Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument: Difference between revisions
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The '''Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument''' is a 52-foot obelisk monument composed of sandstone, located at the southern entrance of [[Linn Park]], at the foot to [[20th Street North]]. | The '''Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument''' is a 52-foot obelisk monument composed of sandstone, located at the southern entrance of [[Linn Park]], at the foot to [[20th Street North]]. | ||
The $5,000 memorial was commissioned by the [[Pelham Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy]], led by [[Jennie Rountree]]. Its cornerstone was laid during the [[1894 Reunion of United Confederate Veterans|United Confederate Veterans Reunion]] on [[April 26]] (Confederate Decoration Day), [[1894]]. ''[[Birmingham News]]'' publisher [[Rufus Rhodes]] introduced featured speaker and UCV Commander-in-Chief Stephen D. Lee at the ceremony. | The $5,000 memorial was commissioned by the [[Pelham Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy]], led by [[Jennie Rountree]]. Its cornerstone was laid during the [[1894 Reunion of United Confederate Veterans|United Confederate Veterans Reunion]] on [[April 26]] (Confederate Decoration Day), [[1894]]. | ||
The cornerstone includes a sealed box containing a Bible, a Confederate flag, a bronze medal honoring the Declaration of Independence, several newspapers and lists of Confederate organizations. ''[[Birmingham News]]'' publisher [[Rufus Rhodes]] introduced featured speaker and UCV Commander-in-Chief Stephen D. Lee at the ceremony. | |||
The completed monument was formally dedicated on [[April 26]], [[1905]]. | The completed monument was formally dedicated on [[April 26]], [[1905]]. | ||
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:(north face) | :(north face) | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
''" | ''"THE MANNER OF THEIR''<br> | ||
'' | ''DEATH, WAS THE CROWNING''<br> | ||
'' | ''GLORY OF THEIR LIVES."''<br> | ||
'' | ''JEFFERSON DAVIS.'' | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
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* Wright, Barnett (June 23, 2015) "Activist Frank Matthews: Remove the 'racist' Confederate monument from Birmingham." {{BN}} | * Wright, Barnett (June 23, 2015) "Activist Frank Matthews: Remove the 'racist' Confederate monument from Birmingham." {{BN}} | ||
* Bryant, Joseph D. (July 1, 2015) "Birmingham city officials take steps to remove Confederate monument at Linn Park." {{BN}} | * Bryant, Joseph D. (July 1, 2015) "Birmingham city officials take steps to remove Confederate monument at Linn Park." {{BN}} | ||
* Almond, Mark (July 2, 2015) "A close-up look at Birmingham's embattled Confederate monument." {{BN}} | |||
[[Category:Sculpture]] | [[Category:Sculpture]] | ||
Revision as of 08:40, 2 July 2015
The Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument is a 52-foot obelisk monument composed of sandstone, located at the southern entrance of Linn Park, at the foot to 20th Street North.
The $5,000 memorial was commissioned by the Pelham Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, led by Jennie Rountree. Its cornerstone was laid during the United Confederate Veterans Reunion on April 26 (Confederate Decoration Day), 1894.
The cornerstone includes a sealed box containing a Bible, a Confederate flag, a bronze medal honoring the Declaration of Independence, several newspapers and lists of Confederate organizations. Birmingham News publisher Rufus Rhodes introduced featured speaker and UCV Commander-in-Chief Stephen D. Lee at the ceremony.
The completed monument was formally dedicated on April 26, 1905.
The possibility of removing the monument was implicit in the 1919 proposal by architects Frank Hartley Anderson, William Warren and Eugene Knight for a Memorial Civic Center that would serve as a comprehensive memorial with an emphasis on the recently-ended "Great War". During his visit for the Olmsted Brothers' 1925 report and recommendations for "A Park System for Birmingham" landscape architect W. B. Marquis wrote that "The Confederate Monument located on the axis of 20th St. at the south end of the park probably must be retained although there may be some possibility of changing its position." The firm, delayed by uncertainties about the designs for a new Birmingham Public Library and Jefferson County Courthouse, never presented a detailed plan for redesigning what was, by then, renamed Woodrow Wilson Park. In their report they merely recommended that the park "is generally considered as a possible civic center and should, if possible, be so planned and developed."
In 2015, in the wake of a mass shooting at an African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina, activist Frank Matthews called for the monument to be removed on the grounds that its depiction of deadly weapons alongside quotes from Jefferson Davis were offensive, and that its sentiment has nothing to do with Birmingham. The Birmingham Park and Recreation Board voted on July 1 to pursue relocating the monument by consulting with attorneys and with the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Inscriptions
- (south face)
TO THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER & SAILOR
ERECTED BY PELHAM CHAPTER No. 67
DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
APRIL 26, 1905
- (north face)
"THE MANNER OF THEIR
DEATH, WAS THE CROWNING
GLORY OF THEIR LIVES."
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
- (west face)
A relief sculpture of an anchor to represent the Confederate Navy
- (east face)
A relief sculpture of crossed sabers and a musket to represent the Confederate Cavalry and Infantry
References
- Davis, Michael: "In Remembrance: Confederate Funerary Monuments in Alabama and Resistance to Reconciliation, 1884-1923" May 10, 2008 - accessed October 20, 2010
- Wright, Barnett (June 23, 2015) "Activist Frank Matthews: Remove the 'racist' Confederate monument from Birmingham." The Birmingham News
- Bryant, Joseph D. (July 1, 2015) "Birmingham city officials take steps to remove Confederate monument at Linn Park." The Birmingham News
- Almond, Mark (July 2, 2015) "A close-up look at Birmingham's embattled Confederate monument." The Birmingham News