The Mathews County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to add names of the fallen to the Confederate monument on the Mathews court green.

Board chairman Dave Jones proposed the action, saying the board should reach out to local historical groups to find out the names of those who should be included on the war memorial and then have plaques made with the names on them to be placed on the base of the structure. He suggested making an effort to collect all the names by the end of June. The motion was then made by Paul Hudgins and seconded by Melissa Mason.

Supervisor Mike Walls strongly disagreed with the idea, calling the monument “a sacred piece of granite” and saying, “We’re getting ready to make that memorial not what it is.”

“Don’t touch it,” he said. “Don’t add to it, don’t take away from it, and don’t contextualize it.”

Mason pointed out that a memorial “remembers those who have fallen” and said that, while there were those who served willingly, there were also fallen w...