Article
'What’s left of the flag’: the Confederate and Jacobite ‘lost cause’ myths, and the construction of mythic identities through conflict commemoration Ryan K. McNutt
Journal of Conflict Archaeology
(2017)
Abstract
The use of battlefields and associated conflict sites provide tantalising hooks upon which to hang tapestries of grand narratives relating to regional and national identities, often defined by what the identities are not. This paper examines the unlikely connection between Jacobite and Confederate romanticism, and how battlefields, conflict related sites, and symbolic material culture are mobilised through active commemoration by some heritage groups in support of a created, mythic identity of a ‘Southern Celt’. Furthermore, it examines the production of a mythic history that whitewashes and recasts the Confederacy, the reality of the Civil War, and the Confederate Flag, while at the same time minimising, hiding, or ignoring competing narratives.
Keywords
- American Civil War,
- Jacobite,
- Confederate,
- Neo Confederate,
- battle flag,
- commemoration,
- Identity,
- Conflict Archaeology
Disciplines
Publication Date
June, 2017
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/15740773.2017.1480419
Citation Information
Ryan McNutt. "'What’s left of the flag’: the Confederate and Jacobite ‘lost cause’ myths, and the construction of mythic identities through conflict commemoration Ryan K. McNutt" Journal of Conflict Archaeology Vol. 12 Iss. 3 (2017) p. 142 - 162 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ryan-mcnutt/2/