INDIANAPOLIS – At the southern entrance to Garfield Park sits a weathered and worn white granite memorial to 1,616 service members who died during the Civil War, men who died about 150 years ago of disease, starvation and exposure in a prisoner-of-war camp in Indianapolis.
They were Confederate soldiers who were captured in battle.
For some, this 35-foot stone tower is a painful reminder of an army that fought, in great part, to protect a shameful institution: slavery. But Brian Blevins sees it more simply as a solemn tribute to soldiers who, while they fought for the Confederacy, were Americans.
Blevins, 52, is leading an effort by the local chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans to raise about $10,000 to restore the 102-year-old monument — clean the dirt-stained stone, make structural repairs and shine the corroded brass plates that list the names.
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"I'm not trying to make a political statement," Blevins said. "It goes back to Indianapolis having a prisoner-of-war camp that no one really knows about."
Blevins said he has ancestors who fought on both sides of the Civil War, and a relative is among those who died in the camp.
"We all know that slavery was immoral and bad," Blevins said. "It's a beautiful monument, and an important piece of history that's been forgotten."
The restoration effort has the support of the Indy Parks board, which voted unanimously in March to oversee the repairs and allow the Indy Parks Foundation to set up a fund to collect money for the cause.
"From our perspective, we have a responsibility to maintain the assets we have," Indy Parks Director John W. Williams said. "When we get interested parties that are willing to raise the funds to restore the assets, we are going to listen to what they have to say."
Williams, who is black and an Army veteran, said it is important to preserve this piece of American history.
"At the end of the day," he said, "it is part of the park and has been part of the park for many years."
Still, not everyone thinks this monument is worth fixing, or that such an effort should be endorsed by the city.
"It's a very painful history for us," said the Rev. Charles Harrison, pastor at Barnes United Methodist Church. "Many in our community believe that a lot of the problems we're enduring as a people is the result of slavery.
"I believe it should be left to rot and go away. I just don't see why we should be putting money into this."
There has been no public outcry against the Garfield Park monument, but Harrison said that's because most people "haven't heard much about it."
"I think if enough of the leaders in the community knew about this," Harrison said, "I think many would be outraged."
Indy Parks Board member Joe Wynns voted in favor of allowing the Sons of Confederate Veterans to make the repairs, but he said it was not an easy decision.
"I was the last one to cast my vote," Wynns said. "Growing up in the South, understanding what the Confederacy stood for, it (the monument) offends me."
Wynns, who is black, said he had to balance his personal feelings with a duty to taxpayers and the park system. Read more.....
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