Confederate war veteran memorial will be relocated, but to where?

One day after the Manatee County Board of Commissioners voted to remove, and place in storage for now, a Confederate war veteran memorial from the Manatee County Courthouse, the question lingers: Where will it go?

Tuesday’s decision to move the memorial came in the wake of Monday’s tense, but mostly peaceful protest where hundreds of protesters wanting the memorial removed came face to face with dozens of monument supporters. Heated words were exchanged between the two sides and law enforcement made three arrests, but there were no major incidents of violence.

The commissioners, in the motion that passed 4-3, recommended options such as the Gamble Mansion or the veterans memorial in Bradenton. The recommendations came as a bit of a surprise for the city of Bradenton, as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the Gamble Mansion as a state park.

“Anything like that would have to be discussed amongst the city commissioners,” said Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant, whose city was also mentioned as a possible landing spot for the monument. “We’re always willing to discuss something, but that’s the decision of the commissioners — and we haven’t received a formal request from Manatee County.”

It’s been suggested through the monument debate that perhaps a cemetery would be a better location, given that the memorial honors Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War. Besides Gamble Mansion’s ties to the era, both cities have historic cemeteries with ties to the Civil War.

Palmetto’s historic Yellow Fever Cemetery contains the remains Confederate soldiers who rest amongst the city’s earliest settlers. Manatee County was a popular destination for both Union and Confederate soldiers who survived the war. The Yellow Fever Cemetery was recently upgraded with a new historical marker, fencing and lighting.

If Palmetto was to take the monument, a historic cemetery is a viable option, but Bryant said any notion the city would take the monument at all is purely speculative at this point. Likewise, the Manatee Burying Ground, owned by the city of Bradenton next to the Manatee Village Historical Park, has a history tied to the Civil War.

The Manatee Burying Ground includes the remains of 11 Confederate and three Union veterans. The city, in conjunction with the park, has applied for state funding to help preserve the county’s oldest cemetery.

Phaedra Carter, park supervisor, said the project was ranked 22 out of 88 applications and expressed hope that funding through the Florida Department of Historical Resources will be made available next year. However, any decision to use the monument in preservation efforts or otherwise would come from the city. Carter said the park itself would not likely consider it.

“The monument is outside our scope of collections,” Carter said. “Our collection dates between 1840 and 1918, and that was built in 1924, so it’s outside our time period.”

If Manatee County were to ask, Carter said, there is a process in place for consideration. As for the cemetery or the veteran memorial at Riverwalk, Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston offered his viewpoint.

“To me, it is a veterans memorial and putting it at the veterans memorial is fine, but would probably be less palatable to some people,” Poston said. “But this is the county’s deal, and it would be inappropriate for me to jump in and say anything unless the county makes a request. Then we would have to respond either way.”

Poston said it would be a decision made at that time, and not before, but said he believes the Gamble Mansion is the “obvious choice” for a location.

Gamble Mansion staff declined to comment on the county’s recommendation, referring all questions about the monument to the FDEP, which also was caught off guard by the county’s suggestion. An FDEP spokesperson was trying to determine the nature of the monument’s status, as well as the county’s recommendation, but was unable to release a statement by late Wednesday.

Protesters promised to return weekly for six weeks if the county commission didn’t act. On Wednesday, Ruth Beltran, who helped organize Monday’s protest in coordination with Indivisible Bradenton Pro-gressive, Manasota Black Lives Matter, Party for Socialism and Liberation, said no further protests are planned.

“As long as they stick to their word and it will be removed, we will have no further protests,” Beltran said. “If they don’t, then we will go back to our original actions.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Confederate war veteran memorial will be relocated, but to where?."