Two court actions were filed last week in Ware County Superior Court in an effort to keep the Confederate Veterans Monument at Phoenix Park in Waycross.
The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) along with the General Clement A. Evans Camp No. 64, SCV of Waycross filed a lawsuit April 13 and an application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) April 15. The City of Waycross was named respondent in both actions.
The filings came after the Waycross City Commission approved a resolution March 3 seeking removal of the monument and Civil War-era cannon from the downtown park. The memorials have been in the park since 1910.
The TRO seeks to prevent any action by the city to interfere with the statue and cannon in any manner at its current location for a maximum period of 30 days, and a hearing on the application be set at the earliest possible time. It asks that any order should prevent:
• Removing the monument and cannon from the park;
• Damaging, defacing, or altering the two memorials; • Relocating the two;
• Interfering with the two in any manner;
• Contracting with or directing third parties to perform an foregoing acts;
• Taking any action in furtherance of the city’s 45-day removal directive as it pertains to the memorials.
The SCV suit contends the memorials have multiple legal protections to prevent their removal. Among them are:
• Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 50-3-1: The state’s primary statute governing the protection of historic monuments.
• Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 44-9-4: Georgia real estate law converts a license to an easement that runs with the land once a group relies upon the license.
The SCV said in a media release announcing the court filings, it was “firmly committed to the preservation and protection of the monuments that honor the service of Georgia’s Confederate Veterans. We are prepared to take this matter all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court to ensure these historic markers that honor Georgia’s Veterans remain in their rightful place.”
The resolution was approved by a 3-1 vote of the commission. Commissioners William Simmons, Shawn Sanders and Alvin Nelson favored the resolution while William Tompkins opposed.
Tompkins cited state codes governing monuments for his “no” vote, believing the approval of the resolution opened the city to litigation on the subject.
The resolution directed City Attorney Cheslyn Green to issue a “final” letter to the monuments’ owners, demanding removal within 45 days or face civil action by the city.
Martin K. O’Toole, spokesman for the Georgia Division of SCV, said last week no person connected with the state SCV, the Clement A. Evans Camp, the Francis S. Bartow Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy or its national office had so far received a letter from the city related to the resolution.
The local Bartow Chapter of the UDC presented the monument to the SCV in 1910.
Attempts by the Journal- Herald to find out from the city if/when a letter was sent as well as to whom have been unsuccessful. Green has cited attorney-client privilege.
This is the second legal confrontation for the memorials. In March 2021, the city commission issued a similar removal resolution. The previous lawsuit filed by the SCV saw the application for an injunction denied by the Ware County Superior Court.
At that time, the city provided copies of the letter and the names of those affiliated with the local SCV and UDC organizations who received it.
Attorneys Todd A. Harding of Griffin and Reginald C. Wisenbaker, Jr., of Valdosta are representing the SCV.
The resolution has created a social media firestorm and had citizens on each side of the issue before commissioners.
