Media Attacks Confederate Memorial Park in Mountain Creek, Alabama

Cemetery at Confederate Memorial Park

A number of outlets of the national media have leveled fairly partisan attacks on the Confederate Memorial Park in Mountain Creek (for an example see the HuffingtonPost).

The park preserves the site of the Alabama Old Soldiers Home for Confederate Veterans, which was opened in 1902 to provide a home and care for the state's thousands of aging Confederate veterans. Contrary to what is being said about the home on blogs and message boards today, it was NEVER operated by the Confederacy and the tax that supported it was NEVER a "Confederate tax."

Entrance to Confederate Memorial Park

The home was, however, a place where elderly and disabled veterans could go to live safely and receive care. It gave them a place where they could share stories and live with their friends and former brothers in arms in the last years of their lives. It was a show of mercy on the part of the people of Alabama and was funded by a tax that was part of the 1901 Alabama State Constitution.

A small portion of the proceeds of that tax are used today to preserve the grounds and maintain the two cemeteries there, where over 300 of the veterans who died at the home are buried today.

Museum at Confederate Memorial Park

Some, however, feel that no money should be used to care for the graves or preserve this unique historic site and are calling for its elimination from the state budget, even though the tax that cares for the grounds is part of the state constitution and has been for more than 100 years.

If you live in Alabama, I encourage you to call or write your local legislator to express your support for the park. If you live elsewhere, please write or call the Governor of Alabama to do the same. This is a blatant effort to stop caring for the graves of more than 300 Southern veterans, while still collecting and keeping the tax money intended for that purpose!

If you are passing up and down I-65 between Montgomery and Birmingham, I also encourage you to stop by for a visit of the grounds and the beautiful museum that interprets not Confederate history, but offers a balanced view of the War Between the States in Alabama. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/confederatepark.

Confederate Memorial Park - Mountain Creek, Alabama

Original Flag in Museum

With the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War now underway, many people across the nation are focusing on the past and the events that took place from 1861-1865.

In Alabama, one of the best places to learn about the role of the state in the brutal conflict is the museum at the Confederate Memorial Park in Mountain Creek. The park is located off U.S. 31 between Montgomery and Birmingham and offers a museum that is among the finest in the state.

Museum at Confederate Memorial Park

In addition to weapons, original flags and other artifacts, visitors can trace the history of the Civil War in Alabama to learn about the events that took place in the state as well as the service given by Alabama's soldiers on fronts throughout the South. The museum also traces the history of the Old Soldiers Home for Confederate Veterans that once stood on the grounds of the 102 acre park.

The park includes ruins of the Old Soldiers Home, two cemeteries containing the graves of hundreds of Alabama's Confederate veterans, as well as several historic structures including the old Mountain Creek Post Office.

To learn more about the park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/confederatepark.