Delaware Confederate Monument in Georgetown, Delaware

Monuments have been erected across the United States of America. We have built these monuments to remember those of the past and what they done, and they can serve as a remembrance of the past, so we do not make the same mistakes from the past. Lots of these monuments were erected after the Civil War and were dedicated to people from the Union side and the Confederacy. The Delaware Confederate monument which is dedicated to the Confederacy was just erected a couple years ago. This monument was unveiled in 2007 and according to the Delaware Grays, it is dedicated to “any Delaware statesmen who resided in Delaware prior to the War between the States or those that fought or gave aid to the Confederate States of America” (Delaware Grays). The monument was erected by the “Delaware Grays” and the Georgetown Historical Society. Despite having a “noble” premise, this monument and others dedicated to anything about the Confederacy has been subject to criticism and is on the fast track to being removed.

The monument was unveiled on May 12^th,2007 and this time frame is important because most Civil War Monuments were erected shortly after the Civil War, but this remains as one of the few more recent Civil War monuments to be erected. Another interesting notion is that it is erected in Delaware which was a part of the Union during the Civil War. During the Civil War, Delaware was a border state that was a part of the Union. However, this state also remained a slave state, one of only four, that remained in the Union (Delaware Today 2011). It is also estimated that there were several hundred to several thousand Delawareans who were enlisted with Confederate Units. This explains why some people would dedicate a statue to Confederate soldiers being that the Confederacy had a presence in Delaware despite it being a Union state. On the monument, it has the names, rank’s, units, and the place of residence in Delaware of the soldiers who fought or gave aid to the Confederacy. The monument was erected by the “Delaware Grays” which is a non-profit, non-political, non-racial organization that has members who are descendants of Confederate Veterans during the Civil War and the Georgetown Historical Society.

The “Delaware Grays” seem to have some values that could be contributed to being associated with the Lost Cause. The Lost Cause is a myth that some advocates believe that the cause that the Confederate States stood for was a just and heroic one. There are six parts to this myth: first, that secession, not slavery, was the cause of the war; second, that slavery was portrayed as a positive good and that enslaved people were happy being in slavery; third, that the Confederacy was defeated because the Northern States’ had a numerical advantage in men and resources; fourth, Confederate soldiers are portrayed as heroic, gallant, and saintly; fifth,  Robert E. Lee emerging as the most sanctified figure in the Lost Cause lore, especially after his death in 1870; and sixth, the idealized image of a pure, saintly, white Southern woman emerging as they supported the cause (American Battlefield Trust 2021). The fourth value can be contributed by some people to the “Delaware Grays” being that they are dedicating Confederate soldiers to the monument and showing it in a more heroic way.

Due to the monument having a direct correlation to the Confederacy, it has been subject to ridicule and is on a fast track to being removed. In light of recent events such as the George Floyd killing and protests, monuments across the nation have been either graffitied or removed entirely. There is a petition out to have this monument removed and so far, it has garnered over 4,800 signatures and is on its way to reach 5000 signatures. The petition claims that the 2,000 names that are on the monument cannot be forgotten, but that the monument glorifies a group of soldiers that committed treason against the United States and that they fought to continue slavery in America.

Also, the Georgetown Historical Society which is a nonprofit organization is losing their funding over this statue as well. This society receives money from the state Legislature from a funding source known as Grant-in-Aid (Barrish 2019). The NAACP actually called on the state of Delaware to stop funding in 2017, and Senator Trey Paradee, who represents the Dover area well north of Georgetown stopped the funding and said the government should not support a monument that he calls a symbol of hate (Barrish 2019). The Georgetown Historical Society received $14,443 last and they asked for $30,000, but the state legislature denied them funding as long as the statue remained standing. As we can see, the monument is causing damage to the Georgetown Historical Society which will hurt it’s ability to pay it’s bills and continue to keep its facilities open.

As of today, this monument is still standing and from looking at it, it seems to be a harmless statue. However, the more we look into the monument and see lots of controversy around it we can see why this monument is such a big deal. Being that state funding has been cut from the Georgetown Historical Society and the “Delaware Grays” this monument may have to be taken down so these two groups will still be able to function and keep their facilities open.

Barrish, C. (2019, July 23). Delaware museum group loses taxpayer funding over Confederate monument [News]. WHYY. https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-museum-group-loses-taxpayer-funding-over-confederate-monument/

Honeycutt, A. (n.d.). Sign the petition [Petition]. Change.Org. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://www.change.org/p/georgetown-historical-society-remove-the-confederate-monument-in-georgetown-delaware

De confederate monument project. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from  https://www.descv.org/CS.html

Delaware history: The state’s role in the civil war. (2011, June 10). Delaware Today. https://delawaretoday.com/uncategorized/delaware-history-the-states-role-in-the-civil-war/

The lost cause: Definition and origins. (2021, March 25). American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/lost-cause-definition-and-origins