The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-19
A NAME FOR THE CIVIL WAR.
How should the Great Struggle Be
Most Appropriately Termed.


Most Appropriately Termed.
The point has recently been raised Of the
proper name to apply to the fratricldal
strife between the North and South which
ended nearly thir,y-ive years ago. II is
a question of interest TO the Confederate
Veterans. espec, ally in view of the APP
preaching reunion of the Georgia dlVls-
ion in Savannah when many resolutions
will doubtless be offered at the sessions
of the convention in which the war OF
which they are survivors will be referred
to by as many different terms prooaDiy
as there are different resolutions.
Until the recent Spanish American war
the term late war could Always be used
as brief. simple and direct and certain
not to give offense TO any side. Now that
The greatest of American struggles is no
longer the "late war" the question Is by
what term this war shall be known. The
terms, war between the states," has
come into general use and IS now freely
used by the newspapers, throughout the
North which for many years almost III
variably spoke of the struggle as the war
of the rebellion"
The expression war between the states"
is generally regarded as sufficiently salts
factory and definite. but the Charleston
News and Courier objects 10 ii as SUGGEST
ing the misleading idea that the war was
a war between separate and individual
states, each fighting on its own account,
and not between two we'll defined and Well
organized groups of states, constituting
two distinct nations for the lime being"
The News and Courier is of the opinion
that this expression would not be satisfac-
tory to the writer's of the North, who
make most of the literature of the day,
and concludes with the following para
graph
"The simplest and truest expression for
the purpose is the best. The war in ques-
ton was war for the Independence of
the Sou hern states, or, more concisely
speaking a war for Southern independ-
ence We cannot well improve on that
name for it. We should hold to 1t accord
ingly."
Gen. p. McGlashan, president of the
Confederate Veterans Association of Sa-
vannah, when asked his view of the most
preferable expression to be applied to the
struggle said that he thought the name,
civil War" sufficient ut is good name
for it and / think is the one which will
finally pass into history he said. III was
undoubtedly a civil war, one very similar
in many respects to the great Civil War
of England between the houses of York
aud Lancaster, the war of the Roses. The
term of war of the rebellion was SIM
ply a misnomer. To constitute the war a
rebellion on the part of the South we
would have to take the ground that the
federal government was the sovereign au-
thority and that our government was not
a union composed of independent states.
On our part it was war Of principle
based on constitutional grounds, for the
purpose of upholding the rights reserved
to the states. This question was settled
bv the war doubtless for all time to come,
unless some attempt should be made TO de-
prive the states of the rights remaining
to them and so conceded at the close Of
the war However, the South will never
be aroused again as she was then. The
term. the war between the states, is sufii-
GENTLY definite for all purposes, l think,
but the term Civil War is entirely appro-
pirate and cannot be objected to in any
quarter"
The Atlanta Journal concludes its dis
cussion of the question with the following
paragraph:
1.-The Civil War" is a term frequently
used. and there can be no objection to il.
But. so far as we are concerned, we do not
mind the term "War of the Rebellion" one
whit There have been many glorious
rebels in history, though none, we think.
quite so splendid and lovable as the men
who illustrated the Southern Confedera-
~