by Pastor Jim Jester
February 25, 2024
SCRIPTURE READING: Joshua 4:1-3
It is a new year, January and February have special significance, so I thought of Memorials. I need not mention what February is about; besides the Dresden holocaust against Germany on 13-14 February, 1945.
January is often referred to as “Generals Month” since no less than four famous Confederate Generals claimed January as their birth month: James Longstreet, Jan. 8, 1821, Robert E. Lee, Jan. 19, 1807, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, Jan. 21, 1824, and George Pickett, Jan. 28, 1825. It is ironic that MLK day sits between two of these birthdays, Lee and Jackson.
Lee-Jackson Day was a state holiday in Virginia begun in 1889. Its observation was eliminated in 2020, replaced by Election Day as a state holiday. Confederate History month, begun in 1994, happens to be in April because the Confederate Memorial Day falls during this month. It has been observed by seven southern states.
Of course we realize that all Confederate memorials have been under attack and nearly all of them removed. The Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was the first installation on Monument Avenue in 1890, and would ultimately be the last monument removed from that site. The statue was taken down on September 8, 2021, then sent to storage.