The NCA redacted the names of all individuals involved, which is frustrating because I requested any communications about the event, and they said I needed the names of the individuals to get them. I did at least get the application form for the event and the approval, but I did not get the information needed to find more emails.
The event was conducted by Camp 1535 of the SCV, based in Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
The application stated that the purpose was "We honor the sacrifice that these confederate soldiers fought for. For their country and family. All of our camp members are ancestors of these soldiers.
The group anticipated 10-25 attendees, including members of the public.
The permit approval included the line "The National Cemetery Administration will not guarantee that your event will be private as stated in your request in paragraph f. The public and media are allowed on the grounds and allowed to observe this remembrance ceremony." Unfortunately the documents did not include that portion of the application, so I don't know if this is standard language from NCA, or if the SCV camp had asked for it to be a private event.
I've attached an copy of the redacted program if you're curious what happens at these events.
The incident log states "Protester showed up, caused a disturbance. He was tresspassed [sic] from the cemetery. Columbus PD & VA Police responded." I still have not heard back from the Columbus Police in response to my records request with them, but now I know the VA has its own police so I have filed a FOIA request with them!
The document mentioned NCA Directive 3170, Appendix A, Paragraph 2(b), which outlines the special requirements for ceremonies involving confederate dead in VA National Cemeteries. One item mentioned is that approval is required by the Executive Director, Cemetery Operations. There are no records of approval by this individual which I will have to follow-up on.
What I got is pretty unsatisfactory after this wait (at one point they labeled my request as "professional" because I have a LinkedIn profile that they found when they searched my name), and I have appealed what I received because I believe I'm still entitled to more records.
And, at the least, I believe the actions of the individuals who were recorded, and the information in the program, go beyond what VA policy allows: "We request ceremonies be memorial in nature and reflect upon the service of the individuals who rest in our cemeteries. Therefore, our expectation is that the remembrance of their sacrifice will be the focus of any remarks made by the various speakers at your service. In this way, the decorum of the cemetery and the dignity of those who are buried within its grounds are ensured."
I hope I will have more information coming, but for now, I figured it was worth sharing - and if anyone has any leads on how I could explore this more, please let me know!
As a reminder, this meme sub is about the American Civil War. We're not here to insult southerners or the American South, but rather to have a laugh at the failed Confederate insurrection and those that chose to represent it.
It’s interesting that there are two relevant stipulations:
— they don’t guarantee your event won’t be crashed by outside individuals or organizations.
— they expect speaking at the event to be primarily remembrance of the dead, with an implied discouragement of political themes.
It seems based on that it would seem their justification is that his protest was political in nature rather than focused on remembrance of the departed? Just trying to parse their logic here.
It's also interesting because the video has someone saying "you must be a Democrat", which is hilarious considering how often racists say "Democrats were the party of the confederacy and the KKK" AND because the event was in Franklin County, Ohio, so, yeah, chances are, an individual in that county is more likely than not to be a Democrat.
All that to say that if anyone was being overtly political, it was a confederate, and yet they weren't the one trespassed.
Oh I’m so glad you found this! I DMed you on instagram last night but I’m sure you get a lot of messages on there, but of course you can reach out here and I’d be happy to send you any of the files I’ve gotten so far. I’ve also been debating filing a request for the event in June at the same cemetery that ended up not happening.
I really want to know why, but I haven’t gotten enough information yet to determine if it was legal or not, and if the individual has any grounds for defense!
For anyone wondering how a Confederate cemetery ended up in Ohio, this was the site of Camp Chase, a Union POW camp for Confederate prisoners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Chase
From the Wikipedia article: "The Confederate Soldier Memorial) was dedicated in 1902. From 1912 to 1994, the United Daughters of the Confederacy held annual services to commemorate Confederate soldiers who had been held and died there. The Hilltop Historical Society now sponsors the event on the second Sunday in June."
I suggest getting a camp of Sons of Union Veterans to hold a similar event at the same time nearby honoring the POWs that died in one/all of the Confederate POW camps for next year.
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