Landrieu Pushing His Book on the Backs of the Confederate Monuments

I'm writing this post prior to Mitch Landrieu's appearance tonight on 60 Minutes; I don't plan to watch.

Mayor Landrieu is publicizing his new book which is out March 20 and as the mayor blusters and pontificates all over the media, one can't help but consider how he relished the monument drama as fuel for future book sales.

This week he spoke to the press about his plans for the sites in New Orleans that previously held Confederate monuments.  It's been about a year since Landrieu had four monuments removed: the monument at Liberty Place was taken in the dead of night. In the following days and weeks Landrieu also removed those of  Jefferson Davis, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Robert E. Lee, leaving blighted public areas and empty pedestals in their place. 

During Mardi Gras, he placed a ring of porta-potties around Lee Circle.

The whole issue still makes me angry when I think about it.  My position has always been that these monuments represent history and to destroy public art does not change that history or make it disappear.  Landrieu never engaged the opposing side in any of his plans, an effort that certainly would have been better for the city and reduced tension.  But that wouldn't have sold as many books.

At these sites, Mayor Landrieu plans to place an American flag where the Jefferson Davis monument stood.  As for Lee Circle, he's deferring that to others to decide.  At the Beauregard site, the City Park Improvement Association will landscape and clean up the area and the pedestal will be removed.  Nothing will go where the Liberty Place monument was.

Landrieu says that those companies who didn't make their equipment available to him to remove the statues were practicing "industrial racism" and he continues to insult the ancestors of a great number of southerners:

"Really what these monuments were, were a lie," Landrieu told Cooper on "60 Minutes. "Robert E. Lee was used as an example to send a message to the rest of the country, and to all the people that lived here, that the Confederacy was a noble cause. And that's just not true."

It's difficult to know what to say to people who refuse to see both sides of history.  And I'm a little embarrassed for him for being so blind and uninformed.

The entire monument removal fiasco was questionable on many levels and many questioned various legal aspects of the project, including who paid for the removal, why city workers were used to remove the monuments, and who was behind the foundation that funded part of the removal.

He said the monuments belong in museums but a year later they are still crated up in some city warehouse.

That Landrieu is kicking the can down the road with regard to the placement of the monuments themselves should surprise no one.  As Mike Bayham points out, Landrieu wants to go on his book tour as the guy who removed the monuments, "not rearranged them."

But you can rest assured that whenever (or if ever) Davis, et al leave the city warehouse, Landrieu will be basking in the klieg lights of the media to criticize wherever they go, because that’s his racket and sole source of relevancy in the national media. 

Instead of transferring the statues to an appropriate historic venue that would secure and maintain them, New Orleans is going to be treated to a new round of acrimonious bickering in shouting matches euphemistically labeled “listening sessions”, with the fringes of both sides being prominently featured by the media. Dragging things out benefits Landrieu’s national stature, though not the incoming New Orleans government, which should be focused on the quality of life matters that will be left festering on their doorstep. 

While New Orleans is one of the most historic, vibrant, and beautiful cities in the South, it has suffered greatly under Landrieu's tenure.  Crime has been out of control and the mayor has made little effort to do anything about that.  He is now a lame duck as he prepares to step aside for the new mayor elect, LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat who won the election with 60.4% of the vote.

One hopes that the incoming administration will deal with this issue with more finesse than Landrieu has done.



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SIGIS Raising Money for the Confederate Monument

The ladies of the United Daughters of the Confederacy have responded to John Settle's lawsuit filed to determine ownership of the land under the Caddo Parish Confederate monument.

Via The Shreveport Times:

The Shreveport chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has thrown down its first marker challenging any move by Caddo Parish government to remove the Confederate monument from courthouse grounds. The UDC chapter declared in a court filing that it owns both the monument and the land the monument stands on at the Caddo Courthouse and, as a result, that the parish cannot legally move the 101-year-old edifice.

Settle filed a lawsuit in Caddo District court last month although his standing to file suit is unclear as he clearly is not a Daughter nor a Commissioner.  Settle named both the UDC and the Caddo Commission as defendants in his suit.

The Caddo Commission has asked the judge to dismiss the suit.

Whether the judge dismisses the suit or not, the issue of ownership has been ongoing for years and perhaps now is the time to put that to rest.

Through the years I've had many friends of this blog reach out and chip in when I've asked for support for school supplies or other charitable causes.  I have been astounded at the generosity of my readers and although my readership has dwindled some as I took some time off to write my book, there are still plenty of you still here.  I'm very grateful that you have stuck around!

I am donating all PayPal donations through this blog through October to the United Daughters of the Confederacy local chapter for their legal defense fund.

As Confederate monuments across the South are being ripped from their pedestals, I think we can be different and we can show the nation that we can reconcile this issue peaceably and through compromise.  At the very least this monument is unique among the other monuments across the South; its design is unlike any other.  It is a beautiful work of art.

Some contend that moving the monument to a museum would ensure further appreciation for it but what we would lose is the historicity of the monument: it's historic value comes from the site upon which it sits.

I have made a donation to the UDC to their legal defense fund. It will cost money to fight to keep the monument where it is.  You can donate either through this blog (hit the PayPal button on the right sidebar) or you can mail a check to the UDC.  No amount is too small.

If you can't donate anything, please share with someone who can.

A million protests and a million signatures on a petition won't do what dollars can do.  This monument fight is different than any other across the South: the UDC was donated the land in 1903 and now must fight legally to retain it.  This will take money.

Hit the PayPal button on the sidebar.  We can save this monument.

The UDC ladies back in the day built this monument with donations from bake sales and other fundraisers - a dollar here, a nickle there, and we can save it the same way today.  Donate what you can.

UPDATE:
Thank you "Anonymous" for your $25.00!

Previous Posts on This Blog:
On Mysterious Flowers and Monuments (9/17/17)

Caddo Monument Rally Bringing Outside Agitators to Shreveport (9/16/17)

The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument is Not Being Moved (9/10/17)

Mitch's Masked Men Scrape Jefferson Davis from his Pedestal (5/11/17)

In Defending Jefferson Davis, Arlene Barnum is a Class Act (4/30/17)

List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA ...is Puzzling (4/23/17)
Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16

Caddo Monument Rally Bringing Outside Agitators to Shreveport

I am watching with unease all of the protests around Confederate monuments, most recently in Dallas and now in Richmond.  I am uneasy about the upcoming rally in Shreveport, not because our monument is in danger (it isn't), but because of outside agitators coming to our city.

Our monument situation is different than monuments in many of these other cities. Most of those are not on private land as ours is.  Shreveport's situation is unique.

That being said, there are still groups planning to agitate and protest in our city comprised primarily of people who don't live here:

A group invoking what it describes as southern cultural heritage and Christian values plans to stage rallies to protest the possible removal of the Confederate monument at the Caddo Parish Courthouse. 

The organizer, who says he represents the Gulf Coast Patriot Network, has used Facebook to get word out about the events planned for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in language that accuses groups such as Black Lives Matter of engaging in terrorism. The announcement has been widely discussed in social media.  

 The rallies were announced a few days before the Caddo Parish Commission’s Long Range Planning and Special Projects committee voted in favor of removing the Caddo monument. But the committee's vote Tuesday did prompt Rex Dukes to expand his outreach nationally, he said in an interview. Dukes said he founded the Gulf Coast Patriot Network.

While I commend and share their loyalty to heritage and history, I don't condone the outside agitation that comes with these protests.

This is the description of the event from the organizers:

This is a call out to all southern States to all citizen's of the Confederate States of America to come to Shreveport La to stand United as one and to all U.S. citizens that love history and wants it to be preserved and cherished to stand with us to protect our monuments and our southern heritage. This event is to bring about and unite all southern states to protect our history our monuments and our Battle flag and our way of life.we can no longer stand idly by as we are attacked buy the radical groups of ANTIFA, BLM, Cair, MBH, B100 groups that have merged together as one large terrorist group. It is time we show just how United we our as southerners and to show that we will no longer allow the destruction of are country. And to show that the SOUTH HAS RISEN once again to show that we will fight to keep our history and heritage in place.to preserve it for are kids and grand kids and for all the world to see. This event must go down in the history as the largest gathering of southerners to ever happen. GOD Bless Dixie and GOD Bless CSA.

I watched the violence in New Orleans and other cities through many live news feeds.  We don't want that here.

Both the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy have declined to attend these protests as organizations.  It's possible that some members will attend as interested citizens, however.

I now understand better why people in New Orleans didn't want outsiders protesting at their monuments.  In reality, what happens is that this increases the likelihood that the monuments will be removed or vandalized because of the negative attention.

And then there's the Antifa crowd that shows up once these protests are announced. They come with hate and they come with violence.  We do not need that in Shreveport.

I am all for peaceable protest and for the right to protest.  It's the outsiders and the ANTIFA crowd I am against.

Our monument has stood with dignity and peace since 1906.  It has been well preserved and maintained and stands on private ground, enclosed by a fence.  Clio, the muse of history, is pointing to the word Love in her book.  Let's let that continue to be the case.

The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument is Not Being Moved

Former Shreveport attorney John Settle has filed suit in Caddo District Court against the Caddo Parish Commission and the United Daughters of the Confederacy to determine ownership of the land under which the Caddo Parish Confederate Monument has been standing since 1905:

John E. Settle Jr.'s lawsuit asks a Caddo District Court judge to settle a question that has been asked, at least informally, for decades: Who owns the monument land — parish government or the United Daughters of the Confederacy? 

Settle, a former lawyer, filed the lawsuit Monday. In legal terms, the lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment. Named as defendants are the Caddo Parish Commission and Shreveport Chapter 237 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

It is unclear to me what standing Settle has to file this suit, but that's for the court to decide.

My feelings about the nation's monument debate have always been clear.  And while I am a descendant of a Confederate soldier, and while I have lived in the South all of my life, I am sickened as much by the destruction of the art as I am the attempt to hide history.  From a logical standpoint, I can't understand the sudden rush to offense when these monuments have stood for over a hundred years.

But, let's go back to the art for a moment, especially with regard to our Caddo Parish monument. The work on that monument is stunning.  We are privileged to have such a beautiful and unique monument.  I'm going to share a few passages with you from the National Register application for the monument:

Describing Clio:

"...facing inward is a life-size white marble depiction of Clio, the muse of History. She has a classically styled robe draped over her right shoulder that falls gracefully to the ground. Her shoulder-length hair is knotted in the back and captures two sprigs of laurel wreaths bracketing her beautiful idealized face. She peers intently at the pages of a marble book of remembrance about 3' tall on which is written the words “Erected by the

United Daughters of the Confederacy. 1905, Love’s Tribute to Our Gallant Dead. Shreveport Chapter 237”. Her left hand points at the word “Love” on the book.

The key words there are "Tribute to Our Gallant Dead."  How can that be an offense to anyone? The craftsmanship on the monument is stunning and is so evident on the classical detailing of Clio.

In the discussion of the four busts on the monument I believe these remarks about Governor Henry Allen are important:

[On the busts,] "...two important features of sculptor Frank Teich’s work are illustrated: accuracy of uniform depictions and youthful age of soldiers portrayed. The busts of the four generals were realized as three- dimensional representations from consulting Carte-de-visit photographs collected from the war period. The medium is the difficult-to-carve Texas granite. The Caddo Parish Monument likeness of Henry Watkins Allen, Louisiana's Governor and decorated Confederate General, closely resembles his photograph and is the only granite bust and one of only three sculptures of him in Louisiana.

Only one of three?  Shouldn't we treasure that rather than destroy it?  Shouldn't that be something to celebrate rather than deride?

The Caddo Parish Confederate monument is unique when compared to others in that it holds six figures: General Robert E. Lee, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Louisiana’s Confederate General P.G. T. Beauregard, Louisiana’s Confederate General and Governor Henry Watkins Allen, as well as Clio and the lone soldier atop the 30 foot pedestal.

The beauty of the monument is evident as well as the historic site on which it sits.

With the monuments controversy ignited by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu raging across the country, the Caddo Parish Commission turned the issue of our own monument over to their Long Range Planning Committee who in turn formed a sub-committee made up of local historians, scholars, and citizens.  The sub-committee held numerous town-hall meetings across the city, many of which were heated and went on long after the scheduled end time.

Citizens showed up to these meetings to voice their opinions on the monument; the sub-committee recorded all of the input either through the meetings or through email and written opinions and then the sub-committee presented a final finding to the Long Range Planning Committee.

The recommendation by a 5-3 vote was to keep the monument in place and to erect new signage as well as two flanking monuments: one to Civil Rights and one to the Reconstruction era.  The Long Range Planning Committee was to take it to the full Commission for a vote.

So what happened?

In what some saw as an ambush, an ex-officio member of the committee was brought in to vote in the Long Range Planning Committee meeting on September 5, which turned the vote in favor of removal.  No discussion about flanking monuments or new signage, just removal.

This decision was a slap in the face to the months long process of the sub-committee who had already made their recommendation and voted on presenting it to the full Commission as well as to the citizens who attended meetings and voiced opinions, working within the given system.

Which brings us to Settle's lawsuit.

Mr. Settle contends that if the United Daughters of the Confederacy owns the land under the monument, which is commonly believed, then the Commission has no right to vote on removal at all.

Via KTBS:

There are legal questions about whether the parish has the authority to remove the monument, which has the likeness of a Confederate soldier and the busts of four generals. The United Daughters of the Confederacy erected the monument -- but ownership of the land on which it sits in murky. The official parish position is that they own the land -- that the courthouse has been there since the early part of the 1900s and ownership has passed to the parish through what amounts to frontier rights.  

 An opposing position is that the courthouse square belongs to the descendants of Larkin Edwards, a friend of the Caddo Indians who sold much of the land that was the original Shreveport. There is no record that proves Edwards ever sold the land that is now the courthouse square. Early maps show it was to be a Public Square.

The UDC was given use of the land "in perpetuity" in 1903 by the Caddo Parish Police Jury. In 1903 a man's word was his bond and the donation was recorded in the minutes of the Policy Jury along with a large cash donation for the monument.

Now both the Caddo Commission and the United Daughters of the Confederacy are compelled to respond to Settle's suit.  The UDC is a non-profit organization who does not have cash stored away to fight legal battles. They raise money for scholarships, museum contributions, and local charities but as a non-profit they don't keep large cash piles on hand.

When the monument was defaced and damaged last year, the Shreveport Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy asked for donations to restore the monument and benefactors stepped up.  The monument has never been more beautiful than it is today.  Once again, the UDC is asking for help, now, to fight this legal challenge. We can be the city that stands in favor of keeping our public art works in the public square.

If you wish to contribute to the legal fund to help the UDC respond to this lawsuit, you can send a check to them:

Please note on your check that it is for the legal defense fund.

The Caddo Parish Confederate monument is one of our unique artistic treasures and it sits on an historic site.  As a community we should embrace the compromise initially offered by the sub-committee which was arrived at through due process.  The monument should stay right where it is.

We can be the city that sets the example that monuments can be both beautiful and educational at the same time and need not be destroyed or removed.

Take a Trip to Scottsville Cemetery in Harrison County Texas

Victorian fencing and magnolias: Scottsville cemetery

With an urge to get out of town for a few hours, Steve and I piled into the Jeep this morning and headed for East Texas.

Steve has had an urge to visit an old general store in Jonesville, TX (that's another post to come) and so we headed west on Highway 80 (we don't like interstate) and overshooting Jonesville by several miles, we ended up first in Scottsville, Texas, which  is about five miles east of Marshall in Harrison County, Texas. There's not much to Scottsville and at its best only boasted about 300 people. What's notable these days about the place is the stunning cemetery there on Farm Road 1998.

The town of Scottsville was founded by William Thomas Scott who was born in Mississippi in 1811; his father, Thomas Scott, was a planter who fought heroically in the Battle of New Orleans. He sustained wounds from which he would never recover and died in 1823. His son, William Thomas Scott, went to work in a store in Mississippi which enabled him to prove himself, enter into a partnership with the owner of that store, and to save enough money to buy land. He married and brought his bride to Texas in 1840 where he founded Scottsville.

William Thomas Scott established five cotton plantations and he built a home that reportedly was modeled after Beauvoir, the home of Jefferson Davis in Mississippi. He was a proponent of the railroad and had an active legislative career, serving in the House of Representatives for the Republic of Texas, the state Senate, and in 1861 he was a member of the Secession Convention.

During the Civil War, it is reported that his plantation provided provisions for the Confederate troops.

Scott and his wife had perhaps ten children and the eighth was a daughter,  Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Scott who would eventually marry a fellow named Peter (Pete) Youree who was born and educated in Missouri. When the War Between the States broke out, Pete Youree was 17 years old; he volunteered to serve with Company A of Shelby's Missouri cavalry in 1861. He was wounded two times, once at Shiloh and once at Helena; by the end of the war he was captain of Company I, Slayback's regiment, Missouri Rifles.

Youree was honorably discharged from the war in Shreveport where he stayed and in 1870 he married Betty Scott. The Yourees began to establish themselves in Shreveport and Pete worked as a clerk, saved his money, invested wisely, and eventually established the electric streetcar system in Shreveport and he worked as Vice-President and later President, of Commercial National Bank. He was also instrumental in building the McNeil Pumping Station: Shreveport's waterworks, which is a fascinating museum to visit today.

Pete and Betty had two children, one son and one daughter, William Scott Youree (1872-1904) and  Susan Rose Youree (1881-1974). The son, William Scott Youree, died mysteriously in Monterrey Mexico which naturally devastated the family.

Betty was elected President of the Shreveport Chapter #237 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1898, a position which she held for two years, and then was re-elected as President of the organization in 1904 and served until 1926.

Pete Youree was obviously a supporter of the Confederacy and he donated a monument to the UDC which stands in Greenwood Cemetery in Shreveport. That monument is similar to this monument that stands at the entrance of the Scottsville cemetery although the engraving is different, of course.

Confederate Monument: Scottsville Cemetery

The Greenwood cemetery monument names Youree as the benefactor while the Scottsville monument lists the names of the family's Confederate dead on one side...

Confederate monument: Scottsville

...and the other:

Confederate monument: Scottsville

And this inscription:

Confederate monument: Scottsville

Both were by Frank Teich and both have the lone soldier with arms at rest at the top.

Youree had an apparent love for statuary and classic art. The cemetery at Scottsville is a testament to that. The cemetery is filled with beautiful monuments and sculpture as well as a stunning chapel built in the memory of his son.

Youree Chapel: Scottsville

As beautiful as the chapel is, what most people seem drawn to is the weeping angel statue, entitled Grief, or sometimes called Weeping Angel.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville

Her arm is broken and she needs cleaning, but my goodness she is something to see.

She was sculpted by artist Frank Teich from Llano, Texas who also created many, many of the Confederate monuments in this area, including the stunning monument in front of the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

The angel is ten-feet tall and carved from Carrara marble from Italy. She reportedly cost $40,000 in 1904.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville cemetery

The cemetery is filled with beautiful sculpture:

Scottsville cemetery

A closer look:

Scottsville cemetery

...and monuments:

Scottsville cemetery

But that angel!

There are some tragic mysteries too - I was struck by these three tiny graves. Infant children - two died at age two and one at age 3.

Scottsville cemetery

There are many Confederate graves there, most marked with the First National Flags, likely from a recent Confederate Memorial Day event.

The cemetery has many other beautiful pieces of statuary and is quite old. The landscape is beautiful, atop a hill and filled with hardwoods, walnut trees, and magnolias.

It's worth the short drive from Shreveport to visit the Scottsville Cemetery.


Bibliography:
Eric Brock: Shreveport Chronicles
Texas Escapes: Scottsville, Texas
Texas State Historical Association: William Thomas Scott Biography


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The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:

Take a Trip to the Mansfield State Historic Site and Civil War Battlefield

Take a Trip to Tour Oakland Cemetery in Shreveport

Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Tour the H.A.Cook Guesthouse

Take a Trip to Greenwood Cemetery Memorial Day 2016

Take a Trip to Keachie Confederate Cemetery Memorial Service

Take a Trip to the Eighth Annual Barksdale Oktoberfest

Take a Trip to the 2015 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival

Take a Trip to the American Legion Cross Lake Floatilla 2015

Take a Trip to Two Memorial Day Ceremonies in Shreveport

Take a Trip to the Battle of Natchitoches

Take a Trip to Miss Cammie's Dinner Table

Take a Trip on Route 66 from Oklahoma City to Miami OK

Take a Trip to Coushatta, See the Lawnmower Man, and a Crop Duster

Take a Trip to the 2014 Cross Lake Floatilla:  Loving the Lake Life

Take a Trip to the Barskdale AFB First Annual Luau

Take a Trip to the 2013 Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

Take a Trip to Natchitoches for a Sons of the American Revolution Grave Marking Ceremony and Some Gator Bites

Take a Trip to the Sixth Annual Barksdale Oktoberfest

Take One More Quick Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Explore Room 104

Take a Trip to the Cross Lake Flotilla 2013

Take a Spontaneous Mother's Day Trip to Jefferson, Texas

Take a Trip Along East Texas Back Roads

Take a Trip to the "Going Green on the Red River" Festival

Take a Springtime Drive Down the Cane River Heritage Trail

Take a Spring Break Trip to Arcadia Louisiana

Take a Trip to the 2012 Natchitoches Christmas Festival
Take a Trip to the 2012 Grand Cane Pioneer Day and Christmas Parade

Take a Trip to the 2012 Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Vets for Vets Event

Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Photographs of the Vietnam War Exhibit

Take a Trip to Octoberfest 2012 at Barksdale Air Force Base

Take a Picnic Trip to the Lock and Dam and a Detour to Lake Bistineau

Take a Dinner Ride Through East Texas

Take a Trip to an End of Summer Party and Listen to Soulfish Blues Band

Take a Summer Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Meet New Friends

Take a Trip to Dallas, Texas and The West End

Take a Stocking the Freezer Trip to Ed Lester Farms and Find a Cool Truck!

Take a Trip to Coushatta Down Louisiana Backroads

Take a Trip to the 2012 Cross Lake Floatilla

Take a Sunday Drive in North Caddo Parish

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation

Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas 

Full Metal Jacket Saturday:  The Oktoberfest Edition

Oktoberfest at BAFB

Mitch's Masked Men Scrape Jefferson Davis From his Pedestal in a Failed Effort to Heal NOLA

Jefferson Davis monument removal: NOLA

There is something about New Orleans today that feels like a crime scene, like something terrible has happened there. It is a raw, sort of apprehensive feeling,  like you shouldn’t be there. It's like a gaping wound.

The twenty-five foot bronze statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was ripped from its granite pedestal about 5 a.m. this morning by city crews hiding behind masks as monument supporters quietly sang “Dixie.” Some stood and solemnly saluted the desecrated statue of Davis as it was moved to the flatbed truck nearby. 

Days before the removal, the monument was virtually imprisoned behind barricades and cyclone fencing after violent clashes between monument supporters and the Antifa/Take ‘Em Down groups.

Crews gathered around the statue just after midnight last night, partially wrapped the statue’s mid-section in green bubble wrap, tied a thick yellow strap around the torso, and lifted the statue, which was slowly spinning, Davis’s arm pointing at both demonstrators and supporters as the statue twirled in mid-air.  A makeshift crate was placed around Davis and crews lowered the statue onto the back of a flatbed truck and hauled it off to an undisclosed warehouse.

Arlene Barnum at Jefferson Davis monument

The pedestal is another matter – it took the untrained city contractors and firefighters several more hours to figure out how to remove the heavy granite pedestal which sat most of the morning with a limp strap around it while engineers phoned into television stations warning that if it was lifted it would probably tip over. It is as if Jefferson Davis himself was mocking them, declaring his right to be there as the inscription on the pedestal reads, “His name is enshrined in the hearts of the people for whom he suffered, and his deeds are forever wedded to immortality.”

Arlene Barnum was there last night. She came to New Orleans as soon as Mayor Landrieu had Liberty Place monument removed two weeks ago; she’s been there standing guard at the Jefferson Davis monument day in and day out with her battle flag and a growing crowd of supporters. 

Arlene is a 63-year old black woman from Oklahoma, an Army veteran, and a woman with Confederate ancestors from north Louisiana. She felt that as Davis was “the one and only president of the Confederacy,” she was obligated to stand with him. As she stood at the monument, Arlene has been called a variety of racial slurs: “Aunt Jemima” seems to have been the most offensive to her. Her truck tires were slashed, her cell phone was knocked from her hand as she tried to live stream, and she has gone without much sleep.

Pastor Larry Beane

Arlene has been dubbed “General Arlene” by some of the other monument supporters standing guard with her, and they have followed her lead. She has encouraged peaceful protest and non-violence.  “Fly those flags high,” she would shout, “Keep ‘em up! Don’t let that flag touch the ground!” Last night she had Pastor Larry Beane from Salem Lutheran Church lead the crowd in a prayer service before the city workers came to dismantle the monument.

Mitch Landrieu spent the evening hobnobbing with donors at the home of Mary Matalin and James Carville for Mitch Landrieu’s NOLA Pac.

This morning Landrieu issued a statement:

After nearly two years of planning and court battles, City officials began the process today of removing the three remaining monuments that prominently celebrate the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy.” The statues that are being removed were erected decades after the Civil War to celebrate the “Cult of the Lost Cause,” a movement recognized across the South as celebrating and promoting white supremacy.

There are four prominent monuments in question. The Battle of Liberty Place monument, which was removed three weeks ago, was erected by the Crescent City White League to remember the deadly insurrection led by white supremacists against the City’s racially integrated police department and government. The statue coming down today is the Jefferson Davis statue on Jefferson Davis Parkway. The statues slated to come down next include the Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle and the P.G.T. Beauregard equestrian statue on Esplanade Avenue at the entrance to City Park. 

“Three weeks ago, we began a challenging but long overdue process of removing four statues that honor the ‘Lost Cause of the Confederacy.’ Today we continue the mission,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past.”

Steps of Jefferson Davis monument

This is a terrible slippery slope and there will be no end to it. Soon New Orleans will be no different and no more unique than any other city in the country once it is cleansed by Landrieu and his cronies. Well, except for the highest murder rate distinction; there's still that. It's clear by his statement that Landrieu totally misunderstands the purpose of the monuments. They were not erected to promote white supremacy but to honor the dead who fought to defend their homes and families.

It's not only that Landrieu is trying to rewrite and erase history, which as we all know is a mistake and impossible, but the fact that he cares so little about the constituency in New Orleans that is troublesome.  Remember, this issue was never put before the voters but was decided by a city council after very limited public input sessions. The outrage and protests on both sides have ripped the city apart and caused many to vow to boycott the city.

Interestingly, it's not the African-American constituency that it so outraged by the monuments but white, liberal young people who mostly make up the Antifa crowd and who have been the most vulgar and violent in all of the live-stream videos we have seen. If it is this group of people we are "cleansing the city" for, they can have it; I want no part of it.

It took no time at all for Google to change its page on the Jefferson Davis monument; by 11:15 or so it was already altered to "Permanently Closed." 

It will of course be interesting to see how fast the murder rate drops in NOLA now that two of the four monuments are down. 

Which will be next? Lee or Beauregard? Anyone want to make bets on how long Andrew Jackson gets to stay? Despite ones feelings about the message the monuments may or may not send, all of these are works of art that were commissioned by the people of the period, paid for by private donations and fundraisers, and presented as a gift to the city. They have stood for decades and have become part of the landscape and pay homage to those who came before us. 

Nothing is left of Liberty Place monument or the Jefferson Davis monument but an ugly concrete slab and ugly videos of TEDNola and Antifa acting in an ugly fashion.

What an improvement.

Previous Posts at DaTechGuy blog:
Mitch Landrieu Begins his Plan to Erase History in NOLA (4/24/17)
Mayor Landrieu's Plans to Remove Monuments in the Dead of Night Exposed (4/17/2017)
The Slippery Slope is Now Open (3/27/17)
A Disappointing Ruling from the 5th Circuit (3/13/17)
Still Fighting the Civil War (2/5/17)
Mayor Mitch Landrieu's Solution to 172 Murders: Equity Circles (12/26/16)
Removal of Historic Confederate Monuments in New Orleans Thwarted -- For Now (12/21/2015)
Report from Louisiana: Update on the Confederate Monument Removal Controversy (1/18/2016)
The Lives of My Ancestors Mattered Too (2/1/2016)
The Ongoing Battle of the Confederate Monuments: An Update (4/18/2016)
Confederate Monuments and Unintended Consequences (6/27/16)
Report from Louisiana: Revisionist History and Confederate Monuments (9/19/2016)
Report from Louisiana: Mass Shooting in New Orleans While Landrieu Fiddles (11/28/2016)



Previous Posts on This Blog:
In Defending Jefferson Davis, Arlene Barnum is a Class Act (4/30/17)

List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA ...is Puzzling (4/23/17)
Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16)