[VAcourier] Oakwood Vandalized - Richmond

[Virginia Division SCV Communication List]

Oakwood Confederate Cemetery Vandalized - City complacent
June 21, 2007

Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia had its Confederate section 
vandalized last evening.  Little is known at the moment about who 
perpetrated the crime or why the damage was done, but one thing is clear 
that had the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) received any cooperation 
at all from the City of Richmond, this would not have occurred.  The SCV 
has attempted for more than a year to finalize an operating agreement 
with the city government which would have given maintenance and 
management control of the Confederate section to the SCV.  The SCV plan 
for the cemetery includes the installation of individual tombstones for 
the basically unmarked graves of nearly 17,000 soldiers buried there.  
Another goal of the SCV was to immediately construct a tall wrought iron 
fence around the cemetery which would have likely deterred the 
perpetrators of the destruction.

Reports state that the monument dedicated to those killed on Brown's 
Island is destroyed and that a large obelisk in Section G was toppled 
and subsequently broke into three pieces.  The recently restored ornate 
grave of Lt. Duncan Stafford of South Carolina was also vandalized and 
his tombstone destroyed.  The restoration cost over $6,000 and was borne 
by the South Carolina SCV.  Other damage is being investigated.


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