Mike Ellis

mike.ellis@independentmail.com

The Confederate battle flag will return to state property in Walhalla on Saturday, taking the place of a state flag that has flown there since 2015.

James Bessenger, chairman of the South Carolina Secessionist Party, wrote letters to Walhalla city leaders this week urging them to put the battle flag back up and citing the state's Heritage Act.

The memorial is next to S.C. 28 in the city limits.

Bessenger said Friday the flag's return will show respect for fallen Confederate soldiers as well as for the state law, which requires legislative approval for changes to historical monuments.

Luther Lyle, who swapped the Confederate battle flag for a state flag in summer 2015, said going back to the Confederate flag had nothing to do with Bessenger's push.

He said a deal had been reached last weekend at a conference of state Sons of Confederate Veteran leaders, who agreed to take responsibility for the monument from him. Lyle said he was not made aware of the offer until after Bessenger sent letters objecting to the state flag this week.

Lyle has maintained the site since 2000 and previously said he wouldn't be able to cover the cost of cleaning up potential graffiti at the memorial. and the decision to change the flag was partly due to worries of vandalism.

The state flag is also just as meaningful as the Confederate battle flag, he said. More people in the Upstate during the Civil War fought under the state flag than the Confederate battle flag, said Lyle, who is the descendant of Confederate officers and soldiers.

Lyle and Bessenger have clashed over who is responsible for the Confederate flag going up, but they agreed it was a good move.

Lyle said a large organization like the Sons of Confederate Veterans is better equipped to repair any vandalism and he has no objection to the Confederate flag flying.

Bessenger said it shows that people voicing support of Confederate causes and the state's Heritage Act can be heard.

"We're ecstatic it's going up," he said. "The flag was down, we made calls and sent letters and now it's going up."

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