I’ve become obsessed with trying to figure out exactly what happened on July 4 in the military park.
Particularly I’m trying to determine if there were any racist comments made by the monument “defenders.”
This is in part because I want to know and in part because it is important to know and in part as a test of what can be found out, accurately, from retrospective reports.
If we want to help the National Park Service make decisions about how to respond to these occurrences in the future and if we want to encourage civil dialogue, we need to be accurate in our statements.
I have found first-person reports, even from people I find trustworthy, to be inaccurate.
One question involves the issue of numbers: People who I would say I trust have told me there were very few armed men in that park that day and others who I would also say I would trust have told me there were thousands. I believe both are incorrect.
I’m not sure we’ll ever know – perhaps a hundred?
Many people have said the Methodist Minister from Hanover (Trent Somes) was surrounded by the defenders as he entered the Lincoln Cemetery.
An alternative explanation is that Somes walked into the group.
(It turns out I’m not the only one who’s asked this question).
When I watch the video of the incident I hear some awful language and I hear someone call Somes “gay.” This is not appropriate, but to me it is not racism.
There was a lot of conversation, and there were certainly some odd views presented.
The members of the group tried to diffuse the situation several times:
“Let’s take it easy.”
“Let the guy go.”
The discussion was more heated than you’d expect at a casual dinner party but overall I didn’t think it was out of control.
Eventually the police showed up and asked Somes to leave. In my opinion that was probably a reasonable decision and I think the officer did an amazing job.
When I try to imagine it the other way around – armed man in camouflage walks into a BLM demonstration – I have to say I think the outcome would have been pretty similar.
The Virginia Monument video with Scott Hancock also shows heated arguments on both sides, but I do not hear any racist comments.
As Hancock gets out of his car I notice his sign says something about “KKK.” I’m not sure what that is about.
At about 5:53 in the video an angry guy says “Get the hell out of here. You don’t like this country there’s plenty of other ones.”
At about 6:50 the guy on the bike gives the finger and says “welfare checks” but I can’t hear the rest of the sentence.
Many people have said the guns the protestors were carrying were loaded. Perhaps they were, but how would they know?
Other people have said that tourists stayed in their hotel rooms for fear of going out onto the battlefield. Some probably did, but how many?
If you have more information to contribute to this page I would like to hear it.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.
I think they are both in the wrong. The battlefield is not a place to come and spout any kind of protest of any kind. Armed people just touring the battlefield testing the 2nd amendment is one thing. Gathering in a huge group to intimidate what they thought was going to be destruction of the battlefield is another thing all together. If monuments were destroyed for any reason that would be not only a crime but ignorant. The people that fought on both sides of that battle were both Americans. Therefore they are remembered in a more positive light than… Read more »
Dear David,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I am so sorry it took me so long to approve it.
Mr. Hancock, I was present three different times at the park that day. I support Liz Diaz on her analysis. I am a traditional Christian who follows the steps of Christ; therefore, I cannot support BLM. Black Lives Matter with capital letters is the cry of volatile words that simplies an endorsement of the breaking of God’s moral law since the BLM movement enthusiastically supports Planned Parenthood that embraces the killing of babies in the womb, especially black babies. If you have a difficult time swallowing this fact, check the history of Planned Parenthood. The echoes of this catchy slogan… Read more »
Well I’m obviously really late to the party. Nonetheless, since this post & comments are still up, wanted to point out that Ms. Diaz’s comment is filled with inaccuracies. I am not assuming this was intentional on her part; don’t know if she was present at the VA & MS state monuments on July 4. If she was, not sure how she could get so much wrong; if she was not, her comment illustrates the dangers of “fake news” and unconfirmed second hand information. As far as BLM goes, there’s a mixture of truth and distortion in what Ms. Diaz… Read more »
Dear Dr. Hancock,
I appreciate your contribution to this dialogue. Perhaps if you think it might contribute to the discussion you would say what aspects of Ms. Diaz’s comments you believe to be inaccurate.
Chuck Stangor
Subject: Alice in Gettysburg After working over 40 years for the Navy as a Financial Program Analyst in Southern California, I wanted to relocate to another state. I never thought I’d leave California but politics and greed changed it into a place I no longer liked. During those 40 years, I would vacation in PA every few years. I loved the history and farmlands – Philly, the Amish and Gettysburg. It’s a wonderful place. Peaceful. Shortly after we arrived in Adams County, the covid lockdown hit but we were relieved to have it lifted enough for us to spend our… Read more »
Dear Chuck, Kudos to you for all your research and organization to try and arrive at the truth. After watching the videos, I agree with you that seemingly there was no “racism”. But does the “n” word actually have to be used for there to be a racist remark? For there to be racism displayed? In the Scott Hancock video the crowd vehemently denies that the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg were fought to defeat the institution of slavery. Many of the people there, especially the one man seen with a rifle over his shoulder and the bikers,… Read more »