A Confederate Flag Flies In Washington, And Its Caretaker Explains Why

RIDGEFIELD, WA - About 15 miles north of the Oregon border along the west side of I-5, there's a small park with several versions of the Confederate flag flying. The flags are located inside Jefferson Davis Park, a small privately-owned patch of land that commemorates the only president of the Confederacy, a man who grew up on a cotton plantation, served time in prison, and died in 1889 of malaria.

Zooming by on I-5, it might be hard to contemplate why Confederate flags are flying so prominently so far away from Dixie. It's a polarizing sight. Reading online reviews of the park, it's described as everything from a "roadside abomination" to "a touching experience."

But in the wake of what happened over the weekend at Charlottesville, symbols of the Confederacy are, perhaps, more polarizing now than ever. Last Friday, hundreds of white nationalists holding tiki torches converged on a statue of Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia campus; at the foot of the statue, the nationalists attacked a small group of counter-protesters. On Saturday, a man with ties to those same white nationalists allegedly drove his car into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring 19 others. On Monday demonstrators, in retribution, tore down a statue dedicated to Confederate troops in Durham, N.C.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked "When does it stop?" in regards to removing monuments. Trump worried that tearing down Confederate monuments will lead to tearing down monuments to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

So what should Washington state residents make of such a display in this day and age? The park is maintained by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Pacific Northwest Division. The group's Lt. Commander, Garth McKinney, told Patch.com that Jefferson Davis Park honors American history; particularly that Davis helped build the infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest in his pre-Civil War career as Secretary of the Army. The "bigots" in Charlottesville grossly misused the Confederate flag, he said.

The modern Jefferson Davis Park was erected in 2007, but the park has deeper roots in state history. Before World War II, members of the Daughters of the Confederacy wanted to memorialize Davis with a highway named for him spanning Washington, DC, to California. They also wanted to extend that memorial highway up the Pacific Coast. Eventually, they got "Jefferson Davis Highway" markers in Vancouver and Blaine.

The "Jefferson Davis Highway" designation, which was never official in the state, was dismantled in 2002. One of the original makers sits at the park in Ridgefield.

McKinney, who is originally from Bremerton, says that the Confederacy is part of our history and shouldn't be erased. Many would say that's not the whole story. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said that statues of Davis or Robert E. Lee offer "a sanitized Confederacy" because they don't acknowledge the atrocities of slavery and subsequent, still ongoing, subjugation of blacks. Landrieu gave a speech about Confederate-monumental removal when New Orleans removed statues of Lee and Davis in May.

"The historic record is clear. The Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard statues [in New Orleans] were not erected just to honor these men, but as part of the movement which became known as The Cult of the Lost Cause. This ‘cult’ had one goal—through monuments and through other means—to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity.

"First erected over 166 years after the founding of our city and 19 years after the end of the Civil War, the monuments that we took down were meant to re-brand the history of our city and the ideals of a defeated Confederacy."

But unlike the New Orleans monuments, Washington's confederate park is private. No mayor or governor can order it dismantled. And its keepers have no plans of removing it. Here's what McKinney told Patch.com about why his groups keeps the park and why they don't think it's a sign of bigotry.

Patch: What's your connection to the Civil War? Are you related to people who served?

Garth McKinney: As a member of the SCV I am required to of had at least 1 family member who served honorably in the Confederate States military either directly or indirectly related to my bloodline. I myself had several grandfathers, Uncles, and cousins who served and gave their lives during the war for Southern Independence. I Have searched and located approximately 15 Confederate Ancestors whom I’m related too. Ranging from Private to 1st Lt my family was well spread out during the war, most served in Company C 60thGeorgia Infantry. My connection to the Southern fight is in my blood. Many of my family members lay in mass or unmarked graves. A sacrifice as great as that should never be forgotten.

What's the current status of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Pacific Northwest Division in terms of size and number of chapters?

The SCV continues to grow in both size and in camps here in the PNW with dedicated members whom believe in the proper displaying of our historic symbols. It is important to note that we are an educational organization. We strive to educate those about the proper purpose and meaning of our beloved Confederate flags and for all of our countries historic symbols that have come under fire in recent years.

Is your group active outside of holding private meetings?

We do and plan to take part in future parades. Primarily parades associated with Veterans day, or Memorials day. We also hold yearly Rallies to honor and to inform our local communities why we are here. These events are often held at our Jefferson Davis park. We do have a great deal of members who are active both locally and state wide in re-enactment organizations such as the Washington state Civil War Association. Our ancestors were elected the same rights and privileges as current US Veterans by act of Congress and fought just as bravely. It is important to us to ensure that we remember our veterans, are American veterans.

I noticed that the flag at the monument is different than typical Confederate flags. Can you explain the meaning of it? [the flag usually seen at the park is "blood-stained banner" version]

I know recently one of our camps placed a new flag upon one of the poles located at our Jefferson Davis Park. We have often flown 2 to 3 flags there. The 1st Confederate National flag also known as the “Stars and bars” adopted by the CSA on March 4, 1861, The 3rd national CSA Flag depicts the Confederate battle flag in the upper left-hand corner, and a red bar at the fly end of the flag. This flag is also known as the Blood-Stained banner and was the last official flag of the Confederacy adopted on March 4, 1865. Last but not least, is often the Bonnie blue flag. Depicting 1 single white start upon a blue banner, this flag was an unofficial banner of the Confederacy. The meaning of National flags is to embody the country as a whole. To remember not just the veterans, but also the civilians who would fight and sacrifice their lives to protect not just their country, but their family. The Confederate Battle flag or (Navel Jack) is always an appropriate flag to fly when honoring your heritage. The flag came about by request from General Beauregard. The complaint was that the “Stars and Bars” looked to similar to the Union flag from a distance and it would become hard to differentiate Union and Confederate units. At the start of the war many soldiers also still wore Union Blues which only added to the confusion.

As I'm sure you know - and especially after the events in Charlottesville - symbols of the Confederacy have become controversial. Have you ever considered removing or changing your monument?

We have never thought about removing, changing or in any way altering our monuments and flags. Unfortunately, the tragic events in Virginia are a good example of the misuse of both the American and Confederate symbols. Robert E. Lee would have never taken a stand for their message. He believed strongly in unification and the breaking of the chains to slavery. We should never regress, or allow such low individuals to dictate our symbols to us.

Have you received any threats against the monument recently, or has anyone ever vandalized it?

People have vandalized the monument in the past. Instead of vandalizing it, we would rather welcome these individuals to one of our monthly meetings where we can discuss and better understand each other’s points of views. That’s really what America is all about, being able to disagree but respect and love one another.

Many people link Davis to insurrection and the defense of slavery. Do you understand why some people are upset by Confederate monuments? What do you say to critics of Confederate monuments?

I understand that people have a great deal of opinions and we live in an amazing country blessed with the privilege of being able to express those opinions. President Davis was a man who continued to request for peace throughout the war and was met with silence. It is unfortunate, that a man could request peace so often and still be referred to as a traitor or the cause of so many lives lost. Critics of Confederate monuments should understand, even though you disagree with the monument and the fact that millions of Americans do honor these men doesn’t mean we can’t honor the men worthy of honor today. Just because we keep one eye on the past doesn’t mean we are living in it. Life and history is all about learning from your past, growing and looking to the future. We can’t grow if we erase what we were and we can’t better ourselves without knowing where we have been.

If you were out in public holding a Confederate flag or another Confederate symbol and someone criticized you - called you racist or a Nazi - how would you respond?

In situations like those we often ask the individual to join us while we BBQ or just have a friendly chat. We understand that not everyone will accept this kind of offer and we accept that. However, should you ever see us out there I encourage you to come chat and get to know our members. They are outstanding people just looking to honor their families sacrifices. We are not Racist bigots looking to divide our people. We are in the hopes that we can push back against hatred for all our symbols, move forward, and embrace each other as family.

In the wake of what happened Charlottesville, has your view of the Confederacy changed? Do you feel the Confederacy is still something that should be celebrated?

I believe all our history should be celebrated, Confederacy included. We should never seek to abandon our past because bigots in Charlottesville misrepresent it. Those individuals lack a great deal of historical knowledge. The very general they rallied around wouldn’t have shared their ideology, or taken the time to be among their members as any friend.

Related: The Many Symbols Of The Modern White Power Movement

Images courtesy Garth McKinney