Remarks by Laura Price at the January 26, 2021 meeting:
What we are witnessing in this country is heartbreaking and totally unacceptable. I truly can’t believe that people are treating other human beings with such disrespect and contempt. Civil conversation and civil disagreements have been overtaken by uncivil discourse and protests masquerading as civil disobedience.
While I, and the citizens here in Talbot County can’t fix what is wrong in the whole country, we can come together and heal our community. Everyone has to be willing to learn to live with a middle ground. People on different sides may not like compromising and may feel so strongly that their opinion is right, that they are unwilling to give up until they get their way entirely. But that refusal to listen to each other solves nothing. Bullying, threatening, and especially personal attacks will only further divide us.
There is a way to portray accurately the past and to create unity in the present if people will do it.
People have asked why there was not a monument for the Union side. It was approved over 100 years ago at the same time as the monument for the Confederate side. No one ever raised the funds to build it.
Five years ago, in a work session, the NAACP, asked for a joint Civil War Monument, honoring all the soldiers, both Union and Confederate. No one ever raised the funds to build it.
About four years ago, Rich Merrill contacted council members individually with a concept sketch to create a Unity Monument with statues of both the Union and Confederate boys side by side, wrapped in a big American Flag. Things in the country were relatively quiet at the time and none of us pursued it.
Now we find ourselves in a time, where no one can even communicate with one another. There seems to be no point to having more meetings and work sessions, because no side is willing to compromise.
What I have had prepared, the administrative resolution that has not been introduced yet, proposes this Unity Monument. Something that preserves what is here and tells a more complete story of the Civil War history by building upon and not tearing down. People have been tearing each other down enough, it’s time to stop and bring Unity to our Community.
Laura Price
Talbot County Council
Comments 1/26/21
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ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTION
AN ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND, PROVIDING FOR THE COMPLETION AND CREATION OF A CIVIL WAR UNITY MONUMENT AND ESTABLISHING A FUND FOR ALL CITIZENS TO COME TOGETHER IN A JOINT EFFORT TO RECOGNIZE TALBOT COUNTY’S ROLE IN THE CIVIL WAR
WHEREAS, the County Council recognizes that Talbot County has a unique history related to the Civil War; and many citizens have expressed their desire to more completely tell the history of Talbot County and to remind us that families were split as the Civil War divided the community; and,
WHEREAS, for several years, the County Council has been approached by multiple groups to create a “Civil War Monument” which portrays and acknowledges all those who fought and died on both sides of the Civil War; and,
WHEREAS, the existing monument on the Talbot County Courthouse grounds only lists the Confederate soldiers from Talbot County who served in the Civil War; and,
WHEREAS, recognizing Talbot County as a place where people from many backgrounds come together to enjoy the County’s natural beauty, its history and the wealth of activities offered here, the County Council finds that the existing monument should be transformed by adding a Union soldier of similar size, style and design as the Confederate soldier, and listing the names of the Union soldiers from Talbot County who served in the Civil War; and,
WHEREAS, the County Council feels the most equitable solution to bring our community together is to complete the monument by building up and not tearing down, as it is important to preserve and expand our understanding of the history of Maryland and particularly of Talbot County during those years of conflict; and,
WHEREAS, following in the history that all existing monuments have been constructed with private donations, the County Council directs the Finance Office to create a restricted fund to receive private and/or grant contributions, allowing all those who want to donate a means to do so; and,
WHEREAS, the Maryland Historical Trust found that the monument is significant for its commemoration of those soldiers from Talbot County who served in the Civil War, and the County Council will have any new design presented and approved by the Easton Historic District Commission before any changes take place; and,
WHEREAS, the County Council is committed to continuing to tell the diverse history of Talbot County.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the County Council of Talbot County, Maryland, in an effort to more completely reflect the historical record and in order to move forward as a unified community, that the County Council shall augment the existing monument by adding a Union soldier adjacent to the existing Confederate soldier and by updating the base as follows:
- Recitals: The above recitals are hereby incorporated as if fully set forth.
- Modification of Existing Monument. The County Council supports augmenting the existing monument by adding a Union soldier of similar size, style and design as the Confederate soldier and listing the names of Union soldiers from Talbot County who fought in the Civil War, in a manner that will conform to any and all Civil War memorial standards.
- Placement of Monument. The augmented Civil War Monument, representing soldiers from the Confederate and Union armies will remain in its current location on the grounds of the Talbot County Courthouse.
- Funding of Expanded Civil War Monument. Funds will be solicited from citizens of Maryland and from the State of Maryland through grant applications.
- Design of the Expanded Civil War Monument. The County Council will issue a request for proposal (RFP), approve design of the Civil War Monument, and obtain estimates for the construction of the additions and changes to the existing monument.
- Schedule for Project Initiation. As soon as there are sufficient funds to complete the project, the County Council will authorize initiation of the project.
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THIS RESOLUTION SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY FROM THIS DATE HEREOF.
GIVEN UNDER OUR HANDS AND THE GREAT SEAL OF TALBOT COUNTY, THIS ___ DAY OF JANUARY, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY ONE
Attest:
Susan Moran, Secretary
Chuck Callahan, President
Pete Lesher, Vice President
Frank Divilio
Corey Pack
Laura Price
Henry Herr says
I just don’t understand why Ms. Price continues to lie? I’ve pointed this out in the past. I’ve sat in front of her over a year ago stating I’ll pay for the Union monument, you just tell me who I have to talk to. She continues to say that no one has raised funds, when people have explained money is no issue. She says that we cannot communicate, when she refuses to respond or meet with the NAACP and faith leaders. She states we should only meet individual councilmembers but refuses to meet with them. This bad faith statement to try and state that people can’t work together when she states there is no diversity problems in the county is exhausting. Furthermore, monuments aren’t history, The National Trust for Historic Preservation has made that evident.
Paul says
Henry, Your accusation that Mrs. Price “continues to lie” is totally inappropriate and I don’t understand why the SPY moderator allowed that to be published (or maybe I do). I call into question your assertion that you said you would “pay for the Union monument”. My understanding is that your are fairly young, maybe early 20s? So unless you have a nice trust fund, I have to call that into question. However, if you do have that type of bank account THANK YOU for your donation to build the monument to the Union men!
Lynn says
Mr. Herr. Please tell the Spy readers how much you are were willing to contribute to “pay for the Union monument”. The Preserve Talbot History Coalition supports a Union monument. We would welcome a donation from you. Please visit preservetalbothistory.org for contact information to make your contribution to the Union monument.
Stephen Schaare says
Dear Ms. Price, I have just read your thoughtful and reasoned remarks of 1/26/21 in “The Talbot Spy”. Take cover!
Vincent DeSanctis says
Laura Price’s LTE has all the hallmarks of being both conciliatory and a practical solution to the Confederate Statue. Unfortunately there is an unresolvable dilemma: a false equivalency between those who sought dissolution of the union and those who supported the union. Teaching the difficulties of mixed loyalties during the civil war is a very legitimate matter for educating Americans. However location on property leading to a facility intended to provide justice to all is simply wrong. This circumstance cannot be papered over by such a compromise.
Rev Julie Hart says
I stopped cold at the point of ‘augmenting-transforming’ the current monument. It’s obvious that you do not see it for what it is, as is true for many. This offending relic needs to move on; somewhere else. We don’t need to remember or honor what it represented and still represents to persons of color; and people who are sensitive to racial issues.
Why not start a fund to move this offensive monument; just like our Southern States are removing such representations from their Courthouse lawns, public parks,flags, or seals. Talbot County’s history is no more unique than any other State’s.
It’s time to move into this new millennium toward a future that The Rev Dr Martin Luther King dreamt of–a beautiful vision toward which all people should be working. Unity does not mean conformity. What I interpreted from what I just read is a call for conformity.
I’m going to go back a number of months when I submitted a Letter to the Editor for The Star Democrat, which was printed. That perhaps a bench placed there was most appropriate, so that anyone could sit there and reflect on what the Courthouse stands for; justice for all.
So, no I do not buy into “white-washing” the current monument so that it is less offensive. Really!? Really!!?? Nothing will change what it is. Let’s stop honoring the Insurrection of 1861. Putting a Union Soldier alongside the Rebel Soldier doesn’t change a thing!!
The change needed is within ourselves; every one of us.
The Rev Julie Hart
Paul says
Rev Hart,
Do you realize that our Courthouse is a site where 125 government troops surrounded it, beat our judge unconscious, drug him for that courthouse and imprisoned him for months in a very dank and dark cell without charges or any due process of law? His crime? Attempting to uphold the Constitutional protections of our citizens. Do you know when he was released from prison he went right back to the bench (Kent County) and he tried to do the exact same thing again? In his words to the grand jury “…. my obligation stands in the terms and meaning of my oath – to support the Constitution of the United States”
Rev Hart, You need to realize that without citizens willing to stand up when our liberties are taken from or denied us, we all would be slaves to an oppressive government. If you would like to read more about Judge Carmichael and the actual sources from what I have said above, go to http://www.preservetalbothistory.org Thank you
Henry Herr says
Mr. Callahan, not going to answer previous remarks? Have you no history to back up your mischaracterizations and misquotes? Do you dare compare what happened to one white judge to slavery on Talbot County? You cannot argue that it’s just history when you can’t prove it. You can’t say it’s just a statue when there are literal children calling in and telling you how this statue makes them feel as a minority in Talbot County. You are defining your role in the history of this monument. Swearing to protect a misguided mischaracterization of history that hurts people.
Jim Richardson says
One fact that both Laura Price and Paul Callahan refuse to acknowledge is the Confederate flag that is very much part of the Confederate monument – the same white supremacy flag that has been prominently displayed by the Proud Boys attack on the Capitol in Washington, in Charlottesville, and in Charleston. I invite each of them to address this question.
paul says
Jim, That is a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed one way or the other. The Talbot Boys flag probably is supposed to represent the regimental flag of the Maryland 2nd Division (confederates), of which the flag bearer of that division, a Talbot Countian from Trappe, was killed at Gettysburg. Unfortunately that regimental flag is almost indistinguishable from that of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The understanding of the motivations (Maryland events) for these men to rise against the Federal government along with the history of this monument as to who placed it, its purpose, intent and “theme” gives us better context as to how to best address the issue you raise.
Now I don’t mean the entire argument as to why the deep South seceded and their purpose or intent, or the national debate as to why some or many monuments were place – that is impossible to resolve on our community level. It is only about these men and this monument and a huge amount of research has been done on that very issue.
Now I am a veteran who served honorably for nearly a decade of my life. When I learned of the events these boys were faced, I have no problem with their names at our courthouse, many Patriots then and now would have done the same as they if faced with the same circumstances.
The Preserve Talbot History coalition has uncovered important documents that solves the purpose, intent, and “theme” of this very monument. Stay tuned that will be published soon….
Margot Miller says
An unity proposal? (Groan)
Jeanne Bishop says
History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from. And if it offends you, even better. Because then we are less likely to repeat it. It is not yours to erase. It belongs to all of us!
The Talbot Boys and Frederick Douglass statues together tell a history of change in Talbot County! A good change.
Henry Herr says
I’m 30, there’s a Washington Post article written about me telling the council I would pay for the counterpart monument. It’s obviously been recorded because it was a council meeting. So when Ms. Price states no one raised funds, that’s a lie. It’s not an insult. It’s a fact. I sat right in front of her saying I have them. How much money I have and where I got it doesn’t concern you.
Eva M. Smorzaniuk, M.D. says
Monuments that are separate but equal?! What a tribute to the prevalent social opinion that inspired the erection of the statue in 1916! I guess we want to preserve the Jim Crow past by reinstating it?
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Eva, As we all know, the Supreme Court ruling on “Brown v Board of education ” was that separate but equal is NOT equal.
Lynn says
There are separate but equal monuments at Gettysburg (I suggest you read the article in today’s Star Democrat: “Can there be a middle ground”. Also the OpEd today in the Spy: “Talbot Boys Monument Tied to Gettysburg Reunion of 1913”. It was the original plan here in Talbot County in 1913 for two separate monuments. It was what Richard Potter, President of our local NAACP branch proposed in 2016 (adding a Union monument)and the Talbot County Council approved in 2016. There are two separate monuments in Chestertown. One erected in 1917 to the white civil war veterans. A separate monument was erected in 1997 to the African American civil war veterans. Talk about separate but equal… The proposed Talbot County Unity monument would honor all union veterans including the USCT and the Unionville 18. So those opposed to a unity monument do not support honoring the USCT and especially the Unionville 18 on the courthouse green?
Richard Merrill says
I am Rich Merrill. I have been working on the idea of saving the Talbot Boys since 2017. It was in 2017 that I realized that the issue of the Talbot Boys was not going away. I called my idea the “Reconciliation Statue”. It was exactlly what Laura Price described as the “Unity Statue”. At that point in time, late 2017, I saw a bright red line down the middle of the County and it wasn’t going away. Nobody was going to approach the red line or even reach across it. I thought (and still believe) that I have found a solution. I talked to many people on both sides over about two years. Just discussion without demanding any commitment. I was well and courteously received. And at the time I always began the discussion by congratulating the entire County for being peaceful and civil. As a downside, because of the calm environment, nobody was really felt the need for action. And, I admit that I didn’t have the horsepower to carry this project over the goal line. I had a sculptor, a foundry and possibly even some money commitments. It’s going to take a lot of money. As easy as it might seem to have one person pay for the statue, the new statue (in whatever form) would never be legitimate unless we have support ($) from both sides.
As the years progressed, into late 2019 and “ugly 2020”, all I saw was an increased political polarization on EVERYTHING. The sweet spot in time had passed. Maybe it would get better, or not. It didn’t. People only approached the bright red line for the purposes of yelling at the people on the other side. The comments here on the Spy and the continuing flow of letters to the Star Dem are prime examples. I am not an Easton native but I have become very attached to this place and all this nastiness breaks my heart.
“I’m tired of all the division. Tired of the disunity. Tired of the people who manufacture a reason to fight.”
Former US Representative, Trey Gowdy
“Reconciliation can never begin with me telling you to clean your slate. Cleaning the slate does not mean minimizing, excusing or forgetting the past. Our history matters both how we got here collectively as a nation and how we move forward into the future. When we clean our slate we make a conscious decision to allow the past to remain in the past.”
US Senator Tim Scott
Is there no one out there willing to forgive and move forward towards reconciliation? To quote Reverand Hart, “The change needed is within ourselves: every one of us.“ Can you show us some leadership Reverand? Let’s all meet in the middle. I know there is a group that is pursuing the Unity Statue and I look forward to meeting them. I have been predicting that this project would put Easton and Talbot County on the map. The Reconciliation Statue will someday be depicted on the letterhead and websites of the Chamber Of Commerce, the Town and County Government and the Tourism Department. Show me another town that has been able to do this.
Finally, back to a more technical point. I have had help with research on the Talbot Boys who fought on both sides. The names on the stone are only a small part of the almost 200 documented Talbot Boys who “crossed the river”. Many of them returned after the war and were productive citizens. Nineteen are buried in Spring Hill Cemetery. There were something like 350-400 Talbot Boys who were enlisted for the North. (The North had much better records that survived the war. Not so much for the South.) However, the task of identifying all those names and listing them on the Courtyard would be a fools errand. We would never get it right. I would like to recommend a base stone with no names, just a simple inscription.
In memory of the Talbot Boys who fought on both sides of the Civil War.
Their fight is long finished.
May their work at Peace and Reconcilliation
continue for all Talbot Countians.
Paul Callahan says
Thank you Richard for your well written comments, and I look forward to meeting you personally. I do believe all the names that we can uncover should be included. My personal idea is to include all of them together in alphabetical order, Union, USCT and Confederate with some annotation to show which one they were. This would strikingly reveal how families were split apart in that conflict and how many family names remain in our county – both blacks and whites.
During my research I have done into Talbot’s USCTs troops, I was struck by so many family names I recognized as the same as those of my childhood friends while growing up in Oxford. I can only imagine how proud they would be, along with so many others in Talbot’s black community, by seeing their family names on the Unity monument.
Rev Julie Hart says
Dear Mr Merrill,
Well, I just learned that there are more names of Confederates that are not listed. AND that a large number are buried in Springhill. Insightful.
Is it then possible to move the Statue there where it does seem most appropriate?
Then the historic Springhill Cemetery could be included in Talbot County, and Easton Tourism brochures, as a place of interest to those seeking Civil War history. Perhaps as part of a Civil War Tour, The Hill, and Unionville could be included? As part of Springhill, perhaps the veterans of other wars could also be referenced. Are their Revolutionary veterans interred there? The Spanish American War? Surely WWI AND II? Korea? Vietnam? Desert Storm?
It seems right and salutary that The Talbot Boys Statue should rest in peace with those it represents.
Thank you Mr. Merrill. Without the information you provided I would never have been guided to this possible solution. If agreeable perhaps we can lay this all to a peaceful and worthy rest.
To that end, for the requested leadership, I offer my clerical services to that day of Dedication. Thanks be to God!
The Rev Julie Hart
Jonathan West, (USMC, Ret.) says
I will give $100 to the new Union monument. It should also include black Union soldiers who fought and died from Talbot County.