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TERESA MCMINN/CUMBERLAND (MO.) TIMES-NEWSLyndon Willis of Romney, W.Va., discusses a Confederate flaq display at Mount Pisqah Benevolent Society Cemetery, a historically African-Amerian burial site, on June 3.Confederate flags placed in African-American cemeteryfallen soldiers were read, followed by a musket salute.BY TERESA MCMINNCUMBERLAND (MARYLAND) TIMES-NEWSROMNEY, W.Va. - For more than four decades, Lyndon Willis has volunteered to maintain an African-American graveyard that otherwise would be buried in tall weeds and grass.When he arrived on June 2 to work at Mount Pisgah Benevolent Society Cemetery, where several of his relatives are buried, Willis was surprised to see a display with Confederate flags and markers.Willis, a Romney resident, cut grass in part of the one-acre graveyard, then returned the next day with his push mower to finish the job.A ceremony that included Confederate soldier re-enactors was in progress.“I didn’t know' that this was here,” Willis said of the newly placed Confederate decorations. “No one has notified me.”Memorial honorsRe-enactors and spectators walked from Indian Mound down a hill to nearby Mount Pisgah cemetery, where Romney historian Rob Wolford gave a presentation at a spot believed to be the grave of Alfred Whiting.According to Whiting’s obituary, he was born Jan. 1,1824.When Whiting was an infant, he and his mother were sold to a James Gibson and moved to Frederick County, Virginia.Whiting was “one of the men who in January 1867 formedthe Colored Benevolent Association that founded the Benevolent Cemetery below Indian Mound Cemetery,” according to HistoricHampshire.org.The website states Whiting died in 1922 and is buried in the Mount Pisgah cemetery, “although there is not” a marker for him.Whiting and Ann Eliza Banks were married Nov. 23, 1865. “She is buried in Mt. Pisgah Benevolent Cemetery in Romney,” the website states.The Confederate display was among events held June 2-4 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of a monument honoring Confederate soldiers from the Hampshire County area.The Confederate Monument was dedicated in September 1867 in Romney’s Indian Mound Cemetery, and the ceremony is believed to have continued every year since then, said historian Charles Hall, a guest speaker at the event and webmaster for www. Historic Hampshire.org.On June 3, roughly 50 people were at Indian Mound Cemetery, where female re-enactors dressed in long gowns placed red and white carnations on graves marked with miniature Confederate flags.Men dressed as Confederate soldiers marched down Main Street to the cemetery, where speeches were given. Re-enactors wrapped a garland around the monument and names ofConfederate markerThe Confederate Memorial Day celebration added for the first time a tribute to Whiting, that included a tombstone and flags depicting the Confederate symbol. The items were planted beside the Banks grave by organizers of the annual event.While the Confederacy forbade arming African-American soldiers, “local commanders armed African Americans under some circumstances when loyalty and trust were proven,” Wolford wrote in a 2014 article. There are examples of “those who were elevated to combat roles, such as the case of Alfred Whiting.”Whiting died at age 98.“Evidence of a long and eventful life is plainly seen in his face,” Wolford’s article says regarding a 1912 photo of Whiting takenit John 1nenderCompanyFuneralHorae'V:w* -V,-’ /V. -M0 I Iu1 I I Ij nw»late ?ft d■las?- ± Jhk.'MrGenerations of the Henderson FamilyServing the Johnstown Area for Over 140 YearsPride • Excellence • ExperienceOFFERINGTraditional Services, Cremation Services Prearrangement PlanningJohnstown I 536-4602Troy M. Henderson, SupervisorEast Hills I 266-1209Daniel F. Routch, SupervisorConemaugh I 539-3109Raymond J. Egnot, Supervisorwww.hendersonfuneralhome.comwhile he was at a United Confederate Veterans’ reunion in Moorefield, West Virginia.Hall, however, said there’s no documentation that proves Whiting was a soldier.“Whiting attended many Confederate reunions because he had been the ‘body servant’ of Isaac Brady of Hampshire County during Brady’s time as a soldier in the Civil War,” Hall says on HistoricHamiMhire.org.A Hampshire Review funeral article listed on the site states Whiting entered the army’s Company K, 13th Virginia Infantry, in 1861 with Brady, and they were later transferred to the 11th Virginia Cavalry.Both were captured in 1863 by federal troops and jailed in Cumberland. While Brady was sent to Camp Chase in Ohio, Whiting was offered conditional release from jail, but refused to take an oath of allegiance “or to remain with the Federals.” Brady’s father posted $6,000 bond under the stipulation that Whiting would not return to Virginia during the war.West Virginia did not become a state until June 20,1863.Whiting “attended every Confederate gathering within reach as well as the funerals of his comrades who preceded him and requested that, at his own funeral, the pallbearers be ex-Confederate soldiers,” the article states.Preservation versus hate propagandaSeveral people at the June 3 ceremony said they w'ere concerned about the preservation of Confederate monuments because in some areas of the country the markers have been removed after protesters said they represented offensive symbols of w hite supremacy.Joe Snarr of Bridgeport, West Virginia, attended the ceremony with his father and brother.“I am proud of my heritage,” said Snarr, who has several family members - including a Confederate soldier - buried in the cemetery. He said Confederate monuments across the country are at risk of being removed for wrong reasons.“We need to understand -and not remove - these things as hate, but (view them as) heritage,” Snarr said.Event attendees cheered after Hall said that in a time when some people are pulling down old monuments, “We need to know that history cannot be corrected or changed.” The monument at Indian Mound was raised by “those who lived through the horror of the Civil War to honor those who fought and died in that war,” Hall said. “It was to honor their sacrifice. The stories should live on.”Wolford concurred.The desire some people have to destroy Confederate monuments “just smacks of” lunacy, Wolford said, adding that the removal of such a statue would “scream louder than its presence.”Wolford said he had cleared the plans to install the tombstone and iron cross at Whiting’s grave with Willis’ sister, who helps care for the cemetery.Lyndon Willis, however, said the display initially triggered in him a negative feeling.“For so long a time, the Confederate flag was used to give legal rights to harm blacks and to discriminate,” he said.There aren’t many people in the Romney area willing to protest Confederate monuments and celebrations, he said.“It’s always been easy ... to have those types of celebrations here because there are not that many African-Americans in this community,” he said.!■ !■■■■ 11 ■■ i i i in - ......—■■■Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland (Maryland) Times-News, a CNH1newspaper.
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Johnstown Tribune Democrat
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Jun 12, 2017
Page 19
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USA 21 Oct 2018
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