Members of Tennessee’s Sons of Confederate Veterans have reportedly dropped a complaint against the state’s Historical Commission after they previously said Franklin city employees unjustly removed Civil War markers.
This, according to the Nashville-based FOX 17, which quoted Susan McClamroch with the Tennessee Historical Commission. McClamroch reportedly said “the issue is not yet fully resolved” and a separate party is involved in the complaint.
As The Tennessee Star reported in October, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said they put up markers recognizing fallen Confederate generals from the Battle of Franklin in 1864.
Franklin officials took those memorials down because they said they confuse people and they don’t know the identity of the person or persons who put them up.
Meanwhile, a Rutherford County woman, Elizabeth Coker, said the markers have existed since the late 19th century and Eagle Scouts refurbished them in 1964.
But members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans say they put those markers up in the fall of 1999. They said they did so with the consent and approval of the city of Franklin and all of the relevant property owners.
The SVC press release went on to say that in the fall of 1999 there were several historical activities taking place in Franklin, in memorial to the battle’s 135th anniversary.
SCV Lead Counsel Doug Jones told The Star that members of the organization went to the city’s public works and planning departments 20 years ago before they put up the markers.
SCV members said that, to the best of their knowledge, no one at the city of Franklin consulted with them before they removed the markers.
Also as reported in October, a man with considerable expertise on the 1864 Battle of Franklin said current Franklin officials acted properly when they removed markers of unknown origin recognizing Confederate generals who died on the battlefield.
That man, Eric Jacobson, also said there is no historical merit to one woman’s claim that the markers date back to the late 19th century or were refurbished during an Eagle Scout project in 1964.
Jacobson is the CEO of the Battle of Franklin Trust, which manages the Carter House and Carnton, the two historic sites involved in the Civil War battle. He also wrote three books about this historical event in Tennessee.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
