Defending Our History, Protecting Our Heritage
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument has stood before the Williamson County Courthouse since 1916. Erected under the auspices of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, it honors the men of Williamson County who answered the call of their state and fought for the Confederate cause.
The Williamson County Grays believe those men fought bravely for a righteous cause—the defense of their homes, their families, their state, and the Southern right of self-government.
They were our neighbors. They were our ancestors. Their courage, sacrifice, and memory deserve to be honored.
And we will not allow them to be forgotten.
We Will Not Surrender Our History
In 2020, the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement against Confederate monuments reached Georgetown. Activists repeatedly demonstrated at the courthouse demanding that the monument be removed or relocated, describing it as a symbol of racism, white supremacy, and the “Lost Cause.” Efforts were also made through local government to pursue its relocation.
The Williamson County Grays stood against them then, and we stand against the removal of the monument today.
We reject the idea that destroying, removing, or hiding monuments is an acceptable way to deal with history. We reject the attempt to reduce the lives and motivations of an entire generation of Southern Americans to a single modern political narrative. And we reject the proposition that today's activists have the moral authority to erase memorials erected by previous generations.
The monument belongs where it stands.
For more than a century it has occupied its place before the Williamson County Courthouse. It is part of the historic landscape of Georgetown and part of the history of Williamson County.
The Williamson County Grays intend to keep it there.
Standing Guard
When activists began gathering at the monument and demanding its removal, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans answered.
We stood at the monument.
And we kept standing.
Members of the Williamson County Grays maintained a regular Saturday presence at the courthouse monument for more than four years—not because history is comfortable, fashionable, or universally accepted, but because preservation sometimes requires people willing to stand up and defend what others would tear down.
Our position is simple:
The monument stays.
We will defend it. We will preserve it. We will tell the stories of the men it commemorates. And we will work to ensure that generations yet unborn can stand on the Georgetown Square and see the same monument their ancestors erected in 1916.
The Untold Story of the Confederate Monument in Georgetown
Much has been said about this monument.
Far less has been said about the people who actually built it, the Confederate veterans it commemorates, and the generation of Williamson County families who wanted their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons remembered.
That is the story we believe deserves to be heard.
Watch “The Untold Story of the Confederate Monument in Georgetown” below and discover the history behind the monument—and why the Williamson County Grays are determined to preserve it.
