Confederate Memorial Hall
Confederate Memorial Hall (former name) | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Confederate Embassy |
General information | |
Status | Closed and building sold to pay fines. Converted into four apartments. |
Type | Brownstone townhouse |
Address | 1322 Vermont Avenue |
Town or city | Washington, D.C. |
Coordinates | 32°54′32″N 77°01′51″W / 32.9089°N 77.0308°W |
Completed | 1885 |
Inaugurated | 1907 |
Closed | 1997 |
Cost | $3,900,000 (2014 transaction) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 4 floors + finished basement |
Floor area | 9,880 square feet (918 m2) |
Grounds | 4,356 square feet (404.7 m2) |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 25, including 11 bedrooms |
Parking | carport |
Website | |
https://confederate.org/hall.html |
The Confederate Memorial Hall (sometimes calling itself the "Confederate Embassy") was a museum, library, and social club owned by the Confederate Memorial Association and located at 1322 Vermont Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The brownstone that housed it, just off Logan Circle, became a private residence in 1997.
Description
The Hall was originally the Confederate Memorial Home,
According to a 1997 web page kept active, the Hall had oil portraits of
During the 1960s and 70s, the building and the association fell on hard times. Membership declined, and the hall became a refuge for vagrants. Hurley, whose father was a member, stepped in and helped refurbish the building, partly with his own money.[10][11]
Activities
"As the 20th century drew to a close, the CMA was sponsoring magnificent white tie grand balls, barbecues, horse events, and a myriad of activities that showcase Southern culture and its inherent good manners and abiding respect for others."[12] On January 17, 1987, the date chosen because Robert E. Lee's birthday was January 19, the Association held an $80 (equivalent to $215 in 2023)–per–couple ball and fundraiser. It featured "period dancing to Stephen Foster melodies played on antique instruments."[13] In March 1989, there was a fox hunt in Virginia. "In June there is a grand ball to celebrate the birthday of Jefferson Davis."[14] It claimed a membership of several thousand,[10][15] but the only visible member is its president, John Edward Hurley (who calls it "my...organization"). Hurley, who is described as a White House correspondent on the website of the Justice Integrity Project,[16] and is also member of a lobbying group,[17] has been president since the 1980s. Sarah McClendon was on the Association's board.[18]
Legal saga resulting in its closure
Richard T. Hines was a former South Carolina state legislator, U.S.
"In one of the most bizarre cases to ever come before the courts",
Hurley said his life was threatened on several occasions.
To no avail, Hurley also reported the federal judge deciding his case, John H. Bayly Jr., to the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure.[26] He alleged that Bayly "hired the plaintiffs to sue him", and feared "his own 'probable assassination' by the government as payback for his uncovering court complicity in cocaine trafficking."[21]
According to Hurley, his "bizarre court odyssey" began in the 1980s when he canceled an
The building was seized and sold in 1997 to pay $500,000 in contempt of court fines that Hurley received in District of Columbia courts for undisclosed reasons.[27] It then became a private residence.[28][29]
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References
- ^ a b "Concert for Confederate Home". The Washington Post. March 9, 1914. p. 7. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- Evening Star. March 10, 1909. p. 20. Archivedfrom the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ "Society". The Washington Post. March 16, 1913. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "Local News Stories". The Washington Post. December 30, 1916. p. 12. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "Society in Silhouette". Evening Star. March 18, 1917. p. 60. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ "President will honor veterans by presence". Evening Star. June 2, 1917. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Confederate Memorial Association (1997). "More About the Confederate Memorial Hall". Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Janney, Caroline E. (2010). "Burial of Latané". Encyclopedia Virginia. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- Tampa Tribune. October 17, 1986. p. 4. Archivedfrom the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c Smith, Donald (March 21, 1991). "Confederates Battle Within Their Ranks". Northwest Herald (Woodstock, Illinois). p. 28. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Des Moines Register. p. 44. Archivedfrom the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Confederate Memorial Association. "Welcome to the Confederate Memorial Association". Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Palm Beach Post. January 18, 1987. Archivedfrom the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Dart, Bob (November 5–11, 1989). "The Confederate Embassy". Williamsport Sunday Grit. Williamsport, Pennsylvania. p. 23. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28 – via Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Confederate Memorial Association. "Confederate Memorial Association Membership Information". Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "John Edward Hurley". Justice Integrity Project. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Rulon & White Governance Strategies (2019). "John Edward Hurley". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ^ Hurley, John Edward (June 26, 2009), Justice Department Prosecutorial Misconduct, Introductory Remarks, C-SPAN, archived from the original on December 29, 2019, retrieved July 29, 2020
- ^ Sebesta, Edward H. (July 9, 2006). "Wayne Madsen, John Edward Hurley, and Richard T. Hines". Anti-Neo-Confederate. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Blumenthal, Max (August 16, 2005). "Lobbyist for the Lost Cause. Meet Richard Hines, GOP lobbyist, front man for weapons makers and hidden hand behind the extremist agenda of the neo-Confederate movement". The Nation. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c Hurley, John Edward. "The CIA, Cocaine, and the Confederate Memorial Hall (press release)". Archived from the original on June 20, 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ United States District Court for the District of Columbia (September 21, 1993), Confederate Memorial Association, Inc.; John Edward Hurley; and Mrs. John Tilden Rogers, Appellants, v. Richard T. Hines, et al., 995 F.2d 295 (D.C. Cir. 1993), archived from the original on April 28, 2019, retrieved April 25, 2019
- ^ Hurley, John Edward (April 25, 1994). "Letter to Attorney General Janet Reno". Archived from the original on April 21, 2003. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Hurley, John Edward (December 20, 1996). "Confederate Museum Director Jailed (press release)". Archived from the original on June 20, 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Hurley, John Edward (April 12, 1997). "Shadow Government & Fronts (press release)". Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Hurley, John Edward. "The Courts and the Hostile Takeover Attempt". Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Court Action Forces Confederate Museum to Close (press release)". Confederate Memorial Association. September 12, 1997. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- CityLab. Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Montgomery, David (April 11, 2011). "Traces of the Confederacy in Washington, not all gone with the wind". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019.