How was the iconography of the Confederacy reframed into something that's treated as honorable/worthy of obsession?

by George_S_Patton_III
Georgy_K_Zhukov

Civil War memory is something I write a lot about, so I'd point you to this older answer of mine which focuses more on the evolution of Confederate statuary than the Lost Cause itself, but I think does speak well to your question, although I'm of course happy to do my best with any follow-ups you may have.