Secession monument draws split vote at Patriots Point

The Patriots Point Development Authority voted 3-3 today on a group’s proposal to build a monument at the state-owned attraction that would mark South Carolina’s secession from the Union 150 years ago.

The split vote effectively tables the request made by the Sons of Confederate Veterans South Carolina division.

The group can bring the monument plan before the agency for consideration again. It plans to discuss the matter internally before making any decisions, said spokesman Jeff Antley.

The vote came after the authority met behind closed doors for about 90 minutes today.

Voting in favor of the proposal were: Mike Dixon, Susan Marlowe and Mount Pleasant Mayor Billy Swails. Voting against the monument were: Wayne Adams, Harry Gregorie and John Hagerty.

Hagerty, who is chairman of the board at Patriots Point, said his vote was based on feedback from World War II veterans who told him the secession monument would not fit in at the Mount Pleasant naval maritime museum.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans proposed an 11 1/2-foot-tall stone memorial as the centerpiece of a 40-foot by 40-foot landscaped plaza at the state-owned tourist attraction. The group had said it would take care of all the up-front costs and set up an endowment fund to cover future maintenance expenses.

Representatives from the group first pitched the idea in January, saying few public monuments exist recognizing the secession convention held in Columbia and Charleston on Dec. 17 and Dec. 20, 1860, helping ignite the Civil War.

For more details, see Wednesday’s editions of The Post and Courier.