Somebody thought a rally for the Confederate flag in Gettysburg was a good idea

The last time there was a rally for the Confederate flag in Gettysburg, Pa., there were 51,000 casualties. Sounds like a great place to celebrate Confederate Flag Day.

PennLive.com reports a rally of Confederate flag supporters at a Civil War memorial brought out hundreds of demonstrators both for and against the symbol of the slave-owning Confederacy.

According to PennLive, about 200 people showed up at the J.W. Culp Camp Sons of the Confederate Veterans’ first Confederate Flag Day at the Eternal Peace Light Memorial to express their support for the flag. The group held the event in light of what they see as increasing attacks on their heritage.

Criticism of the continued use of the Confederate flag has increased in the last year. After a shooting at a black church in South Carolina last summer where the gunman was found to be a fan of Confederate symbols, many are questioning the continued enshrinement of the Civil War-era flag.

The 100 counter-protesters who showed up to Saturday’s event certainly are.

The Daily Beast reports the two sides were separated into “free speech zones” by park rangers with about 50 yards in between them. The pro-Confederate side had a podium set up for their speakers to extol the virtues of the Southland, but the counter-protesters had their own bullhorn and frequently drowned out the Confederate supporters with music and chants.

As frequently happens at these sorts of events, there were plenty of pro-Confederate people on hand to educate anyone who asked what the Confederate flag really means.

“It stands for the rights of the people and the rights of the states,” Civil War re-enactor Leslie Brang told PennLive. “And it stands for the upholding of the constitution of this country.”

Pretty sure seceding from the Union over the right to keep slaves is the exact opposite of those two things.