Advocacy group Defend Arlington files a lawsuit in a last-ditch effort to prevent the Army from dismantling the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
By yourNEWS Media Staff
Defend Arlington, an advocacy group, is undertaking a determined legal effort to prevent the dismantling of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. This action comes in response to the Army’s move to remove the monument, which has been perceived as honoring the Confederacy, following a congressional commission’s recommendation in September 2022.
In November, Defend Arlington filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction in a District of Columbia court. The group alleges that the Department of Defense (DOD) is not adhering to necessary procedures and is ignoring public sentiment in its decision to dismantle the monument.
The group describes the monument as a symbol of reconciliation post-Civil War and believes that the Army is unlikely to reverse its decision without intervention from the Court or Congress. They have expressed concern that this decision reflects a broader institutional change within the U.S. military.
Commissioned by former President William McKinley in 1898, the memorial is surrounded by over 400 Confederate veterans reinterred in concentric circles. Defend Arlington and other supporters argue that the monument represents national reunification and does not glorify the Confederacy. However, detractors see it as promoting a sanitized and ahistorical view of the Confederacy and slavery.
The monument, sculpted by Moses Ezekiel, a Jewish-American Confederate veteran, is detailed with a female figure representing the “American South,” accompanied by 14 shields for the Confederate and border states. Defend Arlington has criticized the removal plan, citing it as a disrespect to the dead, including Ezekiel, who is buried at the monument’s base.
The Army has scheduled the removal to begin on December 18, and Defend Arlington’s December 5 rebuttal emphasizes the irreversible damage of dismantling the historic memorial. The DOD, in response, maintains that the decision to remove the monument is nondiscretionary and falls outside the scope of the lawsuit.
This legal challenge arises in the context of the 2021 defense bill, passed in response to George Floyd’s murder, which mandated the Naming Commission to evaluate and suggest modifications for assets with Confederate references. The Commission’s final report deemed that contextualization was not a viable option for the memorial.
The Army’s draft finding, published on November 17, concluded that the removal would not significantly impact the environment. Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources, in a November 20 letter, cautioned against the adverse effects of the monument’s removal on the cemetery.
Section 16 – Authorized by Congress in 1900, this section was called the Confederate Section. Confederate soldiers buried at ANC and elsewhere in the area were reburied here. The government furnished markers in this section are unique with a peaked top instead of a rounded top. pic.twitter.com/ai3C9igtuk
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) May 23, 2020
The unfolding legal battle over the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery underscores the complexities of historical memory, public monuments, and evolving societal perspectives in the United States. The Army, responsible for overseeing the ANC and the monument’s removal, has not commented due to the ongoing litigation, and the Department of Justice has remained silent on the matter.