Talk:Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument

Inscription

• CUNY professor Erin L. Thompson has been researching the origin of the Davis quote on the monument. Here are some findings:
  • In his 1870 eulogy of Robert E. Lee, at a meeting of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors at Richmond, Virginia, Davis exclaims, "This citizen! this soldier! this great general! this true patriot! left behind him the crowning glory of a true Christian. His Christianity ennobled him in life, and affords us grounds for the belief that he is happy beyond the grave." - "Remarks of President Davis" (November 3, 1870), published Rowland Dunbar, ed. (1923) Jefferson Davis, constitutionalist, his letters, papers, and speeches. Vol. 7. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History. pp. 281–285
  • In an 1888 letter to Davis, attorney Louis Schade promises to exonerate his client, Henry Wirz, commander at Andersonville Prison, of the atrocities claimed by the United States. He tells Davis that, "It will be the crowning glory of your life if you can demonstrate to the world that your people were innocent of the crimes committed by their enemies;..." - Louis Schade (November 18, 1888), letter to Jefferson Davis, published in Rowland Dunbar, ed. (1923) Jefferson Davis, constitutionalist, his letters, papers, and speeches. Vol. 10. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History. pp. 87–89
  • In an 1890 address to the Virginia Assembly, Sen. John Warwick Daniel quotes (I thought) Robert E. Lee as telling his men following the 1862 victories at Richmond, "Your humanity to the wounded and the prisoners was the fit and crowning glory of your valor." - John Warwick Davis (January 25, 1890), address to the Virginia Assembly, published in Edward M. Daniel, ed. (1911) Speeches and orations of John Warwick Daniel. Lynchburg, Virginia: J. P. Bell Co., p. 300
  • But those words were actually Davis', from his June 2, 1862 address issued "To the Army of Richmond" from his executive office, "You are fighting for all that is dearest to men; and, though opposed to a foe who disregards many of the usages of civilized war, your humanity to the wounded and the prisoners was the fit and crowning glory to your valor.", published in W. J. Tenney (1865) The Military and Naval History of the Rebellion in the United States. New York: D. Appleton & Co., p. 246

^ Ignore all that:

• From another source, Davis is quoted using the words, "The manner of their death was the crowning glory of their lives," in a letter to the Committee of Chattanooga Monument dated April 5, 1877. The Wilmington Morning Star (May 22, 1877), p. 2

Context

• In her book, Thompson puts the two dates that the base and shaft of the monument were completed into the context of national recessions and labor struggles. She quotes one of the dedicatory speeches as making that link explicit. I think that's good context and I hope to get that into the article. --Dystopos (talk) 06:27, 2 April 2022 (PDT)