Madison Removes Monuments To Confederate Civil War Soldiers

Madison has started removing its tributes to Confederate Civil War soldiers after last weekend’s race related violence in Virginia. Mayor Paul Soglin had a plaque removed from Forest Hill Cemetery which called the Confederate soldiers buried there “valiant” — and a larger monument with the soldiers’ names will be replaced with what the mayor calls a “proper marker” that does not describe the Civil War as an “act of Confederate heroics.” Soglin says the violence in Charlottesville made him decide quickly to remove the two monuments, after officials talked about it earlier. But Melinda Roberts of De Pere, who has taken photos of veterans’ memorials around Wisconsin, tells W-K-O-W T-V she was upset with the Madison mayor’s decision. She said the affected soldiers died in Wisconsin and were treated with respect, and she contends the markers do not promote racism or slavery.