County Commission Set To Vote Next Wednesday On Resolution To Remove Bust Of Confederate General From Courthouse Lawn

  • Wednesday, September 27, 2017
photo by Mark Herndon

The County Commission is set to vote next Wednesday on a resolution to remove the bust of Confederate General A.P. Stewart from the south lawn of the County Courthouse.

Commissioner Greg Beck, sponsor of the resolution, said the aim is "not to mutilate" the bust, but to find an appropriate place for it to be moved.

He said there is a cross section of the community in favor of the removal. He said, "It presents this commission with a moment of greatness."

However, Commissioner Greg Martin said General Stewart never owned a slave and was opposed to secession. He said he was presented with the difficult choice of which side in the war to take.

He said it is ironic that there is discussion of removing the bust since he was a leader in promoting similar memorials of the Civil War at Chickamauga and elsewhere.

He stated, "We do an injustice when we judge the 19th Century mindset through a 21st Century lens."

He said he did appreciate having a discussion about the issue rather than "a mob pulling it down."

Commissioner Martin noted there is also a statue to Cherokee Chief John Ross on the courthouse lawn. He said Chief Ross "was more loyal to the Cherokee Nation than to the United States."

Commissioner Warren Mackey said that was "a false comparison." He said the U.S. recognized the Cherokee Nation, but not the Confederate States.

Commissioner Joe Graham said he feared "that we are letting our emotions get caught up in what is going on around us."

Commissioner Tim Boyd said he will offer an amendment that there be no future memorials to individuals on the courthouse lawn. 

The NAACP is planning a march to the courthouse lawn on Sunday afternoon.

Here is the public notice released by Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles:

In 1915, the Hamilton County Council authorized the County Judge to place a bust (as furnished by the A. P. Stewart Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy) of Confederate Army Lt. General Alexander Peter Stewart near the south entrance to the Hamilton County Courthouse. On October 4, 2017, at 9:30 am EST in the Commission Assembly Room 402, Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37402, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners will consider approving Resolution No. 1017-3, to request a waiver under the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act to relocate the statue of Confederate Army Lt. General Alexander Peter Stewart from the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn to a suitable place within one of the existing Confederate Cemeteries to be honored there among those who likewise fought and risked their lives for that common cause. 

To discuss auxiliary aids or services needed to facilitate participation, those with disabilities may contact the ADA Coordinator, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer Ken Jordan, 317 Oak Street, Suite 220, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37403, (423) 209-6146.  Hearing impaired callers may use the Tennessee Relay Service, (800) 848-0298 or (423) 209-6131.

William F. (Bill) Knowles
Hamilton County Clerk and
Secretary to the Board of Commissioners

 

 

 

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