Tag: Sons of Confederate Veterans

Slate of Proposed Legislation Seeks to Preserve, Protect and Properly Display Tennessee Historic Artifacts and Memorials

Laura Baigert

Three bills filed in the General Assembly seek to preserve, protect and properly display historic relics, artifacts and memorials primarily related to the Confederate States of America and Tennessee’s involvement during the War Between the States.

All three bills are sponsored in the state Senate by State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and in the state House by State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster) on behalf of the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ organization.

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Virginia Confederate Monuments on the Ballot in Mathews, Nottoway, and Middlesex Counties

Eric Burk

Local voters in three counties are voting in advisory referenda on what to do with confederate monuments in Matthews County, Nottoway County, and Middlesex County. The referenda are non-binding, but are used as a tool to understand public opinion before local officials make a final decision.

In 2020, the General Assembly changed its laws about monuments, finally allowing localities to decide if they want to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover publicly-owned monuments, as long as they provided two periods of 30-days notice and a public hearing. The law also allows the localities to hold optional referenda.

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Sons of Confederate Veterans ‘Put to Rest for Eternity’ Gen. Nathan Bedford in Columbia, Tennessee

Laura Baigert

COLUMBIA, Tennessee – Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was “put to rest for eternity” Saturday by the Sons of Confederate Veterans at the National Confederate Headquarters and Museum at Historic Elm Springs in Columbia, Tennessee.

The General was reinterred with his wife Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest at a private ceremony that was free to attendees but required a ticket, the number of which was limited to about 2,000.

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Confederate Statues Removed in Memphis Given to Sons of Confederate Veterans

Zachery Schmidt

  Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) received the statues of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest Tuesday from a Tennessee nonprofit group almost two years after being removed from public parks in Memphis. Bruce McMullen, the city of Memphis’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the statues have been permanently removed from Memphis and Shelby County. Furthermore, McMullen said the statues were given to the Forrest family and the SCV to “display them as they wish.” Paul Gramling, the commander-in-chief for SCV, confirmed this news on his Facebook page. “Ladies and gentlemen…….I am writing this in order, I hope, to cut down on the speculation of recent events and news from Memphis. Yes, it is true, the statues are no longer in Memphis or Shelby County. They are in an undisclosed, safe and secure location,” he said. Gramling also asked people to not make any “disparaging remarks” about Memphis or city officials to make sure nothing jeopardizes their “efforts and negotiations that still remain.” “Please trust that the Forrest family and National SCV leadership are on top of every aspect of this endeavor,” he said.   SCV and Memphis officials had been in an ongoing court…

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Tennessee Court of Appeals Says Sons of Confederate Veterans Do Not Have Standing to Stop Removal of Statues at Memphis Parks

Jason M. Reynolds

  The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) do not have standing to stop the removal of Confederate statutes at parks the City of Memphis had sold to Memphis Greenspace. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ordered Memphis Greenspace Inc. to maintain and preserve the statues of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, President Jefferson Davis, and Captain J. Harvey Mathes until a contested case hearing is held with the Tennessee Historical Commission, The Tennessee Star reported in January 2018. Memphis Greenspace is the nonprofit owned by Shelby County Commissioner Val Turner who ‘bought‘ and removed the statues in a questionable transaction with the City of Memphis in December 2017, The Star said. The city sold the parks for only $1,000 each. The Sons of Confederate Veterans had filed for injunctive relief, according to the appeals court ruling. Prior to filing its complaint, the society filed a petition for declaratory relief with the Tennessee Historical Commission that sought a declaration on the applicability of the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2016 (“THPA”) to two parks and related monuments In the present action, the historical-preservation society requested a temporary injunction under the THPA to preserve the parks and monuments…

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Group Pushes For Removal Of Confederate Statues In Memphis

Wendy Wilson

A group using the hashtag #TakeEmDown901 is organizing to push for the removal of Confederate statues in Memphis, part of a trend across the South. More than 250 people attended a rally Tuesday evening at Bruce Elementary School on Bellevue Boulevard to learn more about the group’s efforts. “These statues were built as tools of oppression during the Civil Rights movement and reconstruction,” said organizer Tami Sawyer, according to WMC Action News 5. Sawyer said the statues must go to make Memphis more attractive to millennials. One activist at the meeting said, “If you don’t take down these statues, then we will.” However, the Sons of Confederate Veterans is protesting the efforts. The group released a statement saying: Those who tear down historic monuments are no better than Nazis or ISIS. They are historical terrorists. The TearDownMemphis or TakeEmDown group bears the same characteristics. Our historical monuments, especially including the two largest Confederate monuments, are a tribute to those honored city residents of our nation’s past.  They certainly do not signify white supremacy or anything of the sort.  Both Jefferson Davis and N. B. Forrest are veterans of the United States military and of the Confederate States. The Sons of Confederate Veterans…

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