Monument inscription honours service to racist cause, says Thompson

Dear Liz:
RE: “Dr. Solomon Secord monument to remain on Kincardine's main street”

Thank you for your story on my request to Kincardine council regarding the Dr. Solomon Secord memorial. If possible, I’d like to respond to Paul Culliton’s letter to the editor, published Sept. 19, 2018.

As you know, I requested that council remove the monument to Secord. 

He volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army and was captured by the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg. Subsequently, he escaped to New York — then returned to the south to enlist again. 

Afterwards, Secord was a beloved member of the Kincardine community. He saved many lives in war and in Kincardine. It’s well-known here in Kincardine that he was considered to be an abolitionist, and that he served in spite of his personal opposition to slavery. I’m aware of it, and I made this clear in my request to council. I did point out that, for myself, I can’t see his actions as being consistent with a deep commitment to abolitionism.

Nonetheless, my intent with my request to council was to point out that it doesn’t matter what Secord's views were. The fact is that he served the Confederacy. The fact is that his friends memorialized that service with the inscription on the monument.

Frankly, I think Secord’s friends did him an injustice with the inscription. They praised him in general terms, but included only one biographical statement: “Served as a surgeon with the Southern Army.” There is no mention of abolitionism, no mention of whether Secord abhorred the fundamental purpose of the Confederate States Army: to keep black men, women, and children in slavery.

Just that inscription, written with pride, honouring service to the Confederacy.

I see the inscription as honouring service to a racist cause. And I think it’s wrong.

Jeroen Thompson
Kincardine