In another sign of the cancel culture’s societal rampage, a little-reported independent commission has recommended that the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery be taken down. Obviously, history was a factor completely ignored in reaching this conclusion.
The concept of the memorial was originally part of a reconciliation effort led by Presidents Lincoln and Grant to bring the North and South together following the Civil War.
On Dec. 8, 1863, Lincoln kicked off the plan by presenting his proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction. The act consisted of three major themes.
First, it called for a full pardon and restoration of property to all those engaged in the rebellion, with exception of the highest Confederate and military leaders. Next, it allowed for a new state government in Confederate states when 10% of eligible voters took an oath of allegiance to the United States. Lastly, the Southern states were encouraged to pursue the integration of former slaves into society, so long as their freedom was not compromised.
Following the war, then-Gen. Grant also sought to restore civility, supporting pardons for Confederate leaders, fair treatment of former Confederate officers and civil rights for freed slaves.
Southern Gen. Robert E. Lee sought reconciliation as well by calling for submission to Union authority, building upon his surrender at Appomattox over Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ order to fight on.
Then at the urging of President McKinley, during a time when Confederate veterans could not be buried there, Congress in 1900 authorized Confederate remains to be buried in a special section at Arlington Cemetery. Eventually, more than 400 Confederate soldiers were laid to rest there. Succeeding American presidents further honored the memories of these brave men to promote continued reconciliation, even after the Confederate Memorial was unveiled in 1914.
The memorial takes the form of a bronze statue representing the American South and features a woman wearing a crown of olive leaves atop a 32-foot pedestal. She holds a laurel wreath, a plow stock and a pruning hook with a Biblical inscription at the base reading, “They have beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
The pedestal also features 14 shields with the 13 coats and arms of the 13 Confederate states, plus Maryland, which did not secede to join the Confederacy.
The memorial was designed by Moses Jacob Ezekiel, a Confederate veteran and the first Jewish graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He was buried at the base of his creation in 1921. Three other Confederate soldiers lie next to him.
Now, more than a century later, the conciliatory efforts of Lincoln, Grant and other U.S. presidents could be erased by short-sighted woke alarmists, overcome with misplaced guilt, who seem quite content to fight the Civil War all over again.
In the final analysis, is this sorrowful crowd remotely capable of embracing sensibility when such immense decisions are made? As America’s history continues to be erased, one could easily envision the next such commission’s call for the removal of all Confederate remains from Arlington to satisfy the endless whims of political correctness.
The Confederate Memorial is a symbol of peace and healing whose purpose is lost on some. And while present voices are scarce in speaking out in support of it, the words and actions of long-since departed Presidents Lincoln and Grant are just as striking today as when the memorial was first conceived.
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
