Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I will have to take issue with Mr. Broderson’s letter in the Jan. 5 Readers Write (“What the flag represents”), especially about his historical perspective.

First, the South did not start the war. Secession, which is not forbidden by the Constitution, is not a declaration of war. In fact, New England had threatened secession during the War of 1812. Mr. Lincoln, without permission of Congress or a declaration of war, invaded Virginia with a force of 75,000 troops.

Now, I know Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor was fired upon by South Carolina earlier in 1861, but only after the Union broke an agreement to not reinforce the fort; also, no one on either side was killed or even wounded during that battle.

Although it may hurt our sensibilities in the 21st century, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens voiced a common belief held at that time; so common that Abraham Lincoln held a similar view. Mr. Lincoln was ambivalent on slavery; he thought it...