Some of you may have seen the January 8 Letter to the Editor in the
Chesterfield Observer regarding the Chester I-95 Memorial Battle Flag.
http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2014-01-08/Opinions
Our response was printed today, along with several other excellent
letters from SCV members. Here's ours...
Regarding the Jan. 8 letter “I-95 Confederate flag: legal but not
wise,” I respectfully submit the following corrections and
clarifications.
The flag that was raised alongside I-95 near the Old Bermuda Hundred
overpass is the 3rd Bunting Issue of the battle flag of the Army of Northern
Virginia, not the Stars and Bars as stated. The Stars and Bars was the name for
the first national flag of the Confederacy, created in 1861, but later
discontinued. The battle flag was used throughout the war and it was the flag of
the Confederate soldier. The Confederate battle flag used at this location is
historically accurate to honor the Confederate soldiers engaged in this area
during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign.
Further, the statements made before, during and since the raising of
the Chester I-95 Memorial Flag
by the Virginia Flaggers made our intent and purpose perfectly clear — to pay
homage to those brave Confederate veterans, who fought and died to protect
Virginia’s citizens and soil. Mr. Logan’s accusations that he “knows” this to
be untrue, are, at best, misguided and false, and at worse, slanderous, as he
has, to my knowledge never met or known any of those who make up our group to be
able to make such incendiary assumptions.
We also take exception to his claims that the Confederate battle flag
is forever “tarnished” by certain hate groups that have displayed her. A cursory
glance at the history of these various groups show that they have also used (and
with the same frequency) the U.S. flag, the Bible and the Christian cross, just
to name a few items, in their demonstrations and activities. By Mr. Logan’s logic, should these symbols also be
banned, shunned and forbidden from future use? As Christians, we refuse to allow
them to “hijack” our faith. As Americans, we refuse to allow them to “own” the
Stars and Stripes. And as the descendants of Confederate soldiers, we will not
allow them to tarnish our banner. We suggest, instead, that these people should
be dealt with accordingly, based on their deeds and actions, instead of
assigning blame to certain symbols they use.
Finally, Mr. Logan
tosses out the inflammatory “connection” of the Confederate Battle Flag to the
Nazi swastika. This analogy can only be based on ignorance or a desire to
incite. At no time in its existence did the Confederate Army take part in the
murder of 6 million people because of their race. Any comparison is an insult to
Holocaust victims, survivors, and their families. The grandsons of the same
Confederate soldiers we honor, fought and defeated the Nazi army, many of them
carrying the Confederate battle flags of their grandfathers with them
overseas.
Perhaps instead of lecturing us about inaccurate facts and false
motives, Mr. Logan should
endeavor to further his education on the War Between the States, and search his
own heart for the seed of hate that would lead one to write such a
letter.
Susan Hathaway
Virginia
Flaggers
Read this and other letters online here: http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2014-01-29/Opinions/Blowback_on_the_Confederate_flag_issue.html
4 comments:
Amen Susan! Stand for truth and may nothing or no one deter you from that task!
Thank you! Well said!
Thank you! Well said!
Thank you! Well said!
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