate ancestors are called murderers. Our people have been and are being taught and believe that our ancestors didn't have the Constitutional right to secede, that the South was to blame for slavery and that slavery was wrong...which it was not at that time in history. Our people have been taught that Lincoln was the great emancipator. That the War for Southern Independence was fought to free the slaves. What untruths these are....So you see our Southern ancestors were the cause of it all. Come April it will have been 135 years since the end of the War For Southern Independence and bit by bit the history and truths of that time have and are being rewritten, destroyed and flat out lied about. So are you going to stand up with the courage and honor that your ancestors had and say you aren't going to put up with this any more or are you going to be one of the spineless wimps. Are you going to continue to let the lies be told about this time in history or are you going to take a stand and demand that this be stopped?

Our Southern people get so offensive when the word slavery is mentioned.....we must stop doing this and tell the truth. We know that it was not the main issue of the war, but we must realize that it was a issue. Now it is a used issue for many. We must realize that the average Confederate Soldiers were fighting for their Southern Independence., their Constitutional Liberty. Their homeland was being invaded. Our men were fighting for their Constitutional Liberty. How could and why should someone come into their country and tell them what to do with their country and their property. When people use the slavery issue and how Lincoln waged the war to free the slaves we should only remind them of what he told Horace Greely in Aug of 1862, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the salves I would do it: and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union", "What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union". Well let's go a little bit further here. What did Lincoln think of the blacks? In September 1858 during the Lincoln -Douglas debates this is what he says about them, "I will say then, that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races... that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which will ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior. I an as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." II wonder if all slaves had been set free before the South seceded would Lincoln still have waged war against them? What a dumb question why of course he would have!

Wake up my Southern friends we are at war. We battle the naacp, liberal media and politicians, and we even have to battle our own people who have been brain washed to the point that they are saying ...Yes remove the Confederate Flag and quit romanticizing the South and that time in history of the Confederacy. Yes, we are at war. I am a daughter of many Confederate soldiers and you men regardless to whether you are in the SCV or not you are Sons of men who were the most wonderful men who ever walked the face of this earth. You have that same blood in running in your veins as I do running in mine. We are Southern born and bred white people and it is up to us to carry on the legacy of our Southern heritage and culture. It is up to you men the Sons of Confederate men who died giving their all for their Southland, for you and I to stand up and show you aren't going to tolerate one more act of violation against our heritage and culture. We must all put our courage out front and walk straight into the face of death if nessacery to gain back our God given rights to be proud of who we are and we must show them that there is no power on this earth or in the heavens above that will take away our heritage and culture. Our war that we are in isn't for the weak and spineless there just simply isn't any room for you. The weak and spineless always want to compromise and bow down or not offend someone. I will tell you when it comes to my Southern heritage; my culture and Confederate ancestors there will never be a compromise. When I think of an answer to this I have to remember when Lee choose to fight no more after fighting for four long hard years and knowing he couldn't put his men through any more. When he said it was over the men wept and wanted to continue. But after the war when Gen. Lee saw what was happening he made this statement, "If I had foreseen the use those people designed to make of their victory there would have been no surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. No sir not me. Had I foreseen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men my sword in this right hand."

Yes my Southern friends we are in a war and until we get it across that we will never be conquered, until we join together in this war and stand up with the courage, valor and honor as descendents of true patriots down through the time of history to put the people who care about us in governmental positions who will stand up for us and what our South stood for and still stands for, and until we join together with the courage, valor and honor as descendent of true patriots and say out loud and in a way that there is no mistaking what are message is and until we join together with the courage, valor and honor as descendent of true patriots when they start to remove a flag, a plaque, a monument, change a street or bridge's name from Gen. Lee to Martin Luther King and do this as a human barrier, until we join together with the courage, valor and honor as descendent of true patriots and fight this war.... all things Southern and Confederate will continue to be done away with. So one day when you wake up from sitting idly by and you look around and all you see are people who don't have a clue as to who they are, because there are no more white Southerners left to carry on because of this multicultural society, you have no rights, no guns, the world is full of hate and crime, and the government is telling you when you can sneeze...don't you dare hesitate to wonder why. We have a duty as Southerners, we have a duty as descendent of true patriots to carry on our heritage and our culture. Nope this isn't a war for the weak and spineless...it is a war that we must fight with all the courage, honor, valor and determination that all our ancestors through history have fought with especially our Confederate Ancestors.

So are you willing to take a stand with me and fight this war with all your might with the courage, honor, valor and determination that our ancestors through time have for their liberty....for their freedom ....for their rights.... for their countries and for their Southland.... or are you going to be one of the spineless wimps that would rather sit idly by as they bit by bit and piece by piece take all things our rich and wonderful heritage and culture....and all things Confederate and Southern away from us? It is time to quit asking and start demanding....it is time for all Southerners to take a stand. WE MUST TAKE THE STAND THAT THEY WILL NEVER CONQUER US!

Words of William Wallace:

Aye, fight and you may die.

Run, and you'll live... at least a while.

And dying in your beds many years from now,

would you be willing to trade all the days,

from this day to that,

for one chance,

just one chance,

to come back here and tell our enemies

that they may take our lives,

but they'll never take our FREEDOM!!!

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