The Controversy Over the Placement of a Frederick Douglass Statue in Maryland

Gregory Kane, in the Baltimore Sun (Feb. 11, 2004):

RUN THAT ONE by me again, Thomas G. Duncan. I don't think I quite got it.

Duncan, for those of you who don't read The Sun every day, is a county councilman in Talbot County on the Eastern Shore. A quote of his appeared in Monday's edition of The Sun, in a story written by reporter Chris Guy. It seems Duncan has a problem with a statue of Talbot County's most famous resident, abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass, being placed on the courthouse lawn in Easton. That honor, Duncan feels, should only be for those who served in the armed forces, even"The Talbot Boys," who fought for the Confederacy.

Here's how Duncan summed it up, according to Guy:

"I think that ground is hallowed ground. People there either served or died for their country."

It's at this point that Duncan needs to run it by me again. A statue paying tribute to"The Talbot Boys" stands on the courthouse lawn. They most assuredly did not"serve their country." The country they served was the Confederate States of America - Maryland was never a member of that country, the last time I checked my history - which should not be confused with the United States of America.