Replace the Confederate monument in Greenville SC
The Issue
Memorial removal.
A call to move the Confederate memorial in Greenville and replace it with a monument to Sgt. William Carney.
Move the memorial to the Confederate soldier section of the adjacent Springwood Cemetery, overlooking the unknown graves. And in it’s place put a memorial to the first black Medal of Honor recipient. Removing the monument to a more appropriate location to honor a true hero is more fitting, and aligns better with history.
Sgt. William Carney served in the 54th Massachusetts infantry regiment and received his medal for actions on July 18th, 1863 during the assault on Ft Wagner in Charleston Harbor. There are no memorials in S.C. honoring him or his actions, and the only commemoration to the actions of the regiment is a small plaque in a sidewalk in Charleston.
By the time war broke out Greenville had shifted more secessionist. But it still had a history and strong ties to unionism. During the very first years of unrest Greenville was a major unionist district. James L. Petigru and Joel R. Poinsett were major figures in not only Greenvilles history, but the unionist movement in S.C.
Moving the existing monument to the unknown graves in the cemetery is more fitting. Erecting a monument to a Medal of Honor recipient is worthwhile.
The Issue
Memorial removal.
A call to move the Confederate memorial in Greenville and replace it with a monument to Sgt. William Carney.
Move the memorial to the Confederate soldier section of the adjacent Springwood Cemetery, overlooking the unknown graves. And in it’s place put a memorial to the first black Medal of Honor recipient. Removing the monument to a more appropriate location to honor a true hero is more fitting, and aligns better with history.
Sgt. William Carney served in the 54th Massachusetts infantry regiment and received his medal for actions on July 18th, 1863 during the assault on Ft Wagner in Charleston Harbor. There are no memorials in S.C. honoring him or his actions, and the only commemoration to the actions of the regiment is a small plaque in a sidewalk in Charleston.
By the time war broke out Greenville had shifted more secessionist. But it still had a history and strong ties to unionism. During the very first years of unrest Greenville was a major unionist district. James L. Petigru and Joel R. Poinsett were major figures in not only Greenvilles history, but the unionist movement in S.C.
Moving the existing monument to the unknown graves in the cemetery is more fitting. Erecting a monument to a Medal of Honor recipient is worthwhile.
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Petition created on July 6, 2020