Joshism
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I was on vacation last week which brought me among other places to Halifax, a little town of about 1500 and the seat of a county of the same name in south-central Virginia. It's about a half hour or so southwest of Staunton River Bridge Battlefield (Wilson-Kautz Raid), if you've ever been there. Just south of Halifax, also in the same county, is the unlikely-named town of South Boston which during the war was located on the Danville Railroad. The latter town is apparently named after Boston, Massachusetts albeit post-Revolution.
At the intersection of Main Street and Mountain Road are three ACW-related items. On the northeast corner is a modern Civil War Trails marker mostly talking about residents of Halifax County rallying to protect Staunton River Bridge. On the southwest corner is a Confederate monument. On the northwest corner is a county veterans monument to all wars. I have some thoughts about the latter two.
The Confederate monument is part of the the county courthouse property which includes the original 1839 brick courthouse, attached to a larger modern courthouse, plus several outbuildings (old county offices, now mostly rented out as small law offices). Unlike some of these monuments, this one is off to the corner of the property near the intersection rather than being right in front of the courthouse entrance.
The Confederate monument seems pretty typical in appearance: soldier standing in uniform, rifle at his side. Dedicated by the UCV in 1911, it apparently had a rough early history. The pedestal is a shortened version of the original; the soldier is not original. The first statue received was erroneously a Union soldier. This was replaced as soon as possibly by a Confederate soldier, but that statue was knocked off the pedestal and damaged when a tree fell on it in the 1920s. The present statue was placed circa 1935.
A little unusual is that the four-sided base on has inscriptions on the east side (facing Main Street and also the direction the soldier faces) and the south side (toward the courthouse entrance).
East inscription:
THESE PATRIOTS LAID THEIR ALL UPON THE ALTAR OF THEIR COUNTRY
THEIR VALOR WILL EVER REMAIN A PART OF HER HISTORY
Interesting wording. Their country and said country's history: which country is that? Was the wording deliberately vague, or intended to be a timeless reference to greater ideals? Maybe both.
South inscription:
"This monument is erected by an appreciative people in loving remembrance of the Confederate soldiers of Halifax County who fought for constitutional liberty in the war of 1861-1865."
I see this is as a pretty problematic inscription because of the phrase I have bolded. First, the racial issue with regard to white vs black liberty. Second, to say that the Confederates fought for "constitutional liberty" has some pretty disturbing implications about the United States as a whole. If you think the CSA was for "constitutional liberty" then surely you also think the USA was against it? So by surrendering the surviving Confederates were therefore willing to sacrifice their liberty to spare their lives? If the USA of 1861-1865 lacked "constitutional liberty" when and how was it regained?
The county veterans memorial was dedicated in 2003. The black granite memorial in the center has six sides, "dedicated to those from Halifax County who died in American wars" (American Revolution onward). You can find more info, including the list of names here. 5 1/2 of the 6 sides are full of names.
Of the 734 names listed, 488 (66%) are for the "War Between The States." There only 121 names (16%) for World War II and 59 names for World War I. Put it another way: out of the six faces of the monument, the ACW names cover the bottom half of the first, all of the second and third, and the upper 2/3s of the fourth. I can't say for certain, but I very much expect that ever one of those names from the ACW is a Confederate. Given the location of Halifax County, the Unionist population and the chances of slaves escaping to Union lines and joining the USCT to both be negligible.
In 1860, Halifax County's population was 26K vs 41K in 1940. Only a quarter of the people died in the latter conflict compared to the former, even though the population had gone up by half.
Nearly 2% of the 1860 population of the county died in the war. That's the same percentage of the British population that died in World War I! But wait: Halifax County had nearly 15K slaves in 1860, which means the death toll represents 4.4% of the white population.
I think that is an incredibly telling statistic about why the American Civil War looms so large and took the shape that it did in Southern memory. Set aside Reconstruction bitterness or the experience of battles, raids, foraging, and occupation. Just consider that level of life loss alone. It had to be rationalized as heroism and martyrdom, to be venerated for eternity. It couldn't have been a mistake; it can't be our Flanders Field. Americans are exceptional. They don't make mistakes.
At the intersection of Main Street and Mountain Road are three ACW-related items. On the northeast corner is a modern Civil War Trails marker mostly talking about residents of Halifax County rallying to protect Staunton River Bridge. On the southwest corner is a Confederate monument. On the northwest corner is a county veterans monument to all wars. I have some thoughts about the latter two.
The Confederate monument is part of the the county courthouse property which includes the original 1839 brick courthouse, attached to a larger modern courthouse, plus several outbuildings (old county offices, now mostly rented out as small law offices). Unlike some of these monuments, this one is off to the corner of the property near the intersection rather than being right in front of the courthouse entrance.
The Confederate monument seems pretty typical in appearance: soldier standing in uniform, rifle at his side. Dedicated by the UCV in 1911, it apparently had a rough early history. The pedestal is a shortened version of the original; the soldier is not original. The first statue received was erroneously a Union soldier. This was replaced as soon as possibly by a Confederate soldier, but that statue was knocked off the pedestal and damaged when a tree fell on it in the 1920s. The present statue was placed circa 1935.
A little unusual is that the four-sided base on has inscriptions on the east side (facing Main Street and also the direction the soldier faces) and the south side (toward the courthouse entrance).
East inscription:
THESE PATRIOTS LAID THEIR ALL UPON THE ALTAR OF THEIR COUNTRY
THEIR VALOR WILL EVER REMAIN A PART OF HER HISTORY
Interesting wording. Their country and said country's history: which country is that? Was the wording deliberately vague, or intended to be a timeless reference to greater ideals? Maybe both.
South inscription:
"This monument is erected by an appreciative people in loving remembrance of the Confederate soldiers of Halifax County who fought for constitutional liberty in the war of 1861-1865."
I see this is as a pretty problematic inscription because of the phrase I have bolded. First, the racial issue with regard to white vs black liberty. Second, to say that the Confederates fought for "constitutional liberty" has some pretty disturbing implications about the United States as a whole. If you think the CSA was for "constitutional liberty" then surely you also think the USA was against it? So by surrendering the surviving Confederates were therefore willing to sacrifice their liberty to spare their lives? If the USA of 1861-1865 lacked "constitutional liberty" when and how was it regained?
The county veterans memorial was dedicated in 2003. The black granite memorial in the center has six sides, "dedicated to those from Halifax County who died in American wars" (American Revolution onward). You can find more info, including the list of names here. 5 1/2 of the 6 sides are full of names.
Of the 734 names listed, 488 (66%) are for the "War Between The States." There only 121 names (16%) for World War II and 59 names for World War I. Put it another way: out of the six faces of the monument, the ACW names cover the bottom half of the first, all of the second and third, and the upper 2/3s of the fourth. I can't say for certain, but I very much expect that ever one of those names from the ACW is a Confederate. Given the location of Halifax County, the Unionist population and the chances of slaves escaping to Union lines and joining the USCT to both be negligible.
In 1860, Halifax County's population was 26K vs 41K in 1940. Only a quarter of the people died in the latter conflict compared to the former, even though the population had gone up by half.
Nearly 2% of the 1860 population of the county died in the war. That's the same percentage of the British population that died in World War I! But wait: Halifax County had nearly 15K slaves in 1860, which means the death toll represents 4.4% of the white population.
I think that is an incredibly telling statistic about why the American Civil War looms so large and took the shape that it did in Southern memory. Set aside Reconstruction bitterness or the experience of battles, raids, foraging, and occupation. Just consider that level of life loss alone. It had to be rationalized as heroism and martyrdom, to be venerated for eternity. It couldn't have been a mistake; it can't be our Flanders Field. Americans are exceptional. They don't make mistakes.