(Montgomery County Sentinel) Some Unionists are lending support for preserving Rockville’s controversial Confederate cavalry statue, which was targeted for removal after the recent Charleston, South Carolina, massacre at a historic black church.
Among the statue’s defenders is Beth Rodgers, who was active for many years with Peerless Rockville and the Rockville Historic District Commission but now lives in North Carolina. Rodgers is a descendant of Lawrence Dawson, a prominent Maryland Unionist.
“He was one of 50 people in Montgomery County who voted for Lincoln in the 1860 election and the only one who bragged about it,” Rodgers said. “He quit his law practice to serve as the county’s draft commissioner.”
Rodgers argued that the statue should be kept in public display as a reminder of an essential period in the history of the city and county.
