by Kay Roberts
Pittsboro, NC –
History
— the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.
— a past notable for its important, unusual, or interesting events. https://www.dictionary.com
I have read that a decision about the Confederate monument will be made on August 19 at the historic Chatham County courthouse in Pittsboro. It has been stated that you should come and see democracy at work and be there as the commissioners move Chatham County forward. I agree. Everyone who had an ancestor who fought for the South should be there to represent their families’ name. Be there to ensure the commissioners listen to the majority of people that want the monument to stay. This is what democracy really is. The voice of the people.
The monument represents the 1900 people from Chatham who fought for their families. It’s time we fought for them. In these meetings we have been called traitors, racists, ignorant and white supremacists.
Does this monument represent all of our residents like some people think it should? The answer is no. It was never supposed to. It represented the soldiers who fought in the war. This is no different than the memorial we have that represents the first responders of 911. It doesn’t represent all of us either. It represents the firefighters and others who helped on that terrible day. It represents a snapshot of time that should not be forgotten.
This monument represents the soldiers that fought for their families. Many died of disease, malnutrition and out right killed in their defense. It stands as a tombstone to the soldiers it memorializes, and that is all it needs to do.
The churches around Pittsboro hold the remains of many of these soldiers. Churches like Pittsboro Presbyterian, Lystra, Manns Chapel, Mt. Pigsah, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal, Pittsboro Methodist, Pittsboro Baptist, Hanks Chapel, Bells Baptist, Mt. Gilead Baptist, and Martha’s Chapel just to name a few. Many of our Chatham citizens lay in places like Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick Maryland, Blandford Church Cemetery in Petersburg Virginia, Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn New York, Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira New York, and Confederate Cemetery in Pt. Lookout Maryland.
Quote from Jefferson Davis – “Nothing fills me with deeper sadness than to see a Southerner apologizing for the defense we made of our inheritance.”
Quote from Tim Heaton – “Why do Southerners still care about the Civil War? Because it is unique in the American experience. Defeat was total, surrender unconditional and the land still occupied.”
And this last one from Bruce Catton – “There is no other legend quite like the legend of the Confederate fighting man. He reached the end of his haunted road long ago. He fought for a star-crossed cause and in the end he was beaten, but as he carried his slashed red battle flag into the dusky twilight of the Lost Cause he marched straight into a legend that will live as long as the American people care to remember anything about the American past.“
Remember August 19 at the old historic courthouse at 6 pm. Be there and let the Chatham County commissioners know we want the monument left alone!