Confederate flag at I-75 temporarily replaced after storm damage
May 4, 2010
TAMPA – The massive Confederate flag at the junction of interstates 75 and 4 has been replaced – temporarily.
The 30-by-60-foot rebel flag is being repaired after wind and rain damage from an April 25 storm, said Mike Herring, camp commander for the Gen. Jubal A. Early Camp 556 Sons of the Confederate Veterans of Tampa.
Herring said the Confederate flag was taken down April 27 and is being repaired. He anticipates that it will be flying again next week.
The organization has replaced the Confederate flag with an American Revolutionary period flag.
It honors the country’s independence and the people who fought for it, Herring said.
The Confederate flag, which is hoisted on a 139-foot flagpole, was initially raised in 2008, causing a huge debate in the area among supporters and detractors.
The flag is part of a memorial park dedicated in 2009 to Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The Sons of Confederate Veterans owns the park property at the northwest corner of U.S. 92 and I-75 in east Tampa.
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