Confederate Memorial at Arlington

[Pcdunn]

This is an interesting piece about the pending removal of the Confederacy Memorial at Arlington National Cemetary in Washington DC. Includes details about General Longstreet I hadn't heard before. I think it needs to be kept in a museum for historical purposes, but if it's left at the national site, we'll continue to have home-bred "patriots" believing their ancestors' cause. (This from someone who had some ancestors fighting on both sides of the Civil War.)

For true national unity, the Confederate Memorial at Arlington must go

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/23/confederate-memorial-arlington-remove/

[Fiver]

It's well past time that we stopped catering to the myths of the Confederacy. People have a right to raise up monuments to their ancestors, but men who took up arms against the United States should not be honored by the US government for doing it. And it's well past time to give proper honor to the roughly 40% of army officers and 60% of navy officers from Confederate stares that stayed with the Union.

[c.d.]

Sorry, I disagree. The Civil War is part of our heritage for good or bad. I see no reason to sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen. Let sleeping dogs lie.

And there is also the issue of a potential huge slippery slope here. I don't think we want to go there.

By the way, I was at Arlington yesterday. Went to the Iwo Jima Memorial which is just outside the cemetery.

c.d.

[c.d.]

And here is something interesting that some people might not know. Lee's home sits at the very top of Arlington and is open for tours. His wife's garden is right next to the home. Union General Montgomery Meigs gave the order to bury a number of Union dead right next to Mrs. Lee's garden as a F.Y. to the Confederacy. The graves are still there today.

c.d.

[Abby Normal]

hi cd
i pretty much agree with you, although i have strong mixed emotions about it. its all bit more complicated and gray areas than i think alot of people realize. most of the soldiers, commanders and generals who fought for the south didnt own slaves and fought out of loyalty to their states, wanting independence from what they thought was an overbearing (northern led ) government (sound familiar? cough..american revolution ...cough from england) and that the north and south had grown so far apart in terms of culture, economy etc.
Also alot of the statues and naming of things after southern leaders and generals were an attempt by the north at reconciliation during reconstruction shortly after the war. plus, the south and north have long been reconciled and they are still part of our country, they are our brothers..as you say let sleeping dogs lie...why open old wounds? they lost alot of lives among other things too.

on the other hand they were basically traitors and were fighting on the morally wrong side re slavery, and eventhough slavery wasnt the main reason many of them fought it is a main reason why many northerners fought and to preserve the union of course.
and im incredibly thankful it turned out the way it did.. slavery abolished, the union preserved and the two sides eventually reconciled.

but it is imho a very complicated and subtle issue, and im torn as to whether the memorial should be removed.

btw not only graves next to her garden as a FU to her. Lees whole estate was confiscated by the union during the war for a national cemetary!

btw i was incredibly honored to be part of the wreath laying ceremony at arlington last christmas with my church to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. a truly humbling and awesome experience.

[c.d.]

Hello Abby,

Yes, a very complex issue and one that runs deep in the American psyche. Your mention of America and England was right on point and was something I intended to mention in a later post but you beat me to it.

Nice that you were part of the wreath laying. I have seen them and it is quite a site and quite moving. But like everything else nowadays not without controversy. Some people (read ***holes) complained about the wreaths saying they were Christian symbols and their loved ones were not of that faith. Good God. Give me a break. Maybe a better response would have been thank you to the persons who honored the service of my loved one with a wreath indicating respect. I am sure it was just a few people who complained but still classless.

c.d.

[Fiver]

Sorry, I disagree. The Civil War is part of our heritage for good or bad. I see no reason to sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen. Let sleeping dogs lie.

This is not sweeping the Civil War under the rug. During the Revolutionary War, statues of King George weren't put it museums, they were torn down, defaced, mutilated, and melted down for bullets. No one forgets a historical event because something happened to statues.

And sleeping dogs are not lying. Remember the violence and threats of the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesburg? Remember the violence and threats of the January 6 riots?

It's well past time that we stopped catering to the myths of the Confederacy. Men who took up arms against the United States should not be honored by the government and the nation that they tried to destroy.

[Fiver]

And here is something interesting that some people might not know. Lee's home sits at the very top of Arlington and is open for tours. His wife's garden is right next to the home. Union General Montgomery Meigs gave the order to bury a number of Union dead right next to Mrs. Lee's garden as a F.Y. to the Confederacy. The graves are still there today.

c.d.

Montgomery Meigs is the most important Civil War General that most people have never heard of. He was in Quartermaster General for the US army, which went from less than 17,000 men at the start of the War to over 1.000.000 by the end of the War. And by all accounts Meigs did a superb job. Meigs, who was born in Georgia, blamed Robert E Lee for siding with the Confederacy and helped choose Lee's plantation as a cemetery. Meigs' opinion of Lee dropped even further when one of Meigs' sons was killed on a patrol, allegedly after having surrendered.

[Pcdunn]

Thanks, Fiver and c.d. for telling us about Meigs. I've never heard of him till now.

Some years ago at my college, there was a roundtable discussion held after the violence in Charlotte. One white employee wanted to know why people were pulling down historical statues, anyway? They'd get rid of Jesus statues next!

An African-American student explained very politely that to a Black person, seeing statues of Confederate generals and soldiers on every street corner, especially in the South, it just reminded them of their different place in history and American history. (Indeed, this was the intention during the Jim Crow post-Civil War period when all of the Confederate memorials that sprang up.)

The Arlington Memorial includes images of enslaved people in docile and subservient roles to their enslavers, which tries to reframe the history of Southern race relations. That's what we need to fight against.

[c.d.]

Arlington National Cemetery required to remove its Confederate Memorial, wants to hear from public:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/arlington-national-cemetery-required-to-remove-its-confederate-memorial-wants-to-hear-from-public/ar-AA1fH7EV?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=496882df905348ecbb397b75d705fbcb&ei=50

c.d.