Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
Confederacy cheered at Capitol
The Capitol complex was nearly empty Monday as more than 70 people gathered around the Confederate Monument on the Capitol lawn and sang "Dixie" to celebrate the state holiday for Confederate Memorial Day.
For thousands of state employees, Confederate Memorial Day is just another Monday holiday -- a chance to catch up on chores or enjoy a long weekend. But for the people who came from across the state to remember the state's past, it was a special day.
Jeannette Taylor of Springville, a chapter president with the United Daughters of Confederacy, said she came to remember "the most noble army to ever take the field of battle."
"Their cause was just," she s
aid.
The Capitol was locked because of the state holiday, and no one could go insid
e to see the room where the Confederate States of America organized in 1861.
No elected state officials attended the ceremony, but Gov. Bob Riley sent a wreath of magnolia leaves.
Some people praised Riley for completing the restoration of the Confederate Monument, which reopened a year ago after the state used $231,600 in federal funds for repairs.
No speakers made any mention of a recent dustup between Riley and some Confederate heritage advocates. It involved a proclamation that Alabama governors have issued for years to declare April as Confederate History and Heritage Month.
When Riley issued the 2005 proclamation, he left out a paragraph, which had been in the proclamation for several years, that said slavery was a cause of the war. Some Confederate heritage advocates had wanted that paragraph deleted because they said it left the impre
ssion that slavery was the cause of the war.
On April 4, Riley reissued the proclamation with t
he paragraph restored, and a Riley spokesman said its deletion had been a mistake.
Bonnie Englebert of Jasper, who wore a peach-colored period dress to Monday's event, said she preferred the resolution without the paragraph about slavery.
"The war was not fought over slavery. It was fought for states' rights," she said.
Leonard Wilson of Townley, state commander for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said he had no argument with Riley's decision to restore the paragraph about slavery.
"We don't particularly argue with people who say it was 'a' cause. We will argue with people who say it was 'the' cause," Wilson said.
For Monday's ceremony, the Confederate Monument and the Confederate flags
that stand at each corner had a new look. For many years, a thick grove of trees hid the monument and flags so that they were barely visible from the street.
Earlier this month, the state pruned the trees and
gave passing motorists a clear view of the monument and flags.
"It looks beautiful," Englebert said.
****************
:clap:
T.N.B.
The Capitol complex was nearly empty Monday as more than 70 people gathered around the Confederate Monument on the Capitol lawn and sang "Dixie" to celebrate the state holiday for Confederate Memorial Day.
For thousands of state employees, Confederate Memorial Day is just another Monday holiday -- a chance to catch up on chores or enjoy a long weekend. But for the people who came from across the state to remember the state's past, it was a special day.
Jeannette Taylor of Springville, a chapter president with the United Daughters of Confederacy, said she came to remember "the most noble army to ever take the field of battle."
"Their cause was just," she s
aid.
The Capitol was locked because of the state holiday, and no one could go insid
e to see the room where the Confederate States of America organized in 1861.
No elected state officials attended the ceremony, but Gov. Bob Riley sent a wreath of magnolia leaves.
Some people praised Riley for completing the restoration of the Confederate Monument, which reopened a year ago after the state used $231,600 in federal funds for repairs.
No speakers made any mention of a recent dustup between Riley and some Confederate heritage advocates. It involved a proclamation that Alabama governors have issued for years to declare April as Confederate History and Heritage Month.
When Riley issued the 2005 proclamation, he left out a paragraph, which had been in the proclamation for several years, that said slavery was a cause of the war. Some Confederate heritage advocates had wanted that paragraph deleted because they said it left the impre
ssion that slavery was the cause of the war.
On April 4, Riley reissued the proclamation with t
he paragraph restored, and a Riley spokesman said its deletion had been a mistake.
Bonnie Englebert of Jasper, who wore a peach-colored period dress to Monday's event, said she preferred the resolution without the paragraph about slavery.
"The war was not fought over slavery. It was fought for states' rights," she said.
Leonard Wilson of Townley, state commander for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said he had no argument with Riley's decision to restore the paragraph about slavery.
"We don't particularly argue with people who say it was 'a' cause. We will argue with people who say it was 'the' cause," Wilson said.
For Monday's ceremony, the Confederate Monument and the Confederate flags
that stand at each corner had a new look. For many years, a thick grove of trees hid the monument and flags so that they were barely visible from the street.
Earlier this month, the state pruned the trees and
gave passing motorists a clear view of the monument and flags.
"It looks beautiful," Englebert said.
****************
:clap:
T.N.B.
