Civil War Memorials of the First Coast: Part 2

[Metro Jacksonville]

Civil War Memorials of the First Coast: Part 2



Memorials and monuments commemorating the Civil War on the First Coast go far beyond Jacksonville. St. Augustine, Palatka, Olustee, Fernandina Beach, and other communities all have memorials of their own. These include graves, historic sites preserving battlefields and significant structures, place names dedicated to Civil War figures, and of course, Confederate monuments. This Moderncities.com article by Bill Delaney highlights how each one represents the way towns have chosen to remember the Civil War in the generations that followed.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2017-sep-civil-war-memorials-of-the-first-coast-part-2

[lastdaysoffla]

Wait a minute, now graves, historical markers, and museums that have to do with the Civil War are Confederate memorials?

I mean the Maple Leaf is on this list? First of all it was a Union ship, second of all the exhibit at the Mandarin museum is excellent and in no way glorifies the Confederacy.

[Tacachale]

Wait a minute, now graves, historical markers, and museums that have to do with the Civil War are Confederate memorials?

I mean the Maple Leaf is on this list? First of all it was a Union ship, second of all the exhibit at the Mandarin museum is excellent and in no way glorifies the Confederacy.

The article is about "Civil War Memorials of the First Coast", not Confederate memorials specifically.

[lastdaysoffla]

Wait a minute, now graves, historical markers, and museums that have to do with the Civil War are Confederate memorials?

I mean the Maple Leaf is on this list? First of all it was a Union ship, second of all the exhibit at the Mandarin museum is excellent and in no way glorifies the Confederacy.

The article is about "Civil War Memorials of the First Coast", not Confederate memorials specifically.

I realized that after I posted. In the context of the events of the current day, I'm not sure people would make the distinction when casually browsing this article.( Like I did) 

[Tacachale]

Wait a minute, now graves, historical markers, and museums that have to do with the Civil War are Confederate memorials?

I mean the Maple Leaf is on this list? First of all it was a Union ship, second of all the exhibit at the Mandarin museum is excellent and in no way glorifies the Confederacy.

The article is about "Civil War Memorials of the First Coast", not Confederate memorials specifically.

I realized that after I posted. In the context of the events of the current day, I'm not sure people would make the distinction when casually browsing this article.( Like I did) 

I feel you. But I think it's important to look at all the memorials holistically to get a sense of when things were built, and why. It so happens that most memorials other than historic sites are Confederate, due to the local politics of their times.

[Redbaron616]

It would be interesting to see how many other memorials are around from other wars, e.g., Revolutionary War, World Wars I & II. In that manner, it might be better to judge monuments like the one in St. Augustine dedicated only to the Confederate soldiers who died and not glorifying their cause.

[Tacachale]

It would be interesting to see how many other memorials are around from other wars, e.g., Revolutionary War, World Wars I & II. In that manner, it might be better to judge monuments like the one in St. Augustine dedicated only to the Confederate soldiers who died and not glorifying their cause.

That's an interesting experiment. As with the Civil War it depends on what you count. Here are some of the ones I know of:

• Several historic sites, notably Fort Clinch and the Castillo de San Marcos, were used in multiple conflicts.
• There are a few Seminole Wars monuments, primarily in graveyards like the St. Augustine National Cemetery. Many place names also come from those conflicts.
• I don't know of any Spanish American War monuments in the area, though there are a few historic markers including at Confederate Park.
• The winged youth sculpture in Memorial Park in Jacksonville is a World War I monument.
• Palatka has a World War I monument that I saw when we went down to take pictures for this article.
• St. Augustine also has a WWI monument.
• St. Augustine has a monument to the dead of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
• Palatka has a monument to the sinking of the USS Tang in WWII.
• Palatka has smaller memorials to WW II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.
• Jacksonville has a large memorial to the local dead of conflicts since WWII out in the stadium district.
• It's not tied to a particular conflict, but Jacksonville has a monument to the US Navy.
• Fernandina has a monument to veterans of all wars.
• Jacksonville has many smaller memorials to various conflicts, often located downtown or in parks.

[thelakelander]

City Council president says all options on the table for Jacksonville's Confederate monuments:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-09-29/city-council-president-says-all-options-table-jacksonville-s-confederate

[lastdaysoffla]

City Council president says all options on the table for Jacksonville's Confederate monuments:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-09-29/city-council-president-says-all-options-table-jacksonville-s-confederate

I wonder if the option of the monuments being "historically contextualized" where they stand now with the addition of more information about them or monuments to other people and groups is on the table? No mention of that in the article.



The fact that some of these monuments are over 100 years old means to me that irrespective of the context they are in and of themselves historic structures and should be treated as such. Most certainly not "torn down" as some advocate. We don't have much in the way of structures that are well over 100 years in Jacksonville and most surely not much in the way of public space that is well over 100 years old.

[Tacachale]

City Council president says all options on the table for Jacksonville's Confederate monuments:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-09-29/city-council-president-says-all-options-table-jacksonville-s-confederate

I wonder if the option of the monuments being "historically contextualized" where they stand now with the addition of more information about them or monuments to other people and groups is on the table? No mention of that in the article.



The fact that some of these monuments are over 100 years old means to me that irrespective of the context they are in and of themselves historic structures and should be treated as such. Most certainly not "torn down" as some advocate. We don't have much in the way of structures that are well over 100 years in Jacksonville and most surely not much in the way of public space that is well over 100 years old.

Not to speak for the council president, but the article to me sounds like it's on the table. The question is if people will see that as enough. I haven't encountered a single person who actually wants them destroyed, though of course vandalism will always be a risk until something is done.

[Tacachale]

In case anyone doubted the connection between Confederate monuments and white supremacy, this image at Olustee Battlefield was posted to UNF Spinnaker's Facebook page yesterday.

[Tacachale]

It shows that white supremacists continue to venerate these Jim Crow-era monuments.

[Tacachale]

It shows that white supremacists continue to venerate these Jim Crow-era monuments.

Then I am happy she didn't stand in front of my house.

Why would she?

[Jim]

If she's not a white supremacist, then she is incredibly ignorant.

[Tacachale]

Pro tip: you don't need to bend over backward giving people who give the Nazi salute at Confederate monuments the benefit of the doubt. If it helps for context, the woman in the picture is an avowed white supremacist associated with a fairly well known local Nazi. The point in posting it is that white supremacists venerate Confederate monuments, in particular Olustee, which has been effectively a pro-Confederate shrine.