Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument
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 memorial was commissioned by the Pelham Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and its cornerstone was laid during the United Confederate Veterans Reunion on April 26 (Confederate Decoration Day), 1894. The monument was formally dedicated on April 26, 1905.
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.
Inscription
- (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