SCV Sets Date for Marker Move

Day by day, the embattled Sons of Confederate Veterans marker commemorating 51 southern Civil War soldiers inches closer to a new home. 

A tentative date for the final relocation of the marker has been set for Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 at 9 a.m., according to an email from Roy Perry, 1st Lt. Commander of the local chapter of the SCV. 

Last month, city officials reached an agreement with the SCV specifying the exact location and layout of the relocated marker site. Currently, the marker is located on  a traffic island near Maury Commons at the intersection of George and Barton streets. The three-way agreement between city officials, the SCV and the Maury Commons Condominium Association moves the monument across the street to the lawn of Maury Commons. 

As per the agreement, the Fredericksburg Public Works Department constructed a footer for the marker, 30 inches away from the sidewalk. The footer was poured on Aug. 2 with a 7 day curing time. The SCV, in its part of the bargain, provided two paving stones which bridge the gap between the footer and the sidewalk. The pavers were donated by Bobby Hinkle of Falls Run Stone and Stucco. 

The marker notes the presence of 51 Confederate graves located on the southern side of the Maury Commons property. Immediately to the north lies another historic but all but vanished black cemetery called Potters Field. The Confederate soldiers buried at Maury Commons were interred there before the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. The graves belong to soldiers from across the Confederacy. They most likely were the victims of infectious diseases which plagued both armies during the Civil War.

In April 2009, the SCV received an excavation permit from the city and quickly installed and commemorated the marker. Four months later, in September 2009, the City Council succumbed to pressure from the Fredericksburg Area Veterans Association and voted to move the SCV marker off site. In November 2009, the SCV sued the city to prevent the removal of the marker, but eventually lost. In court,

Almost immediately following the ruling authorizing the removal of the marker from its current spot

However, that required an excavation permit from the Public Works Department. Initially, the Public Works Department thought the marker could be located within 12 inches of the sidewalk. But during the application process, the Public Works Department learned that the proposed site lies within a city easement extending 30 inches beyond the sidewalk and asked the SCV to site the marker outside of that boundary.

The Maury Commons Condominium Owners Association was hesitant to site the marker too far inside their property for fear that interested pedestrians would trample the grass.

This delay frustrated local SCV officials, who   No such resolution ever materialized. In the meantime, Doug Fawcett, Fredericksburg director of public works, said that he dispatched a survey team to ascertain the true location of the easement boundary. This survey provided the final location which the three parties agreed to. 

SCV officials are happy with the results, and vow to have a relocation ceremony with invitations dispatched to City Council members. A ceremony has not yet been scheduled.