July Fourth is the holiday to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our nation. It may seem simple enough to understand, but recent events in our country reflect what it means to feel patriotism and pride. I'm speaking of the recent backlash against the flag of the Confederate Army and a banner flown in representation of the Confederacy itself. A good way to understand the complexities of the flag and its meaning is to reflect on the upcoming July Fourth holiday. Not the recent holiday but an Independence Day in the past. I'm referring to the fateful independence day of 1863.

To give historical context, the American Civil War is in its third year, and though the confederacy has won more large-scale battles, the sheer massiveness of the Army of the Potomac is preventing wins and losses from being a real factor. Up to the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, there has been almost 240,000 casualties from battle. In the three days of Gettysburg 51,000 men were killed. That's only seven thousand less casualties than the entirety of the Vietnam War which lasted 18 years, in three days.

A day after the horrors of Gettysburg, the U.S. prepared to celebrate its 89th birthday. Unlike the usual fireworks and parties with friends we've come to expect, the celebration was marked by deep tragedy and renewed fears of violent draft riots in New York City. The most significant event of the day came from the far shores of the Mississippi river in the city of Vicksburg. The Union Army led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant finally forced the surrender of a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. This victory tore the confederacy in two and gave the Union Army a new advantage to finally try end the war. By the end of the war 620,000 men were dead and the nation was thrown headlong into a period of difficult reconstruction.

So why tell the story of a 152-year-old Independence Day. It's because of it's meaning today, we've seen all sorts of pundits and experts debate the meaning and legitimacy of a flag. The flag being the stars and bars battle flag. It started as a representation of the Army of Northern Virginia, which was led by Gen. Robert E. Lee who would become the overall commander of the Confederate armed forces, from there it would become a symbol of the Confederacy. Some iteration of it could be seen on the battle flags of almost every regiment in the Confederate army. So, now I'd like to post an open question: what does it mean to you? It's something different for all Americans—black, white, northerner, or southerner. What is apparent is that it represents the entity or at least a piece of the entity that saw it necessary to fight for what they believed was a righ,t for humans to own humans. They were willing to fight the bloodiest war in American history with two percent dying as a result of that war. On the other hand the men who died in the name of the confederacy were resoundingly poor, too poor to own slaves. This isn't an excuse but it highlights the issue that often in war the people on the bottom fight for a cause that most benefits the people at the top of their society. Such is history, though. Behind every event, person, and even flag there is a story much more immense than what can be seen from face value and individuals who did what they believed was right during trying times throughout the history of our nation and ultimately our world.

All these things considered, the Confederate states of America were the enemy of the United States, and more importantly the were Americans. They chose to fight for the institution of slavery and rebelled against their own nation. The U.S. paid the price for this, and everyone was left to put the pieces back together. Why then should the symbol fly at a seat of government in our United States? For three years Americans killed Americans in America and now the flag of the instigators flies in American cities. Why celebrate a group that represents our differences and the horrible events caused by letting our differences dictate our future. The American flag represents all Americans and that's what counts, celebrating what makes us special is important but celebrating the beautiful nation that we build every day is whats worth being symbolized in our capital cities. So I hope you enjoyed Independence Day this year, but use the next July 4th to reflect on our nation and remember the sacrifices of July 4, 1863. Remember what our nation was like while it was divided and at war, so that we can ensure we become a nation that can no longer understand how that was possible in the first place.