THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608050053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 64 lines
Confederate flags carried by the descendants of Civil War soldiers and regiments of wool-clad re-enactors flew Sunday along the city's Monument Avenue, a street that honors the heroes of the Southern cause.
The procession of gray uniforms was led by a white-bearded man on the back of a horse named ``Traveller.''
``These are just a bunch of folks who are proud of their heritage. We grew up on cornbread, black-eyed peas and turnip greens,'' said Robert C. Moates, a Chesterfield County gun shop owner who played the part of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Organizers of the Sons of Confederate Veterans centennial parade said more than 2,000 people came to the capital of the Confederacy to retrace the mile-long route followed at the organization's first meeting in 1896, from Battle Abbey to a statue of Lee.
Fife and drum corps played ``Oh, Susanna'' and ``Dixie'' to synchronize the steps of the re-enactors representing every Southern state, a few Union ones and places as far away as Switzerland.
Participants were quick to defend the display of the flag, saying it has nothing to do with hatred, racism or slavery. The group paraded in the sticky August heat to educate and not to alienate anyone, they said.
``Racists have tried to adopt our flag. We're very active in condemning the Ku Klux Klan. If we want to end racism and intolerance, the key is education,'' said Greg Eanes, head of public affairs for the group's Virginia Division.
David Dunn, a postal worker from Troy, N.C., opted for a modern coat and tie for the parade. He said he joined the organization out of admiration for the actions of 22 of his ancestors who fought for the Confederacy.
``It's just inconceivable for us to realize today the things that they suffered and went through,'' Dunn said. ``Against the odds, and even when it was hopeless, they kept going. We hate to see someone like skinheads and the Klan misusing our flag. It makes it hard for us.''
Ali Nasir was reading at home when he heard the cheering and went outside to see the marching troops. He followed them all the way to the Lee monument.
Nasir, who is black, said he keeps the honorable discharge papers of his great-great-grandfather, who fought on the Union side during the war.
Nasir owns a local restaurant and jazz club called the ``Underground Railroad,'' named for the network of people that helped slaves escape to freedom in the years leading up to the Civil War.
``The majority of the people out here are not racist. They're mostly just here to celebrate the history,'' he said. ``I think that period is over, and I think once the dust settled, we all began to see each other as men.''
When the procession reached the Lee statue, re-enactors gathered on the lawn surrounding the monument as a bugler played Taps. Riflemen stood in an arc facing the statue and fired four booming volleys, their rifles spewing smoke and showering onlookers with paper from the gun barrels.
A group of about a dozen young people - several with tattoos, shaved heads and T-shirts that featured Nazi insignia - watched the ceremony quietly from across the street.
They briefly attempted to get at the end of the parade but stopped after members of the Confederate group asked them to leave, said Barton Campbell, an organizer of the celebration. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bob Anderson, left, Matthew Denny, center, and John Denny watch the
parade of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from the Jefferson Davis
monument in downtown Richmond on Sunday. by CNB