DIGHTON The town has honored a Civil War hero who is buried at the Community Church cemetery by rededicating the Elm Street bridge as the Pvt. Frederick C. Anderson Memorial Bridge, and his descendants, in a sense, have returned the favor.
Anderson was the first soldier ever to be awarded a Medal of Honor after he valiantly and in close combat captured the flag of the 27th South Carolina Infantry Regiment and its flag bearer during the Battle of Globe Tavern.
His actions that day effectively suspended the Confederate regiment s ability to communicate with the rest of its troops and turned the battle in favor of the Union Army by retaking the Weldon Railroad.
Or not.
It depends on the town s ability to weigh the pros and cons of committing to what some are calling a matter of promoting basic human rights, but others say takes that goal a little too far.
Selectmen decided at their Jan. 25 meeting to send the idea to the town s Human Rights Committee for recommendations, not only on whether flying the flag on town property would be a good idea but also for a flag policy to regulate such proposals in the future.
Selectmen Chair Brett Zografos said it all started when the town received a hate-filled homophobic email a couple of weeks ago damning homosexuality as against God.