Verbal clashes at Gettysburg over Confederate flag

Associated Press

GETTYSBURG, Pa.

Supporters and opponents of use of the Confederate flag clashed verbally in opposing demonstrations at Gettysburg National Military Park, with tensions high at times.

Cumberland Township police and park officers had to separate a few people Saturday afternoon before disagreements became physical, Hanover’s The Evening Sun newspaper reported.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Gettysburg group said its Confederate Flag Day gathering at the park’s Eternal Peace Light Monument was intended to honor Southern ancestors.

A counter-demonstration was organized by a Gettysburg College associate professor of history and Africana studies, Scott Hancock, who said he wanted to offer a different perspective on the flag’s meaning.

Other than trading insults and invective, there were few interactions between the opposing groups, which were separated by a few hundred feet and two portable fences.