ADRIENNE A. JONES State House
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE Annapolis, Maryland 21401?1991
410?841-3800 . 301-858-3800
800?492-7122 Ext. 3800

 

10th Legislative District
Baltimore County

The Wary/[and [fame of (Delegate:

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND 21401?1991

May 23, 2019
The Honorable Boyd Rutherford The Honorable Thomas V. Miller, Jr.
Lieutenant Governor Senate President
State House, State Circle State House, State Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401 Annapolis, MD 2140]

Ms. Laura Mears

Chairman, State House Trust
100 Community Place, 3rd Floor
Crownsville, MD 21032

Dear State House Trust Members:

For over 150 years following the Civil War, Maryland has worked to recover ?'om its dif?cult past as a state which
was home to both Union and Confederate soldiers. The State Flag itself is a symbol of reconciliation and signi?es
the rebuilding of a once divided state. Maryland is also lucky to be the home to some of the greatest abolitionist
leaders of all-time: Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.

The Maryland State House has stood for over two hundred forty years and is a cornerstone of American history. I
believe it is our duty to ensure this State House re?ects truth in history for what it is, not what some may have
wished it to be. On the ?rst floor of the the State House, between the new and old House chambers, a plaque
dedicated by the 1964 Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission reads:

?In commemorating the centennial of that great struggle between the citizens of the temporarily divided nation in the
1860?s the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission did not attempt to decide who was right and who was
wrong, or to make decisions on other controversial By doing so it seeks to pay tribute to those who fought
and died. As well as to the citizens who, during the Civil War, tried to do their duty as they saw it.?

The message projected by this plaque does not seek to correctly document history but instead sympathizes with
Confederate motivations and memorializes Confederate soldiers. History clearly tells us that there was a right and a
wrong side of the Civil War and ?doing their duty as they saw it? does not give a pass to the cause these soldiers
fought for.

I respectfully request the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission plaque be removed - symbols of the
Confederacy have no place in the State House. As the State House Trust, it is our obligation to continue to ensure
that the State House grounds are a re?ection of Maryland?s rich history and not a home to relics of the Confederacy.

Sincerely, -
4 

Adrienne A. Jones
Speaker

cc: Elaine Bachmann, Maryland State Archives