A Confederate museum in Georgia has announced it will close its doors because of a flag dispute. The Nash Farm Battlefield and Museum located in Hampton, Georgia has stated because of a request to remove Confederate flags located on the exterior of the location by Henry County Commissioner Dee Clemmons the museum can no longer perform its mission.
The museum is located in a county-owned building; however, it is privately run and objects in the facility were given by private donors. According to museum curator Bill Dodd, back in March 2017, Clemmons stated to him that the display of the Confederate flag outside of the building was offensive to her constitutional rights.
A lengthy Facebook post by the Nash Farm Battlefield and Museum states in part:
“The Board of the Friends of Nash Farm Battlefield, Inc. is sad to announce that the museum, located on Nash Farm Battlefield, which was funded and maintained by our group, will close effective June 1, 2017. The main reason is that the current District 2 Commissioner, Dee Clemmons, has requested that ALL Confederate flags be removed from the museum, in addition to the gift shop, in an effort not to offend anyone. For anyone who studies the American Civil War, or War Between the States, they realize there were two parties that fought in this war. We have always prided ourselves with being an unbiased museum that told the entire story of the battles that took place on this property, as well as being a voice of the people in Henry County and Georgia during this time. These stories were told mainly through primary sources, sometimes secondary, but never tertiary sources. To exclude any Confederate flag would mean the historical value has been taken from our exhibits, and a fair interpretation could not be presented to each guest. Confederate flags were on this hallowed ground, as were the Union flags. To remove either of them would be a dishonor. ”
In response, Henry County Commissioner Clemmons posted to Facebook:
“For eight years a confederate flag has flown over a public county-owned park in Henry County. For the last 6 months, I have worked to make Henry County a great place to live, work and play for every resident young or old and all race and religion. I will not apologize for asking that the CONFEDERATE FLAG be removed FROM A COUNTY OWNED PARK and given back to the private owner as it was not a flag owned by Henry County. This has caused me to receive hundreds of nasty emails and Facebook post. Over the years, the Confederate battle flag has come to mean different things to different people. To me and many other United States Citizens, it is emblematic of slavery, racism and the bloody battles that made the Civil War the deadliest conflict in U.S. history. WE CAN NOT ERASE HISTORY BUT WE DONT HAVE TO RE-Live it.”
The Nash Farm Battlefield and Museum will close its doors on June 1, 2017, and artifacts will be returned to the owner.
