Virginia Flaggers - Return the Flags Restore the Honor - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Twenty years after Gen. Robert E. Lee rode into Appomattox and surrendered his tattered army, ending the War Between the States, a memorial chapel was built in Richmond in memory of the 260,000 Confederate soldiers who died during the conflict. The Pelham Chapel -- Confederate War Memorial is designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S., and has been granted the status of Confederate Monument by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The organ in the chapel was donated by a group of Union veterans from Lynn, Mass. One of the contributors to the soldiers' home that surrounded the chapel was Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. And a Union private from Massachusetts donated his annual pension to support the home. Confederate flags had flown over the grounds since the opening of the Old Soldiers Home in 1885. Those flags did not trouble the Union soldiers who donated the organ to the chapel; nor did they trouble Ulysses S. Grant. They were placed there by Confederate Veterans, to memorialize the Confederate dead, and honor the living. Fast forward 150 years...on the eve of the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the War Between the States, June 1st, 2010, Confederate Battle Flags were forcibly removed from the Confederate War Memorial by a restriction in the lease renewal, at the insistence of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This is in direct violation of Virginia law, which clearly states: "it shall be unlawful for the authorities of the locality, or any other person or persons, to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials so erected, or to prevent its citizens from taking proper measures and exercising proper means for the protection, preservation and care of same. For purposes of this section, "disturb or interfere with" includes removal of, damaging or defacing monuments or memorials, or, in the case of the War Between the States, the placement of Union markings or monuments on previously designated Confederate memorials or the placement of Confederate markings or monuments on previously designated Union memorials." (§ 15.2-1812) As citizens of Virginia and descendants of Confederate soldiers who gallantly answered Virginia's call to defend her, we demand that the VMFA remove these blatantly prejudicial restrictions and allow the Confederate Battle Flags to once again fly on the Confederate War Memorial.
By: Susan Frise Hathaway

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Virginia Museum of Fine arts
• Virginia Flaggers
• Confederate History
• Pelham Chapel
• Confederate War Memorial

[slygi4]

Are the flags still banned?

[conf3derate]

@slygi4 yes

[conf3derate]

Sound Track Music is provided by "The Slack Family Bluegrass Band" here in Richmond Virginia. Look them up on ITunes! Lots of good music to download!

[generalslady1]

Thank you for posting this. Society is being told that the Confederate flag represents racism to blindly mislead them into finding out the truth. The war between the states was over high taxes and Large Federal Gov't control. Just like today, people argue that Government is too big. THAT is what the war was really about. If people market the idea that it was about racial hatred, they will continue to keep the masses in the dark about the true fight. Raise the flags!

[DIXIECONFEDERATEDAWG]

SOME POOR SOUL AFTER STALKING YALL ON FACEBOOK HAD TO SLITHER OVER HERE AND THUMB DOWN!!!! LOL

[HHenkelmann]

The American Civil War was fought primarily over the issue of state's rights

[Kharkovkid]

Outstanding!! My only complaint is seeing Nylon flags representing the South.. Could we please have all cotton or silk?...

[fedupRaccoon]

RETURN THE FLAGS

[logibear64]

God bless all of you for keeping up the good fight!