Post by artraveler on Jun 21, 2020 17:56:38 GMT -8
Son’s of Confederate Veterans Reunion
We recently attended an SCV event in Bentonville AR. They refer to it as a reunion, but in reality, it is a convention. Originally, this event was scheduled for April of this year and was deferred until June due to the KKF/Covid-1984. The event was held in a hotel in Bentonville on Sam Walton Blvd. not far from Wal-Mart HQ.
In addition to the men from SCV, women from UDC and Southern Memorial Association were invited and overall attendance about 100. Friday night was a presentation by the memorials officer of UDC. She talked about the meaning of the Southern Cross on veteran graves and how to identify and protect them from vandals. A reminder that damaging, defacing, or stealing any grave marker is a federal felony with a fine and years in federal penitentiary. If you have a Confederate ancestor the SCV or UDC can assist in placing a marker.
We had a long discussion on the monuments in Arkansas. There is a monument on the square in Bentonville, just across from the orinasal Ben Franklin 5-10 of Sam Walton. This is a statue of a nameless Confederate soldier. The statue is owned by the UDC; however, Benton County owns the ground it is on and has officially told the UDC to move the statue. The cost of moving the statue is over $50,000 and is being paid by a local business, who has requested their support be anonymous. When the statue is moved it will be reinstalled a local cemetery where there are a number of Confederate veterans buried.
There have been numerous threats by Antifa and BLM against the statue and the SCV and police have spent a lot of time standing guard. The cost to the city and county has exceeded $50,000 and the city council and county officers are hesitating at the cost. Although, we agreed in principle that moving monuments sets a questionable precedent. The opportunity to take advantage of donated funds was a positive given the political climate in AR. and especially Benton County. The hope is that this will set a pathway for other communities to secure their monuments.
Saturday was mostly business meetings, election of statewide officers. A memorial service was conducted for the men and women who died in the war. Saturday evening was a catered banquet and two auction, one silent, the other by a professional auctioneer. The money raised goes to support the SCV in its endeavors of community service. Some will end up as a donation to the support the Fayetteville cemetery. The discussion from Friday evening about monuments and name changes continued but a lower more subdued level. The question was raised about renaming Benton County and the city of Bentonville. Both are named for Thomas Hart Benton who owned slave before the war.
At no time were there any disparaging remarks about race, even from the Black members. Yes, Black SCV members! This supposedly racist organization has Black members who have Confederate ancestors, so does the UDC. One of the SCV Black members told me that his family almost disowned him for joining, but his genealogy and DNA has his g g grandmother as a slave who bore several children to her white master who died in the war. His point was that history cannot be erased, and regardless of the causes of the war his ancestor fought for his country and is deserving of respect. It doesn’t make him an Uncle Tom, but a genuine son of the south.
We recently attended an SCV event in Bentonville AR. They refer to it as a reunion, but in reality, it is a convention. Originally, this event was scheduled for April of this year and was deferred until June due to the KKF/Covid-1984. The event was held in a hotel in Bentonville on Sam Walton Blvd. not far from Wal-Mart HQ.
In addition to the men from SCV, women from UDC and Southern Memorial Association were invited and overall attendance about 100. Friday night was a presentation by the memorials officer of UDC. She talked about the meaning of the Southern Cross on veteran graves and how to identify and protect them from vandals. A reminder that damaging, defacing, or stealing any grave marker is a federal felony with a fine and years in federal penitentiary. If you have a Confederate ancestor the SCV or UDC can assist in placing a marker.
We had a long discussion on the monuments in Arkansas. There is a monument on the square in Bentonville, just across from the orinasal Ben Franklin 5-10 of Sam Walton. This is a statue of a nameless Confederate soldier. The statue is owned by the UDC; however, Benton County owns the ground it is on and has officially told the UDC to move the statue. The cost of moving the statue is over $50,000 and is being paid by a local business, who has requested their support be anonymous. When the statue is moved it will be reinstalled a local cemetery where there are a number of Confederate veterans buried.
There have been numerous threats by Antifa and BLM against the statue and the SCV and police have spent a lot of time standing guard. The cost to the city and county has exceeded $50,000 and the city council and county officers are hesitating at the cost. Although, we agreed in principle that moving monuments sets a questionable precedent. The opportunity to take advantage of donated funds was a positive given the political climate in AR. and especially Benton County. The hope is that this will set a pathway for other communities to secure their monuments.
Saturday was mostly business meetings, election of statewide officers. A memorial service was conducted for the men and women who died in the war. Saturday evening was a catered banquet and two auction, one silent, the other by a professional auctioneer. The money raised goes to support the SCV in its endeavors of community service. Some will end up as a donation to the support the Fayetteville cemetery. The discussion from Friday evening about monuments and name changes continued but a lower more subdued level. The question was raised about renaming Benton County and the city of Bentonville. Both are named for Thomas Hart Benton who owned slave before the war.
At no time were there any disparaging remarks about race, even from the Black members. Yes, Black SCV members! This supposedly racist organization has Black members who have Confederate ancestors, so does the UDC. One of the SCV Black members told me that his family almost disowned him for joining, but his genealogy and DNA has his g g grandmother as a slave who bore several children to her white master who died in the war. His point was that history cannot be erased, and regardless of the causes of the war his ancestor fought for his country and is deserving of respect. It doesn’t make him an Uncle Tom, but a genuine son of the south.