Still a Civil War?

Yesterday was a fairly dramatic day  in the mundane life of a lowly State Capitol Preservation Commission "public member", as I am.  Having  also been assigned to the Art in the Capitol Subcommittee, I did gain quite a bit of knowledge and thoughtfulness on the appropriateness of art in the capitol, especially "controversial" art.  Yesterday, the issue of keeping the six paintings depicting Minnesota's famous Civil War regiments on display in the splendidly rich Governor's Reception Room and Anteroom came to a head, with the Governor himself storming out of the meeting claiming partisan politics at play.  I was in the sausage factory!  But I have had no political ax to grind in this Commission appointment, but only my perceptions of what is the right thing to do.    

And so I delivered my one opinion, as follows, amid all the political noise:

My Fellow Commissioners,                                                   November 29, 2016

I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to serve on this commission, but especially the Art Subcommittee, where I have had an extraordinary personal learning experience, gaining not only an appreciation, but a deeper understanding the public appreciation for our State Capitol.  It is truly a national monument, not only to the architecture of native son Cass Gilbert, but to the builders of our very State, and the defenders of our very existence as a unified country.

History matters, and art matters.

That is why the Civil War paintings must remain in the Governor's reception room.  They were designed for this room, and this room, and the capitol itself, is a monument to these veterans.  Can you imagine the rotunda without the paintings?  The chambers?  All the paintings make this Capitol so very special.

Why do I argue so?

Some might say this is inconsistent with my support to relocate, within the Capitol, the Treaty of Traverse Des Sioux and the Father Hennepin paintings.  Initially, I was opposed to this, preferring to keep the Reception Room as it was, but I was persuaded by my colleagues that Father Hennepin was simply not accurate in its depiction.  Traverse des Sioux is no different, in my view, than a photograph by Matthew Brady would have been of the same event - it is a moment in time, and is more or less accurately represented without overt bias.  But I have come to understand how this defining event of our State's existence still inflicts pain on the Indian community, but whom I think will agree that even these tragic events should never be forgotten, but appropriately interpreted so we can learn from them.

We think nothing of looking at the Matthew Brady photos of the Civil War, as emotional as they are, vivid in their portrayal of ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances, and are moved by the horror of the battlefield, be it blue or gray.  If we put those photos in a back closet, never to see the horrors of what a civil war can wrought, how would our descendants ever truly learn?  How would the horrors of civil war ever really come to life?  Civil war is a historical fact around the globe, with most nations having experienced a defining civil war as part of their heritage, so we are not alone in suffering the pain of internal conflict, and we need  only read the current headlines to know civil war has sadly not been extinguished by humanity.  I am sincere in my opinion that these paintings, none romanticized, all depicting historically accurate events with ordinary Minnesotans doing extraordinary service, do more to reinforce how fragile our nation's very fabric was during this war.  

We were so close to shredding that fabric in the early 1860's, to having the United States as we know it today not even exist. Lincoln was perilously close to losing it all, his fight for abolishing slavery sliding precariously toward defeat.  Even the English and the French were close to entering the war - on the side of the confederation - merely to protect their cotton trade, and preserve the status quo for their own benefit.

 

The Minnesota regiments were at the forefront of protecting liberty for all, for the State, the Nation, and all of us as citizen descendants - they were "our" veterans in the same way we honor more recent veterans for their sacrifices.  We would no more "relocate" their monuments than we should for these Civil War veterans - common men making great sacrifice for our way of life, critically supported by the women and families here at home, assuring our free nation and State for all Minnesotans today.  They played a hugely critical role in the War - let's honor that in the best room in the people's house.

In my humble opinion, if it is even that, there is no room more honorable for their sacrifice and enduring legacy than the Governor's Reception Room.  But in order for the lessons to be learned by our present and future generations, these painting must be interpreted, so the lessons of this horrific conflict are never lost on our present and future visitors.  And further, these paintings are sufficiently large that to relocate  them elsewhere in the capitol would take up the important, valuable "real estate of wall space" needed to tell all the other great stories that need to be told.

Please, my fellow colleagues, keep the civil war paintings in the place of honor originally planned for them, as their monument, and let's continue to honor and learn from their sacrifices.

The Second Minnesota Regiment at Missionary Ridge (Gettysburg) Nov 24, 1863
Painted by Douglas Volk

This was received with applause by the audience, including a contingent of veterans, ironically delivered in the Veterans Services Building (temporary  quarters of the Governor during the restoration), and even a  "sign on" from several of the Senator's and representatives in  attendance.  And eventually, the vote reflected my position, now in the hands of the Minnesota State Historical  Society.  And as I approached the building before the meeting, I was struck by all the war memorials on the Capitol lawn, and thought we would never approve removing these memorials that each tell their own important story to some other location simply  in the interest of change times and thoughts.

What is perhaps most interesting, is that all the local media carried the story, (including  the Pioneer Press citing a part of this speech) not as much  about the art itself, but about the Governor walking out of the meeting!  That action probably did more to call public attention to this important issue, then all  the good work  that went into just getting  to this point!

In politics, the war is no longer civil, to be certain, and as history will inform, never has been.