Dear Museum of the Confederacy Board Members,

Via Billy

 

MOC Merger

Dear Museum of the Confederacy Board Members,

 It is with deep sadness that I write this letter to you, as it is my understanding that there is a merger in the works, and possibly already underway that will merge the MOC (Museum of the Confederacy) with the VHS (Virginia Historical Society), and the CWC (Civil War Center) at Tredegar, and the name “Museum of the Confederacy” will no longer exist under this new merger. As a history buff and son of Virginia, I was fortunate to be born and grow up in a small rural section in the southeastern part of Virginia known as Princess Anne County, today's modern day Virginia Beach. I was also fortunate in attending a small elementary school in Princess Anne County near the County Courthouse, thus the name, Courthouse Elementary School. While in the sixth grade at Courthouse Elementary I had the pleasure and honor to go on a class field-trip to the MOC, as we were studying Virginia History at the time. 

In growing up I had always heard my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother (the latter being the daughter of my great, great grandfather, a Confederate Veteran) talk about how our relatives from Princess Anne County fought in the War Between the States on the side of the Confederacy, and that one in particular, my great, great, great grandfather, was an officer in the Confederate Army. I had grown up very proud of the fact that I was the descendent of an officer in the Confederate Army, a Major nonetheless. When the day came when our class went to the MOC, I was so excited that I could hardly sleep the night before, and was up bright and early waiting in anticipation for the school bus that morning. Once at school, and we were on the bus headed to the MOC my excitement grew, and all I could talk about to my classmates surrounding me on the bus was my Confederate ancestors, and how my great, great, great grandfather Major Edgar Burroughs from Princess Anne County died at the hands of the enemy in Portsmouth, Virginia after being captured in Princess Anne County, serving his country as my great, grandmother put it. 

She spoke of what a brave and noble man her grandfather was, and how he exhausted all of his means for the war effort, including paying (out of his own pocket) and equipping his men in his Partisan Ranger Company from Princess Anne County. My mother had given me five dollars before leaving the house that morning, along with my bag lunch that we were required to bring for the field trip, and when I got to the MOC I couldn’t wait to make that last stop at the souvenir shop, for as the old saying goes, that five dollars was burning a hole in my pocket. I remember, oh so well the tour guide leading our class through the museum explaining everything, and so happy to answer any questions we had as I looked on with excitement. I remember stopping at an exhibit and before the tour guide could explain what was in the case behind her, I shouted out, “That’s JEB Stuart’s hat, my great, great great grandfather knew him”, (my g,g,g, grandfather was a Major in the 15th VA. Cavalry prior to commanding his own Partisan Ranger Co. in P.A. County) the large plume in the hat being the obvious give way. Everyone in the class chuckled a bit, including the tour guide, but she immediately responded by saying, “Why yes, you are absolutely correct young man, that is JEB Stuart’s hat”. 

After the tour through the museum, which included getting to see the Princess Anne Cavalry Flag, and in my humble opinion is one of the most beautiful flags in your collection, we went to the gift/souvenir shop. I remember buying a Confederate stick flag, and Confederate Kepi, wearing it all the way home on the bus (and still had enough change to buy a soda pop and other goodies before leaving the museum). When I got home that evening I couldn’t wait to tell my mother and father about what a day I had at the MOC, and how I had seen JEB Stuart’s hat and uniform, along with Robert E. Lee’s and Stonewall Jackson’s. It’s a day I will always treasure and remember for the rest of my life. 

After my great grandmother passed away in the early 60’s, the conversations surrounding our Confederate ancestors in the family seemed to die out over the years, but my curiosity about my Confederate ancestors and that God awful war continued to grow until eventually, after ten years or so of extensive research, I decided to publish a book several years ago about not only my great, great, great, grandfathers war experiences, but also the horrors of war the over seven-hundred other men that mustered into the Confederacy from Princess Anne County experienced. The title of my book is; “Princess Anne County Virginia; Its Contributions and Sacrifices to the War Between the States”, (a copy can be found in both the MOC, and the Library of Virginia in Richmond). In my book, I tell about the horrors and sacrifices the good folks of Princess Anne County faced, and how they suffered dearly at the hands of their Union occupiers, all the while losing their loved ones on the battlefields of their home State of Virginia. Out of the over seven-hundred men that mustered out of Princess Anne County for the Confederacy, more than a third would not return home to their loved ones (dying either on the battlefields, in prison camps, and hospitals), and of the two-thirds that did return to Princess Anne County more than half were either physically or emotionally scared for the rest of their lives, eventually falling into deep states of depression and or alcoholism, which caused serious family problems for a lot of these returning Confederate soldiers, all due to the sights and horrors of that God awful war. 

We, as a society, talk about our “Wounded Warriors” of today, and what we can do to ensure they live as normal lives as possible considering what they’ve seen and been through on the battlefields, with programs, rehab, counseling, prosthetics, even homes provided by Habitat for Humanity. The Confederate soldier got none of that, yet had to suffer through far worse conditions on the battlefield, sometimes lying on the battlefield for days before being administered to. The Museum of the Confederacy is the last and only shrine dedicated to the South’s “Wounded Warriors” of that God awful war, and if our country couldn’t or wouldn’t aid them then, then by God please come to their aid now by keeping the name “Museum of the Confederacy” alive and well, as this is the only true shrine of the Southern soldier and his culture. As an adult I continued to visit the MOC from time to time, including research work for my book, and can’t help but smile every time I walk in, reminiscing about the day of my sixth grade field-trip. I would urge and ask please that each and every one of you consider in your hearts to keep the name “Museum of the Confederacy” as a shrine to our Confederate dead, as it is a part of our history, and changing the name won’t change history.

Respectfully submitted with warmest Southern regards,

Kenneth Harris,

Historian/Author,

&

Heritage Defense Coordinator, Virginia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans.