Attention Middlesex County, Virginia residents:

This petition is to be attached to the only other certified and legally formatted paper version of the Petition being hand-submitted to the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors.  By signing this Petition you certify that you are a current Middlesex County resident.  If you prefer to sign the paper version of this petition, please contact me and we will have a representative bring it to you within the county.

Petition Summary:

1. Middlesex County Board of Supervisors to reject all requests for removal and/or destruction of ALL Middlesex County monuments and landmarks.
2. Middlesex County Board of Supervisors to adopt a County Monument Protection Ordinance to protect all monuments and landmarks from future removal and/or destruction.

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PETITION FOR THE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND LANDMARKS

WITNESSETH:

THAT WHEREAS during the course of the American Civil War fought from 1861 to 1865, companies of soldiers were formed in Middlesex County to answer the call of Virginia’s Governor for troops to defend the Commonwealth from invasion by the Union Army, and

WHEREAS a Middlesex County man, Judge Robert Montague, was Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and President of the Secession Convention at the time when Virginia seceded from the union, and hundreds of Middlesex County men lost their lives fighting for our Commonwealth on these Middlesex County grounds, and

WHEREAS during the American Civil War, 20 Virginia counties’ historical records were burned.  On the Middle Peninsula, only Middlesex and Essex counties retain their original historical records, which makes it all the more important to protect the historical markers, sites, and monuments of that time period that are held within our county, and

WHEREAS in the year 1910, a monument with the inscription “TO COMMEMORATE THE VALOR AND PATRIOTISM OF THE MEN, AND THE DEVOTION AND SACRIFICE OF THE WOMEN OF MIDDLESEX IN DEFENSE OF THEIR LIBERTIES AND THEIR HOMES” was erected by the Middlesex Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Saluda, Virginia, with the authorization of the Middlesex County local government and its citizens, and

WHEREAS the acceptance and promise of protection of any historical monument by our ancestors for the citizens of Middlesex County to commemorate the patriotism and sacrifice of their ancestors, may not be overturned without the agreement of the majority of the citizens of Middlesex County, and

WHEREAS at least 8 other historical markers are within 2 miles of this monument which relate to our County’s history, and identify others who have made similar sacrifices and have had similar impacts upon the history and development of this County:  Middlesex County Courthouse, 1st Lt Beryl R. Newman, Middlesex County Veteran’s Memorial, Veteran’s Memorial, Veterans Memorial (2), Morgan v. Virginia, Scottish Factors Store, and Christ Church – all of these markers are registered within the United States Historical Marker Database, and

WHEREAS the roots of Middlesex County were built on the historical impact of the American Civil War.  These county grounds are home to 35 registered archeological sites that are listed at the Department of Historic Resources (DHR), and

WHEREAS there is a movement underway calling for the elimination of any reference to the sacrifices of our ancestors, the history of our County, and the heritage of the people who call this County their home, and

NOW, THEREFORE, the undersigned Petitioners, who are identified by the county and the state they reside in, do hereby Petition the Board of Supervisors to reject all requests for the removal and/or destruction of our Historical Monuments and Landmarks, and further that the Board adopt a Monument Protection Ordinance similar in format to the Monument Protection Act which was repealed by the last session of the General Assembly for the purpose of the proper preservation and protection of such Monuments and Landmarks, the same as had heretofore been provided by statute in Virginia.