The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond holds the world's finest
collection of Confederate art and artifacts; it's future is in serious doubt. If
rumored changes come to pass the MOC's collection as well as the historic White
House of the Confederacy which it owns and manages, may simply cease to
exist.
Right now, some in the MOC leadership have cooked up a plan to distribute
the MOC's incredible collection among several different Richmond-area groups.
Included in that list are the Virginia Historical Society and the historic site
at Tredegar Iron Works. Neither of these can be considered
Confederate-friendly.
The Museum of the Confederacy holds an important trust as the repository of
the world's finest collection of Confederate memorabilia. Recent reports from
well-informed sources indicate that the museum's leadership is rapidly moving
forward with a plan which, in addition to dispersing the collection, will also
sell its building in downtown Richmond.
Once the collection is relocated and the building sold, the now-nearby
White House of the Confederacy will be isolated in an urban canyon surrounded by
the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and virtually lost to
tourist traffic. To think that it will be bale to sustain itself financially in
that condition is difficult to imagine.
I'm writing to you because we need to act quickly.
The SCV strongly opposes this plan and is actively urging the Museum of the
Confederacy board to reconsider. While no doubt well-intentioned, this course of
action will seriously jeopardize the integrity of this collection which is so
important to our Southern heritage.
Generations of Southerners, including many of the veterans themselves,
contributed a king's ransom to the Museum of the Confederacy in the form of
priceless antiques, family heirlooms, and relics of the Confederate cause of
incalculable value. They made these contributions with the express intent that
these antiquities would be carefully preserved and honorably displayed. That's
how the Museum of the Confederacy's collection grew to be the trustee of the
single largest collection of the treasures of the late Confederacy. To scatter
these precious treasures across several venues and organizations will
permanently diminish its importance.
The Museum of the Confederacy is technically owned by the Confederate
Memorial & Literary Society and is a private organization. They are under no
obligation to listen to the SCV or to take advice from anyone. But, we believe
they are reasonable people who by and large want to do the best they can under
the circumstances.
I have been calling everyone connected with the MOC but I would like for
them to hear from you as well.
Please contact these folks today and POLITELY let them know how important
it is that the Museum of the Confederacy's collection remain intact as a
permanent tribute to those proud soldiers.
Please urge your Compatriots and anyone who shares our view of this
important issue to let their voices be heard so that the Museum of the
Confederacy can return to being the home of the Confederacy's most important
artifacts.
Michael Givens
Commander in Chief
Commander in Chief
Contact:
Mr. Matthew G. Thompson, Jr. (Chairman)
matt@cscleasing.com
matt@cscleasing.com
Mr. Carlton P. Moffatt, Jr.
cpmchm@comcast.net
cpmchm@comcast.net
The Hon. Daniel T. Balfour
dbalfour@juridicalsolutions. com
dbalfour@juridicalsolutions.
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