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New flagger group joins flag debate at historic cemetery

By Robert Sorrell

A newly-formed grassroots organization, Tennessee Flaggers Holding the Line, will protest alleged Confederate flag abuse later this month at Elizabethton’s historic Green Hill Cemetery.

Last October, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) installed a 30-foot pole and Confederate flag at the cemetery, which is located along Mill Street next to the Tractor Supply Company. The Watauga Historical Association (WHA), which has preserved and maintained the cemetery, disapproved of the flag’s placement.

According to Mike Shaffer, a flagging coordinator, the event, scheduled for July 28, is intended to address at least three issues. The event will address surveyors tape and flags on the graves of Confederate soldiers at the cemetery. It will also address a locked gate at the cemetery, which Shaffer said was the only safe entry point to the cemetery and disallows entry to the property for memorial services.