The Confederate Monument
The Confederate monument, the brass soldier standing solidly at attention in front of the old Hillsville courthouse, was originally in the center of North Main street, facing South. The Daughters of Confederate Veterans "DVC" ordered the monument custom built and dedicated it to Hillsville in 1908, the relief at the base inscribed with the date and occasion.
As the vehicular traffic increased, the town had to move the monument to keep it safe and improve the flow of the town. In the mid-1920s, the town leaned the monument against the courthouse. In the 1930s, the town set the monument in its current location, standing in front of the courthouse.
In the recent 2000s, the Sons of the Confederate Veterans "SCV", led by Andrew Jackson, sent the monument, which had been showing signs of its age, to a specialty shop in New York state. The SCVs re-erected and re-dedicated the monument in 1907, for its centennial anniversary. The monument was only 99 years old, but the intent had been pure.
The Monument's Flag
The Sons of the Confederate Veterans "SCV" gifted the flagpole standing behind the Confederate monument to the county. The SVC conditioned that they be allowed to fly the National Flags of the Confederacy on special occasions (about 30 days of the year), though not the battle flag. The National Flags include, however, the design of the battle flag.
"Under the guise that this is history," said Gary Marshall of the flags, Carroll County's amateur historian, "That we are paying respects to history, but they're paying their respects to history on public property. That is my critique or criticism.
"I don't mind flying your Confederate flag on your pickup truck," he continued. "I don't mind you wearing it on your t-shirt. You can wear it on your pajamas. I don't care where you wear it, the Confederate flag, personally. You can fly it on your windows, you can put it on your flagpoles in your private yards. Where I have a problem, is flying the flag of the Confederate States on public property. Do you know what that's like, Lindsay [me]? My wife is German. What if she flew the Nazi flag and wanted to run it up on the county courthouse flagpole? What does that tell Jews? … Jews can't complain if I run the Nazi flag. If it's on my ground, if I wear the t-shirt, if I wear a Swastika armband, you know? The Jews just have to take their lumps and swallow. It's my freedom. and I think that belongs to the Confederate flag as well. It's the right of the individual to voice his political ideology. Fine. But you can't do it on public ground. There's where I have my problem."
Gary Marshall then related how he took his criticism to the local television station. The station interviewed both Marshall and Andrew Jackson on their personal views. Marshall, a reasonable man, remains friends with Jackson. He does remind that the SCV is a popular group in the area, that this article will bring only more publicity to the subject, and that the county voted to accept the flagpole despite the conditions. "Somebody that has any sense will eventually deny the Confederates that right."
The monument and the flagpole deserve a visit by the public. They commemorate a piece of America's past––wars should never be wholly forgotten––and a recent moment of an interesting debate on just how much Americans should remember their past.
There's a slight typo in here. It says they celebrated the centennial in 1907. . .
ReplyDeleteIt's a very good article. This same debate is going on all over the south, and will probably continue to do so for a while, yet.
That's the point. The SCV celebrated it in 1907. "The monument was only 99 years old, but the intent had been pure." Hillsville people can't read or add, it seems. Despite that the date of commemoration was written clearly on the monument, they still got the centennial wrong––the SCV still maintains that they were right. Gah!
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