One point we've repeatedly tried to make during the past several weeks concerns the importance of being grounded in historical fact. Dr. Williams accepted the word of some hit-and-run Southern heritage nit-wit who cared more about scoring political points than authenticating his story. Now he looks silly, and will be attacked by anti-Confederate zealots like the one who wrote the letter. That's what happens when you take a step of faith on a rotten limb.

For people who really care about Black Confederates, the worst part is this. Real accounts like the one David Upton posted over the weekend will get trashed and not given the respect they deserve. Why? Because the people who made false claims about what Ed Bearss said, what Robert E. Lee and others said, and trotted out all those ridiculous stories attributed to one Yankee source after another have poisoned the well. Now the public has been primed to reject all Black Confederate accounts, the good along with the bad.

It's a really bad situation, and it won't blow over anytime soon.