Monday, December 15, 2008

SCV Dedicates Memorial in North Carolina

SCV dedicates memorial to Battle of Whitehall, CSS Neuse sailors

December 13, 2008 - 9:12 PM
David AndersonStaff Writer

LA GRANGE - An estimated 150 people gathered in Dan and Wendy Boyette's front yard Saturday to dedicate a monument to local Confederate soldiers and sailors. "I love you, for you are all my Christian brothers and sisters," Dan Boyette said from his wide front porch as he spoke to the assembled representatives of various Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy chapters.

The memorial, made of granite taken from the floor supports of the nearly 200-year-old Richmond Theatre in Richmond, Va., had inscribed on it the names of 13 Southern soldiers killed during the December 1862 Battle of Whitehall and the crewmembers of the CSS Ram Neuse. That historic battle took place near - and the ship was built near - the Boyettes' property.

Many of those who attended wore period civilian and military clothing. A color guard dressed in military uniforms held the various Confederate States of America national flags, including the controversial Confederate Battle Flag that many Americans see as a symbol of racism because of its adoption by white supremacist

groups. http://www.enctoday.com/news/confederate_51559_kfpress__article.html/boyette_scv.html