Summary

In “Blandford Cemetery,” at Blandford Cemetery, Smith observes “the names carved into each ashen tablet” (118). Dating “back to 1702,” the cemetery is filled with “the bodies of roughly thirty thousand Confederate soldiers” (118). A man named Ken guides Smith’s tour, leading him to the Blandford Church. The site was originally conceptualized and designed by the Ladies’ Memorial Association. Believing Confederate soldiers had not been paid proper tribute, they commissioned Tiffany Studios to design the church’s stained-glass windows in the men’s memory.

In response to Smith’s questions, Ken holds that the visitors “on these tours” are not Confederate sympathizers per se, but feel “a Confederate empathy” (122, Smith’s italics). The “confederate iconography in the church and throughout the cemetery” underscores this dynamic (123). Ken also says that most visitors are white, because the Black population is uncomfortable with what the windows represent (123). Afterwards...