Savannah approves changes to Confederate memorial

In 2018, the Savannah City Council voted to move two bronze busts of Confederate officers from the Confederate memorial in Forsyth Park to Laurel Grove Cemetery, where both men are buried. Supporters of the memorial saw it as one more step in a nationwide push to remove Confederate history from public view. Others argued that placing the busts beside the graves of the men they honor was a respectful compromise.

The Forsyth Park Confederate Memorial

The memorial stands in Forsyth Park, Savannah’s famous 30-acre park in the heart of the historic district. It was built in the 1870s by Savannah citizens and the Ladies’ Memorial Association to honor the city’s Confederate dead, and a statue of a Confederate soldier was later placed on top of the tall monument. For well over a century it has been one of the best-known landmarks in the park.

Who Were the Two Officers?

Francis S. Bartow was a Savannah lawyer and politician who led Georgia troops at the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861. He was killed leading his men, and his reported last words, “They have killed me, boys, but never give up the field,” made him one of the first heroes of the Confederacy.

Lafayette McLaws was a West Point graduate from Augusta who commanded a division in Longstreet’s corps at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. After the war he settled in Savannah, where he worked in business and public service and helped preserve the memory of Georgia’s soldiers.

Laurel Grove Cemetery

Laurel Grove Cemetery, opened in 1853, is one of Savannah’s oldest and most beautiful burial grounds. Hundreds of Confederate soldiers are buried there, including several generals. For those who honor Southern heritage, the cemetery remains a peaceful place to visit and pay respects.

Honor Georgia’s Confederate soldiers with a flag from our Confederate flag collection.

Source: Bluffton Today: Savannah approves changes to Confederate memorial

Thanks for reading. Please share our posts with your friends and family so they too can learn more about Southern Heritage and History.

Brought to you by: Ultimate Flags