In Ohio, many watched the events at South Carolina's Statehouse with varied emotions.
Camp Chase Cemetery, on the Hilltop, is the final resting place for confederate soldiers and it's named after former Ohio Governor Salmon Chase.
Monty Chase, who is a board member of the Hilltop Historical Society, is a distant relative of Salmon Chase.
"Most of the fighting was done as you know, in the south, so to be a prisoner of war in a union camp meant you were separated from a long distance by your family,” Chase said.
Every year the Hilltop Historical society remembers those soldiers with a ceremony which includes placing the confederate flags on the graves.
Chase said although at one time those shoulders fought against the union, they were American soldiers and that is how they are honored.
"It doesn't say Union, it doesn't say confederate, it says American,” Chase said.
Cliff Eckle with the Ohio History Center said during the Civil War it was a sign of honor it to be the person who carried the flag, even though it meant you would be a target.
"Despite the fact that they knew that would place them at greater risk there was never a dearth of volunteers to be a color bearer,” Cliffe Eckle said.
While local historians appreciate the role of the confederate flag in the nation’s history, they also said today actions in South Carolina in now part of its history, too.
And no one wants to deny either side.
"The Hilltop historical society feels very strongly and very sad about the recent events in South Carolina,” Chase said.