Bentonville talk centers on statue

1908 Confederate monument stands on downtown square

BENTONVILLE -- The room was nearly filled to the 160-person capacity Saturday, and many sides were heard concerning the history and future of Bentonville's Confederate monument in the downtown square.

The discussion was held at the Walmart Auditorium in the Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies at Northwest Arkansas Community College in partnership with Compassion Fayetteville and the Omni Center for Peace. It was moderated by Jon Comstock, a Rogers attorney and owner of Comstock Conflict Resolution Services.

"This is not about anybody persuading somebody to change strongly held beliefs, opinions or views. It's about building community. It's really about hearing people say different things and being able to connect and hear what they are saying," Comstock said.

Many spoke for moving the statue and for leaving it in the square and some offered ideas of building another statue to honor soldiers from the area who fought for the Union or to take off the word "Confederate" from the base. Most introduced themselves as residents from Bentonville or nearby.

"Ninety percent of people I talk to don't know what the history is, but they know it's an historical landmark and that it brings people together," resident Cindy Acree said. "We are making it a racist issue by connecting the dots. We've got a trend that's going around the country that is generating feeling about this statue that don't belong."

Bentonville resident John Douglas and a couple others said the statue has the potential or does deter some people from moving to the area.

"Despite the fact that I have seen the monument all my life and considered it part of our history, I came to realize there's people who have other opinions. I should not be inflexible," Douglas said. "Personally, I'd like the statue to stay there, but it would probably be better to move it to the Bentonville Cemetery."

There were three black people in the audience Saturday.

"This is a problem. This is a real problem," said Raven Cook, a black history teacher. "You have to make a decision to step outside of your comfort zone and to actually have real, authentic relationships with black people that will change your view and take down the damn statue so people can actually feel like they're welcome in your space."

The three left before the end of the discussion, which wasn't recognized by any speaker.

Asele Mack, who was sitting by them, said after the public discussion, "When people started talking about good slave owners, I praised the Lord that black people were gone by then."

The comment Mack referred to was made by Rebecca Hedges, who also said the Civil War wasn't about slavery, but the oppression of the North on the South.

"They were tired of Northern oppression. There were good and bad slave owners. There were black and white slave owners," Hedges said. "Slavery was not a good thing. It was an evil thing. But I hate the divisiveness today."

Lawyer Jason Hendren acted as the expert panel presenter and provided a brief history of the monument, which was erected in 1908, more than 50 years after the Civil War. He grew up in the Bentonville area and is a member of the Historic Arkansas Museum Board. He said the issue isn't why the Civil War was fought, but about the statue specifically.

He later addressed one specific point of historical contention concerning the statue, which was whether the statue is of James Henderson Berry, whose name is inscribed on the granite base.

Berry was a Confederate officer. He also was a lawyer in Bentonville, a speaker of the Arkansas House and a circuit judge for the 4th Judicial District before being elected the state's 14th governor, taking office in 1883. He followed his time as governor with a 22-year stint as a U.S. senator, from 1885 to 1907, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

However, the statue isn't of Berry.

It's of a generic bearded soldier, according to the 1996 National Register of Historic Places registration form for the monument.

The Arkansas United Daughters of the Confederacy sponsored the monument and Berry donated most of the money. The daughters added a plaque to the memorial with an inscription honoring Berry on Jan. 30, 1914, the one-year anniversary of his death, according to the registration form.

Kelly Mulhollan said he's the great-great-grandson of Berry and the statue isn't a depiction of Berry, who lost a leg during the Battle of Corinth, according to the encyclopedia entry. He also said he believes the statue should be moved to Pea Ridge Battlefield Park.

"It may be hard to imagine the square without the old statue, but it is not impossible," Mulhollan said, reading from a statement. "This is an opportunity for the city of Bentonville to turn a new page. We are not erasing history, we are making history."

The monument was one of at least 12 Confederate memorials erected by the Arkansas United Daughters of the Confederacy between 1899 and 1915 and were mass-produced. Bentonville's was manufactured in Barre, Vt., according to the book Bentonville by Monte Harris.

Octavio Sanchez, Bentonville council member, said people should give their attention to more important things than the statue, but also suggested including something in the square from the Union side.

Cindy Sigmon said toward the end of the discussion both Comstock and Hendren seemed to have a slanted view toward the side of removing the statue. Comstock said he would welcome others to be on a panel for another discussion.

"When you bury history, you're doomed to repeat it," Sigmon said. "This should be concerning people on both sides of the aisle. When does this snowball stop? Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. At the Capitol, we have a statue of him. Are we going to pull that down? Washington owned slaves."

There was no poll or show of hands to determine how many were at the event to represent which side.

Hendren said Benton County owns the land the monument is on and has the authority to leave or remove it.

Metro on 09/11/2017

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