BY MILES LAYTON
EDENTON – When a cluster of Confederate flags appeared recently at the base of Edenton’s Confederate Memorial, the placement wasn’t random. It was a statement orchestrated by the Southern Independence Association, a relatively new heritage group that says it wants to defend Southern symbols in a more vocal, public way. The monument’s removal hasn’t changed the group’s passion to defend history.
“We are saddened by the monument coming down with no clear timeline of when it will be placed in its new location, but we are monitoring the situation closely,” said Joshua Lee Gilmer, board director of the SIA. “Our hope was to support the local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp and hopefully generate more support from other people in the area.”
Choosing Edenton
The Confederate Memorial in Edenton has been a lightning rod of controversy for a long time. Legal battles over its ownership and future placement remain unsettled, and both sides of the issue continue to rally in public.
That tension made Edenton a natural choice for the Southern Independence Association, Gilmer said.
“Compared to other issues regarding monuments and memorials, this one has had people from both sides of the issue gathering for the last two to three years,” he explained. “There’s a similar situation about a 40-minute drive from here in Tyrrell County, but the difference is that the big issue in Edenton is some want the monument to be completely destroyed.”
Gilmer argued that those calls reinforced his group’s belief that opponents of Confederate symbols are not interested in compromise.
Gilmer said the flag display was meant both as a show of solidarity with local heritage supporters and as a sign that his group intends to remain visible in Chowan County.
A new approach
The Southern Independence Association was founded with the goal of shifting tactics, according to Gilmer. Instead of relying solely on lawsuits or low-profile lobbying, the group aims to take its case directly to the public.
“To me, the Southern Independence Association represents a dramatic shift in doctrine of how we as Southerners are going to defend our heritage,” he said. “The days of quietly filing lawsuits and allowing one side to dominate the narrative is over. We’re going to make public stances, question the opposition, and prove to the public that the logic used by those who want destruction is based solely on emotion.”
That stance, Gilmer acknowledged, may make some uneasy. But he said confrontation is part of the strategy.
“Most of the liberal protesters surrounding these issues are not used to having a group of people be willing to be in their face and tell them directly that their logic is flawed,” Gilmer said. “They’re used to crying and getting their way. They’re not used to resistance.”
Building momentum
For Gilmer, who helps guide the group’s direction as board director, Edenton was a proving ground. He said the recent flag placement was a small but significant step toward building local momentum.
“The rally went well. There were no incidents,” he said. “Some of my members actually engaged in conversations with a few of the opposition and we took notes from that which we can discuss.”
He added that the SIA intends to return to Edenton. “Yes, we do plan on coming back in the very near future.”
Watching the courts
As the lawsuit over the Confederate Memorial continues, heritage groups like the Southern Independence Association are preparing for a long wait. For Gilmer, that uncertainty underscores why his group wants to remain publicly engaged.
“We’re going to be just as public with our support as the opposition is with theirs,” he said.
3 responses to “Southern Independence Association’s Push for Public Heritage Defense”
I was in Edenton the Saturday SIA and the Carolina Flaggers were in town. I have visited Edenton a number of previous times to support the Confederate Memorial (which WAS in a very beautiful, very appropriate, setting) and the local SCV Camp, the Edenton Bell Battery. Although the visiting groups were not large, they were very dedicated. I spoke to one member who drove 6 hours from South Carolina to be there. I also spoke to a couple who came from Virginia. Southerners that support our Confederate ancestors are to be applauded and celebrated.
They believe in something. Unfortunately, those on the opposition side stand for NOTHING! Their idea of success is DESTRUCTION to create a bland landscape devoid of history, Southern culture, and moral values. Leveraging financing and legal services from socialist out-of-town organizations, they put up irreverent and incorrect billboards, like the one outside Edenton, to “call out” the townspeople to visitors. Their intimidation tactics do NOTHING to promote the friendly, beautiful, waterfront town of Edenton. To reiterate, their idea of success is DESTRUCTION. Shame on them for not supporting the beautiful town of Edenton.
– J. McRoy
Pitt County
It is not just Confederate monuments under attack. There is an effort right now in Florida to remove a World War II monument. https://dailycaller.com/2025/09/02/city-council-meeting-erupts-over-plan-to-scrap-wwii-monument/ During the BLM/ANTIFA riots of 2020/21, here in North Carolina, the rioters attacked and damaged at least two World War II monuments. In the UK, the main World War II monument in London was a major target of BLM and ANTIFA.
These radicals are engaged in a War on History, and those spineless politicians who cave in to them are a big part of the problem.
I am 89 years old. My father fought in WW1. Died when I was 10 years old from injuries form that war. As a child I recall walking with my mother through a Confederate cemetery in Wilmington NC. Placing flowers on the graves. Of ancestors who fought and died fighting for their country in the disastrous “war between the States”. There was no mention of blame, or hatred! Simply honor to family members who fought for their country – “that they called home”.
There was no hate towards anyone connected to their deaths. Simply honoring there love. All in remembrance of our ancestors who died defending what they perceived as Home. An Unforgettable experience for me.