Confederate Monument may be moved time will tell

Botetourt County’s Confederate monument, an obelisk that has stood in front of the Botetourt County Courthouse since 1904, may be moved to another location on the courthouse grounds.

The Board of Supervisors accepted an 88-page report from the county’s Monuments and Memorials Committee at the January 26, 2021 meeting. The Committee recommended moving the monument away from the front door of the Courthouse and into an area that Amsterdam District Supervisor Steve Clinton called, “an upgrade to its presence and an upgrade to its dignity.”

Accepting the report did not mean a verdict was in, however. The county must hold a public hearing on the matter before determining if the monument would stay in its current location or be moved in conjunction with a renovation of the county courthouse, according to comments made by the county attorney at the meeting. The courthouse renovation projection is still in the planning stages, with concept designs due to be shown to the Supervisors at the March meeting at the earliest.

Several people spoke during the public comment period and asked the county to keep the monument in its current location. One man from Cloverdale called the monument “a headstone to the men who never came home” after fighting in America’s Civil War during the years of 1861 to 1865. Many who spoke asked the county to ignore the committee report and instead place the issue on a referendum ballot in November.

Beth Leffel, a committee member representing the Botetourt County Historical Society and Museum, gave the recommendation to the supervisors. She said a committee of 17 people worked well together and the group consisted of diverse opinions. While the committee was aware of the possibility of a referendum, as meetings progressed it became clear that the decision should be incumbent upon the Board of Supervisors to, “do the right thing,” she said.

She called the solution the committee was recommending a “respectful compromise” to an emotionally charged issue.

The general consensus by the committee was that the appropriate placement of the monument was near the Botetourt County History Museum. Additionally, there should be a plaque to provide historical context to the monument. The committee did not recommend an actual location; instead, the architectural firm working on the upgrades to the county courthouse has been tasked with assessing and finding the best location for the monument in the courthouse vicinity, according to the report.

The Confederate monument became an issue last year, when citizens took to the streets to protest police treatment of Blacks. The Confederate monuments in Richmond became a point of contention and Botetourt County’s Confederate monument was doused in red paint.

The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation that allows governments to assess the location of monuments and memorials on public property. The legislation grants the Board of Supervisors the authority to assess such monuments and decide how to handle them. Local governments could either leave the monuments, contextualize them, cover them, or remove them.

Local governments could either use non-binding voter referendums or other methods to receive public input. Botetourt chose to go with a committee and a public hearings.

Members of the committee represented the county’s historical community, the school division, local government, veterans groups, and others. The committee held eight public meetings in all.

“It was clear from the beginning that dealing with an historic Confederate monument that has stood more than 100 years would evoke a range of emotions,” the report states. “In particular, those emotions may be strong for those who have ancestors who are recognized on the monument. Also those emotions may be strong for those who view the monument as a reminder that they and their ancestors may not have been, nor they themselves may still not be treated, to color-blind justice and fairness when dealing with federal, state and local law enforcement, courts and government administrations.”

Clinton said every discussion included efforts to upgrade the presence of the monument, not diminish it.

“Wherever it goes, it will be an improvement as part of an overall facilities plan,” he said.

The public hearing will be held at a later date, as yet unspecified.

                                                            — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee