re: Nash Farm Battlefield museum to close after requests to remove Confederate flags

Statement posted on Facebook by Cassie Barrow, Co-Founder of Friends of Nash Farm Battlefield, Inc. and Past President

Fair disclosure, Cassie's husband is a previous commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

quote:

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There are many distortions of the truth that seem to be floating around social media and the press as to what actually transpired between Henry County District 2 Commissioner Dee Clemmons and the Friends of Nash Farm Battlefield, Inc. To help clarify, I think it is now imperative I share what Commissioner Clemmons ordered on May 13, 2017 while a guest at an awards ceremony the Georgia Civil War Commission was hosting inside the museum.

As I am the co-founder and past president of the Friends of Nash Farm Battlefield, Inc., I was responsible for making sure Commissioner Clemmons was welcomed and introduced to the various people visiting the museum that day. Throughout the afternoon, Commissioner Clemmons made a point to sequester me from the group to discuss matters pertaining to the battlefield and museum. It was during these times that she told me that all Confederate flags INSIDE the museum must be removed because they could be offensive to a child or adult.

While she stated that all Confederate flags must be removed from inside the museum, the one we had extensive dialogue about was the Georgia Military Institute Flag (replica), which was a Second National Confederate flag with the battle accolades painted on it. This flag was displayed in what we called the Children’s Room, which is an area where the history about the hardships of the children, both boys and girls, and Union and Confederate, during this time was told.

Located in this particular room was not only dress up clothes for children who visited the museum to play with, but images of boys, Union and Confederate, who fought. There was a library where children could read about Georgia history in general.

I explained to Commissioner Clemmons about the cadets, some as young as 14, that fought in the Battle of Resaca, in addition to other battles in Georgia, stating that since this unit of boys was from Georgia, their story was appropriate for the room. She told me that the historical aspect did not matter, but that the flag was offensive and had to be removed from inside the museum.

As stated previously, Commissioner Clemmons went on to say that all the Confederate flags that she had seen in the museum could not be displayed in a historical setting as they were because of their offence to many.

This issue has nothing to do with the Confederate Second National Flag she had removed from the flag pole several months ago, but is a distinct separate event.

During our discussions, she also stated that the word “battlefield” should not be associated with the property because there was no battle that was fought on the property. She said that the name of the location would be changed, and the sign that Henry County Parks and Recs placed at the time the battlefield was purchased would be replaced with “Nash Farm Park”.

This is the biggest concern in all of this debacle. Henry County used tax payers’ money to purchase this property through eminent domain over 10 years ago because of its historical significance, not because it was a beautiful vista and green space. To eliminate the word battlefield and take away the history behind this property, the county and state stand to lose a battlefield, whose pristine condition rivals that of any National Battlefield.

This rhetoric is dangerous and sets a precedent that property that was set aside as historic can be changed at the whim of a political figure with an agenda. This is the main story and we should not lose focus of that. The current Henry County Board of Commissioners needs to take a stand and recognize the 204 acres as a battlefield where Union and Confederate soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice.

In order for this to happen, everyone who is enraged about a public official trying to change the historical context inside a museum, needs to respectfully contact every Henry County Commissioner. Additionally, contact your state legislator and ask if he/she will agree it is a battlefield and needs to be preserved as such.

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