Governor Northam’s henchmen have finally located the time capsule buried in the Memorial erected to Confederate Gen. Robert Edward Lee in Richmond, Virginia. How shameful and hypocritical that today the Virginia Department of Historic Resources shows so much interest in opening and disgorging the contents of the time capsule in light of their insipid defense of this monument and others throughout the Commonwealth over the last six years. Governor Northam no doubt is salivating at the thought of this final desecration, disgrace, and slander of General Lee and the Confederacy.
In the state-sponsored and promoted removal of Gen. Lee’s Memorial, Virginians have not seen such vile hedonism and disrespect since the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, or ISIS tore down the statuary of Ashurbanipal and ravaged the artistry of Palmyra! Americans, only a few years ago, saw and reviled these actions as barbarity and criminality of the worst order and criticized them universally as the destruction of world-historical patrimony and cultural evolution. Virginian’s government and its agencies are now showing the civilized world that Americans and Virginians at the highest levels are just as capable of barbarism and mindless hedonism as the most depraved order of our species. Sadder yet is the vast majority of Virginians who have sat by and said or done nothing to resist the slander, historical revisionism, cancel-culture, and the rioting, and looting in our cities, driven by the runaway horse of a false premise of political correctness, for power, with racist motivation.
The tearing down of cultural, heroic, and veterans memorials and monuments is what a people’s worst enemies do upon conquest for the purposes of subjugation. The eradication of monuments is the jackboot of a tyrant upon the neck of a conquered people meant to demoralize and symbolize complete control.
Virginia’s Confederate Memorials were erected to honor our veterans and were respected by our conquerors just as we respected those of their dead patriots of the North. Monuments North and South were erected largely during the same long stretch of years during a period of national reconciliation, in the spirit of remembrance for the dead and their leaders. The South lost a far greater number, of its men and boys, relative to the size of the Northern population. We were financially devastated by the rape and destruction of our land and property by men such as Sherman, Sheridan, Crow, and Grant for decades, our Veterans were restricted from voting or holding political or high social positions, denied our state representation in Congress, and compelled by extortion, we had to pay the Northern war debt and the pensions of Yankee Veterans, and were subjected to seven years of military occupation controlled by the Freemens Bureau and had to live with the violent terror of the Union League. We were not allowed to display any symbols of our conquered nation. Yet, when Reconstruction was lifted we erected a greater number of monuments to our veterans than Northerners that their memories and our fight for liberty would never be forgotten.
Like all Confederate Monuments and Memorials all across Dixie, the capital to erect these important pieces of American history came out of the impoverished pockets of citizens, businesses, and school children with lesser amounts coming from the government. It took years to raise the capital to pay for these works of art. These private efforts were led principally by various women’s organizations to remember their boys, husbands, brothers, and fathers. When the Memorial to Lee in Richmond was erected, tens of thousands of people attended, both black and white, to honor this great man. Men and children were honored to pull the long ropes that guided the great statue up the hill to its resting place. The monument was erected to honor the leader of Virginia’s Army that fought for four long years against an invader and ravager of our land and as a reminder to the Veterans, and loved ones of lost Veterans, of the nobility of their cause and that we may have lost a war and had been conquered, but yet we could and would remain a people of character, civility, honor, and courage, which is the backbone of Virginia. These noble characteristics were embodied in Robert E. Lee and countless luminaries – literary, political, and military have consistently echoed this until only recently.
All the world recognizes the Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia as a universal symbol of liberty against tyranny and foreign invasion, and as an inspiration to those that believe in just causes, to stand up to the Goliaths of the world, no matter the consequences, and to fight the good fight against all odds. Southern Confederate Veterans are under Federal Law given the same honors, respect, and regard as Union forces they fought against. Yet our Veterans have been slandered in our own state by those seeking political power, in and out of government. This has been done by the promotion of racial division and confrontation, and even riot and looting, under the guise of historical revisionism, political correctness, and cancel-culture.
The eager interest of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to open the Lee Monument time-capsule just found should smack us all as an image of grave robbers rubbing their hands in glee as they envision momentary fame or pecuniary riches. That their discoveries end up in a museum does not wash away their sin of desecration of the memories of those long-forgotten peoples and particularly leaders once honored, followed, or revered. The fact that the loot of the criminals ends up in the marble halls of museums does not overshadow or obviate the vile deeds of criminals who destroyed the magnificent tomb to pilfer the jewelry.
Who can say that the contents of the Lee Monument time capsule will not be burned and destroyed in the name of expunging the “Lost Cause” slander that has been developed to propagandize the population of America to renounce all symbols of the Confederacy and define it as “racist”? This is indeed the agenda of the NAACP in their “Take ’em Down Movement”. It has been so for 50+ years! This is what would be expected of Governor Northam based on his history! He is operating at full speed today to vaporize the Lee Memorial from the memories of Virginians before Governor Youngkin takes office on January 15th, 2022! Why would anyone not be concerned that the contents time-capsule will find not the same fate as the equestrian monument to Lee in Charlottesville, where their City Council has given away this wonderful and important piece of American sculptural excellence and historic importance to a racist hate group whose agenda is to melt down the statuary into ingots as quick as possible? Ask yourself is this not worse than the deeds of the Taliban and ISIS, because of the fact that America is the preeminent world power and we pride ourselves on our advanced civilization and leadership? The fact is that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources should have been standing up for Virginia’s history, heritage, and resources in its patriotic duty to the Commonwealth, and the people – its sovereigns. They should be speaking out yet today with a clarion voice for the protection of our patrimony, but it has been beyond lax in its duties and responsibilities to Virginia, to America, and our history in protecting our patrimony and cultural heritage!
I thought today about the heartbreaking tragedy of vandals having their hands on this precious time capsule. God bless General Lee, old Virginia and the South.
Amen
I am heartbroken about everything in and around Richmond and the entire “Old Dominion”. Thank you for all of your efforts on the behalf of true Southerners not only in our state but the whole nation.
From what I could see and hear on line, the conservator who carefully removed the contents of the time capsule refused to identify the little wooden carving (found together with the Masonic carving) as the Confederate flag. She referred to it simply as “a flag.” I am afraid this reflects how deeply into our Commonwealth bureaucracy the disrespect for our history goes.
Cliff Page’s message is direct and to the point.
The destruction of our historic monuments in the USA reminds me of the monuments taken down in when communism prevailed in Russia, Eastern Europe and China. Only tyrants and ignorant people remove historical monuments.
When the Polish people finally saw the USSR troops roll out of their cities and out of their country…the Polish citizens quickly worked to rebuild cities, parks, and historic buildings. With very little to work with one of the first monuments was built to honor our US President Ronald Reagan and other monuments and structures were soon built to honor the Father’s of Liberty. For example, should you have the good fortune to go to Poland visit George Washington Park. There you will see a gracious display of trees, flowers, buildings and an amazing statue of our first US President George Washington.
This is how a free people expresses appreciation and how they freeze history in present time. Some how this example gives me hope that one day American’s will return to their senses, honor their history, and the great men and women who sacrificed their all and erect statues, build parks, and roadways to honor them all. Let’s hope , like Eastern Europeans, we do not have to lose our freedom to appreciate our roots.
I recall the amazing transformation that took place in the Russian Embassy in Washington DC, after the wall in Berlin came sown. Before the fall of the USSR, the Russian Embassy was barren. No art, no statues, no flowers…just cold and barren. However the large ballroom created emotion and projected power and influence. At the end of a very large rectangular shaped room ,behind the podium stage hung, from ceiling to floor and from wall to wall, a hung the huge USSR blazing red flag with the gold colored hammer and cycle. The floor was covered in the same shade of red wall to wall carpet and the chandeliers boasted of red colored crystals. But after the fall of the ‘evil empire there a welcomed reformation came to the Russian Embassy. The over powering Communist flag was replaced by a mosaic of doors taken from various old churches, that had been closed or torn down by the Bolsheviks, hung together to create a canvas. The artists then painted over the doors in hues of blue, white wash and other pastels, scenes from Russia’s meadows, pastures, hills, villages, and churches. Touches of gold paint gave the site a grace. To look upon this work of art gave one comfort and a feeling of peace and hope for the future.
Additionally there were flowers newly planted in the atrium and along the walk ways to the main entrance. Inside the Embassy now was displayed paintings, busts of Russian poets ,musicians, philosophers, and artists.
This reformation in décor was during the days Gorbachev was leader of Russia and it displayed the heart of a people still longing to be free after living behind the iron curtain for so many years.
As a Virginia native, I encourage decent people everywhere to decide now to never ever spend a dime in Richmond again.
Also, what do the people of Virginia’s eastern shore community think of the shameful Governor, their native son? Are they proud? They have been silent in all this.
My take on what has happened with professional historians and archivists generally is that they have simply capitulated to the zeitgeist in which they live and move and have their being. In this case, the intellectual/moral climate leans liberal-to-radical of course. It is not for them some sort of conspiracy; it is just who they are. And in some cases–many?–they no longer operate from a dispassionate sense of history but have become interpreters through a narrow, rigid ideological lens. For them, it is the only legitimate one possible. (The writing of history invariably involves interpretation, to be sure but the point I would stress is that for some of these folks it is today informed as much by hate as it is by insight. They would of course deny the first trait.)
What they see, what they think, what they communicate is conditioned by that lens. They are not capable of doing otherwise. And so a statue of Lee must come down, but it cannot simply be thrown on the scrap heap, literally or historically speaking. No, no. It must be recast–physically–into another currently ideological appropriate monument. A petty and perverse schadenfreude with a vengeance!
This is who they are. And it is an immeasurably a sad affair. They think they are so righteous and superior when in fact they are merely pathetic, shameless, small.
Heartbreaking what has happened to all the history destroyed in the south, all should then be eliminated in the north as well, it takes two opposing sides to fight a war. As a young boy my parents took me to all the souths wonderful monuments and taught me the history of the war and invasion of the south, however as a parent I will not be able to do the same, my children will not see the monuments of the great southern army and generals due to the disrespect of war heroes and history. I pray that someday they will be restored and placed back where they belong and that we will stop appeasing the complaints of the few and ignorant and come together to support the many, the truth and protect southern history.
“Neither current events nor history show that the majority rule, or ever did rule”
President Jefferson Davis
DEO VINDICE
How and why did they take possession of the box ? What’s next ? Hide your women, children, weapons and other valuables, folks.
Thank you for your thoughts and concerns. Put them in writing and articulate them in a letter to Goernor Younkin. His inauguration is just a few days away.