“Talbot Boys” Falling Out of Step
Atop a gray granite pedestal, the statue depicts a young Caucasian soldier with “C.S.A.” on his belt buckle. The battle flag he grips is clearly the secessionist Stars-and-Bars. The pedestal proclaims, “To the Talbot Boys / 1861-1865 / C.S.A.,” and memorializes local men who enlisted in the Confederate army.
It’s just one of many such statues erected in the late 1800s and early 1900s to glorify the Confederacy. Manufactured by the W.H. Mullins Co. of Salem, Ohio, this one happens to have an identical twin (also made by Mullins) in Lake Charles, La., but the twin is named “The South’s Defenders.”
According to the Maryland Historical Society, aside from those in battlefields and cemeteries, this is the last Confederate monument still on display on public property in the state.
Many Talbot County residents want the statue removed forthwith. Others, not surprisingly, want it to remain forever. The present pro- and anti-removal controversy has raged since 2002, and in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, has intensified.
The five Talbot County Councilmembers are under increasing pressure. Last July, they conducted a public hearing on a resolution advocating the statue’s removal. Of the members of the public who spoke, 27 urged the Council to remove the statue; four asked that the statue remain. In August, the Council voted 3-2 not to remove it.
This impasse is now the subject of a lawsuit against Talbot County filed on May 5, 2021, in federal court. The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Kisha Petticolas, an attorney with the OPD, and Richard Potter, president of the county’s NAACP chapter and a Talbot resident.
The controversy has also resulted in the formation of two citizen groups based in the county, the Move the Monument Coalition and Protect Talbot History. Not surprisingly, their titles reflect their respective positions, and lawn signs are on display around the county.
The MTM Coalition states: “We are a nonpartisan coalition of citizens dedicated to moving the Confederate soldiers monument, reflective of a divisive and racist past, off the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse.”
The Protect History folks have fired back: “Monuments such as the Talbot Boys must be given proper context so those who have little knowledge of the past can learn and be inspired to learn.”
On dueling web pages, the two groups state their opinions of the ACLU suit:
- A member of the Move the Monument Coalition, Denice Lombard, said, “We are thrilled about this development. It’s long overdue to move this statue that supports slavery when Confederate symbols are being removed in droves across the country, including from the [U.S.] Capitol, U.S. military bases and from the Mississippi flag. Let Talbot County take a stand on the right side of history for all its citizens. The lawsuit amply describes how the monument is a remnant of a racist and divisive past that does not represent the views of most Talbot County residents.”
- David Montgomery, speaking on behalf of Preserve Talbot History, stated, “Creating frivolous lawsuits to distract from the real issues facing Talbot families is unwelcome and harmful. We are a hard-working community that appreciates all History and are fortunate to have elected representatives who have made it clear they will not engage in the destruction of our History that means many things to many people. Talbot County welcomes people from around the globe who come here to experience our natural environment and history, but we draw a line when they tell us how to live, work, and raise our families. We certainly don’t need outsiders telling us how to preserve our History. We will not be divided by these disingenuous outsiders and their hand-picked, local agitators.”
Talbot County’s controversy joins the national debate over Confederate relics, a war which the “Lost Cause” is again clearly losing. Monuments such as the Talbot Boys are being removed, one by one, in state after state, including Maryland. State flags have been altered to excise the “Stars and Bars” motif, and schools, streets, and military bases renamed. Just this past winter, Maryland’s General Assembly voted to deep-six the Civil War-era “Maryland, My Maryland” as the state song (it attacks Abe Lincoln). Governor Hogan says he’ll sign it.
In support of removing the Talbot Boys, Sen. Christopher J. Van Hollen, of Maryland, recently said, “We have an obligation to build a more perfect union, not honor those who fought to dissolve it.”
Easton’s courthouse lawn—which once served as an auction pen for enslaved people—may soon witness the decamping of the Talbot Boys.
For further reading, the ACLU’s lawsuit is easy to understand and full of history.
As a community organizer, journalist, administrator, project planner/manager, and consultant, Gren Whitman has led neighborhood, umbrella, public interest, and political committees and groups, and worked for civil rights and anti-war organizations.
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