HERITAGE VIOLATION: Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN (UPDATED 3/30/2016, 7:21pm)

1993 Confederate Mound Rededication [Image Credit: Michigan Camps of the SCV]

 UPDATE: The following was posted on Facebook by the Indiana Division, SCV on Tuesday night (March 29, 2016): 

"Compatriots, I have today received the following email from the President of Crown Hill Cemetery. I deeply wish to thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to write letters or email on our behalf. As you can see, we will be allowed to distribute our normal SCV programs with Battle Flag images at our memorial service. They also imply permission will soon be given to fly a Battle Flag along with the U.S. Flag inside Confederate Mound. I personally feel this is a satisfactory compromise between all groups concerned and while we still cannot fly a Battle Flag on Crown Hill property, we have accomplished most of what we have set out to do. The flag our men fought under will fly over their graves on April 30th! The VA National Director's office is only a few miles from my home and I will follow up on our formal request. This is what can happen when good people of faith and devotion to our Cause band together as one voice for truth and justice. - Alan E Losure, IN. Division Commander"

...and here is the text of the email from Crown Hill Cemetery officials to the Indiana Division Commander...

"Hi Alan, The president of Crown Hill wanted me to communicate to you that your group can print the Confederate flag and your SCV logo on your event program. You organization will be able to honor Confederate veterans on the Confederate Lot, a U.S. National Cemetery, with a Confederate and an American flag as allowed by law. I know you've sought this permission and I'm sure you'll hear back from the Director of the Marion National Cemetery soon. You can also honor these veterans by firing volleys in front of the Confederate Lot from the road."

Obviously this blog post from yesterday was too late to have had any influence, but many of you reading this probably first heard about it on social media and responded accordingly. Thanks to any and all who called, wrote, emailed, Facebook messaged, etc. 

Since the Indiana Division is satisfied with the result, we stand behind their call.  The information below will remain, but no further action in response is requested. - SAA. Jonathan McCleese
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As you probably know by now, the officials at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN are hindering efforts by the SCV's Indiana Division to hold a Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery's "Confederate Mound." If you don't know anything about the matter, let me get you up to speed...

Indianapolis, IN was home to Camp Morton, a Union military prison which housed Confederate soldiers captured during the War Between the States. Obviously, many Confederates died while in the prison, and those that did were originally buried in individual graves at the city's Greenlawn Cemetery. According to "the official story" (yeah, we know how that goes), found on the National Parks Service's webpage about the matter, "[i]n 1912, the Federal Government erected a 27-foot tall monument to commemorate the Confederate dead at Greenlawn, as individual graves could not be identified and marked with headstones. In 1928, this monument was relocated to Garfield Park, three miles south of downtown, where it still stands today. In 1933, the remains of the Confederate soldiers were reinterred to a mass grave located in Crown Hill Cemetery and marked by a new six-foot tall granite monument."

Confederate Mount Monument at Crown Hill Cemetery [Image Credit: Michigan Camps of the SCV]

Folks have been honoring these 1,616 Confederate veterans at the mass grave for decades upon decades. Since 1989, the Indiana Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has been holding memorial services at the "Confederate Mound" without any incident, as best as I am aware. In 1993, an Indiana Mounted Patrol officer named Stephen Staletovich vigorously pursued and succeeded in getting installed the ten bronze plaques mounted on granite bases with the names, military units, and dates of death for each one of the Confederate veterans buried in the mound. Let me note here that the casting of those bronze plaques was funded by the United States Veterans Administration, as these veterans are granted by the U.S. Government equal status with Union veterans of that period. A re-dedication ceremony of the Confederate burial mound was held on October 3, 1993, and at that time the Crown Hill Cemetery was more than cooperative with the Sons of Confederate Veterans in the production of the event, which included remarks by then U.S. Congressman from Indiana, the late Andy Jacobs.

Confederate Mound Rededication; Oct. 3, 1993; (Far Left) SCV Camp #1321 Cmdr. Stan White, (Far Right) Camp #1321 Compatriot Jeff Windsor. [Image Credit: Michigan Camps of the SCV]

Last Thursday (March 24), the Indiana Division, SCV posted the following on their Facebook page, in part:

"The mass grave, although in the Crown Hill Cemetery, is controlled by the Director of the Marion (Indiana) National Cemetery. There is a short plastic white chain fence that surrounds Confederate Mound. Everything outside of the fence belongs to Crown Hill Cemetery and is controlled by them. This “dual jurisdiction” is causing problems for us.

"Our Division Commander, Alan E Losure, contacted Ms. Marty Davis in January to remind Crown Hill of our desire to meet there again on April 30th. She informed him that there were some changes that the President of Crown Hill has made and she would get back with him soon. She did so last week and we were informed:
(1) No Confederate flags may be flown on Crown Hill Cemetery property.
(2) Written permission must be obtained from the Director of the National Cemetery to allow any visitor the right to step over the fence in order to view the names engraved upon the brass name plates.

"On Monday March 7th, Commander Losure hand carried the required government form asking permission to allow visitors to step over and view the engraved names. He also provided a written letter outlining this request, a copy of Confederate Veteran magazine and the already printed one page program that has been passed out to all attending members and visitors since 1989.

"On March 10th, he received an email that the President of Crown Hill Cemetery now banned the use of this program because there is a Battle Flag printed on it."

Then the IN Div. SCV posted this update from their Commander this past Monday (March 28):

"I got an email from Crown Hill. They are being inundated with emails and letters. They are sending out three paragraph reply to all of our men telling the steps the Federal Government requires for the placement of flags on Confederate Mound. Guys, all of that was accomplished on March the 7th and I have spoken with the Marion Director already. All of that is simply a smoke screen! The last sentence she wrote says we cannot fly flags on Crown Hill property. That has been the issue all along. That and censorship of our programs... Quoting Federal regulations is only an attempt to hide from what they have done."

Now that you are up to speed, you might be wondering how you can contact the President of Crown Hill Cemetery to let him know that you want him to remove any & all prohibitions of Confederate flags & symbols on cemetery property. Remembering to be polite and respectful, please feel free to contact him by the following means...

Keith Norwalk
President
Crown Hill Cemetery
700 West 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN. 46208
[Phone] (317) 925-3800
[Email] info@crownhill.org, cemetery@crownhill.org
[Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/crownhill.org/

I wrote Mr. Norwalk my letter and mailed it out on Monday. Please consider doing the same, or contacting them by one of the other means provided above.

Yours in the Bonds of the Old South,
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321
Sons of Confederate Veterans