The great-great grandson of a Civil War hero honored with a monument on the lawn of Texas County Justice Center is calling on the removal of a Confederate symbol from the display.
James H. McBride of Glen Burnie, Md., said the logo has no place on the lawn of county property.
“My great-great grandfather fought with valor and conviction for the Confederate States of America but his conviction to fight for the institution of slavery was decidedly wrong. The Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia for the past 150 years has been used as a symbol for racial subjugation and systemic oppression and has no place on the grounds of a judicial center in these United States let alone a monument dedicated to his memory,” McBride said.
A representative with the organization that placed the monument there said members have no intention to remove it. “It’s not going to be removed. That is our logo. That’s not a Confederate flag. It’s our organization logo, and it’s going to stay,” said Rick Perry, adjutant with the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He lives at Lebanon.
Long a source of disagreement, the Confederate flag has faced renewed scrutiny and calls for removal from Statehouse grounds since the shooting deaths of nine parishioners in a historic African American church in Charleston, S.C. A national debate has ensued about the flag — ranging to a belief it’s a historical symbol pride to an icon for hatred. Last week, NASCAR urged fans not to bring the flag to races. National retailers have pulled it from their shelves after the murders in Charleston.
“I also have had a connection with the people of Charleston, S.C., since childhood and my youngest daughter lives there with her family,” McBride said.
Perry argues that the artwork isn’t related to the Confederate flag. “But even it was — which it’s not — but even if it was, that flag never stood for one thing under sun, but the Confederate soldier,” he said.
McBride, 66, is semi-retired and said his thoughts have evolved over the last several years. About 10 years ago, he said he told the Sons of Confederate Veterans camp that bears his great-great grandfather’s name and initiated the Houston monument that he wouldn’t support an effort to fly Confederate flags flying over certain cemeteries. “I expressed to them I felt it should not fly over any cemetery. I have believed the Confederate flag was a symbol for hate for at least 50 years or longer,” McBride said.
As a student attending an Episcopal prep school in Sewanee, Tenn., he said he saw the nation’s struggle with race relations firsthand. Freedom Riders from Fisk University in Nashville visited the school to encourage it to integrate. “Some wanted to actually kill them in order to stop their Freedom Ride,” he recalls.
McBride says he plans to address the county commission and if necessary, file suit in circuit court, where his great-great grandfather was a judge.
Perry said the organization attempted to reach out to McBride multiple times before the monument dedication but never heard from him.
LETTER MAKES PLEA
McBride sent this letter to the Houston Herald:
“I am seeking the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia from my 2x Grandfather’s monument on the grounds of the Texas County Justice Center.
My 2x Grandfather never witnessed this battle flag in his service to the Confederacy and therefore historically it would be inaccurate to place it on a monument to him. My 2x Grandfather fought with valor and conviction for the Confederate States of America but his conviction to fight for the institution of slavery was decidedly wrong. The Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia for the past 150 years has been used as a symbol for racial subjugation and systemic oppression and has no place on the grounds of a judicial center in these United States let alone a monument dedicated to his memory.
My 2x Grandfather spent the majority of his life as an Officer of the Court and was a firm believer in the rule of law, not only of the State of Missouri, but of the United States of America and its Constitution.
I am proud of the accomplishments of my 2x Grandfather and consider him a great American patriot, like his Grandfather, Captain William McBride of the Virginia Militia, who fought in the Revolutionary War at Kings Mountain and was killed in the last battle of the Revolutionary War, Blue Licks, Ky.
I pray the citizens of Texas County, in honor and memory of my 2x Grandfather James H. McBride, will have the Battle Flag removed from the monument that bears his name.”
ERECTED IN 2010
The Civil War monument was dedicated on the southeast corner of the county justice center in May 2010. It was placed there by the Gen. James H. McBride Camp #632. About 50 monuments are located in Missouri.
McBride moved to Texas County in 1859 from Springfield and was elected to the judge’s post. He held the job until 1861 when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by Missouri governor.
He accepted command of the 7th Division of the Missouri State Guard. He led it in battle near Springfield during the Battle of Oak Hills (Wilson Creek). Later soldiers engaged in the Battle of Lexington. In later years, he worked on recruitment before relocating to Arkansas, where he died in 1863.