AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A group representing descendants of Confederate soldiers is defending statues that may be moved on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans took up the cause Thursday after marching in Austin's Veterans Day parade, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
They gathered at the grave of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston in the Texas State Cemetery to ask the university not to relocate the statues of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis now located within the shadow of the UT tower.
"Each of these guys were leaders in their own right and lived a life worthy of emulation," said Steven von Roeder, commander of the organization's 3,300-member Texas division.
Von Roeder said if the statues must be moved, then they should be moved to a more prominent location.
UT President Larry Faulkner announced in May that he would appoint a committee to study possible relocations. He said they evoke "a kind of institutional nostalgia for the Confederacy and its values," adding, "Most who receive that message are repelled."
