A Beautiful August Day for Flagging

Tuesday, August 13th was a warm day on the Boulevard, but the clouds moved in to cool the Flaggers off a bit and many good conversations were held with residents and visitors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 9 Flaggers were in attendance and CBS 6 visited us on the sidewalk for interviews regarding the I-95 Battle Flag.

The next evening, Flagger Tommy C. put the call out for a spontaneous flagging and some of our prettiest young daughters of the South spent their afternoon forwarding the colors and learning how to defend their Heritage!

 
 Saturday, August 17th, saw 9 Flaggers out, with good traffic and a beautiful day.

 Yesterday evening, Thursday, August 22nd turned out to be one of our grandest displays of flags and Flaggers in quite some time. 18 Flaggers made their way to the Boulevard, and were met by a photographer from the Wall Street Journal, who was taking photos for an article, which began as a piece on the I-95 Battle Flag, and ended with a visit to the Confederate Memorial Chapel where information was shared about the VMFA and their dishonoring of Confederate Veterans.

The Va Flaggers have been engaged in this battle for almost two years. The outward flagging is a key part of arsenal, but our offensive maneuvers continue both on and off the sidewalk. For those of you who are just joining our list, the following is a brief synopsis of the situation:

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.

The national media attention that the I-95 Battle Flag has garnered has forced the VMFA back into the spotlight and exposed the desecration of the Confederate Memorial Chapel and Confederate Memorial Park to an entirely new audience. The Va Flaggers enter the last week of August, 2013, with renewed momentum, and renewed determination to RETURN the flags and RESTORE the honor!

We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue to carry the flags of our ancestors, educate the public, and use every method possible to let others know about the blatant discrimination against Confederate soldiers and the flags under which they fought and died.

Will you join us?

Our next flagging is TOMORROW, SATURDAY, August 24th, NOON - 4:00 p.m, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond. Come stand with us and be a part of those who are speaking out and fighting back. No experience necessary. All you need is a Confederate flag (and we can help with that if you don't have one), and a Confederate heart, ready and willing to defend the honor of our Ancestors.

If you can't make it to the Boulevard, please help us by providing support to the troops on the ground.
Contact VMFA Board of Directors Chairman:

Mr. Benjamin W. Rawles III
1313 East Main Street, Suite 400
Richmond, Virginia 23219-3629
Tel: 804.697.3419
Fax: 804.697.3479
Email: ben.rawles©thalhimer.com

Politely ask him to RETURN the flags to the Confederate Memorial Chapel and RESTORE the honor to the Confederate Veterans in whose memory it stands.

________________________

I-95 Battle Flag Donation Information:
Va Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston, VA 23150


I-95 Battle Flag Donation Information:
Va Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston, VA 23150

Contributions can also be made through PayPal here…
http://www.vaflaggers.com/i95flagdonate.html

Grayson Jennings
Va Flaggers

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@VaFlagger

www.vaflaggers.blogspot.com/
 


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UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, August 24th: Flagging the VMFA, 200 N. Boulevard, NOON - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 24th: 2:00 p.m., Gen. John R Chambliss Memorial Service, South Main Street, Emporia, VA, sponsored by the Gen. John R. Chambliss Camp# 1779, SCV. Contact Billy Bradley skinky8@yahoo.com for more information

Tuesday, August 27th: Flagging the VMFA, 200 N. Boulevard, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 31st: Flagging the VMFA, 200 N. Boulevard, NOON - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 14th: Susan will be traveling to Tampa, FL to speak at the September meeting of the Augusta Jane Evans Wilson Chapter #2640, UDC, Antonio's Past Grill, 11401 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL, 10:45 a.m.

Saturday, September 28th: SAVE THE DATE, I-95 Battle Flag Flag Raising/Dedication, 10:00 a.m. Details to Follow

Sunday, September 29th : SAVE THE DATE, Va Flaggers 2nd Anniversary Celebration/Picnic, 3:00 p.m. Details to Follow

April 19, 2014: Susan will be traveling to Quincy, FL to speak at the Confederate Memorial Day Service at the Soldier's Cemetery, sponsored by the Finley's Brigade, SCV.