The Madison Landmark Commission made final recommendations Monday to keep a memorial for Confederate soldiers at Forest Hill Cemetery, while adding another display to contextualize the Confederate marker.
The Landmarks Commission voted 6-1 for a motion to keep the cenotaph, a large gravestone for confederate soldiers, on the site.
The commission broke from the recommendations made by Madison’s Equal Opportunities Commission on Thursday, which asked for the removal of both Confederate monuments from the cemetery.
However, the Landmarks Commission decided that because the cenotaph was not a monument for the Confederate cause, but a marker of the soldiers who died, it should be kept.
Alder Marsha Rummel, District 6, was the only member to vote against the motion to keep the cenotaph.
The cenotaph was also not considered a Confederate monument by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, which monitors hate groups, recently released a map marking Confederate monuments across the country.
The Landmarks Commission unanimously recommended that a small plaque already removed in the wake of national protests in August stay removed and offered the plaque to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum or Wisconsin Historical Society.
The commission also unanimously recommended the drafting of an “interpretive display” written by a historian to contextualize the reason the grave marker exists for Confederate soldiers in Madison.
These recommendations will now be sent to the Board of Park Commissioners. All the recommendations from the Landmarks Commision, EOC, and the Board of Park Commissioners will be sent to Common Council where a final decision will be made.
