Posted on 09/09/2002 8:43:11 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
Soldiers were 'patriots who loved our Southland and suffered in its defense'
The United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated memorials to three black soldiers from Franklin County.
The time came for Creed Holland to get the recognition he was due.
He was a black slave, but also a Confederate soldier.
And for such, Creed Holland was honored Saturday morning at a graveside ceremony in a small cemetery behind Riverview Baptist Church in Rocky Mount.
The Jubal Early chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated Confederate memorial markers to Creed Holland and two other black Confederate soldiers, also named Holland, from Franklin County.
Hazel Holland Davis, a member of the Jubal Early chapter and great-granddaughter of a Confederate soldier, organized the service as part of a chapterwide project to identify Confederate soldiers' graves in Franklin County.
The three Holland soldiers, of no known relation to each other or to Davis, worked as slaves on Thomas J. Holland's 732-acre farm in Glade Hill. Thomas Holland was Davis' great-great-grandfather.
The service was a rare memorial that honored the little-known Confederate soldiers: enslaved black soldiers.
About 45 Confederate re-enactors and members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans performed the ceremony, which included poems, speeches, prayers and customary military funeral rites such as cannonball volleys and rifle shots.
William Daniel Holland, great-grandson of Creed Holland, welcomed the crowd of about 60 people. He called the service a gathering of all people.
"Today is a day of unification," said William Daniel Holland, 33, of Atlanta.
Sam Lougheed, Virginia president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, described the three black soldiers as "patriots who loved our Southland and suffered in its defense." Lougheed, of Stafford, called the three Hollands "Confederate heroes."
Brag Bowling, state commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, used the service as a platform.
"Southern heritage is becoming a cutting social, cultural and political issue in the landscape of Virginia," Bowling said. He urged the crowd to back those behind a monument protection bill that would thwart efforts to rename buildings and monuments.
Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Chatham, in a spirited speech, pointed to a female re-enactor dressed in a black dress and veil, standing before Creed Holland's grave.
"We need to come to grips with the ghosts of our past by understanding our history," Hawkins said. "We need to understand this history if we are to grow and prosper."
Linda Stanley of the Franklin County Historical Society said the Confederate government required slaveowners to offer a certain percentage of their slaves to the war effort, possibly explaining the three Holland men's involvement in the war.
According to federal pension records, Creed Holland worked as a teamster, hauling supplies for soldiers. Cornelius Holland worked under Jubal Early as a cook. Claiborne Holland performed breastwork, which involved erecting earthen walls from which soldiers protected themselves in battle.
Davis and William Daniel Holland knew of their families' connection. But both families found out about Creed Holland's status as a Confederate veteran this year, William Daniel Holland said.
Davis, 61, a retired teacher living on her family's Glade Hill farm, asked Creed Holland's descendants if they were interested in having a Confederate marker and a ceremony at Creed Holland's grave. They agreed.
William Daniel Holland, along with his brother John Wayne Holland, 47, a Yokohama tire finisher from Roanoke, and another brother are members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Their sister Wanda Holland Chewning, 46, an artist living in Penhook, is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Their grandfather Sam Holland, 75, of Glade Hill, a retired worker for Fleetwood Homes, appreciated the ceremony for Creed Holland. "I'm glad they remember him," he said.
At the end of the ceremony, Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander Robert "Red" Barbour presented a folded Confederate flag to Sam Holland as Creed Holland's oldest known living relative.
The second part of the ceremony ended at Davis' Glade Hill farm off Virginia 40. There, Daughters members placed two magnolia wreaths for Cornelius and Claiborne Holland in the Holland family cemetery. Davis cannot find descendants of the two, or their graves.
the SCV has tried numerous times over the years to stop such abuse of our flag by creeps/racists/cretins/morons and other similar persons.
the FEDERAL courts have uniformly said we can NOT protect the CSA flag from abuse!
free the southland,sw
The article mentions that there were also Hispanics fighting for the Confedracy. But the largest minority group were Jews.
there were at least 100,000 blacks, about 50,000 indians (my ancestor was one of them) & about 40,000 latinos (mostly Mexican or Cuban nationality)that served the CSA.
the vast majority of "non-white" CSA veterans were either in state military formations, in "privately raised" formations OR partisan rangers.
I don't think so."Sacred?" I find that blasphemous. There's nothing sacred about that flag nor the American flag. They are both symbols, nothing more and nothing less. And I'm sure you'll excuse me for not engaging in "hero-worship."
the SCV has tried numerous times over the years to stop such abuse of our flag by creeps/racists/cretins/morons and other similar persons.
Abuse of a flag from a country that only lasted for 4 years? It's 2002, and the CSA exists only in your mind. No offense, that's just the truth.
the FEDERAL courts have uniformly said we can NOT protect the CSA flag from abuse!
The federal courts have also said that Old Glory can't be protected from desecration. Freedom of speech cuts both ways.
I view both groups of people who are so passionate about a piece of cloth as though they are crazy. There are far greater things that this passion should be used towards.
If you view that flag as an integral part of your heritage, fine. But let's not get crazy. I thought only the Left got so hot-and-bothered by a symbol.
you are welcome to hold ANY opinion. this after all is a "free country" and i refuse to argue with you about this.
to US southrons, who lost FAMILY MEMBERS (and particuliarly those of us who had INNOCENT civilans and/or POWs raped,robbed,assaulted,imprisoned & murdered in cold-blood, it is SACRED, as we have, in many cases, not even a grave to visit.
free the southland,sw
Get bent, clown! You don't know what you're talking about. BOTH of my parents are from St. Francis County, Arkansas, and I've spent untold time in the south.
And there you go again with the "sacred" word, which hinges on straight up blasphemy. There's nothing sacred about a flag! You got that?
you are welcome to hold ANY opinion. this after all is a "free country" and i refuse to argue with you about this.
Well, good! G'on! Leap, frog!
to US southrons, who lost FAMILY MEMBERS (and particuliarly those of us who had INNOCENT civilans and/or POWs raped,robbed,assaulted,imprisoned & murdered in cold-blood, it is SACRED, as we have, in many cases, not even a grave to visit.
That's it. You're just as sick as those bastards in the NAACP who want to boycott the entire state of South Carolina over a damn flag.
Am I in the Twilight Zone?
According to federal pension records, Creed Holland worked as a teamster, hauling supplies for soldiers. Cornelius Holland worked under Jubal Early as a cook. Claiborne Holland performed breastwork, which involved erecting earthen walls from which soldiers protected themselves in battle.
I other words, they were still slaves doing what they were told.
I second that bump. As an 82d vet, I have a nothing but admiration for soldiers, both living and dead.
Seems like an apology to them would be more in order. Or maybe give their descendants the back pay that they never got as slaves.
But H.A.L.O. jumping...
THAT'S A RUSH!
On static-line, just remember that if your main doesn't open wide, you'd better use the reserve that's by your side.
To the pop I'd say, "Spank him!"
;-)
I dare you to name a single POW who was raped.
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