Confederate Outlaw
was hands down the most interesting book for HIS 424. I really enjoyed reading it and I feel a bit
disappointed I missed the discussion on it and its topic: Champ Ferguson. Ferguson was not a sympathetic
individual. He was rough and ready. While reading the book, I had a lot of
comparison and contrasts with media. Ferguson
reminded me of many different characters from varied fictional works and
genres. Among them is of course Josey
Wales from the 1976 Clint Eastwood film The Outlaw Josey Wales and the Stranger from High Plains Drifter came to mind as I read
his actions. The general Spaghetti
Western type desperado that is not influenced by Yojimbo has similiarities in my mind with Ferguson. The odd ball out in this discussion is the
character of Rorschach from the 1985
graphic novel Watchman. The Rorschach and Ferguson similarity in my
mind is the stark black and white view of the world but the similarities end there,
afterall, Rorschach was a psychopathic mask wearing vigilante and Ferguson was
a bushwhacking guerilla. If I had to pick
someone that would have played a good Ferguson, I would have to pick Lee Van
Cleef.
Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about Ferguson’s legacy
and its connection with Kentucky. Don’t
get me wrong, I find Ferguson interesting; it’s just that I don’t like the idea
of Kentucky having so many 19th century miscreants. Among these miscreants is the McCoy clan of
the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud. If
we include Ferguson into the Kentucky tradition, it lowers the bar in all
honesty. I am not saying that we forget
that he existed or try to play “pin the guerrilla on Tennessee” but should look
at him as an individual and not so much as a Kentuckian or Tennessean. But then again, Ferguson adds a sort of
mystique to it all. He adds some flavor
to our State’s history, albeit the history of our far southern region. I guess what I am getting at is that it’s all
about how we interpret the events. As
long as Ferguson is not upheld as a folk hero or at least his actions are
remembered as the evil that they were, it won’t be as bad.
I agree that the Champ Ferguson book was very interesting. The most interesting part for me was that no one really knows Ferguson's true motives. Was it a cause, hatred, or just an excuse to enjoy killing? It doesn't surprise me that he came from Kentucky, but I am still in awe that southern Kentucky had enough Union support to oust Ferguson during the war.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to make of Champ Ferguson. I simply consider him a calculated psychopath dead set on remaining free. That's the irony of the book given that he was fighting his own war for freedom among the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with that fact that we shouldn't look to Ferguson as a folk hero of sorts. However, that fact of the matter is that I could imagine many individuals seeing him as so. Yes, he may have been a raging psychopath hellbent on the destruction of mankind, but the mystery surrounding him only makes him all the more infamous. No matter how good or bad we can view his actions, at the end of the day he is still a sight to behold.
ReplyDelete