Southern Heritage Bump
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.
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Bump...
Kudos to the UDC and the Hollands. A well deserved recognition for their service. And our thanks.
Yes Indeed. Well said, my friend.
And that's the truth, good friend!
Yes, I think that would be a fair inference.
I agree wholeheartedly. Again, education is key, and the socialists don't want people, and especially children, educated in facts. Confuses the agenda. That is why it's so important to speak out in truth against their lies. It is amazing to me how many ordinary citizens are already brainwashed. Of course, being brainwashed in ignorance seems to make as much sense as taking a bath in dirty water.
Thanks for your input.
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black men, who are desended from HERO-MARTYRS of the CSA and every other loyal rebel male desendent should join the SCV!
dial 1-800-my-dixie to learn more.
free dixie,sw
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