Confederate memorial creates a stir

Plant City's only black commissioner says the marker doesn't belong on city property.

By BEN MONTGOMERY and CATHERINE SHOICHET, Times Staff Writers
Published November 18, 2007

	Confederate flag supporters gather for a photo next to the confederate war memorial just after it was unveiled in Plant City. It is a monument topped with a bronze depiction of a member of the Civil War's Cow Calvary. The dedication is part of the 30th annual Pioneer Heritage day Celebration.
[Kathleen Flynn | Times]

PLANT CITY - The United Daughters of the Confederacy wore sun hats and plantation dresses, all petticoats and lace. The men wore bushy beards, gray coats and biker vests with rebel flag patches that said, "HARD CORE CONFEDERATES."

They stood at the northeast corner of the old Plant City High School on Saturday and pulled a tarp off the newest piece of city property: a bronze and granite memorial to Confederate "Cow Cavalry" soldiers.

"Beautiful," said Paul Jones, 67, of Plant City.

The bronze memorial depicts a soldier with a rifle standing before a horse and cattle. Etched in the granite base are the names of Capt. John T. Lesley's Company B, 1st Battalion, Florida Special Cavalry, whose mission was to protect Florida's cattle, an important source of food for Confederate fighters.

But the lone black member of this city's commission has reservations about the marker.

At a commission meeting Tuesday, East Hillsborough Historical Society officials told city leaders about the memorial, describing it as a "bronze relief of a cracker cowboy with his horse and calf."

A few minutes later, City Commissioner Mary Yvette Thomas Mathis said there was more to the story.

"This is a Confederate soldier, not just a cowboy, that we're putting on city property," she said. "I just don't feel good about it."

She asked the Historical Society to notify city officials before making future changes to city property. The society is headquartered inside the old high school building that the city owns.

Society president Shelby Bender said Mathis' new rule would stop the society from accepting donations for new exhibits at the Plant City High School Community Center. Bender wondered: Where would commissioners draw the line? Would they stop the society from keeping Confederate roster books? From researching Confederate genealogy?

"I would just ask that the commission consider what good citizens we've been," she said.

Ultimately, commissioners asked the city manager to draw up an agreement shifting ownership of the building to the society, which maintains the historic building and keeps its records there. That would alleviate the city of possible conflicts, they reasoned.

The local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy spent 10 years planning the memorial and raising about $16,000 to pay for it by selling southern cookbooks and brick pavers, said chapter president Dee Wallnofer.

Many who support the marker argue that it is innocuous.

"I understand the objection to the battle flag," said artist Mike Bethune, who designed and sculpted the memorial. "But it's like the battle flag thing is just the starting point. They're trying to erase a lot of history."

Mathis, the commissioner, said several Plant City residents had complained. They called her on the phone and left a package at her door about the sculpture.

But some who attended Saturday's unveiling said those who object to the memorial don't fully understand the Civil War and the motivations of the Florida Confederates.

"The victor always gets to write the history books," said Bethune, who said he designed the sculpture to make sure it didn't offend. "And all the objectors know is what they learned in school. But there were a lot of black Confederate soldiers."

He argued that his ancestors were too poor to own slaves and fought only to protect their property.

"I love my history, and I know the truth about the war," he said. "I'm very, very proud of this memorial."

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2443. Catherine Shoichet can be reached at (813) 661-2454 or cshoichet@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 17, 2007, 20:46:27]