Stonewall Jackson Monument in Clarksburg, WV

How has this statue escaped public scrutiny?  I’d long heard that it was here, in front of the Harrison County Courthouse in Clarksburg, West Virginia—exactly 100 miles south of Pittsburgh.  But I found myself in the area recently and decided to see for myself.  Jackson was a native of this area and died shortly before this part of old Virginia seceded  from Eastern Virginia to join the Union.  Not only is the Confederate general unapologetically celebrated in the precincts of a government building, but someone has recently placed a wreath of flowers at the foot of the monument.  Clarksburg was a strange place.  They’ve also got the slogan “In God We Trust” on their police cruisers and marble tablets made to look like the Ten Commandments on the steps of the courthouse.  But it’s open to interpretation because the written text of the commandments is not included, just the Latin numerals 1 - 5 on one side and 6 - 10 on the other.  Just as well.  Most people who clamor to have the Ten Commandments on our public spaces couldn’t name three of them.