I have always assumed this was a way of reconciling with the South after the bitterness of the war. Guess the communists don't like that.
Yes, it was. Madison, WI longtime Mayor, Paul Soglin, has ordered that the Confederate memorial (a small stone with plaque) be removed from the cemetery. The stone was in memorial to Confederate prisoners who died while in custody at Camp Randall (Union) during the Civil War. These men were mostly teen-aged boys. Seems ugly of him to do that, and some have questioned his right since he is just a mayor and the cemetery is Federal. In any care, the marker is GONE.
25 years after the end of the CW, there were all kinds of joint memorials and meetings and celebrations between the vets from both sides, wearing their uniforms. If these yahoos would study their history, they could see the pictures of all the old soldiers socializing peacefully.