The occupants of the Old Burial Ground have seen their share of conflict and dissent, and it looks like a new round is about to open above them.
Over the last several weeks, the Southborough Historical Commission (which I head) has received a number of complaints about the flags flying in the old burial ground.
A little background: at some point in the 1990’s, a group of veterans decided it would be appropriate to commemorate those who had served the fledgling United States with a special memorial. Later in 2002, a large plaque was added marking the death of the three men who died during combat. And at some point after that (the timeline is very unclear) six revolutionary-era battle flags were placed in a semi-circle at the entrance to the Old Burial Ground.
And that’s pretty much how it stood until recently when a number of residents contacted the Commission objecting to the fact that one of the flags flying was the Gadsden Flag, which over the last decade has recently been co-opted by various White Supremacists groups (You can read more about that HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. The trigger, I am guessing, was the very prominent and disgraceful role that the Gadsden flag played in the recent Capital Hill riots. 
In response to these complaints the SHC decided to do a little investigating in preparation for a report to the Board of Selectmen, who have ultimate say in this matter.
The flags currently flying are these:
Of these, only two have anything vaguely to do with the veterans buried there, and the most relevant flag, the Continental Colors flag hoisted by George Washington in Cambridge 1775 , is not flying at all.The other issue, and to my eyes, equally relevant, is that these six small flags are impaling the unmarked gravesites below. When this monument was conceived in the 1990s, a ground-radar survey hadn’t yet been conducted by the Society, which proved conclusively that this area is full of active burials, whose headstones were shattered or lost during the 1938 hurricane.
>So at this point, it seemed a prudent move to reconsider the whole matter, and the Historical Commission voted 6-0 last week to send the following letter to the Board of Selectmen:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we have already alerted you, the Historical Commission has received complaints about the choice of flags flying the Old Burial Ground. Particularly egregious to many are the two variants of the Gadsden flag, which was designed by a slave owning South Carolinian and has become linked to white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan. These associations are not new; many date back to the 1960s. You may also wish to read this recent article in the Miami Herald by Harvard Professor Noah Feldman noting that the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has called for “a careful investigation to see whether recent uses of the flag have been sufficiently “racially tinged” that it could count as harassment.”
Regardless of what out-of-state flags represent, they have no bearing on Southborough history nor those who are buried beneath them. They should be removed immediately.
Too often symbols of honor, courage become co-opted. The disrespect, the desecration is when people who truly know otherwise allow hallowed symbols to be dishonored by their silence.
I appreciate the thoughtful consideration taken by the Historical Society. We need to know the intention of flags we are flying. It is unfortunate many flags were used during the January 6 riot in a violent manner. Let’s continue to honor our American Flag. We can place the flags that are not meaningful to Southborough in the Historical Society as they are part of history.
The out-of-state flags do not reflect where the men from Southborough served during the Revolutionary War. They should be removed and replaced with flags appropriate to the veterans of the war who are buried in the Old Burial Ground. If the flagpoles are piercing unmarked graves, the poles should be removed.
I know that I have ancestors buried in that graveyard, including Charles Ripley Burnett who fought in the Revolutionary War. He did not die in the war, but those that did, and are being honored for our country, should be recognized. I have no issue with any of the flags, if they honor our veterans. I think some of this really is stretching the meaning of the flags. I don’t think they belong on top graves. Also I like that George Washington Flag and I am not familiar with it.
We can’t erase history. The flags should stay
I don’t think anyone is suggesting that we erase history, least of all the historical society or commission. That is kind of the opposite of our mission. Replacing the flags with more historically accurate and less potentially offensive flags is a perfectly reasonable solution.
If I’m not mistaken, the Gasden Flag flew on ships on the first ever mission by the US Navy (Continental Navy at the time). This is not a Civil War flag as some have stated, but a revolutionary war flag and deserves to fly at the Old Burial Ground.
Yes, different people have flown it, it was that the Capitol, and has also been used by the Libertarian Party, Queer Nation/San Francisco, and the Tea Party.
I have a great grandparent, and Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, cousin and baby Underwood and Fay buried there, the great grandfather was in the Revolutionary War. I went to see the grave this past summer and my family would roll over in their graves if they could see how it is being kept up. I couldn’t even find a caretaker to give me some information.