Sourdough, if you were referring to my remark about sleazy lawyers and politicians please reread my post. I agree completely that these men should be honored for what they did and what they believed in. I, too, believe they should be honored under the flag they fought for.

My remark was intended as a sarcastic comment on our times. Someone will try to make a greasy buck out of the Hunley and that is, to my mind, as criminal as desecrating a graveyard.

About slavery being crucial to the south - It was my understanding that slavery almost died out in Virginia becasue even with slaves it was not economical for farmers pay to process their cotton. Then Eli Whitney came along and invented the cotton gin and the farmers could process the cotton themselves. Slavery was reborn and our feet were placed on the path the the Civil War.