Hundreds of residents have come together to fully fund the removal and relocation of the Talbot Boys Confederate monument. Move the Monument Coalition set up a fund through Mid-Shore Community Foundation to raise necessary funds so the monument could be moved at no expense to taxpayers.
The goal of $82,000 included $67,000 for Stratified Inc., a Washington, D.C., based firm, to remove the Confederate monument from the county courthouse lawn to Cross Keys Battlefield in Rockingham County, Va and $15,000 for additional ground preparation and set-up at the Battlefield.
After presentations and debate at Tuesday’s County Council meeting it was determined that the monument will be relocated to Cross Keys Battlefield as stated in Council’s previous resolution passed in September.
“For too long, county leadership has been deaf to the voices of those in our community who are hurt by the presence of the Talbot Boys statue on the courthouse lawn and the symbolism that accompanies it.”, says Councilman Pete Lesher. “The relocation of the monument to a preserved Civil War battlefield where many of these men fought strikes a fair compromise – allowing the monument to be publicly accessible while removing it from view of the front door of our halls of justice.
In its new location, it will gain valuable context and interpretation that it has, until now, lacked, from a preservation organization with an established record of responsible stewardship. The quick fundraising response to the grassroots campaign to move the monument speaks volumes about the importance and urgency of this move for our community, and I want to thank all who stepped forward to make it happen.”
“The County Council’s decision to move forward with the Cross Keys Battlefield site in Virginia is wholly appropriate.”, says historian Dominic Terrone. “The site is on the hallowed ground of a civil war battlefield in a serene, picturesque environment. Under the leadership of Marylander Isaac R. Trimble, Confederates won a clear victory at Cross Keys as part of Stonewall Jackson’s famous Valley Campaign, and thus, it is a fitting place for the Talbot Boys monument.”
Gerri Leder says
Okay, so the removal has been approved by the town council in September and an RFP process and fundraising followed. Now private sources are covering the expense. What is holding up the removal?
In Baltimore City, the offending statues were removed overnight, under a cover of darkness and (I believe) at taxpayer expense.
Out of respect for the people who are offended by the statue, I would hope it would be removed immediately.
Bill Korab says
I hope everyone is happy now.
The $82,000 could have helped local people
hurt by the pandemic or maybe some of those
people impacted by the tornado.
But history is history. The $82,000 was wasted.
Congratulations.
Charles Zvirman says
What makes you so sure those of us who donated to the MTM fund are not also making donations to local food banks, Talbot Interfaith Shelter and other charitable organizations? I’ll make the assumption that you personally donated generously to the local folks impacted by the pandemic and tornado.
Jill Poe says
The sooner the move takes place the better off for everyone involved. This constitutes a shift, a demoralization of this county, a dumbing down of you will. So good luck to everyone involved in moving this statue. To be sure, the character of those who are “upset by the statue” does not compare with that of those who it represents.
William Poe says
This is a smoke screen to take people’s attention away from the real issues in Talbot county. Covid case information not reported correctly. Massive out of control growth and how to ever fund the infrastructure that will be needed. The deplorable condition of the Bay caused by the out of control growth. Deal with that.
Paul Callahan says
The confederate flag should not be displayed in public spaces. Right or wrong the reality is that the flag has become an offensive symbol to many. That flag however is not of historical significance for Talbot County. The statue with its flag is really just a “flourish” on top a marker to remember certain ancestors of Talbot.
The research of these men and of this monument, of which I participated significantly, revealed that nearly two thirds of the men listed on that monument enlisted for the confederacy within a few months after the President of the United States ordered the arrest and imprisonment of Talbot County’s judge. Our Judge, Richard Bennett Carmichael was devoted to the Constitution of the United States and attempted to protect the citizens of Talbot from the Federal occupying forces that were directly violating our citizens’ Constitutional protections.
125 Federal troops surrounded Talbot’s courthouse, beat and dragged our Judge from his bench and imprisoned him without charges or trial. This incident became national news and was used as an example of the over-reaching and unlawful authority being asserted by the Executive branch of our national government. This incident immediately sparked a huge surge of enlistments into the confederacy by Talbot citizens. As stated above, over two thirds of the names listed on that monument enlisted within a few months of that historically significant event.
I would like to believe that if the day comes that a President consolidates power around himself and begins arresting opposing members of Congress, State legislatures, city councils and local judges, suspends Constitutional Rights and protections of our citizens, and sends his forces into our communities to suppress our free will and to impose his political ideology upon us, that many of us would become “Talbot Boys”. This is not a matter of “race”, it is not a white, black or brown issue – it is one of liberty and of being an American. It means that ultimately the responsibility rests upon all of us to protect our freedom and liberties. This should be something that our local “progressives” should respect, but unfortunately because of basic historical ignorance and an ideology that blinds them from seeing truth or facts that does not support their cause – they truly do not know what they do.
What we all should find very disturbing by the Talbot Boys debate is the reality that so many will ignore facts and truth if such does not support their ideology. One side refused to accept that the confederate flag was offensive while the other side refused to accept all research that did not support their ideology of a history based on racism. Even the microfilm images of the actual enlistment records of the Talbot Boys was denied as historical facts since such research was not done by some PHD professor from some liberal arts college.
It should be very disturbing to those on both sides of this issue that we as a community were not able to acknowledge and respect what was important to those on the other side. Each side entrenched into their ideology to where ideology was more important than truth, and where the opposing side could not promote truth because of their ideology. This seems to be a spiral which we are experiencing on a national level and which we all should take a moment and realize the destructiveness of this behavior.
Barbara Perry says
To quote from your letter. “I would like to believe that if the day comes that a President consolidates power around himself and begins arresting opposing members of Congress, State legislatures, city councils and local judges, suspends Constitutional Rights and protections of our citizens, and sends his forces into our communities to suppress our free will and to impose his political ideology upon us, that many of us would become “Talbot Boys”.
Part of this did happen on January 6, 2021 and I truly fear that more could happen in 2024. Here is a Washington Post article that tells a chilling tale of a possibility that I don’t want to see happen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/17/eaton-taguba-anderson-generals-military/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F358e448%2F61be12789d2fdab56bced79c%2F59729f2bae7e8a1cf4ac536f%2F17%2F70%2F61be12789d2fdab56bced79c
Paul Callahan says
Jan 6th and what I described have absolutely nothing in common. The example I describe would be closer to what could have happened if those rioters were successful, and the then President grabbed and consolidated power around himself.
What if that President did that, declared marshal law and began arresting the democrats in Congress while ignoring the Supreme Court? Of course he would be doing this to “save the nation” and would have the support of many. There would be “loyalists” and “traitors”. The non-loyal would be rounded up and imprisoned no trials would be granted to them. The press would strictly censored to ensure only appropriate loyal news is reported. Editors that did not comply would be imprisoned.
What I described above actually happened in Maryland 1861. So please answer this – if these events happened in Jan 2021. Would you have a problem with that? would you be a rebellious traitor? Would you be a “Talbot Boy / Girl”?
Keep in mind if you loose you will forever be labeled a “Traitor to our Nation” that only fought to preserve the system of systemic racism then in place.
Mickey Terrone says
Paul, pardon me while I LOL at your attempt to play referee in this debate. I will remind you that the positions you took in both of these recent letters is almost wholly partisan and based largely on mythology and abased opinion. Your suggestion of a “huge surge” in Confederate enlistments is nonsense. While forty or 50 men from Talbot were added in 1862 to total about 82, your again need to be reminded that nearly 10 times that number of white and black men fought for the Union. There was no “surge”. It was a trickle at best.
You also need to be reminded again that Union troops appeared here in Talbot County in June, 1862 because this county’s secessionist political leaders had declared the county to be in support of the Confederacy in April, 1861. In effect, they declared marshal law, created a “Committee of Safety” and ordered all citizens to remain at home, stores were closed and citizens ordered to refrain from any anti-confederate expressions. Did Judge Carmichael denounce this complete suppression of civil rights? No, he was a secessionist and fully supported this attempt to radicalize Talbot County. He had full knowledge of the will of the majority of our citizens that the county did not support secession, as reflected in the 847-666 February 4, 1861 vote to send a Unionist slate of voters to Baltimore to support Maryland’s desire not to join the Confederacy. Carmichael acted as if Talbot County was in the Confederacy. It took over a year for the military to act, but its apparent to me that the state and federal officials worked together in response to patriotic Talbot County residents to reestablish the rule of law in Talbot County.
If you are looking for relevance to today, perhaps you might grasp that when political officials attempt to ignore free and fair votes by the people, as this 847-666 vote was, and declare martial law with secessionist military leaders like General Tench Tilghman as the local military hammer of enforcement, you’ll have a direct connection with Trump and much of today’s Republican leadership conspiring to usurp power by forcibly preventing the election process to be completed.
I’m certain that you are aware that the Habeas Corpus “guarantee” in our US Constitution is qualified to the extent that it shall not be suspended “unless when in Cases of Rebellion of Invasion the public Safety may require it.” Well, 7 states declared the US Constitution null and void and a minority of Marylanders was seeking also to declare Maryland as part of the Confederacy. That qualification easily falls within the words and intentions of the Founding Fathers to deny Habeas Corpus to treasonous acts.
While I don’t completely dismiss your “research” on Confederate enlistments (although I don’t know if or where the details were shared with the public), you simply cannot reasonably assume those 40-50 men enlisted because of the attack on Judge Carmichael. Just as I cannot and do not presume that each of the men whose names are enscribed on the Talbot Boys statue joined solely to maintain slavery, I don’t have to in order to grasp the reality of those times. Those men opted to join the Confederate Army (or at least support the Confederate enterprise). They knew what the Confederacy was trying to accomplish. They may not have been scholars, but they were not stupid.
I hope that we can move forward from ths point to preserve Talbot County’s true history and not the mythology that the statue represented for a century. We have a very balanced start with Dickson Preston’s book. If you disagree with his findings, its up to you to disprove them.
Wishing you and your family a happy New Year!
Mickey
Bill Aiken says
My thanks to all who are making this happen. This is clearly the right thing to do.