More on the Talbot Boys (MD)
Posted: Monday, November 9, 2015 3:30 am
By CAROL VOYLES
The Talbot County Council .. heard .. arguments for and against the Talbot Boys statue ... We’re hearing that the federal government fought against its own people, with little acknowledgement that the the Confederacy fired first; and that secessionists were denied their constitutional rights in Talbot County, but rarely that Unionists were arrested or confined to their homes before federal troops arrived, and beaten and hanged in Confederate states.
We’re also hearing that the Talbot Boys fought for states’ rights ... but wonder if the freedom to hold others in bondage wasn’t coveted most, as suggested by South Carolina’s declaration of secession and echoed throughout the Confederacy ...
... A memorial including both Union and Confederate soldiers was proposed, but only Talbot’s wealthy landowners could fund the monument, and only Confederate soldiers were memorialized ...
Over 1,000 “Save the Talbot Boys” supporters have signed a petition to save the statue. Surely, in light of our closely held constitutional values, they would endorse altering the memorial or moving it to an appropriate location on private property — not only preserving our history, but likely pleasing thousands more of Talbot’s 38,000 citizens in the process. At least 350 soldiers from Talbot County fought for the Union. Just 85 fought under the Confederate flag ...
http://www.stardem.com/opinion/columns/article_72526721-5fa0-56f3-be9d-f4851bf3d56e.html
