Plan to Show Confederate Flag Draws Heat

[deadparrot]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An organizer of a planned memorial to honor Confederate soldiers who died at an Illinois prison camp says the rebel flag will be displayed at the memorial's dedication, despite opposition.

"We consider this an honorable flag. This is a soldier's flag," said Ron Casteel, national chief of staff for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, one of the memorial's planners. "There will be no substitute."

Camp Butler, just east of Springfield, was a training facility for Union troops during the Civil War and a prison camp for more than 3,500 captured Confederates. More than 800 of the prisoners died and were buried there, and the site is now a national cemetery.

Local and cemetery officials already have approved the plans for the Confederate memorial there. Organizers have raised about $6,000 for the project, which will include a 7 1/2 foot obelisk, and hope to dedicate the memorial sometime next year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051003/ap_on_re_us/confederate_memorial