In an odd twist a hearing to mount a monument to fallen soldiers at Olustee draws a protest.
(Per the Jax Daily Record)
Proposed Civil War monument protested
The state parks system is on the hot seat and a House leader is calling for action over a proposed monument to Union soldiers at the site of the biggest Civil War battle fought in Florida.
The bid to add a Union monument to the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park near Lake City has drawn a furious response, with about 100 people attending a public hearing at the Columbia County School District Auditorium.
Passions ran high, at one point erupting in a spontaneous chorus of "Dixie" led by a black man, H.K. Edgerton, who called Union soldiers rapists and wielded his large Confederate flag like a conductor's baton as the audience sang.
Speakers blasted the proposal as disturbing hallowed ground in a rural community where most families stay for generations.
"Putting a Union monument at Olustee would be like placing a memorial to Jane Fonda at the entrance to the Vietnam memorial," said Leon Duke, a veteran.
The park is in the Osceola National Forest, 50 miles west of Jacksonville and 15 miles east of Lake City. It was the site of a four-hour battle on Feb. 20, 1864, in which Union forces were routed by Confederate troops.
This opposition is silly. Of course they should be able to build a Union monument if they want to. Many more Union soldiers died there than Confederates and they shouldn't be kept out of the story.
On another note, this monument is of great relevance to Jacksonville, as the Union force was stationed here after occupying (or liberating) the city in February 1864. The force was largely composed of black soldiers who proved successful in liberating slaves in Northeast Florida, and included the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the most storied black units in the entire war. The battle was incompetently managed on the Union side, but the black units fought bravely and effectively, with the 54th Massachusetts and the 35th US Colored Troops successfully repelling Confederate attacks during the retreat. These men definitely deserve to be commemorated at Olustee.
Every time I hear about something US history related, I have the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic" song in my head.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6sn1GOsgac
Are there not monuments from Southern states (Including Florida) at the Gettysburg battlefield?
^Yes, there are many Confederate monuments (http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Confederate.php) at Gettysburg, including the one from Florida (http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Confederate/FL.php). Gettysburg has made a notable attempt to include both sides and not exclude either from the history, it would be nice if we could see that at Olustee.
Quote from: Tacachale on December 05, 2013, 10:10:42 AM
^Yes, there are many Confederate monuments (http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Confederate.php) at Gettysburg, including the one from Florida (http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Confederate/FL.php). Gettysburg has made a notable attempt to include both sides and not exclude either from the history, it would be nice if we could see that at Olustee.
Gettysburg made more than an attempt. Its a startling amount of honor paid for both sides. Its a touching memorial to both forces, and very respectful to those fallen.
Antietam is a close second, and also has a ton of monuments all over the battle field. Both are in Union controlled states, and it should be an example to be followed.
BTW, not chastising, vehemently agreeing.
In regards to the US Civil War, I believe it is appropriate to honor the fallen on both sides of a battle.
Both sides should have monuments.
Take a read of the history of Fitzgerald, Georgia. Established as a "colony" city for Union veterans in the 1890's, Confederate veterans soon moved in too and they both set an example of reconciliation and unity. They have a "Harmony" celebration each year.
http://www.fitzgeraldga.org/
Post war America was, with exceptions of course, pretty surprisingly peaceful and conciliatory. Most Northerners had no interest in punishing the south (its why there were so few prosecutions after the war was over), and most southerners took their lumps, and went back to their farms and businesses and tried to figure out how a post slavery world was going to work for them.
Quote from: Tacachale on December 05, 2013, 09:49:02 AM
This opposition is silly. Of course they should be able to build a Union monument if they want to. Many more Union soldiers died there than Confederates and they shouldn't be kept out of the story.
On another note, this monument is of great relevance to Jacksonville, as the Union force was stationed here after occupying (or liberating) the city in February 1864. The force was largely composed of black soldiers who proved successful in liberating slaves in Northeast Florida, and included the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the most storied black units in the entire war. The battle was incompetently managed on the Union side, but the black units fought bravely and effectively, with the 54th Massachusetts and the 35th US Colored Troops successfully repelling Confederate attacks during the retreat. These men definitely deserve to be commemorated at Olustee.
Could this have anything to do with the opposition? No, of course not ...
Per Jax Daily Record:
Bean files bill requiring monuments get legislative OK
A Northeast Florida senator filed a bill Thursday that would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to get legislative approval before erecting historical monuments.
The bill (SB 672), sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, is similar to a measure (HB 493) filed by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, after an outcry about a Union Civil War monument at the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park near Lake City.
Last year, the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees state parks, received a proposal from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War to add a monument for Union officers and soldiers at Olustee, the site of the largest Civil War battle in Florida.
But the outcry stemmed, at least in part, on a plan to place the monument on land acquired for the state by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909.
The House and Senate bills would allow the department to erect historical monuments "with express legislative approval."
Just goes to show that no matter what you do.............somebody won't like it.