A rededication ceremony of the Soldiers and Sailors Confederate Monument on the Mathews court green was held last Wednesday, Sept. 12. Laying a wreath were, from left, Bonnie Daughtery, Shelby Miles and Marilyn Iglesias. Photo by Bill Nachman

Walter Scott Hunley was among the invited guests who spoke at last Wednesday’s ceremony to rededicate the Confederate monument on Mathews court green. Photo by Bill Nachman

Last Wednesday’s program was a blending of some of the old with some of the new. While the expected Civil War re-enactors and several others dressed in period attire participated, the program also included the new generation of Mathews youth taking prominent parts.

The Confederate monument was originally dedicated on Sept. 11, 1912, by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Lane-Armistead Camp 1772 and Sally Tompkins Chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy. Both groups held many fundraising events and received good community support to erect the monument to honor Mathews soldiers and sailors who served the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The monument recognizes the valiant efforts of so many Mathews residents who underwent "untold agony" during the Civil War, said C. Ralph Anderton, commander of Lane-Armistead Camp 1772. The rededication ceremony, he said, was an opportunity to gather to "remember their efforts."

Walter Scott Hunley said that Mathews soldiers and sailors fought bravely in the war, some making the long trek home following Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in 1865. Many people had to eat green corn simply to survive back then, he said.

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