At its 1926 Convention, the Sons of Confederate Veterans spent a lot of time on a discussion of an internal dispute over its effort to buy land at the site of the Battles of Bull Run to create a “Manassas Battlefield Confederate Park.” I won’t go into the tawdry detains of the dispute, but in reading the account, I was struck by a couple of brief passages.
The Minutes of the Sons Confederate Veterans’ convention recount sections of the charter issued to the Confederate Park which specify that only “orthodox” sympathizers with the goal of the “historical vindication” of the Confederate Government might serve as officers or committee members in the organization. Minutes Pages 50-51.
The goal of the park was never to “preserve history,” rather the park was seen as a political tool to vindicate the Lost Cause. Here is the section from the charter:
Also telling is the charter’s discussion of an “honorary” title that could be bestowed on donors. “Honorary Member” was a title frequently bestowed on donors at the time. It conferred no powers or material interest, but many people liked to receive a certificate proclaiming that they were “honorary members” of an organization, or museum, or other worthy group. Here, even though “honorary members” had no rights at all, the charter explicitly barred Blacks and other People of Color from “honorary membership.” Here is the section:
The Confederate Park was at Henry Hill. In 1938, the State of Virginia appropriated $25,000 for a statue of a mounted Stonewall Jackson on the hill. Like many monuments to the Confederacy, this one was constructed with government tax dollars.
Today I Learned that Manassas Battlefield Confederate Park, Inc. is still officially listed as a tax-exempt organization under Virginia state statutes, despite not having existed in nearly a century!