Benjamin Welch Owen's Statue

      Benjamin Welch Owens was a Confederate War hero from Lothian, Maryland. He was very influential in the Civil War for the Confederate Army. A statue was erected of him from a battle in 1863. He was seen as a hero by many of his comrades. He was viewed as heroic as a result of him single-handedly holding off Union forces after all of his comrades were injured in the battle. The statue is very controversial. He was awarded a medal of honor, but since he was a Confederate soldier, many are outraged by the statue and it was vandalized and torn down.

           Benjamin Welch Owens was born and raised in Maryland. He was a private of the 1^st Maryland Artillery. He was seen as a hero by many, both in general and to the confederate cause as well. Owens had continued to fight in a battle after all of the other members on his side were injured. He continued firing his cannon after his comrades were all injured. Owens single-handedly held off the Union forces at that battle. His bravery was noted in other battles he participated in as well. He was awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor.

           The biggest concern when dealing with Confederate soldier memorials and statues, is that many view what the Confederate forces were fighting for as despicable and looked, and continue to look, down upon the Confederate forces. The monument for Benjamin Welch Owens was found to be vandalized on July 2^nd in 2020. The statue was torn down by the Methodist Church and safely stored away. This was done to preserve his memory and respect it, as well as to keep the local members of the community happy. The vandalism of the statue included the word ‘Racist’ being spray painted on the statue with red spray paint. The County Executive Steuart Pittman stated that he preferred that the statue was removed and taken down anyway. He said, “The statue offends me. It’s in a place where is was clearly designed to send a message to the public, and it’s a racist message.” He did comment that he disapproved of the way by which the statue was taken down, through the vandalism. A local African American also gave his thoughts on the statue and he noted that he equated the statue and its symbolism to that of an ideal honoring the KKK.

           Benjamin Welch Owens was undeniably brave and courageous. He was a hero both for his comrades and for the Confederate cause. The inscription on the statue noted how he represented the Maryland boys who fought for “a war of ideas, political conceptions, and loyal to ancient ideals of English freedom.” There are many differing opinions on the state and upkeep of Confederate War statues and memorials. 

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