Dallas to remove Confederate War Memorial

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by SanJac

I was fortunate to attend an ethnically diverse junior high in Houston in the late 70s and we were definitely taught the civil war was principally about slavery. I do recall hearing about states’ rights too though.

I was curious if Houston had any confederate monuments so I googled it and found out that we do have two discreetly located in a park in downtown Houston. Both monuments were erected in the early 1900’s. One was in memory of Richard Dowling, a Houston Irishman who “was the victorious confederate commander at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass in the American Civil War.” Frankly, I don’t remember learning of this battle in school.

The second monument is called “Spirit of the Confederacy” and “The memorial was installed by the Robert E. Lee Chapter #186 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy” in 1908. What I found interesting was the inscription "To all heroes of the South who fought for the Principles of States Rights.”

I’m left wondering if this was the South trying to re-write history (as early as 1908) or did some Southerners really believe that was “the cause?” Or is “states rights” code for slavery? I honestly don’t know.

My opinion on the monuments and streets/schools named after confederate war heroes is leave them “as is.” They don’t bother me. The only relic of the confederacy that does offend me is the confederate flag. I see these flags flying in rural central Texas and they send chills down my spine.

I personally believe that 1) though the Civil was was principally about slavery, there was an element of "states' rights" to the fight. I mean, they were fighting for their states' rights to OWN SLAVES. This is very clear in nearly every single state's declaration of secession (especially Texas' unfortunately - one of the strongest wordings out there). I also believe that 2) yes, in a way this emphasis on states' rights is an attempt by southerners who are ashamed of the institution of slavery to white wash (no pun intended) the whole aspect of slavery. And 3) I believe that in order to get non slave owners to fight for the Confederacy, this whole "states' rights" angle had to be played up. But the entire economy of the South was carried on the backs of slaves, and slave owners were often extremely wealthy and well connected land owners with a lot of pull in both government and the economy in general.

I rarely see a Confederate flag but I have seen them as far afield as Germany, Maine, you name it. Ironically the place I've seen the most Confederate flags is probably Pennsylvania.

[elan]

I think the concern now should be how the monuments are removed safely from Pioneer Park Cemetery. They are going to have heavy equipment in a fragile area. We have unmarked graves containing folks of all races, religions, etc.. I don't want them crushed or damaged. For years, the park department has not maintained this cemetery very well, it's shameful. There is even a basement storage closet in City Hall containing tombstones (how in the heck that happened is beyond me). Someone, perhaps the historical society, needs to monitor the removal.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk

Glad to see it gone.

Don't see why it should cost so much.

Thanks for sharing. I agree on both.